National Geographic Readers: Stripes and Spots (Pre-Reader)
★★★★
As is standard with National Geographic Kids readers, Stripes and Spots includes beautiful one- and two-page spreads of animals photographed in their natural habitats. Each photograph includes a label that identifies the animal featured.
Stripes and Spots opens with a Vocabulary Tree that includes the main words stripes and spots. The supplementary words long, thick, and thin are under the word stripes while the supplementary words round, big, and small are under the word spots. This pre-reader (as is standard with other National Geographic Kids pre-readers) fails to bold the vocabulary words throughout the text. This simple adjustment could help young readers more readily identify these new words.
While the majority of the photographs clearly support the aligned text, the first photograph of a Monarch butterfly is connected to both stripes and spots which could be confusing for children not yet introduced to this book’s idea that stripes and spots come in different shapes and sizes.
The majority of the text is appropriate for the intended audience, but some sentences extend longer than would be best for pre-readers. Short sentences limited to five or less words keep the text moving while the photographs clearly add context to the new vocabulary words. The end of the book includes the likely unfamiliar word, Okapi which is a fun surprise but may trip up even the adult reader.
4 STARS - RECOMMENDED (PreK-1):
Overall, Stripes and Spots is a beautiful introduction to common patterns and how these patterns appear in nature. Photographs add context to new vocabulary words, but it would have been helpful to bold these words in the text. An effective introduction to patterns that will catch the interest of many early readers.
Reviewed by Melissa A.