Early Adventures

Learn to read with the Smithsonian!

Developed in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution and esteemed childhood literacy expert Dr. Adria Klein, the Smithsonian Readers series is designed to encourage reading comprehension with high-interest topics and build reading skills with a carefully designed leveling structure. Level 1 focuses on familiar content and simple text to promote engagement and success for new readers. Smithsonian Readers: Early Adventures Level 1 contains six 32-page topics for beginning readers: Vehicles, Reptiles, Outer Space, Animal Habitats, Insects, and Safari Animals. The fascinating content is accompanied 36 perforated fact cards to further encourage early adventures in reading.

Level 1: Early Readers
-Basic factual texts with familiar themes and content
-Concepts in text are reinforced by photos
-Includes glossary to reinforce reading comprehension
-Phonic regularity
-Simple sentence structure and repeated sentence patterns
-Easy vocabulary familiar to kindergarteners and first graders

Brenda Scott Royce is a lifelong lover of beasts and books—and whenever possible her work combines the two. For more than a decade, she served as editor of Zoo View, the award-winning magazine of the Los Angeles Zoo. Her books include the comedic novel Monkey Love, about a New Yorker who becomes the temporary guardian of a mischievous monkey. She also wrote several episodes of the children’s television series Chuggington. Brenda likes to say that she majored in monkeys in college (she earned a bachelor’s degree in primatology and anthropology from California State University, Fullerton) and that some of her best friends are chimpanzees (she worked as a chimp keeper at a wildlife sanctuary). She lives in Covina, California.

Ruth Strother is an award-winning writer and editor whose work has touched children around the globe. From running editorial departments at publishing houses to freelance writing and editing, Ruth has immersed herself in the creation of books for both children and adults. Her latest written works for children include W is for Woof: A Dog Alphabet and the NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children B is for Blue Planet: an Earth Science Alphabet. Ruth lives in Southern California with her husband, daughter, and two dogs.

Emily Rose Oachs is a graduate of the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities. She currently works as an editor at a Los Angeles-based educational company. In her spare time, she writes nonfiction books for elementary readers.

Kaitlyn DiPerna is an award-winning writer, developer, and editor of all kinds of children’s books. Kaitlyn has authored everything from young adult art and craft titles to school textbooks, and children’s chapter books to board books for toddlers. Originally from Boston, where she earned a degree in writing, literature, and publishing from Emerson College, Kaitlyn has spent the last ten years on the West Coast, chasing the surf and the snow.