Liam and the Letters / Walter and the World

Two Tales of Twenty-Six is an exciting new early reader in a flip book format.

Early Readers offer deliberate repetition and illustrations designed to support comprehension while still sharing great stories. In the spirit of Arnold Lobel's "Frog and Toad" books, Red Deer's first Early Reader, Two Tales of Twenty-Six is two stories written for ages 4-8, designed into a "flip-book" format.

In "Walter and the World," meet Walter, the mouse who conquers twenty-six cats in order to reach the outside world; and then, when readers turn the book upside-down and back-to-front, they will encounter "Liam and the Letters" -- a parallel story of a boy who conquers the twenty-six letters of the alphabet so he can then read Walter's adventure.

A project about learning to read for children who are facing that challenge for themselves, Two Tales of Twenty-Six offers encouragement along with a look into the lives of two vibrant characters. This new early reader showcases captivating text from Stephanie McLellan combined with illustrator Mike Deas's fun and clever color illustrations.

Stephanie Simpson McLellan is a literacy advocate and the award-winning author of books for young readers including the acclaimed picture books The Chicken Cat and The Christmas Wind and the middle grade novel, Sully, Messed Up. She lives in Newmarket, Ontario.

Mike Deas has worked as a concept artist and art lead in the video game industry. He is the illustrator of many books for young readers including I Can't Do What? and The Boy Who Woke the Sun. He lives with his family on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia.