Mud: Level 1 (Real Kids Readers. Level 1)

A boy and his friends enjoy playing in the mud

Gr. 1. A little boy gets up, puts on his boots, gets his bucket and shovel, and calls two friends for a day of mud activities. The happy trio of boys (one Asian, two white) "mix and pat. We slip and slop" and generally enjoy themselves in the gooey mud. Like others in the Real Kids Readers series, this features staged but entertaining color photographs of real children acting out the story. Each page has four to eight words of text, with good reinforcement from the pictures. It's perhaps unfortunate that no girls get to have fun in the mud, but this will have great boy appeal. Susan Dove Lempke.