Clifford the Big Red Dog

Kids who love Clifford the Big Red Dog will enjoy this set of one dozen story books that reinforces phonetics, the "fundamental skill of knowing that the sounds we say represent the letters we read." Each simple booklet depicts Clifford in various adventures, from baking a cake for his friend Emily Elizabeth to rescuing a hive of bees to sharing a rainy day with a book and a friend. Emily Elizabeth introduces each story with an explanation of the sounds featured in that story: the final "e"; words that begin with "br," "gr," "tr," and "dr"; the long "a," etc. She encourages readers to pay attention to those sounds in that story and in the "many, many other stories" in which they appear. A letter included with the books describes ways of helping children learn to enjoy reading, and the whole collection is tucked into a handy cardboard carrying case with Velcro closure and plastic handle. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter