The 6"x5" board book edition of this book (called I SPY LITTLE ANMALS )is a beautiful book to read aloud to babies and toddlers. The 8"x8" paperback version (called I SPY ANIMALS) is great for helping pre-K, kindergarten and first grade children read. In April 2013 this kindergarten girl read I SPY ANIMALS. She was helped by various clues: the pictures, the pattern of the text ("I spy" starts every page), the rhythm, the rhyme, and the beginning phonics skills that she is learning. I helped her, too - gently. Her very proud mother quietly snapped the photo.

This kindergarten reader read "I spy a fire hydrant" with no problem. That's because she lives in a city where there are fire hydrants. She "read" the picture. That done, a parent or teacher could encourage her to sound out the letters that made those two words and also look for the word "ant" in "hydrant." Another child who doesn't live where there are lots of fire hydrants can learn two new vocabulary words from this page. Learning new words and reading them is fun for kids with this I SPY book because, after all, they are playing the I SPY game. Can you find the kitty cat?

 

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