School of monsters: Bill and Ben love to sing by Sally Rippin. Illus. by Chris Kennett

There are over 20 titles in the School of Monsters series now and a staple on school library and home shelves around the world. Sally Rippin has nailed a series that intentionally engages children with the sounds of words and with written language. Designed to start as shared reading material, they encourage children to first predict the simple rhyming word at the end of each page before moving to an understanding of the way those sounds are represented with letters. The words are mostly decodable and as children develop their phonics knowledge they will be able to read more and more of the story themselves. There are also a scattering of words which are not decodable but frequently taught as red/heart/tricky/surprising/non-decodable words. Large bold writing with the last word of each page in a different colour makes these approachable for young children but they are also chapter-book like so will also appeal to older reluctant readers or those facing reading challenges. 

Bill and Ben share a body (two heads, one body) and normally this is great as they like the same things, however, singing time is tricky. They both like to sing different things! Can they solve the problem? Yes they can...both of them can have a turn. As always, there are words to learn in the back, some learn to read tips and a how to draw Bill and Ben instructional. 

Themes: Beginner Reader, Decodables, Rhyming Book, Taking Turns.

Nicole Nelson