HENRY AND MUDGE IN THE SPARKLE DAYS

What better choice for read-along audio recordings than Easy Readers? New readers love to read along--and reading along builds confidence and reading skills. The key to success, of course, is to find superior stories and record them in kid-friendly ways with attention to the nuances of music, voice and sound effects found in the best audiobooks. Accolades go to Live Oak Media for doing just that! The subject is friendship in this Easy Reader read-along--friendship between a boy and his dog. Rylant's Henry and Mudge series is a favorite with the kindergarten through grade two crowd; the audio format enhances their appeal. Lively music introduces the book and serves as an interlude for the titles with individual chapters. Sparse but judicious use of sound effects--Mudge's cheerful bark--all enhance the readings. The book is read with faultless pacing and voice and it escapes the inordinately slow narration and deliberate diction some read-alongs employ. New readers and pre-readers alike will delight in listening to these favorite stories independently. T.B. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 99]