Elaine's Rain Cane (Rhyme Time)

Kindergarten-Grade 2–In this series of beginning readers, each book focuses on a different rhyming sound. The first page lists 10 rhyming words and notes that "words that rhyme do not have to be spelled the same." Then each of the words is illustrated with a full-color photograph and a descriptive sentence. Next comes a short story that uses these terms and several other rhyming words as well. The first section of each title is well executed, using sentences and photographs that clearly illustrate the words' meanings. However, the rhyming stories are choppy and downright ridiculous. For example, Cute Boot reads, "As the owl began to toot on the flute, the man saw his fruit start to take root." Illustrated with collages of photographic cutouts and simple computer-generated cartoons, the art accurately reflects the nonsensical tone.–Suzanne Myers Harold, Multnomah County Library System, Portland, OR
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.