This
Read-to-Read, Level Two, book offers very good art but just
a mediocre story. Walter the Baker gets in trouble with the
local Duke and Duchess when a batch of his sweet rolls don’t
meet their expectations.
He will be banished for this transgression (which sounds a
bit extreme) unless he can invent “a roll through which
the rising sun can shine three times”. After working
all night Walter accidentally invents a pretzel. Oh joy!
This isn’t a very logical story but if it does encourage
a child to keep reading on his/her own, I guess it is OK.
Frankly, though, I like to see a better story to accompany
the very good illustrations.
Sadly, too many of
these books designed to start a child on the path to mastering
reading have disappointing storylines. This seems to be counterproductive
since we’d also like to see the child develop an appreciation
for good literature.
One added negative here is that this book, when opened, has
a definite chemical (ink) smell. That is also a downer!
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