Realistic Fiction: Zee's Way

Butcher, K. (2004). Zee's Way. Victoria, B.C.: Orca Book Publishers


Orca publishes levelled readers for older kids. Orca soundings is for tweens and teens, Orca Currents is for middle school students, and Orca Echoes is for kids 7-9. There is also Orca Sports and Orca for young readers. Zee's Way by Kristin Butcher is from the Sounding series, and it shows. The book opens with a bunch of tattooed, punked out teens in some beef with a group of bullying store owners. Given the books racy start I found the ending to be slightly cliché. The book is small, but has an attractive cover. It is just over 100 pages, but the font is large, legible. These features keep it looking like an age appropriate book, but keep it at the appropriate literacy level for those who read reluctantly because of difficulties. Orca books are the best example I’ve found that might get teens reading and draw them away from equally racy TV dramas.

Levelled Reader: S-S-Snakes

Penner. L.R. (2009). S-S-Snakes.(Barret, P. Illus.). New York: Random house.

This is a level three reader all about snakes, the closest comparable subject the library had to dinosaurs. This book talks not only about 24 different snakes, but details some of their family histories, how to protect oneself from them, and how to keep them as pets. The set up is a similar style to the previous levelled reader where the text and detailed, hand painted pictures intertwine across the page spread. I am a disappointed that the book has neither a table of contents nor a glossary, as these are staples of non-fiction works regardless of the level. This book has almost twenty pages more than the last level. It is an interesting book, but probably a guys read more than anything else.

Levelled Reader: Beyond the Dinosaurs: Monsters of the Sea and Air

Brown, C. L. (2007). Beyond the Dinosaurs: Monsters of the Sea and Air. (Wilson, P.Illus.). New York: Harper Collins.

This is a level two reader about the prehistoric creatures of the water and air. Whereas the level one reader dealt with only five dinosaurs this next level deals with eleven. The illustrations in this book are done by hand and span both pages when the book is open. The text is strategically placed around the dinosaurs in the pictures so that image and text become a single experience. There is more fine detail in these illustrations and there is double the number of sentences per page as the previous level, the font is smaller and each dinosaurs name is now accompanied by a syllabic breakdown of pronunciation. The number of pages is comparable to the previous level, but there are more words.

Levelled Reader: Snack Time, Tyrannosaurous Rex!

Bentley, D. (2004). Snack Time, Tyrannosaurus Rex! (Carr, K. Illus.) Norwalk, CT: Trudy Corporation.

This is a level one reader about a female Tyrannosaurus Rex’s daily routine to get food. The book is a good size for a “hopper” (preschool to grade 1, as defined by the publisher’s criteria). It is large enough to appear big to a 5 year old and the pages while thin, are sturdy. the book is comprised of alternating full page pictures, detailed computer generated graphics, and large print text, usually no more than two sentences per page, and size twenty-six font. After the story there is a fact page and a glossary of the difficult dinosaur names. I would like to see how a preschooler handled pronouncing “Quetzalcoatlus” the first time they saw it, as it was a tongue twister for myself. However, pronouncing big words is one thing young readers take pride in, so this is a good choice I feel.