Customer Reviews

Dizzy's Bird Watch (Bob the Builder (Simon & Schuster Paperback))

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a nice little book about Bob the Builder and his buddies. In this story -you might recognize the plot from television series-- Dizzy finds a nest and becomes involved with a little blue egg that sits in it. The whole crew is around from the hatching to when the little bird becomes big enough to fly on it's own. The story concludes with cheers for Dizzy who feels like she's an auntie to the baby bird.

Plot aside, this book provides reading practice for the pre-reading set as it is one of those books that has icons that replace some of the words.

The way that we have been using it is that dad or I reads the story, following the print with our finger, pausing at the icons for our son so that he can decipher the picture and join in the 'reading fun'.

Our son is now four, but by doing this, even younger children can figure out that sentences are read from left to right, and top to bottom, from page to page: All valuable reading skills. For a child of three or four years of age you might even find that they will begin to site read whole words.

Four Stars. Wall to wall color: the whole page is filled with colorful pictures. Nice story about Dizzy and an egg which hatches. Okay read-aloud. One downside is that the icon for the mama bird and the baby look overly similar. Still children like the story and can learn many pre-reading skills. Don't be surprised if they memorize the text.

Note: Another reviewer noted that this book was a good beginning primer, but I'd have to disagree. There is considerable dialog in this book (which is a nice thing in general) and I don't think (having a reading 6 year old) that words such as the following are standard choices for beginning readers: found, chirp, place, machines, bounce, meow, cement mixer.

I picked this up while on vacation for my 4-year-old daughter. She is quite a good reader at this point, and enjoys reading this book. It is written with easy to read language, but not to the point of being uninteresting for the child. I am especially pleased that the featured character, Dizzy, is female. This is sadly lacking in many children's books. Look for "Wendy Helps Out" for an equally great book.