First Grade Friends: Recess Mess (Hello Reader, Level 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Grace Maccarone (Author), Betsy Lewin (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Series: Hello Reader

First graders can relate to this story of poor Sam, who needs to go to the boys' room, but since he cannot read or spell, he worries that he will not know which door to enter.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 1. Part of the Hello Reader! series, this is a lively school yard story told in simple active sentences, some in rhyme, and illustrated with big, exaggerated colored cartoon drawings. The children go outside at recess time. Dan runs. Max slides. Pam rolls (in her wheelchair). Then the focus is on Sam. "Sam swings. Sam falls . . . Sam jumps. Sam stops. Sam looks for the boys' room. He needs to go." But he sees two bathroom doors, and he can't read the signs on them. Kids will laugh at the common dilemma, and they will appreciate how Sam learns to spell BOY and GIRL. Hazel Rochman

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Cartwheel (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059073878X
• ISBN-13: 978-0590738781
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #928,583 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Grace Maccarone is the author of many children's books, including Mother, May I?, Thank You Prayer, and Bless Me. She lives in Greenburg, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read book about school events., May 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: First Grade Friends: Recess Mess (Hello Reader, Level 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is good book for emerging readers. A lot of the simple words are repeated, making it easier for kids who are learning to read. Rhyming text also helps early readers. Most of the pages have just one or two sentences, but the last few pages suddenly have more text. It can be a bit discouraging for kids who were doing great reading on their own to suddenly have more trouble on the last few pages, when they are so close to the end! Kids enjoy reading about common school dilemmas- in this case, all the kids are out on the playground when a boy has to use the restroom- but he isn't sure which is the boy's room. There is nice mix of races in the illustrations and one child in a wheel chair.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recess Mess, June 9, 2006

By 

Anna M. Ligtenberg "AnnaLovesBooks" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: First Grade Friends: Recess Mess (Hello Reader, Level 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

ISBN 059073878X - The title and the cross-legged kid on the cover make the "mess" seem like an "accident". In reality, I think mess was chosen for the title just because it rhymed! The title confusion aside... nice book for very young, just learning, readers. The text is very simple and is matched by the basic illustrations, so children can learn words like "jumps" by relating the word to the picture - just like Sam!

During recess, Sam has to go and finds his way to the bathroom doors - side by side, with "Boys" and "Girls" written on them... only he can't read! He finds a solution to his problem and learns to spell his first couple of words.

One reviewer mentioned that the amount of text on the last few pages might be a little discouraging to young readers, and that may be but I think there's an up-side to that as well - the rhymes on a few pages are so far apart that young ones lose track of them! With more words on one page, the rhymes are more obvious. Well worth the price to get your preschooler hooked on reading!

- AnnaLovesBooks

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars First Grade Friends: Recess Mess, March 14, 2006

By 

Mimi L. "shopper" (California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: First Grade Friends: Recess Mess (Hello Reader, Level 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

My grandson enjoyed this book because it went along with his first grade
reading lessons. It's exciting at 7 yrs to find a book that you can really read.
The illustrations were excellent.