The Easy-To-Read Wonder Tales Series!!
Written by Veronika Martenova Charles
Illustrated by David Parkins
Ten first books for fledgling readers that offer the enjoyment of a good story along with the thrill of accomplishment that comes from independent reading. Written in short, easy phrases with carefully selected vocabulary and plentiful illustrations, each book helps youngsters achieve success as they have fun.
The series follows three friends who love to share stories. In each book, one is reminded of a well-known story. As one friend starts, the others are reminded of versions they know so each volume has three stories within one framework. The stories come from around the world, and Veronika Martenova Charles provides a note at the end of each book to describe the origins.
Easy-To-Read Wonder Tales is a great first step in developing a lifelong love of reading, and it makes a fine companion to Veronika Martenova Charles' series, Easy-To-Read Spooky Tales.
Awards and praise for Wonder Tales Books 1-5...
• 2011 Aesop Awards, Accolade Award Winner
• 2012 Great Book Award Winner, Canadian Toy Testing Council
American Folklore Society, Aesop Award Committee
"Perhaps the best aspect of the series is that it includes folklore in the repertoire of first literature available to young readers. As children grow and mature they will find that folk and fairy tales form the base of much of the body of literature they will be reading."
Canadian Children's Book News
“Bravo to Veronika Martenova Charles and David Parkins for another fine series!
Author Veronika Charles scored a hit with her Easy-To-Read Spooky Tales series featuring cautionary folk tales from around the world. Her new series of Easy-To-Read Wonder Tales promises to be equally satisfying for the learning-to-read crowd.
Martenova Charles seamlessly weaves the three stories in with the framing text, producing a fun and highly accessible read for youngsters. The black & white illustrations by David Parkins are lively, expressive and just spooky enough to give a few delightful shivers to the audience that knows the stories will turn out fine."
School Library Journal
"The stories are well told. Give this book to kids who like their stories truly scary; it is not for the faint of heart. Children are abandoned and nasty creatures plot to kill them, but in the end, the youngsters prevail."
SurLaLune Fairy Tales Blog
"these are great books for beginning readers. There are several easy reader fairy tale titles around, but few that range beyond the most familiar European texts we know in North America. These titles provide those tales with some comparisons to other cultures."
CM Magazine
"It's Not About The Pumpkin!" is a good selection for children beginning to read chapter books, and it would also be a good choice for a classroom comparison of the Cinderella theme. Highly Recommended ****/4"
fernfolio.edublogs.org
"Author Veronika Martenova Charles has done a fine job of choosing stories that are resonate with one another, and framing them in the context of three young friends who make connections between their own experiences and those of fairy tale characters. The books are all the more remarkable in that they are written for beginning readers, in words that are easy-to-read, but retain the magic of really good stories. David Parkin’s illustrations lend just the right balance of sweet and menacing to the stories. ... young readers will want to read all five!"
Library Thing Early Reviewers
"...this series would have great potential for teaching children stories that might be outside their standard fairy tales"
"a great little chapterbook perfect for reluctant readers"
"I liked this book because it started a conversation about different cultures, and how they interpret stories we all know in slightly different ways"
"a great aspect of this book series is that Charles doesn't name the place where the children live, giving the reader a sense of being included in the story telling circle." |
