You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together (You Read to Me, I'll Read to You, 2) - Hardcover

Mary Ann Hoberman is the author of the critically acclaimed One of Each and the classic A House is a House for Me, which won a National Book Award. Her rhymes are also featured in the Sing-Along Stories series.

Michael Emberley is the New York Times best-selling illustrator of It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris and has written several books of his own, including Ruby and Dinosaurs! A Drawing Book. He lives in San Diego, California.

Kindergarten-Grade 3-A companion to the popular You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together (Little, Brown, 2001), this book offers eight fairy tales to inspire a wonderful read-aloud experience for two voices. The color and placement of the text on the pages indicate the different parts. For example, "The Little Red Hen" begins with voice one, in orange type: "I'm Little Red Hen./I planted the wheat./I dug up the soil/In the dust and the heat." Then, voice two, in magenta: "And I am the Duck/And I have to admit/That I did not help her,/Not one little bit." Each tale ends with both participants sharing the refrain: "You read to me./I'll read to you." Hoberman doesn't offer full renditions of the stories, but rather uses the characters and one or two plot elements to create retellings that will entice children and encourage them to keep reading. The selections all have happy endings; in "Jack and the Beanstalk," the ogre agrees to share some of his treasure with the boy, and Little Red Riding Hood takes the Big Bad Wolf out to lunch where they read together while waiting for their food. The verses are rarely forced or faltering, and the two voices join seamlessly together to create a truly delightful reading ensemble. Emberley's humorous illustrations feature expressive characters drawn in pen, watercolor, and pastel, and are liberally scattered throughout the text.
Shelley B. Sutherland, Niles Public Library District, IL
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