My Very First I Can Read! Learn to Read with Tug the Pup and Friends!

     The I Can Read! book program was created specifically to help children learn to read back in 1957.  Now, nearly 57 years later, the books in this program have won numerous prestigious literary prizes, including the Newbery and Caldecott Honor awards.  Additionally, with over 400 titles to choose from, the I Can Read! series has been a go-to source for interesting and enjoyable stories to read together with your children (my son was very partial to the Thomas the Tank Engine tales... I mean, let's face it, little boys just love those trains!), and as they develop their skills, will start to read on their own.
     Recently, inspired in part by some of the latest early literacy research studies of the practice of guided reading (which gives emergent readers the opportunity to take on more responsibility and initiative), Dr. Julie M. Wood, Director of the Jeanne Challl Reading Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has created a new, comprehensive reading program that will assist and provide support to both families and educators to build upon a child's confidence as they start on their journey to becoming an independent reader.
     Utilizing the strategies of guided reading (which develop reading comprehension skills; identifies weaknesses as well as fosters strength in specific skills; builds a child's fluency and enlarges their vocabulary), the My Very First I Can Read! Learn to Read with Tug the Pup and Friends! series adeptly introduces these techniques and principles.  Through the introduction of new words, and fosters the development of early comprehension, phonemic and reading skills in this engaging three box set, your little ones will be entertained while at the same time, will build these extremely important skills.
      My Very First I Can Read! Learn to Read with Tug the Pup and Friends! series takes on a level-by-level approach that will take your beginning readers through a variety of steps to achieve and build their strength to start to read on their own.

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1. Box Set One (GRL A-C):  This is the beginning set, where the eleven stories in the box are easy to comprehend, highlighted by the use of rhyme and patterns throughout.
2. Box Set Two (GRL C-E):   While the stories remain simple, the characters are now using dialogue throughout the text.  The stories also feature decodable and sight words.  These tales are slightly more advanced in skill than those in the A and B level stories in Box Set One.
3. Box Set Three (GRL E-G):  Vocabulary words in this set can be used either in a group and/or individual setting, by pointing to each word during read aloud.  The story line becomes a little more intricate in this set.

     The My Very First I Can Read!  Learn to Read with Tug the Pup and Friends!  three box set, containing 11 stories, a helpful parent guide, plus reward stickers can be purchased separately for $12.99 each.  For further information on the series, please visit HarperCollins Children's website.