This is My Town:  Little Critters (I Can Read: My First)
PreSchool-Grade 2—Children will be drawn to this book by the familiar character and by Mayer's characteristic illustrations, which bustle with color and activity. Little Critter conducts a tour of his hometown, pausing by familiar places such as the post office and fire station. Each page has at most three lines of clear, simple text. Ample white space and large bold type make the book friendly to less-experienced readers, who will generally find that the pictures support their reading. There are a few random transitions, however. Most of the familiar scenes appear as spreads, but following the stop at town hall—"Our mayor works here"—the page turn jumps to a parade past the building with the mayor waving from an open car. "Sometimes we have parades in our town," Little Critter announces before abruptly moving on to the library. There, he and his friends listen to a story with rapt attention, but are later shushed while enjoying a book together. If that doesn't make a few librarians cringe, seeing Little Critter drop his books all over the library stairs will. Still, this title will be a welcome addition where this fellow and other Mayer titles are in demand, and it could fit well with a primary unit on community helpers.—Neala Arnold, St. Francis Elementary School, MNCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.