Astroblast! Code Blue by Bob Kolar - review

I always say that Beginning Reader books have the hardest row to hoe. They need to reassure the new reader, they need to give the new reader a lot of achievable challenges, they need to do it in seven words per line or less, and on top of all that, they need to reward this stalwart little reader with a laugh, a surprise, superior art, or hopefully all three! You gots to give that kid SOMETHING that makes her want to keep at it. Learning to read can be hard.

Bob Kolar (how do you know that name? Maybe from Big Kicks, the one about the big bear playing soccer; or AlphaOops!: The Day Z Went First. Love those!) solves this puzzle with... puzzles! Every page of this jazzy little number has a visual puzzle: a what's wrong with this picture, a spot the difference, a maze, etc. Not only does this reward a little guy or girl who has struggled through the lines of text on the page, it keeps that kid's eyes ON the page, developing skills that are useful when learning to read.

There are even more puzzles at the end, encouraging the kid to go back through the book again. Smart. Repeat exposure to the same text is a useful strategy.

The art is bright and clean, but harmonious and rounded, with a strong palette of deep colors that prevents the funny animal characters and their outer-space hijinks from slipping into frenzied Hanna-Barbera-land. Here's a Beginning Reader series that I hope to see about twenty of. Hope you're not busy for the next couple years, Kolar!