Have you ever had trouble trying to get a young child to pick up a book and read it? Are the words “No, I don’t want to” or “No, books are boring” familiar when you try to encourage your little ones to read for 10 minutes? Getting children to read can be a difficult task, but it is a very rewarding one – not just for you, but for them as well. If you have looked at some of the books used to help children with reading, some are indeed dry and boring, but necessary to help children practice sound and word formation. Now there is a new book that children will WANT to pick up read, A Very Silly Reading Book Meow: Kids Are Now The Reading BOSS by Alan Smith. This is definitely a book that young readers will engage with and work hard to read the words on the pages as the results will have them giggling and laughing along with the adult helper.
A Very Silly Reading Book Meow: Kids Are Now The Reading BOSS is an engaging book that helps children on their reading journey. As the title suggests, it is a very silly book but one that puts the kids in control of their reading as it results with their helpers having to do some fun and silly tasks. This is fantastic book that will engage the readers and help them to practice those all-important reading skills as well as having lots of fun with a book.
This book has 24 pages with large print text and is a quick and simple read. But what’s so special about this book that young readers will be picking it up time and time again to read and re-read? Well, whilst the young reader reads the short sentences on the pages, their adult helper must listen carefully and follow the instructions that the child reads out – helpers, be prepared for some nose rubbing, joke telling, meowing like a cat, shaking your tails and having a dance, all whilst the kids read, watch, giggle and have fun. Learning and laughter blended to create a reading experience that children and adults will enjoy together and one that can be an excellent bonding experience.
Helpers ready! In this very silly book, the adult helper reads the first page which instructs them to take an oath that they are now a cat and must do EVERYTHING that their emerging book lover successfully reads from within the book. Adult helpers, get ready to be controlled with some silly fun by the new READING BOSS!
Readers ready! Readers, get ready put those reading and phonics skills to the test to read as much as you can so that your helpers follow the instructions and act the joker that will have you giggling from page to page.
For the young readers, the text in this book is in large print so is very easy to focus on, concentrate and read. The book gets off to a nice and sedate start with the child reading out aloud “My helper will Clap 3 times.” Once the the reader has read this out successfully then their reading helper must follow that instruction and clap 3 times. But as the reader progresses through the book the tasks are going to get funnier and more involved as the helper will be asked to hop like a bunny, take a catnap, wake up, walk like a cat and meow, among other silly commands. Then even more silliness emerges when key words are introduced, the colour commands: whenever the word blue is mentioned helpers must rub their nose, when yellow is spoken then they must meow, green sees helpers having to shake their tail and just to make it that more interesting and fun, these colours get combined as the reader works through the pages. A fun interactive bonding experience for reader and helper and one that shows that books and reading can be fun.
Overall, this is indeed a very silly book. It doesn’t have a story as such but does encourage children to read to get the desired results from their helpers. It does require engagement and interaction from the reader and helper to make the book come alive and for the fun to begin. Once the reading starts, the laughter flows which spurs on the child reading to keep on trying to read as much as they can so that they can make their helpers do funny and silly tasks. As a helper, can you listen and follow the instructions quickly? For example, one page just has the words blue, yellow, green, yellow (which are also highlighted in the correct colours) which means if all is read out loud successfully then the helper must rub their nose, meow like a cat, shake their tail and meow again. What child reading those words to provoke those actions from their adult helper is not going to enjoy reading the book and want to read more?
We love this book. It has a very simple concept but is excellent at helping to encourage children pick up a book and read. Kids will love that with each successfully completed sentence read, they elicit something fun or silly from their helper – sometimes an energic task. When the laughter subsides, kids will want to read more to prolong fun, the agony and possible embarrassment. Helpers get released from their oath on page 24 and can have much needed break, although you may find that the readers want to go again – what better way is there than that to encourage reading and a love of books (and when children re-read the same book it is a good way to help with faster reading, accuracy and word recognition).
With so many books out there, it can be difficult to try and find the right one for your child, but if you are looking for something fun to give to your children to encourage them to read, then A Very Silly Reading Book Meow is a definitely a fun addition to a child’s bookshelf. To get the most out of the book it does require helper participation, but it will have the helper and reader giggling, laughing and having fun together hopefully encouraging a reading habit.
A simple concept with simple text that is lots of fun for the young independent reader and their helpers. Perfect for reading at home and in the classroom, the large print makes it very easy for children to follow. An excellent book that children will engage with, laugh with and a book that puts the reader in charge.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £6.99 (Paperback) / £4.99 (Kindle)
Available to buy from Amazon here.
