Small Readers: Aaron loves apples and pumpkins by P. D. Eastman

I threw this in the cart when I was buying new easy readers in a hurry last year and it's checked out quite a bit. I finally got around to reading it and, to be honest, I was less than impressed.

Aaron the alligator plays with his friends, three stick figures in red smocks. They watch football on tv and play together. They get dressed for Halloween. They pick apples.

Eastman's classic art is recognizable but not particularly outstanding. The whole book has an odd, chopped-up feeling. This is explained when you realize that the book is a reissue of a 1967 title with illustrations taken from The Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary.

It's an easy read and the illustrations have a classic look to them. Fall-themed books are always popular and the alligator hints at silly antics. It's checked out quite frequently, but I think readers might be disappointed when it turns out to not be as funny as it seems.

Verdict: While this isn't anything too exciting, it's good enough for a fill-in title. Beginning readers need a lot of titles to go through and this is fine for that, although it's not something I'd recommend if you have a limited budget or space.

ISBN: 9780553512359; This edition published 2015 by Random House; Purchased for the library