Small Readers: Llamas by Maya Myers

National Geographic Readers are a great choice for beginning readers, whether or not they have reached fluency. Although the vocabulary and sentence structure tends to be challenging, kids have no problem looking at the pictures and I've seen many grab a friend who is a stronger reader to help them figure out the text.

This latest book introduces the readers to llamas. Plentiful photographs, quizzes, and jokes fill the pages as readers learn about where llamas live, what they eat, and how they interact with humans. The book is divided into two-four page chapters and the photographs blend smoothly with the text.

Of course, like most publishers, the levels are completely out of wack. They call this a level 1, "Starting to read" and while most of the basic sentence structures are fairly simple, "Llamas live in family groups called herds." all the little extras, jokes, captions, etc. add up to a pretty challenging read. This is why I use my own leveling system - black, red, green, and blue, with a chart showing parents and caregivers what levels each includes. This one came out to a green, so for more intermediate beginners.

Verdict: Although I find the leveling exasperating, National Geographic Readers are a must-have for your easy reader section and this is a popular topic and nicely put together.

ISBN: 9781426337260; Published March 2020 by National Geographic; Purchased two copies for the library