Basic phonics, featuring vowel blends located within a word, are highlighted and incorporated into two sentences or about ten to fifteen words per page. Each of the unrelated sentences, all declarative with one ending question, makes a statement on the right hand side of the spread while the left features a photograph of a child doing something the text has mentioned. Children in the winsomely posed photos represent a variety of cultures, are within the target age group of this series and are depicted with family members or friends as often as they are shown alone. For the new reader, the context of the picture provides some support for identifying unfamiliar words. At the end, four more isolated words incorporating the specific letter are shown. Words in the text are regrouped as nouns (proper, plural, and common), pronouns, adverbs, verbs and adjectives with a pronouncing guide. Children may use this guide to review what they can recognize without sentence, picture, or context clues. Teachers will need to remind children to use the guide for unfamiliar names and words using the ai blend because the consonant alters the usual long a sound. While the series represents a considerable investment, it will be useful to individual readers for decoding practice and could be one part of a well-balanced classroom collection that includes both fiction and nonfiction. A Sandcastle level 3 book in the "Vowel Blends" series. 2001, Sandcastle/ABDO, $18.50. Ages 6 to 7. Reviewer: Susan Hepler
