Helen Delaney

If you are going to teach children (and Clifford) about the meaning of stop signs, I think you should have a basic understanding of how stop signs actually work and are placed on real streets. The creators of this book couldn't be bothered apparently.

In the U.S., where this story is set, stop signs are usually on the right side of an intersection, not the left, as this book shows. But even if we assume that particular intersection has a stop sign on both sides with one just out of view, at another point, there is a stop sign facing pedestrians in the middle of a block on the side of the street they are standing on. Yes, it is a stop sign that is not visible to automobiles. But that's okay, because the same sign was facing the opposite direction a few pages before (and no, it is not depicted as double-sided) -- facing straight out from a brick wall toward a street that runs parallel to the wall. . . without a T-intersection or anything on the other side -- because in Clifford's world stop signs are obviously placed in the middle of blocks where they rotate continuously.

Bad information. Bad story.… (més)

Emily Elizabeth is happy to have a whole day to play with Clifford and she plans to take him for a walk. But, being a puppy, there are things that Clifford does not yet know, and Emily Elizabeth soon discovers that she must teach Clifford before they can enjoy a walk together.

This Little Red Reader from Scholastic tells a story from Clifford’s puppy days. Based on the Clifford stories by Norman Bridwell, the target audience for the story is pre-kindergarten through second grade although the youngest readers will not be able to read the story independently. Clifford fans will find much to appreciate here; the story also provides an opportunity for safety instruction as parents discuss the story with their young children. There’s also a brief comprehension check at the end of the story that will help parents assess reader understanding and can be used to help a child retell the story.

Recommended.

Note: Despite the information in the listing, this is a paperback book, not a hardcover book.… (més)