Magic Tricks Sports Dream Talent Night

K-Gr 3—Each book contains rhyming text written in a large font and engaging illustrations. The front and back matter offers resources for parents on phonics skills to improve their child's reading development. In addition, the publisher site offers sight word and game materials. In Magic Tricks, readers follow a group of children performing a show for neighborhood friends. The representational illustrations offer many decoding clues to assist early readers, and the tricks are simple enough for children to do on their own. In Sports Dream, a boy envisions himself a superstar, but when he actually tries each sport, he seems to fall a little short. Done with warmhearted, humorous illustrations, this story will grab and keep the attention of most sports fans. In Talent Night, a daring penguin performs tricks and feats like jumping through fire hoops and juggling eggs while standing on one leg as he tries to win the talent show. However, a plot twist occurs when he calls a shy classmate from the audience to assist him, creating a funny fast-paced story that children will enjoy.—Melissa Smith, Royal Oak Public Library, MI