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No, Bandit!

by Brenda Ponnay (text) & illus. by Brenda Ponnay
Xist. (We Can Readers). Mar. 2022. 12p. pap. $7.99. ISBN 9781532430244.
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PreS-K–This new beginning reader series includes five titles about a cat who naps, plays, eats grass, scratches, and gets a bath. With about a dozen pages per book and one short sentence per page, the books are clearly intended for very beginning readers. Unfortunately, both as a series and as individual titles, Bandit’s and Su’s stories fail to impress. The text is standardized and repetitive, which would support early reading skills; however, a dearth of plotting makes it unlikely that children will engage past the first couple pages of the already remarkably brief books. The illustrations are unpolished and flat, and it is frequently unclear if Bandit is a cat or a dog. Ultimately, the lack of plot and unappealing visuals leave nothing to entice or engage its intended audience.
VERDICT Generic and ineffective; not recommended.
Reviewed by Taylor Worley , Jan 21, 2022

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