Ball Book Book

People play a variety of games involving balls on the big ball that is Earth.

Children's Literature

While the purpose of these books is clearly explained in the introduction and further expanded upon in the reading reinforcement exercises at the end of the early reader, they still may not be the most exciting selections for beginning readers. Repetition and simple sentences often lead to success in reading. This series reminded me a lot of both Dick and Jane and The Bobsey Twins books that I read as a child. The stories that Hillert has written focus on daily life and the retelling of classic fairy tales. The ones that relate to early years in a kids' life are more successful than the watered down and sanitized versions of legends and fairy tales. Among those in the series, The Ball Book is one that stands up to the test of time. Balls of all sorts and shapes are presented, and kids are shown having a ball playing everything from jacks to marbles and football and soccer. The other message that is presented is that the Earth is one big ball and how great it is to work and play here. The pictures are a bit retro, but they also made me think about the drawings of Tomie DePaola. My one real quibble is that the games are not named. From the "Beginning to Read" series.