Loads of Letters!

Schuette, Sarah L.  Loads of Letters!  Capstone Publishers  2014  32p   $19.99  ISBN 978-1-4765-4013-9  all ages  series:  A+  Interactive     VG 

This colorful interactive book is really a game rather than a story book.  It is like a crossword puzzle book for the pre-school set, but any age can play!  Each page presents a new challenge for the person who is up for it, with a clutter of objects and letters strewn across each double-page spread and instructions for the reader to find certain words or letters.  The photography is excellent, and the games are very challenging.  In fact, in some cases the games were too challenging, as on page 14, where the reader is asked to find the word “you.”  Two sixty-somethings with numerous graduate degrees were unable to find the word.  The members of TriState had no luck either.  (Later I asked several thirty-somethings and several children.  No luck there, either!)  There are no “answer” pages in the book or on the Facthound web site.  This might prove to be a little frustrating to the person who cannot find a word or letter, and there is no answer page to help him/her. 
The concept is a very good one, with students looking hard for letters and words in a cluttered scene.  However, if some of the words and letters are too difficult to find, it makes for a frustrating experience, which is too bad.        

Others in the A+ series by Capstone are Colors and Patterns, So Many Shapes, and Tons of Numbers.  They are designed to help beginning readers with their visual and reading skills.    

Summary: This colorful interactive book is really a game rather than a story book.  It is a crossword puzzle book for the pre-school set, but any age can play!  Each page presents a new challenge for the person who is up for it!  But there should be an answer key.

Picture puzzles                                       --Carol Kennedy

Lassieur, Allison. Can You Survive Being Lost At Sea? An Interactive Survival Adventure.

Lassieur, Allison.  Can You Survive Being Lost At Sea? An Interactive Survival Adventure. Capstone Publishers     2013  112p      ISBN 978-1-4296-6861-3 

Series: You Choose: Survival  elem  Hardback    E-BNe Nonfiction

This narrative nonfiction has the reader making choices based on knowledge and common sense to lead to either survival or destruction in a misadventure at sea.  There are three possible scenarios presented, and at key points in each story line, the reader makes choices in order to move the story forward.  Along the way, the reader learns some important principles of survival.  If he or she tries each option, he or she will learn lessons – for example, drinking sea water is deadly, no matter how thirsty you are.

The vocabulary is controlled and there is a glossary in the back.  The last chapter gives a summation of survival thoughts.  Then there are four real-life examples of survival at sea.  A quiz asks readers to prioritize their survival needs.  A bibliography lists four titles and the publisher-sponsored web site.  The index lists terms that are used in the narrative.  The writing is clear and presents plausible situations for survival at sea.  Making the right choices leads the readers to rescue, while less sensible choices lead to death.  The reader can easily go back and change choices to change outcomes.  The illustrations enhance the factual information and lend excitement to the story.

This book will appeal to boys and some girls in grades 3-6.  The series, You Choose: Survival, presents survival situations where the reader makes choices that influence the outcome.       

Summary: This book offers three main survival scenarios involving being lost at sea, with multiple possible endings.  Each choice emphasizes the principles of survival. 

Survival, Maritime danger                                         --Joan Theal