Pets Wash Up - (Stairway Decodables Step 3) by Leanna Koch

Book Synopsis

A group of friends would like to buy a gift for Mr. Ash's birthday. With a little bit of creativity and teamwork, the children hold a pet wash to earn some cash. But will it be enough cash to buy a gift? Stairway Decodables is a supplemental phonics resource that's perfect for supporting small group instruction, independent reading, or reading practice at home. This title provides practice in decoding words with the digraph sh.

Review Quotes

The titles in this set are designed for emergent readers aged three to four. Each book includes consistent front matter with strategies for parent support before, during, and after reading. While this guidance encourages adult involvement, the effectiveness is limited by the simplistic nature of the content. The bright illustrations are reminiscent of early concept books, appealing to young readers but lacking the depth to fully engage them. The large print and sparse text may aid emergent readers, but the minimalism can result in flat narratives that fail to capture children's imaginations. VERDICT These books offer foundational skills, but they need richer narratives and more engaging illustrations to stand out in the growing market of decodables for very young readers.-- "School Library Journal"

Carefully implementing buildable phonics skills, the Stairway Decodables series gathers books into six "steps" with concepts of increasing complexity, from short vowels in Step One to diphthongs and vowel-r combinations in Step Six. Each preface includes word count, featured skills, "tricky words," and educator-guided activities emphasizing phonemic awareness and content comprehension, while back matter features reinforcement activities that encompass main-events recollection, story sequencing, and, in higher steps, writing prompts. Will and the Baby (Step 1), illuminates short vowels, spotlighting a young lizard adjusting to having a new baby sister. Sam Helps (Step 2) features a lively tractor and his vehicle friends, and the text (one short sentence per spread) emphasizes consonant blends. Pets Wash Up (Step 3) uses more words and characters while highlighting the digraph sh. Ezra Makes Magic (Step 4) is richer in story and uses more elaborate words, showcasing hard and soft consonant sounds. Consistent, engaging illustrations conveying joy and wit complement the progression of the series. The series, particularly the earlier Steps, is worth sampling in a school or public library, and some school libraries may find the full collection valuable for literacy instruction and reinforcement. A note: art has been repurposed from now-out-of-print Stone Arch Readers and Read It! Readers series, but the text has been completely rewritten to improve decodability.--Deidre Winterhalter "Booklist"