As a member of the TOS Crew, I have had the opportunity to review the set-to-be-released-today....... What Am I? A Collection of Short Stories, from the folks at All About Spelling. This is the followup to The Beehive Reader Vol. 1 and will probably sell for the same, $19.95, through the All About Spelling website. As of the time I'm writing this review, it's not on the site, yet, though.What Am I? was written to correlate with All About Spelling, Level 2, steps 1-14. For anyone using this program, that's very helpful in streamlining your curriculum across the language arts spectrum. It's a collection of ten short stories, ranging from 10-18 pages each. It's a hardbound book, with black and white illustrations on practically every page. The stories deal with surprises and friendship and nature and animals, and there are poetry selections included.
If you plan to use the All About Spelling program, you may want to check this book out. It's always nice to be able to integrate concepts through multiple subject areas, but I am concerned about the price. $20 is not very economical for just one reader with ten stories in it. My daughter/assistant in reviewing these books is very visual, and the lack of color in this book is a drawback. Overall, I am not convinced concerning the literary quality of the stories or the significance and quality of the illustrations. Some of the stories, such as "Champ", which relates the relationship of a young girl and her horse, are fairly rich in detail and story elements, while others, like "An Elf in the Alps" just seem like nonsensic
al fluff. Some of the illustrations are beautiful and enhance the stories, but others seem rather like the work of a hurried teenager.Like I said, check it out for yourself. Everyone has different reading preferences. To learn more, you can check out what other TOS Crew members have to say here.
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