Author Archives: Kerry Beardsley

Ethan and the Strays by John Sullivan

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Ethan spots three stray kittens on his way to school one morning. He is immediately captivated by them and starts visiting them every day on his way home. Though his brother insists their dad would never let them get a cat, he helps Ethan learn more about stray cats and how they survive. The book also teaches about a local vet’s trap, neuter, return process to prevent more kittens from ending up on the streets. 

Kids will immediately connect with Ethan’s obsession with the adorable strays and will be inspired by his quest to make sure they are okay. Hatem Aly’s illustrations will further enthrall kids as they see the kittens run, eat, and play. This is a great book for any animal lover.

Log Life by Amy Hevron

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The story begins with a tree falling in the forest. The reader follows along with what happens next as the end of one life creates a habitat for fungi, plants, and animals. Young readers will be able to follow along with the simple descriptions of complex concepts and will learn about a wide variety of forest dwellers. Hevron’s charming illustrations add to the tranquil feeling the book gives as we watch one thousand years of life pass by over the course of 40 pages. Young nature lovers will be fascinated by all they see and inspired to go out searching for nurse logs to investigate.

Parker’s Big Feelings by Parker Curry and Jessica Curry

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Parker is new at her school, and everything seems to be going wrong. She has a disastrous day, is missing her best friend, and just wants some alone time when she gets home. When her siblings make that impossible, Parker’s mom helps her come up with ways to turn her day around. Kids will connect with this relatable story and also gain ideas for working through big emotions. 
From the New York Times bestselling authors of Parker Looks Up, the simple sentences in this Ready-to-Read level one book will be accessible to younger readers and valuable to all kids.

Critter-Cam Monkey Cam by Margie Palatini

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This energetic pre-level one reader follows a monkey as it zips around and encounters other animals. The pages juxtapose the reader’s view of the monkey’s interactions with the monkey’s point of view through the monkey-cam strapped to its head. Most pages contain only one or two words, making it a great book for beginning readers.
This author and illustrator also team up for the adorable Kitty-Cam and Shark-Cam, so kids can enjoy the opportunity to compare the videos the animals are creating.

See Otto Say Hi! by David Milgrim

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Otto the robot is desperately trying to befriend Tweet the bird. He tries everything from offering a full bag of chips to baking a lovely cake for Tweet. Otto eventually finds more success than he could have imagined. The book is a pre-level one reader with short sentences that use common sight words. Other words are either decodable or come with a picture clue, making it a great choice for beginning readers. This engaging and accessible book is part of “The adventures of Otto” series.