Books in Hello Reader!, Level 3 series

A My First Hello Reader book, this humorous rhyming story, with game cards and activity pages, becomes a quick nature study as it follows a delightful bug in his quest for solitude."The big bug dug...and dug...and dug. Down in the dirt, the big bug dug..."As the big bug digs his way down under -- "to find a quiet place to sleep!" -- readers are treated to a short lesson in nature science. We meet underground insects and animals: snakes, slugs, worms, and more. We also discover such things as roots, rocks, and fossils found at different levels below. The book comes with eight pairs of picture-word game cards that can be punched out and used to reinforce the story in a fun way. In addition, there are six pages of skill-building puzzle activities. Whimsical illustrations by Jeffrey Scherer make this book totally engaging for young readers.

Newbery Honor author Patricia C. McKissack and Robert L. McKissack's humorous adaptation of a Nigerian folktale about Monkey and Rabbit who learn to be comfortable just being themselves.One evening, Monkey invited his friend Rabbit to dinner. All during the meal, Monkey itched and so he scratched. Rabbit was no better. He couldn't stop twitching. Both so irritated the other with their scratching and twitching that they challenged each other to a contest to see who could be still for the longest period of time. The urge to scratch and twitch continued for both friends. So they each came up with a sly plan. Each decided to tell the other a story. The trick was with each story, the storyteller used deliberate gestures that allowed him to scratch where it itched,