Agnes and Clarabelle Celebrate!

K-Gr 2—Agnes and Clarabelle know everything is better when your best friend is there. These two friends are lucky enough to celebrate their holidays together. Each holiday provides different opportunities for problems to occur; the girls deal with allergies during the May Day fair, cope with nerves during the Fourth of July parade, and accidentally sleep through the New Year, but as true friends they always help lift each other up. Part of the new "Read and Bloom" line of titles for newly independent readers, this series by Griffin and Sheinmel offers short, episodic chapters with full-color illustrations on every page. For those transitioning to longer texts, these simple, character-driven story lines are easy to follow, and the charming illustrations let kids make the bridge from picture books to chapter books. VERDICT An excellent addition to all chapter book collections, ideal for brand-new readers.—Brittney Kosev, Honey/Rush Elementary, Lubbock, TX

"An engaging visual design, charming characters, and funny, relatable story lines make this a lovely addition to chapter book collections." "School Library Journal on AGNES AND CLARABELLE"

"The authors effectively use common childhood experiences to share several important messages about caring, empathy, compromise, and what it means to look out for a friend. Children will easily relate to Agnes and Clarabelle's feelings and experiences, and parents/teachers will appreciate the positive messages of friendship and caring." Kendra Hall-Kenyon, Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education, Brigham Young University

"Read & Bloom will be wildly popular. And I am very happy to see some new friendship books come along with the end of the Elephant and Piggie books." Teri Lesesne, Professor of Library Science at Sam Houston State University

"Funny and appealing, the Read & Bloom books will charm readers." Linda M. Pavonetti, Ed.D., professor of Reading and Language Arts at Oakland University"