My 7 year old son now wants a horse. I fully blame Susan K. Marlow and Andi Carter. He didn't want a horse until I read Andi's Pony Trouble to him, and now he feels his happiness is dependent upon having a horse of his own. A horse he can ride really fast like Andi longs to do, and not a trotting pony like the one that Andi has to be content with.Published by Kregel Publications, the new Circle C Beginnings series is intended for early readers, age 6 - 8. Andi's Pony Trouble is a 70-page paperback chapter book with black and white illustrations sprinkled throughout. It has ten short chapters and a glossary of new words at the beginning of the book.
If Circle C Beginnings or Andi seem vaguely familiar to you, it might be because Susan K. Marlow is already a successful author of the popular Circle C Adventures. In the Circle C Beginnings series, we meet a younger Andi Carter who is the main character in the Circle C Adventure series. These are both Christian historical fiction series. Andi Carter (Andrea) is a young woman growing up on a ranch in late 19th century California. Andi has a penchant for trouble ... I mean, adventure.
Though the words in Andi's Pony Trouble were all in my son's own reading level, the amount of words on the page were overwhelming to him. He would have grown quite tired by the effort to focus on reading a chapter himself. I offered him the choice of reading to me, or me reading to him, and he chose to have me read to him. Having me read to him allowed him to enjoy the story more. Even though it had a female lead character, he was still interested in the story. It helped that Andi isn't too girly or perfect. I noticed my 11 year old daughter, who has read some of the Circle C Adventures, lingering nearby to hear about Andi as a younger child.
I have enjoyed reading Andi's Pony Trouble to my son this week. The first day we read two chapters and he was ready for a break. The second day we read 3 chapters and he was ready to go play. The third day we read 3 chapters and he said we should finish it tomorrow. But, a short while later he told me he had to hear the last two chapters because it was too exciting to wait another day. Of course, I gladly read him the final chapters of the book.
Andi's Pony Trouble is available for $4.99 from Kregel, as well as the other books in the series (4 so far). The Circle C Beginnings website has some wonderful features. There are free online puzzles and coloring pages for your children to enjoy. There are also free activity pages for each book to download. A Journey Through Learning has created lapbooks to accompany each Circle C Beginnings book.
The Circle C Beginnings books are wonderful first chapter books for early readers. Andi's tomboy ways will appeal to boys and girls alike.
This item was provided free for our review as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew. We received no other compensation, and this review is our honest opinion. Visit the TOS Homeschool Crew blog to read more reviews on this product by other Homeschool Crew members.
Trusting In Him,
April
