My Brother, Ant (Ant (Paperback))

Rating:
Summary: Appeals to two ages of readers
Review: "My Brother, Ant" has the stories of the boy who is afraid of the monster under his bed, who draws a picture on his brother's homework, who insists his brother read a story the way it's written, and who writes a thank you letter to Santa in July. It is also the story of his older brother who vanquishes the monster, who finds a solution to the picture on his homework, who finally begins to read the story the way it's written, and who takes dictation of the letter to Santa. This book accomplishes something that most easy readers do not: it appeals to the younger child for whom this level of readers are generally written, but it also appeals to a slower reader of an age group several years older. Ingeniously, it has all of the best features of an easy reader: many sight words but an easy vocabulary--including recognizable compound words, and short sentences amidst a lot of space on the pages. Best of all, it's funny, and the dialog and pictures are magnificent!

Rating:
Summary: Small words, BIG story...
Review: My Brother, Ant, written by the great Betsy Byars, and Illustrated by Marc Simont, is sure to be just the ticket to encourage your child to enjoy reading. Unlike the sing-songy, uneventful easy readers of days past, this story is delightful and engaging.

Ant's older brother tells the story, and while he is often exasperated by his younger siblings "ANT-ics", the love shines through. The words are simple, but they are woven skillfully to create an enjoyable read. Mix that with the humorous, jump off the page illustrations and you've got a winner!

Rating:
Summary: My 6 year old son was roaring with laughter!
Review: What a delight! This book humerously delivers anecdotes of "brotherly love"! As a mother of two boys, I found it very endearing. My oldest son must have been able to relate to Ant's big brother's methods of tender teasing. I've never seen him laugh so hard. Hurray Besty Cromer Byars, we'll be looking for more of your cleverly written "brother" stories!