Page 38 - ELG1903 Mar-Apr Issue 464

REVIEWS .

INNOVA READING BOOKSHELF SERIES
Innova Press, 2018 PIXABAY
innovapress.com

hat a delight it was to open
this series of books for younger
learners. Containing seven
Wtitles at four levels, each
of the twenty-eight is an easily-portable,
slim, colourful booklet containing a single
classic tale, one that many us, although
from various cultural backgrounds, have
memories of, as both a child and parent.
I must admit to having feasted on reading
and re-reading them all over the next few
days, calling up memories of, to choose
among many examples, the boy who cried
“wolf” too often, how the steady tortoise
outran the rabbit, and how Goldilocks
survived her meeting with the three bears.
Absolutely smashing!
Innova readers are clearly designed by
a team with vast experience in the ELT
field. As early as page one in any title, the
teacher as reader will notice the complete
absence of the comprehension questions
many of us were brought up to answer before
moving onto the next text. In their place
we see shorter, much more encouraging Among the titles you can fi nd on the Innova Reading Bookshelf is a new version of the
activities that ask the younger reader old tale - the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
to choose the correct option, from two
possibilities, of what happens next. This was
a delight for me personally when reading
colour illustrations that contain speech Absolutely
titles with which I was unfamiliar; I quite
often got it wrong.
The text is fully supported with full-
and thought bubbles which enable even
children with limited ability in reading to
follow and enjoy the activity. Captions also
appear from time to time for a small number enchanting
of new nouns in the illustration. Another
delightful aspect is the reappearance of
characters across the grades, something
additional to activate the minds of young
readers. The Fox, for example appears Children’s tales are irresistible
in tales with a bird, a dog and even
some grapes. The picture dictionary at to readers, says Wayne Trotman
the end of each story provides excellent
reader support.
Several other enjoyable tasks appear safely; mine seem to be a bit mixed up and Parents, which offers tips on how
throughout the series, especially those already! Grammar is not at all neglected, to engage with the stories by means of
relating to vocabulary, such as finding by the way. The Piper of Hamelin, for role-play and flashcards, reading aloud
words in a snake, matching example, asks the reader to children and asking them to listen and
antonyms like angry to choose the best way point. All good fun, I think you’ll agree.
and happy, identifying Another to complete sentences All stories are accompanied online by fully
true/false statements based on singular/plural dramatised audio-recordings, enabling
and correctly ordering delightful aspect is nouns. Each title in the young reader to listen and follow,
sentences that tell Grade Four ends with thus connecting sound to individual
the story. Perhaps the reappearance a fairly lengthy and written words. Visit innovapress.com/
the most unique easily-comprehended readers to locate samples of interactive
feature of the whole of characters across poem. Young children digital readers and to browse the full
series, and certainly will, I am convinced, range in the series.
my own favourite, the grades. love to work on
are the pop-out memorising parts
characters, which of each. Wayne Trotman is a teacher
appear with different expressions on each Sets of stories at each level are delivered educator at Izmir Katip
side. These will help the reader build an in an attractive slipcase in which they Çelebi University, Izmir,
oral version of the text while manipulating can be safely stored. Also available is Turkey.
them. Be careful to store the characters the very helpful Guide for Teachers

38 March/April 2019