Percy listens up

K-Gr 1-Designed to teach school readiness skills, Left, Right illustrates the difference between left and right while Percy shows the importance of listening. The stories are realistic but concept-focused, making them more useful for classroom use than for recreational reading. The digital cartoons of the animal characters reinforce the messages well, and are appealing enough to hold children's attention.-Laura Stanfield, Campbell County Public Library, Ft. Thomas, KY (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Emma is chosen to lead the marching band but first must learn left from right. Percy needs to listen in order to understand, be safe, join in, etc. Both these books are unabashedly didactic, and the cartoony illustrations of the bug-eyed animal characters are a bit garish. Listen may be useful for reinforcing skills, but Left could be much clearer. [Review covers these Stuart J. Murphy's I See I Learn titles: Left, Right, Emma! and Percy Listens Up.] (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Percy liked to talk. He also liked to run and jump. Excerpted from Percy Listens Up by Stuart J. Murphy All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.