Late Nate in a Race

by Emily Arnold McCully

Overview

On the day of the race, Nate is running late. Find out what happens when he tries out going fast in this Guided Reading Level D story.
 
Nate likes to go slow. His brother and sister are worried they'll miss the race—but mom tells them not to nag him. When they get there, Mom convinces Nate to try, too. . . . And Nate finds out sometimes he likes to go slow, but sometimes he likes to go fast!
 
With colorful, kid-friendly illustrations by Caldecott Honor artist Emily Arnold McCully, this simple story about the rewards of trying new things is perfect for emergent readers.
 
The award-winning I Like to Read® series focuses on guided reading levels A through G, based upon Fountas and Pinnell standards.  Acclaimed author-illustrators—including winners of Caldecott, Theodor Seuss Geisel, and Coretta Scott King honors—create original, high quality illustrations that support comprehension of simple text and are fun for kids to read with parents, teachers, or on their own!
 
Suitable for late kindergarten readers, Level D books  feature wider vocabulary, longer sentences, and greater variety in sentence structure than levels A, B, and C.  When Level D is mastered, follow up with Level E.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823427550
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	01/01/2013
Series:	I Like to Read Series
Pages:	24
Product dimensions:	7.60(w) x 9.70(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	BR (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 6 Years

About the Author

Emily Arnold McCully has always loved to read, and began drawing at a young age.  The author and illustrator of many children's books, she has won many prestigious awards, including a Christopher Award for Picnic and the Caldecott Medal for Mirette on the High Wire. She has written several I Like to Read titles, including Pete Won't Eat and Min Makes a Machine.  She lives in New York.

Editorial Reviews

"This straightforward story offers an enjoyable read-alone opportunity and a broad message: don't pigeonhole children."—School Library Journal

"Kids will readily relate [to Nate] and race to find another book like this one that they can read on their own."—Booklist

From the Publisher

McCully's beginning reader demonstrates that it takes more than words to make a story. This is a tale of good intentions. Both the artwork, with its wobbly pen lines and disarming characterizations, and a measure of the wordplay speak volumes about welcoming new readers. The words are accessible, the rhymes provide flow and the near-rhymes--"‘Eat up, Nate,' say Jane and Jake"--are one of those little delights that snag the reader's ear. But there is also atonality reminiscent of Dick, Jane and Sally. "The race is today. Mom, Dad, Jake, and Jane are here. Nate is not. He is slow. / It is late. Nate is still not here." Storywise, okay, Nate the mouse is slow, and so be it. He even has a Thoreauvian moment when, as his mother prods him to enter the race, he says, "No. I like to go slow." But he is never allowed to beat that drum, as his mother pushes him to the starting line. Nate, who has shown not a wink of flash, blows by everyone and wins the race by yards. What gives? Did a cat unexpectedly enter the precincts? Did fear give him sudden instincts of skill? Was it steroids? No reason is forthcoming. Once readers have tackled the words, this story deflates with alarming celerity. (Picture book/early reader. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews