When I was growing up I was always a big fan of the Poppleton books by Cynthia Rylant. I don’t remember reading this particular book in the series before though, but I found it to be just as charming as all the rest. In this installment, Poppleton realizes everything is more fun with friends when he goes to the movies, makes a quilt, and tries to take a bubble bath but ends up going out for ice cream with Cherry Sue instead. I think this popular series is absolutely perfect for beginner readers. The characters and their stories are entertaining, humorous, enjoyable, and fun to read about even for me! This is the perfect book for a child to read if they want to begin reading books with “chapters.” Although the chapters are very short and simple, young readers will appreciate and be proud of having read a chapter book and they will enjoy reading several different short stories about the same loveable characters in one book. One of my favorite features of these books is the overhead views of Poppleton’s neighborhood included inside both the front and back covers. I love looking at the names of all the buildings and trying to find Poppleton and Cherry Sue’s houses. I’m sure these pictures would be extremely helpful for a beginner reader too as they try to keep the setting and characters straight. In addition to the inside cover art, I am a huge fan of Mark Teague’s illustrations throughout the book. I love the colors he uses and the humorous ways in which he designs each character and creates their personality through their clothing and body language. I think beginner readers will love examining the illustrations throughout these books and getting to know the characters just as much. In my opinion, the qualities of the Poppleton series that make it so popular are the endearing characters and the humor they bring to the table. Even though they are presented as animals, readers will be able to relate to them wholeheartedly and want to keep reading more about them and their lives. I think this series is one of the best available for beginning readers and I would recommend it for any early elementary classroom to have on the shelf.