These series of books are one of my all-time best sellers! Written in Australia, they are slowly being released in the US, three at a time, and we are now up to nine titles in each of the Billie B. Brown and Hey Jack series.
One of the many great things about this series is that although one is "for girls" and the other "for boys", Billie and Jack are best friends, so for most of the books, they both appear, and can be easily enjoyed by either boys or girls.
Both series are written for 4-7 year olds, and focus on issues that are relevant to our growing kids. There are four chapters in each book, with a maximum of 50 words to page. They are fantastic as read-alouds for younger kids and simple enough for building confidence in early readers. These have also been widely popular in second grade classrooms, where they are at an appropriate level for students having trouble reading, but also an adequate level for a quick read for more advanced readers.
I've heard stories from clients of these books turning a reluctant reader into an eager reader! The lessons focus on a broad range of topics, such as friendship, athletic ability, new siblings... Each book is available individually for $4.99 or can be purchased as a 9-book set for $39.99. I expect that new titles will be added to each series in January.
