Judith Nadell

Kendra Sees. By Judith Nadell. Illustrated by Mark Weber. King School Series. Townsend Press. 2010. 16 pages. $1 pbk. 978-1591942221. Grades K-2.

As Kendra makes her way to her desk, she points out what she sees as she walks through school (from her friends and teacher, to her classroom, to her name written in her book). The clear, measured progression of the text makes it an excellent choice for new readers: tough but need-to-know words like “school” can be guessed thanks to the accompanying realistic illustrations, done carefully in full color with simple lines for clear symbolic depiction. Representing diversity is an important undercurrent of the book: Kendra, her family, and her teacher are all black; additionally, Kendra’s classmates are racially diverse and of diverse abilities. The King School Series has undertaken the admirable mission of publishing easy readers that wholly reflect the children and classrooms reading them: young children will enjoy seeing images that mirror their selves, families and lives, especially as this range of human experience is often lacking in books targeted towards first-time readers. Recommended.… (mere)