School Library Journal Review

PreS-K-In this series, characters and objects are literally made of words. In each episode, a simple story line allows characters to solve problems by building words. The words are spelled, sounded out, and morph into what they spell. In "Dog's Birthday," Dog looks for his friends and arrives at each one's house to discover that no one is around. Of course, when he sadly drags back home, his friends are waiting to surprise him, and in the commotion, the birthday cake is dropped. The friends make a new cake by spelling out the letters C, A, K, E that form into the shape of a cake. In "Pig's Present," Pig is so curious about what his nephews are making him for his birthday that he spies on them and makes ridiculous guesses about what present each letter they choose can spell. Duck and Pig create a colorful cake for Frog's birthday and use the empty frosting cans to build words, beginning with CAN, in "The Rainbow Birthday Cake." Characters learn in "Bit by Bit" that bigger words like banana can be built one step at a time. Mini episodes follow some of the main ones: Pig makes a pizza using P words, Frog uses his M machine to make M words, and Shark and Crab use letters to make healthy snacks. The voices are distinct, the songs are varied and singable, the settings are colorful, and children will be amused by the situations as they absorb early literacy skills. VERDICT This excellent program has fun characters, catchy songs, and humorous situations that will have children learning to sound out and spell simple words effortlessly.-Constance Dickerson, Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library, OH © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.