Two stories in one. The first about a little boy called Sam who loses increasingly valuable things into a pit, from a tin to his father and the second story about a disastrous attempt by a father to make popcorn for his son Tim.
I loved the fact that both stories had a surprising ending. A lot of stories for young children have happy predictable endings, but here in the first story, the problem isn’t resolved, and in the second, there is a very amusing twist. I think this makes the stories more engaging and offers more to chat about. Both stories are very simply written with a clear font and perfectly phonetic language making the stories achievable for the emerging reader. I like the fact that although the text is simple, the illustrations are detailed enough to provoke discussion, particularly with the use of speech bubbles. There is a helpful list of hints in the front with guidance on vocabulary and phonemes. A lot of thought and planning has clearly gone into these stories, and I am sure they will make a valuable addition to the early years bookshelf.
