My son just turned four and is a great reader. Recently he's been wanting to read so much that he'd been going through 3 or 4 books a day and we were having trouble keeping up with it. We only get to the library once every couple of weeks and it's expensive to purchase that many books. So, I went on the hunt for some longer books for him. The goal was to get him down to one new book per day, rather than 3 or 4, but, since he's 4, no matter how good a reader he is, chapter books without colorful pictures aren't appropriate for him.

I was thrilled to discover at the library that the "An I Can Read Book" series of beginning reader books has a whole series of chapter books for the littlest readers. There are between 3 and 5 chapters in each book, and each page has a maximum of 13 lines of words on them. Each chapter is short, about 15 to 20 pages long. My son will read a couple of chapters in the morning, then a couple more at night. During the day, if he wants to read more, he'll reread a book he's already read. In this way, we've knocked our book budget down to something more manageable.

About The Know-Nothings
The Know-Nothings are a group of middle-aged adults named Boris, Morris, Norris, and Doris. They are incredibly stupid. They really don't know anything, but they do know that they like each other.

In this first Know-Nothing book (there are several Know-Nothing books in this "An I Can Read Book" series) we meet the Know-Nothings and find out that they are very hungry. Kind Doris decides she'll cook lunch for all of them, and counts them first to find out how many she needs to cook for. She doesn't count herself though, so thinks there are only 3 of them. Thus in the first chapter, the Know-Nothings embark on an hilarious hunt for their missing member. The rest of the book is all about the Know-Nothings trying desperately to feed themselves, which is very difficult when you're as stupid as these folks.

Right for Your Reader?
There is no reading level or number listed on these books, but they aren't for the earliest reader. There are several sentences on each page, and quite a few more difficult words.

Here is a sample page from this book:

"Why are people looking at us?" asked Norris. "They think we look so French," said Doris. "We are going to France," said Boris. "We will get French fries." Everybody laughed. "Something smells good," said Morris. "Something like French fries." Doris sniffed. "You are right, Morris," she said. "We must be in France." "Hooray!" cried the Know-Nothings.

If your child knows or is able to easily sound out most of these words, and isn't intimidated by reading pages with several lines of text on them, then this book is probably just fine for them.

What My Son Thinks
At four years old, my son is all about humor right now, and he giggles his way through this whole book. He's also very proud that he's able to read such a long book with so many words on the page, and of the fact that it's a "chapter" book. He loves the Know-Nothings, and can't wait to read more books in the series.

Final Thoughts
These are great books for your intermediate beginning reader, and a real blessing if your child is a good reader, but not quite ready for real chapter books.

Recommended: Yes