Pros: The story introduces some basic vocabulary words with repetition that reinforces these words.
Cons: There is no plot. There isn't much to the story.
The Bottom Line: I think this book would work in the class room setting to reinforce vocabulary. The words are simple and repetitive. But there isn't much to the story.
ahsitan's Full Review: Harriet Ziefert - Wait For Us!
Since my older son learned to read within the last year, and my younger son is approaching that milestone, I’ve been paying close attention to beginning readers. Now, I admit that beginning readers are not easy to write. Constructing a story in a few number of words is more difficult than you would think. But that doesn’t mean that you need to lose the entertainment factor.
Wait for Us by Harriet Ziefert does not thrill me, and my children haven’t bothered with the book since we first read it a year ago. I own the 1989 Random House edition, illustrated by Amy Aitken, and I think the illustrations are more appealing in this version than in the current edition by Sterling. The Sterling illustrations are by Richard Brown, and they have a kidlike quality to them. I guess they could be seen as fun and whimsical.
This book is rated as a level one reader for four and five year olds. I would say that it’s around a first grade reading level. There are 40 vocabulary words introduced in this book: a, after, all, and, are, biked, biker, Buffy, but, coming, did, first, for, going, hiked, I, ice cream, I’m, Jenny, jogged, jogger, John, Kate, me, not, ran, scream, shouted, skated, skater, the, them, too, us, wait, we, where, yelled, and you. Inside the older version of the book, there are mini learning cards with vocabulary words that you can cut out.
The Story
In the beginning, “Jenny ran. Buffy ran.” The next kid, John, yells for them to wait and runs after them. Then you get the repeat of “Jenny ran. Buffy ran.” The next page spread has a girl named Kate who yells for the others to wait and then runs after them. Next, you get the line, “Jenny ran. Buffy ran. John ran.” Again (next page spread), John and Kate yell for Jenny and Buffy to wait, but they don’t.
When page is turned again, the reader gets a little more variety. A skater asks where they are going and says he is coming too. The next page spread has the same two sentences, but the skater is replaced by a jogger. When you turn the page again, a biker and a hiker shout that they are coming too. Then, “The hiker hiked. The biker biked…” and so on. The book ends when they all reach an ice cream shop.
My Two Cents
I would not pay full price for this book. I’m sure it introduces some good vocabulary words, but in order for this book to be effective, kids have to like it enough to read through it more than once. There doesn’t seem to be a plot to the book, and I know a lot of books for young children don’t have plots. If it’s plotless, it should at least be entertaining.
There is a lot of repetition, which is good for building vocabulary. The book is told using only 40 vocabulary words, and that in itself is a difficult task. I could see teachers using this in a classroom setting, but I was bored to tears with reading or listening to it at home.
My kids – they simply don’t like it. There isn’t enough there in the pictures or the text to hold their interest. It’s simple enough for my 1st grader to read, but given a choice, he avoids this book.
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