Sofa Boy and The Question By Scott Langteau

Sofa Boy is a humorous tale about a boy who won't release his game controller to participate in the real world. Since he doesn't learn the importance of moderation in a timely manner, his fate is an unpleasant one (we actually loved that it didn't have a tidy happy ending). The illustrations by Rion Vernon are delightful (and some delightfully gross) and will appeal to all elementary students. The only thing we did not love was the text font, but the message, told through rhyming text, is an important one and is delivered in a most palatable way.

In The Question, a boy ponders what we were all burning to know when we woke up to snowfall as kids. His imagination takes him through all kinds of survival scenarios before we hear the question and the most amusing answer. It is told through rhyming text, and the illustrations by Lidat Truong are bright, vivid, and wonderful.

Both titles are available as eBooks in iTunes, for the Nook, and coming soon to Kindle!

Possible Strategy Instruction for both:

• C: Check for Understanding
• C: Monitor and Fix Up
• C: Use prior knowledge to connect with text
• C: Ask questions throughout the reading process
• C: Predict what will happen, use text to confirm
• C: Determine and analyze author's purpose and support with text

• A: Use meaning and context to confirm

• F: Adjust and apply different reading rates to match text

• E: Tune in to interesting words and use new vocabulary in my speaking and writing