Testimonials

  • “The beautiful physical immediacy of the new pet story will draw emergent readers to this small My First title in the I Can Read series… Preschoolers will enjoy the realism of the kitten’s story as they recognize from their own experience how it feels to be a small creature in a giant world.”
    –Booklist, April 15, 2006
    on Mittens

  • "This amusing guide to good manners features earnest cartoon animals whose habits leave something to be desired. Flaps show the animals in bad form and a turn of the flap reveals the preferred alternative. Kids will delight in the details of the animals’ bad manners."
    -Publishers Weekly, May 2009
    on Please Pass the Manners

  • “The author skillfully integrates short exclamations and animal sounds into the text, moving the story along and adding sensory details within the early-reader format. Hartung's soft-focus watercolor illustrations imbue the appealing kitten and the big (but friendly) dog with a perky sweetness that will charm the youngest readers.”
    Kirkus, spring 2008
    on What's That, Mittens?

  • “This title would be good for easy-reader collections and could be used in toddler storytimes.”
    –School Library Journal
    on Mittens

  • “Schaefer’s necessarily brief text is crisp and cogent, integrating dialogue in an accessible manner for new readers… a sweet, sturdy addition to the growing array of very first readers.”
    –Kirkus
    on Mittens