Today's read is one in a series of six books, which center on middle graders who need a little more time practicing their skills. This is a mystery series and appears to involve various characters and situations. There doesn't appear to be any special order, so I'm going to take a dive in this last addition to the row without any worries. This is a shorter read at only around 65 pages, so it should be a quick one to pick up.
I'm expecting tension, clues, a touch of middle school drama, and, maybe, even some creepiness. Let's see if it fits all of these categories or not!
SMOKE IN THE GROVE
Cape Cave
by Courtney Lee
Illustrated by Jennifer Liu
Stone Arch Books
Middle Grade Mystery
64 pages
pages 8 to 12
People who live in Cape Cave know there is more to their cozy coastal town than meets the eye. A nearby magical cave is full of secrets, and sometimes those secrets spill out. When a dragon escapes the cave, it's up to Eve and Sage to save the day. Can the friends send the dragon back where it belongs?
As the adventure unfolds, striving readers practice decoding words featuring long vowels formed by CVCe and CCVCe spellings, as well as inflectional verb endings -ed and -ing. Every Spark Decodables book serves older readers who need practice with foundational literacy skills, combining multiple aspects of the Science of Reading to support small group instruction, independent reading, and reading practice at home.
As the adventure unfolds, striving readers practice decoding words featuring long vowels formed by CVCe and CCVCe spellings, as well as inflectional verb endings -ed and -ing. Every Spark Decodables book serves older readers who need practice with foundational literacy skills, combining multiple aspects of the Science of Reading to support small group instruction, independent reading, and reading practice at home.
MY TIDBITS
With a touch of fantasy, these pages take readers on a short, dragon adventure.
Everyone in Cape Cave knows that their cute little town isn't as calm as it appears. Especially a nearby cave holds plenty of dangerous secrets. When Eve and Sage see smoke coming from the cave, they know they have to make sure everything is okay. Upon arrival, they discover a dragon roasting marshmallows on a fire. The dragon needs to go back into the cave before his interest turns to the town and he burns it down to ashes. But the dragon isn't interested in going back into his cave. He wants more sweet things to eat.
This is a quick, easy-to-read tale with a touch of dragon fun and light tension. The story flows smoothly and quickly, even gliding into a nice ending with a last little twist. It's hard to guess what will happen to keep the tension rolling, while a bit of silliness sneaks in too to keep things from growing overly dark or creepy. It's an enjoyable tale to pick up and simply enjoy.
The main focus of this book is to help struggling readers work on their skills. At the beginning of the book, there is a list of chapters and some terms, which could cause difficulties for readers in each one. Then, it slides into a Table of Contents. Each chapter is kept at around 8 pages, but the very light text and plentiful illustrations make sure it never grows overwhelming. The end of the read holds questions for review, a writing exercise, and more.
While this is for middle graders, it also works for lower age groups all the way down to beginning readers and doesn't grow too tense even for this younger audience.
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