The Horn Book Guide

PICTURE BOOKS

Zwillich, Julie

Phoebe Sounds It Out

32 pp. | Owlkids | April, 2017 | Trade ISBN 978-1-77147-164-0 $16.95

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Denise Holmes. Phoebe's name starts "with a P and had a whole lot of other letters that didn't make sense." "Everyone makes mistakes, even mamas," declares Phoebe. When her class practices writing their names, Phoebe's teacher encourages everyone to sound them out; Phoebe proudly writes "Feeby" in glitter-glue. Friendly illustrations and an understanding teacher make this a sympathetic discussion-starter for kids facing similarly tough spellings.

Reviewer: Rebecca Fox