Fun and Games with Lad and Slim

Fun and Games with Lad and Slim has 15 stories, including two stories for each long vowel as well as stories for more advanced vowel digraphs (er, or, and ur; ou and ow; au and aw; and oi and oy). The book follows up our short-vowel series, Lad and His Pals. The stories feature strong story structure, inviting illustrations, a growing set of correspondences allowing an ever richer pool of words, and an idea pioneered in the Dick and Jane stories read by earlier generations: The stories follow a common cast of children through a series of adventures. However, the characters are culturally diverse, and some of the most important characters are especially accessible to young readers—a dog, two cats, a flock of angry geese, a mischievous snake, and a pet pig. While each story is self-contained, the progress of the stories develops an overarching narrative about the gift of a pet pig to an urban child who is not prepared for the unexpected problems it brings.