Scarlet and the Ring

Scarlet and the Ring is the fourth book in the “Orca Read Two” series designed for shared reading between a child and an adult or proficient reader. Young readers will notice a difference in this book’s appearance from that of a regular story book. The left hand pages or the adult/ buddy pages contain the narrative text with some illustrations. The text includes longer sentences, a wider vocabulary and words in bold type featuring R-controlled vowels that are the phonetic focus of the book. The right hand pages are the kid pages and resemble a graphic novel format. On these pages, the text is at a lower reading level with a phonogram focus, and the picture to text relationship adds detail and assistance to the struggling and emergent reader.

In Scarlet and the Ring, Meg is visiting Greg’s family on Stardust Island. Accompanied by Scarlet, Greg’s cousin Martha’s new puppy, the friends begin their first adventure in the story “Scarlet and the Ring”. When a garnet ring goes missing from his aunt’s jewelry stall at the market, they set off to find the elusive culprit. In the second story, “A Lost Horse”, Meg, Greg, and Martha are camping on the beach when they find Martha’s friend Flora. She had been thrown off her horse, Popcorn, when he was spooked. This adventure begins with a storm, followed by a heavy fog and then hornets, all of which make it difficult to find Popcorn. In “Surf Lessons”, a day to learn to surf turns into a rescue mission to save a lost, hurt surfer. The final story, “The Bear in the Air”, finds Meg and Greg at the Stardust Fun Fair with Martha who is babysitting three-year-old Harris. Harris is thrilled, especially when she and her toy bear, Blair, get balloons. But when Harris lets go of her bear, he floats away and another rescue begins.

Co-authors Elspeth Rae and Rowena Rae include a number of reading features in this learning experience. The four story format with five chapters in each story provides a flow to the reading and adds interest and suspense. The black and white labeled comic-style illustrations by Elisa Gutierrez are engaging and add humour to the story. The visual cues from the illustrations help the reader make meaning from the text. The clear font and the shaded paper on the right hand side pages makes the reading more accessible to a dyslexic reader. The section, “About the Meg and Greg stories”, explains how the shared reading works. There are suggested activities that use the phonogram being highlighted at the end of each story.

The format of Scarlet and the Ring provides a supported flow to the reading of each story that enables the young reader to gain confidence. The modelling by the adult /buddy reader provides strategies for the young reader. At the same time, the story requires each partner to contribute to the reading in order to discover and enjoy each adventure. This partnership makes shared reading a special experience for both readers.