COVER to COVER 7 BOOK
This book is dedicated to young readers everywhere. May you thrive in your wondrous reading journeys.
Book 7 Skills
Story Title Sight Words New Phonics Skill Word Count Lucy’s Dance Beginning Readers 30 please should ce, ci, cy 323 The Fish Wish Beginning Readers 31 away were sh 367 Where Are the Whales? Beginning Readers 32 why because wh 304
Beginning Readers 30
Lucy’s Dance
1
Cinda Lucy Nita
Lucy put on her jingle dress and winced. She had used the dress twice since she was little, but she couldn’t use it again. And the dress had a big slice in it.
2
Lucy was so upset. “My dress doesn’t fit, and some cones are missing!”
“Don’t hide your face,” Cinda said. “You can have one of mine.”
“I don’t want it,” Lucy said. “We should cancel the dance!”
“No, we will not cancel it. You can still dance at the powwow.”
3
Lucy glanced at Nita. “I want to excel at jingle dancing. Could you please help me?”
Nita held Lucy’s hand. “Grab me a pencil. We will spruce and spice up your dress.”
4
Lucy ate a snack and had sips of an icy drink.
“It’s very nice. Will it have fancy lace?” she asked.
“No, it won’t be lacy,” said Cinda, “but we will add pretty stripes, flaps, and bands.”
“Just one cone will not do,” said Nita. “We must put on lots of cones to jingle.”
5
Nita held up five cents to give Lucy and five cents to give Cinda. “Go get some tin at Cecil’s place. It will be at this price. We will cut the tin and bend it to make lots of little cones.”
6
Nita fixed the dress to fit Lucy. They bent the tin and put cones all over it. The jingle dress was like new.
7
It was time. The powwow was going to begin!
8
Lucy and Cinda kept still. But once the singing came . . .
They danced to the brum, brum, brum of the drums. Lucy and Cinda held up their fans as they kicked and spun.
They went hop, hop, tap, step. Hop, hop, tap, step. The lines of little tin cones on Lucy’s dress clanked tink, tink, tink over and over.
9
10
As the sun set, Lucy kept dancing so all the sick could get well. And she felt pride as she did it.
The Fish Wish
Beginning Readers 31
Shika Tosh 11
Tosh and his wife Shika lived in a little home next to a lush brush. It cost a lot to fix their shack. “I wish we had a new home,” Shika said.
12
There were no fish left in the shed to sell.
Tosh got his shade hat from the shelf. “I shall go to the pond and find lots of fish. We will save one fish to dine and sell the rest to get cash so we can fix this home.”
And away Tosh went.
13
At the mud pond, Tosh cast the mesh net so the fish couldn’t get away.
As Tosh waded, fish swam by. He used his hands to pick up the fish.
14
Just as he put his hands into the pond again . . .
a very big fish splashed! SPLISH! SPLOSH!
Tosh gasped. He was shocked at its size!
15
Tosh put the fish in a plastic bag and walked to the van. The fish lashed inside.
“Please let me go!” the fish yelled. “I am no common fish. I can grant you a wish.”
Tosh gushed, “I wish for a new home!”
The fish waved its fin. “Your wish is granted.”
16
Tosh dashed home to find Shika in a new place. They had a fresh, hot dish to dine on.
17
“This is a fine home,” Shika said, “but I want a very big one—a grand home!”
So Tosh rushed back to the wish-granting fish. “My wife and I wish to live in a very big home, and—”
18
“Hush! If you’ll let me be, I’ll grant your wishes.” And the fish did.
19
Tosh and Shika sat in their grand home, but it was still not what they wanted. “I wish to rule over all the land!” Shika yelled.
20
Tosh ran back to the wish-granting fish. “We wish to rule the land!”
21
“What a shame. You should be glad to have all you do,” the fish said. “I do not have a wish to give again, but you can find lots of fish to sell.” And it swam away.
Tosh and Shika blushed. They got some fish to sell and fixed their shack. There was no wish left, but they were fine. They had all they could want.
22
Where
Beginning Readers 32
Opa Whit Wes Enzo 23
Are the Whales?
Whit and I slept in the back of the white van as Opa drove. The trip lasted a while. We clocked a lot of miles going west. But once the sun came up, we could see the dock. At last we were going to see some whales!
24
Opa held my hand while I exited the van and walked to the dock. When we got close, Enzo led us onto the Blackfin.
“Where are the whales?” I asked. “I want to see humpbacks.”
“Don’t fret, Wes,” Enzo said. “We will see some in no time.”
25
We spent a while on the deck glancing at the vast space, in the hopes of seeing a whale somewhere. The waves crashed from side to side.
“Who will spot a whale?” Opa said. “Will you, Wes?”
26
I lifted up my hand and yelled, “There! I see a fin. It’s a white and black whale!”
27
“Oh, there are lots!” Whit said.
Some time had passed, and not one humpback came up.
“Where are they?” I whined. “I don’t see the big whales yet.”
“They must have left,” Whit said.
“This can’t be!” I yelled. “Why would the whales go away?”
“Because humpback whales sometimes swim where they can find fish or krill,” Enzo said.
I didn’t know if I would see a whale until . . .
28
29
A humpback whale jumped up and made a big splash! Four whales came up next. Over and over, the whales whacked and smacked their fins on the top. WHACK! WHAM! SMACK! SPLASH!
30
At once, all the humpbacks began to sing.
It was so pretty. Were they singing to me?
31
The gulls went over us as I waved to the whales. They waved back at me!
I hope when I come back sometime, the whales will be here again. Because I had the time of my life!
32
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Reading Partners Cover to Cover BR Book 7
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Cover to Cover Book 7 Illustrated by Samantha Lane Fiddy
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About this book
The Cover to Cover series by Reading Partners was created for readers of all levels with a focus on instructional practices rooted in the science of reading. The stories include a commitment to diverse and affirming characters. Book 7 is for readers who know how to read long vowels and are now working on more complex phonics skills known as digraphs (ex: words that start and end with “sh”). Comprehension skills continue to build for readers in this book.
About Reading Partners
Reading Partners is a national early literacy nonprofit that partners with schools, community-based organizations, local volunteers, and families to provide individualized tutoring and other evidence-based literacy support for students who are striving to read at grade level. The Reading Partners team recognizes that learning to read is a civil right, and we promote educational equity within marginalized communities by helping students develop lifelong literacy skills and confidence to actualize their limitless potential. We envision a future where every reader has the skills they need to read a book from cover to cover and then reach for another!
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