Kick It, Mo! (Step into Reading)

We LOVE Mo!! Mo is one of the best things to happen to our household library. First of all, finding books with African-American male protagonists that are not centered on slavery or the civil rights movement is a task unto its own. The next major category of books where there is a male African-American protagonist is usually one involving sports. So, I usually eschew those because we are actually not a sports centered/focused family and the reality is that African-Americans are multi-dimensional. There is more to the history than just oppression and more to the present and future than just sports. However, what I love and what we love about the Mo books despite being focused on sports is that Mo has absolutely no athletic talent, but he tries so hard. Mo is always the smallest on his team, but he still loves to play and wants to contribute to his team. Those lessons are universal no matter the subject or the race. So, it is great that these lessons of trying hard and perseverance are being shown through this little boy. It's great that other people get to experience this and it is great that my son gets to see this. Representation matters all around. I love these books some much that we actually lost our set and I immediately re-purchased them because they are just that good! Kick It, Mo! was the most recent one we purchased before we lost the entire set. One final thought: The Penguin Readers are the best readers I have come across. These readers actually correspond to something I as a parent can understand so that I can pick the correct reading level for my son. These use the Guided Reading Level (A-P) While on the front the readers will say Level 1 or 2 or 3, etc., on the back they will list the letter level. My son (Kindergarten) is currently reading at F-G level and the Mo books are at a level I, but he reads some and I help some. This really helps with choosing a book designed to encourage independent reading.

Good read

My grandson enjoys reading this book. He reads to himself and others. The series of books are great!

Bought this for my grand daughter who is a beginning reader. We both loved the story.

An easy to read book that actually tells a story many kids can relate to. My grandson loves it.