Readers 31-40 introduce the long vowel sounds (e.g. a-e as in cake). This single feature enables children to decode a very large set of new words.Here the first long vowel digraph is taught. Until this point, all words that contained them were learned as special words.Words are chosen to reinforce both old and new spelling patterns. Screwdriver, for instance, contains the new sound for Reader 37, ew, as well as er which was first learnt in Reader 14. This repetition helps long term retention.The long vowel digraphs are reinforced by a careful choice of vocab: e.g. Kate, cake & rake.At the end of each Reader, Some New Words include additional words that practice the new sound being learned.

There are all sorts of cats just as there are all sorts of people. There are finicky cats that turn their heads away from anyone or anything that does not suit them. There are alley cats that only like other cats. But there are also cats that love to be around people and care for them. Silas was just such a cat. He loved the people who came into his bookstore.

Readers 31-40 introduce the long vowel sounds (e.g. a-e as in cake). This single feature enables children to decode a very large set of new words.Here the first long vowel digraph is taught. Until this point, all words that contained them were learned as special words.Words are chosen to reinforce both old and new spelling patterns. Screwdriver, for instance, contains the new sound for Reader 37, ew, as well as er which was first learnt in Reader 14. This repetition helps long term retention.The long vowel digraphs are reinforced by a careful choice of vocab: e.g. Kate, cake & rake.At the end of each Reader, Some New Words include additional words that practice the new sound being learned.

After rejecting his cat food, a finicky cat asks other animals what they eat, but their foods of choice seem unappetizing to the cat.

A stray cat named Silas lives under the porch of a mansion called the Great House and watches a kind woman who lives there. Silas thinks the home is magical and dreams of being indoors. He tries to meet her in the yard, but he is too shy. Just when the weather begins to turn cold and he feels getting inside is hopeless, he notices something amazing that gives him the courage to walk through an open door. Silas soon learns what makes the home magical. It's love.

Silas in the Old Barn is a Christmas story based on an obscure legend about a scruffy stray cat that wanders into an old barn on a cold winter night and finds a man and a woman and a very special baby. When the baby begins to fuss and cry, the cat climbs into the crib with him and calms him for which he is granted a magical gift from the mother.