The Missing Cupcake Mystery (Tony and Lauren Dungy Ready-to-Reads) - Hardcover

Tony Dungy and his wife Lauren Dungy are active members of a number of family, faith, and community-based organizations, including All Pro Dad, iMom, Fellowship of Chrstian Athletes, Mentors for Life, Family First, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and the Boys and Girls Club of America. Tony is a former NFL player and retired head coach of the 2006 Superbowl Champions, the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League.

Lauren Dungy and her husband Tony Dungy are active members of a number of family, faith, and community-based organizations, including All Pro Dad, iMom, Fellowship of Chrstian Athletes, Mentors for Life, Family First, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and the Boys and Girls Club of America. Tony is a former NFL player and retired head coach of the 2006 Superbowl Champions, the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League.

Vanessa Brantley-Newton is a self-taught artist and has attended both FIT and SVA of New York, where she studied fashion and children’s illustration. Vanessa is the illustrator of Ruby’s New Home, A Team Stays Together!, and Justin and the Bully—all by Tony and Lauren Dungy—as well as Presenting...Tallulah by Tori Spelling. She hopes that when people look at her work, it will make them feel happy in some way, or even reclaim a bit of their childhood.

K-Gr 2-When a new duck joins Katy Duck's ballet class, she is wearing tap shoes instead of ballet slippers, and Katy loves the sound they make. By the end of the class, the two new friends have learned that sharing gives them both new experiences. This Level One reader has a simple story with large, expressive illustrations. A few words will require assistance, like "ballet," "floated," and "Alice," but for the most part the vocabulary is repetitive and easy to sound out, providing good practice for building fluency. In Inch, an inchworm slithers into a small hole to hide from a bird. She is soon joined by a beetle and a dragonfly. The small space soon becomes crowded and all are relieved when Inch announces that the bird has flown away and they can all climb out again. This story provides a little bit of excitement as the friends hide from danger and share shelter from a predator. Easy sight vocabulary with good rhyming words will support young readers, and the illustrations are colorful and expressive. Cupcake, a Level 2 reader, features longer sentences, chapters, and more challenging vocabulary. Mom agrees to buy cupcakes at the grocery store, with the promise that they will be saved for dessert. After dinner, one is missing, and Jade confesses to the dog that she ate it. Her parents are sad when she eventually comes clean but praise her for telling the truth. The message is gentle but well made. Colorful and straightforward artwork provides additional drama to the mystery. Three good beginning readers.-Mary Hazelton, formerly at Warren & Waldoboro Elementary Schools, ME α(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.