We Go To Bo

This book has the shortest words possible for a story, making it a good way to learn reading. Every word is one or two letters.

Learning to read is difficult. We need to recognize that certain combinations of letters correspond to certain sounds and meanings. That's not easy for adults when learning a new language. Imagine how hard that is for children, both because they're so young and because they never made this mental breakthrough before. When I taught my kids to read, I tried to make this big leap a little easier by choosing books with the shortest possible words. But every book I found had some long words. I wondered if a book could be written using only short words. How short? 4 letters? No problem. 3 letters. Sure. OK, then, let's push it further. What about 2 letters? Hmm, that would be a challenge, especially to make a story that's interesting, with characters, action, and humor. I listed the common 2-letter words: very few verbs, plenty of prepositions. How could I use this odd vocabulary? Bubbles move all sorts of ways, thus they were a great prop to soak up many 2-letter prepositions. I discovered Joanna Pasek's charming watercolor illustrations online, and we worked together to create WE GO TO BO. We aimed to make the book as easy as possible for beginning readers. We chose large, capital letters to make words clear and obvious. I hope you can use this book to introduce children to the wide world of words.--Larry Baum

A New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children's Book of 2022 ★ Stretch like a giraffe and snuggle like a meerkat with Bo and Mommy as they get ready for bed! It’s time for bed, but little Bo isn’t ready to stop playing quite yet! As his mother gamely guides him through his nighttime routine, he imitates various animals—a hibernating bear after eating a snack, a snuggling sea otter when taking a bath, a coiled python while curling up under the covers… Mommy joins in on the fun and keeps one step ahead of Bo until he falls asleep, soaring like a bird into the world of dreams. A lively and imaginative take on getting ready for bed that celebrates creative family play and the joyous love between mother and son.

Biography of a ball player.

Have you ever been faced by the overwhelming feeling of I DON'T WANT TO? Koko has. Koko doesn't want to go home, Koko doesn't want to go to sleep, and Koko doesn't want to get up either But Bo is patient. He knows that Koko will come home when bored, will go to sleep when tired, and will get up when hungry--he just has to wait for Koko to figure it out. Koko and Bo is about two people, one big and one small, quietly negotiating the relationship between freedom and trust to reach a better understanding of each other and the world.

Bo Lozoff is the director of Human Kindness Foundation and its internationally acclaimed Prison-Ashram Project. His writings, workshops, and tapes have helped countless people transform their lives into sacred practice even in some of our worst prisons -- prisons of selfishness, fear, anger, and addiction as well as bars and steel.

It's the 1920s, and Bo was headed for an Alaska orphanage when she won the hearts of two tough gold miners who set out to raise her, enthusiastically helped by all the kind people of the nearby Eskimo village. Bo learns Eskimo along with English, helps in the cookshack, learns to polka, and rides along with Big Annie and her dog team. There's always some kind of excitement: Bo sees her first airplane, has a run-in with a bear, and meets a mysterious lost little boy. Bo at Ballard Creek by Kirkpatrick Hill is an unforgettable story of a little girl growing up in the exhilarating time after the big Alaska gold rushes.

A little rebel girl goes on the hunt for a fearsome monster in this empowering tale about bravery and kindness from the creator of the New York Times Best Illustrated Book Little Red, Bethan Woollvin. Meet Bo the Brave. She's smart, she's strong and she is definitely in charge. Bo's brothers say she is too little to catch a monster. But Bo has other ideas, so she sets off on a quest to catch a beast of her own. Can she defeat the furious griffin, conquer the hideous kraken and triumph over the monstrous dragon? Or if not, can she make friends with them? I Can Catch a Monster is a sassy and vibrant picture book with amazing shaped flaps and a message about not judging by appearance and standing up for yourself and your friends from the Macmillan Prize-winning creator of Little Red, Rapunzel and Hansel and Gretel, Bethan Woollvin.