Children’s Books help teach kids to read and more importantly, to appreciate reading. However, there are times when young beginner readers are torn between enjoying the narrative and trying to comprehend the book. This is where children’s book authors like Connie S. Arnold come in.

The children’s books genre is divided into a number of sub-categories based on age brackets. While the major categories are fiction and non-fiction, children’s books are classified into:

Picture Books. These are books designed for children ages 2 to 8 years old. They consist mainly of illustrations. The topics are related to life lessons and values. They are colorful and fun to read. The word count range from 50 to 1,000 words.

Chapter Books. As the name suggests, these are books that are divided into chapters to help readers understand the content better. Though these books have 4,000 to 10,000 words, they are arranged in a way that children can comprehend what the book is all about. These are recommended for ages 7 to 9.

Beginning Reader. These are books for those who can already read by themselves. These books may contain pictures and feature characters, settings, and themes relevant to their assigned readers. Storylines are simple with short sentences but plenty of dialogs. The books are usually between 40-60 pages with 200 to 1500 word count.

Juvenile Books, Middle Grade, and Young Adults are fiction or non-fiction books that deal with more serious topics. They also engage with the readers’ emotions and intellect. Topics range from daily life, relationships, and social themes. They also have subcategories like historical, drama, crime, romance, and even high fantasy.

A Kid’s Journey to Reading

Among these Children’s Books classifications, the Beginning Reader books are the most crucial. These books are the ones that formally introduce kids to the world of reading. Because beginner books are standard narrative with settings, central characters, storylines, and themes, they require readers to not only see the pictures but to understand the story; build-up, conflict, and climax. These elements are not exactly present in picture books and chapter books. In short, the first beginner reader books potentially shape a reader’s interest and appreciation of books and written texts. Of course, this depends on the books a child encounters.

The Adventures of Ra-Me

Connie S. Arnold is both a children’s book author and an inspirational writer. She is best known for her book series The Adventures of Ra-Me. The Adventures of Ra-Me can be categorized as beginner reader books. So far, there are three titles under the book series.

The Patchwork Princess, Adventures of Ra-Me the Traveling Troubadour

In this book, we meet Ra-me, a traveling troubadour who volunteers to rescue the princess imprisoned in a ten-story tower. In order to do that, he must first defeat the black knight as well as kill the dragon. The king promised wealth and the princess’s hand in marriage to the one who can rescue the princess. But the troubadour wants only wealth. He intends to rescue the princess using his songs and musical instruments.

Blaze the Dragon, the Adventures of Ra-me the Traveling Troubadour

Blaze is a twelve-year-old dragon who is celebrating his coming-of-age party. Ra-me is being invited to the Dragon Village to sing and play for the event. However, Blaze realized that he cannot breathe fire anymore. Everyone desperately tried to make him breathe fire, to no avail. The dragon leader, Inferno commands Ra-me to make Blaze breathe fire. Ra-me must use his songs to make Blaze breathe fire or else he’s in trouble.

Mudcat the Pirate, the Adventures of Ra-me the Traveling Troubadour

Ra-me must Mudcat the Pirate who showed up during a storm and kidnapped the festival Queen, Miss Lulu Belle. Ra-me must use his music to create a song that would help vanquish the treat and recover the Festival Queen.

These three works by Connie S. Arnold provide young readers with an adventure that is light reading but also spark their interest in narratives. Because they are beginner books, children can enjoy the stories on their own and would not require much time and analysis. These books are easy to understand. They are perfect for those who are just starting to read by themselves. What better way to generate interest in books than by providing readers with unforgettable adventures during their first few encounters. Overall, Connie S. Arnold’s book series The Adventures of Ra-me the Traveling Troubadour is highly recommended.