My Pal AlElectronic book published by ipicturebooks.com24 W. 25th St. New York, NY 10011 www.ipicturebooks.comAll rights reserved. Copyright 1998 by The Millbrook Press, Inc.Real Kids Readers and the Real Kids Readers logo are trademarks of The Millbrook Press, Inc.No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For my pal Katie Gao M. L.Special thanks to Grandma Mary Giurlando for creating Al, and to Lands End, Dodgeville, WI, for supplying clothing.e-ISBN 1-58824-482-2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataLeonard, Marcia.My Pal Al / by Marcia Leonard ; photography by Dorothy Handelman.p. cm. (Real kids readers. Level 1)Summary: A child describes the special relationship shared with a cuddly red stuffed toy.ISBN 0-7613-2001-6 (lib. bdg.). ISBN 0-7613-2026-1 (pbk.)1.Toys Fiction. 2. Stories in rhyme. I. Handelman, Dorothy, ill. II. Title. III. Series. PZ8.3.L54925My 1998 E dc21My Pal Al Marcia LeonardPhotographs by Dorothy HandelmanAl is my pal.4His fur is red.67He likes to sit up on my bed.8He is not big.10He is not small.1213He is not fat or flat or tall.1415He does not bark.1617He does not purr.18But I can pat his soft red fur.2021I sing to him.2223We skip and hop.2425We run and jump. We do not stop.27Our days are fun and full of fizz.28Al is my pal, and I am his.3031Phonic Guidelines Use the following guidelines to help your child read the words in My Pal Al.Short Vowels When two consonants surround a vowel, the sound of the vowel is usually short. This means you pronounce a as in apple, e as in egg, i as in igloo, o as in octopus, and u as in umbrella. Short-vowel words in this story include: bed, big, but, can, fat, fun, him, his, hop, not, pal, pat, red, run, sit.Short-Vowel Words with Beginning Consonant Blends When two different consonants begin a word, they usually blend to make a combined sound. Words in this story with beginning consonant blends include: flat, skip, stop.Short-Vowel Words with Ending Consonant Blends When two different consonants end a word, they usually blend to make a combined sound. Words in this story with ending consonant blends include: jump, sing, soft.R-Controlled Vowels When a vowel is followed by the letter r, its sound is changed by the r. Words in this story with r-controlled vowels include: bark, fur, purr.Double Consonants When two identical consonants appear side by side, one of them is silent. Double- consonant words in this story include: fizz, full, and words in the all family: small, tall.Sight Words Sight words are those words that a reader must learn to recognize immediatelyby sightinstead of by sounding them out. They occur with high frequency in easy texts. Sight words not included in the above categories are: am, and, are, days, do, does, he, I, is, likes, my, of, on, our, to, up, we.