Back to Dog-Gone School (Step into Reading)

AMY SCHMIDT has been writing children’s poetry and short stories for several years. She enjoys the challenge of finding just the right form and words for her poetry. Ron and Amy live in the Northeast with their two children, Rory and Tess, and their gigantic white dog. They enjoy spending time with their family and advocating for animal welfare and literacy causes. Visit them on the Web at looseleashes.com.

RON SCHMIDT’s first photo shoot, at age ten, was a wildlife expedition around his suburban New Jersey neighborhood. Armed with an old camera he’d received as a gift, Ron took pictures of his dog and some local squirrels. After studying photography in college, he worked with several high-fashion and celebrity photographers before opening his own studio. As a dog lover, Ron spends most days taking photographs of man’s best friend, but now he has a way better camera.

"Random House, the pioneer of the [early reader] genre, offers a bit of school orientation for nervous new scholars in this title in their Step-into-Reading series, Level Two, which offers controlled vocabulary, visual cues, and rhymes to ease the way for practice for newly independent readers."—Books for Kids Blog