Why I Can’t Say Enough About the Pizza and Taco Books by Stephen Shaskan!

Hiding behind Pizza and Taco books!

I know, I’ve talked about this book series a lot this month! But, trust me, it’s a good one! My younger daughter is entering first grade in a couple of weeks. We have been reading together quite a bit this summer, but she has wanted to read more independently - like her older sister. During a visit to Barnes and Noble, Olympia (my younger daughter) found book 1 in the series and thought she would enjoy it. She has really enjoyed the books and it has been so wonderful to see her confidence grow. If you have an emerging reader, here are a few reasons why I recommend checking out this book series:

Relatable Topics and Characters

Pizza and Taco (and their friends Hot Dog and Hamburger) are very relatable to kids. They have disagreements the way that kids do at times, but they also have fun together, too. For example - they go to water parks and they have a best friend dance. My daughter thinks that they are funny and wants to keep reading in order to find out what they will do next. This is great because it keeps her interest and she wants to return to the books to see what will happen next.

Illustration and Print Support

If your child is working on learning sight words or high frequency words, it is an excellent practice for them to see the words in the context of a book (rather than only on flash cards). The Pizza and Taco book series is a graphic novel, so the dialogue is written in speech bubbles and there are many sight words in the books so that kids can see how they are used in a book. It’s great practice for them and at a level that they can read. Again, because the books are graphic novels, there are illustrations, and the illustrations are match what is in the print, which helps for building comprehension. If my daughter is confused about something, she is able to refer to the illustrations for support with her meaning making - which is supportive of where she is as a reader.

Vocabulary Development

I have found this series very helpful for developing vocabulary and teaching new concepts. For example, in the first book, the topic of voting is addressed. Words like “ballot box” and “cheating” are found in the text. It allowed me to make sure she understood what it means to vote and what happens when someone cheats during the process.

Ability to Identify the Theme or Main Idea

When I read a book to my kids or to a class, I find that they are so excited when they understood the theme or the main idea of the book. It has been a huge confidence boost for my daughter as a reader to understand the larger idea in the books. After we read each book, I have asked her a question to get at the main idea of the book and she has been able to answer it without my support or guidance. This definitely has helped support and build her confidence as a reader. It’s not fun for anyone (adults or kids) to finish reading a text and have little to no idea what the text was about.

So, if you are looking for a book series for your young reader before the school year begins or during the beginning of the school year - I highly recommend this one!