Independent Reading Grade Level: K-3

Once Upon a Time by Niki Daly is about a little girl name Sarie who isn't confident about reading. Sarie finds an old book in her Auntie Anna's old rusted up car. Auntie Anna helps Sarie by reading the book over and over again. Finally, she becomes confident at reading. Although I wouldn't be able to specifically teach children about writing with this book, this book would be a good book to read to my students for when they start participating in read aloud in class. Student's get nervous and scared to read aloud in class sometimes, so this book may give them a boost of confidence when it comes time to having to read aloud in class. ( )

Niki Daly focuses on an aspect that many children struggle with, which is reading. This is a really good book for children to read and actually gain confidence to read aloud after reading this book. I really enjoyed this book because the little girl reminds me of myself and how I use to be the same way when it comes to reading aloud. The moral of this story is everything takes time and with practice you'll get better. Self confidence in children is extremely important as they grow up, and Daly made this book well relatable and encouraging. I loved it. ( )

Sarie has trouble reading in class out loud. She trips over the words and it makes her nervous. One day she finds the "Cinderella" book in her aunt's old car, and the more they read it together, she finds that reading is not that bad. The readers will watch Sarie gain confidence about finding her voice in reading out loud. This is a great story for young children to hear because it teaches that things you may find hard now, will become easy with time and practice. ( )

Niki Daly tells the reader the story of a young girl in South Africa having trouble reading. It is a great way to introduce a different culture to your preschooler.