Selena and Mia (Building Bridges series)

What a great set of 3 achievable short stories for those who find reading a bit of a struggle. With an interest age of 12, yet a reading age of 8, this school reader will appeal to those who appreciate dyslexia friendly text with short phrases and sentences and generous spaces between the lines. The cream-coloured pages will assist too.

The same characters feature in all 3 stories – Selena who is confident and creative, and her friend Mia who’s the sensible one. The friendship and strength of these girls is evident throughout. It’s not all just about girls though, some tough boys appear too. Although maybe they’re not so tough after meeting Selena!

The stories are set in New Zealand, and readers will enjoy the many colour illustrations, with the one on the front of the title page immediately grabbing the reader’s attention. It looks like one of the schoolgirls is talking into her phone, but not long into the first story you learn that she’s actually kissing her phone.

Even students who do not understand the title of the first story (Eye Candy) will enjoy the story itself, and the title can be explored through discussion with the others.

For teachers, there’s 4 pages of notes available on the website, detailing discussion points and activities.

Title: Selena and Mia (Building Bridges series)

Author: Joy Cowley

Illustrator: Ant Sang

Publisher: Clean Slate Press

ISBN: 978-0-947526-70-2

RRP: $10.90

Format: Paperback

Publication: 2019

Ages: reading age 8, interest age 12

Reviewer: Nadine Molloy, Library Assistant, Remarkables Primary School, Queenstown

How are you recommending this book? Recommended

Opening sentences: That Selena! She is one cool chick!

You can buy this book here