My low little buddies LOVE Henry and Mudge. Especially at the beginning of the year. I think that it really appeals to them because it looks like a chapter book but it has pictures and is on their reading level. Nothing is sadder than having to hand a kid one of those tiny little pattern books when everyone else is getting a chapter book-- saddness!!
I kinda love doing Henry and Mudge books for my guided reading (which I call Book Clubs because...they pretty much are? right?) I think that they are fun, they provide for a lot of connections between text and self and they tell enough of a story where retelling is a bit of challenge (unlike some books that are just too short) and we are able to discuss what is happening. And of course, they are at a low enough reading level (I find that they are mostly between level J-N for Fountas and Pinnell) that they my kiddos can actually read them!
I've spend some time putting together some Henry & Mudge Units for my kids. I always read them every year so I decided to actually organize what I had and what I like to use into one neat little packet. I like to just print out all the worksheets, vocab, craft instructions, ect. all at once for the entire book, put a pretty cover on it, staple like a book and give one to each kid. This saves me TONS of time because once I print the packet, I don't have to prepare something every.single.day. for my guided reading. Depending on how long you meet with your group each day, this usually take me about 2 weeks per book. No making copies or preparing anything for guided reading for 2 weeks! Yaye! Another awesome thing is that I can use the Henry and Mudge packs now for my mid-level kids and then when my low-mid-level kids get better, I can use it with them in a couple months. Of course, I then use it with my low readers later on in the year. So pretty much, I'm just spending a LOT of time with Henry and Mudge :)
