Best Selling Books by Carl Sommer

When two children have new bikes and good imaginations, a sunny day in the countryside is an invitation to go for a bike ride and possibly forget to follow their parents’ instructions. Vibrant illustrations and creative dialogue remind children of experiences in their own lives. Words and sentences that build on previous stories in this motivational phonics literature program create an exciting learning opportunity for the early reader. Bob’s bravado leads to an injury and give parents an opening to discuss safety rules and the ramifications of ignoring them. Target Reader 15 is part of Phonics Adventure's systematic, leveled reading program.

Teddy is a grumpy bear cub. Even though he comes from a loving family, along the way he lost his smile. He doesn't enjoy any of the things that usually make children happy, such as playing baseball, riding a bike, taking rides at Playland, and swimming. Teddy tries real hard to find his smile, but nothing works until he asks Grandpa, who shares some surprising advice. Teddy can't understand how making others happy will help, but he’s willing to try. He starts doing helpful things for his family and friends at school. Teddy’s life is transformed. As this moving story unfolds, Teddy discovers the joy that comes from helping others. Virtues: Caring / Cheerfulness / Citizenship

Kim and Tim return for another boating adventure where the family goes on a fishing trip. A creative advanced early reader packed with lively dialogue and plenty of words with similar sounds produce an enjoyable reading experience. The lush colors of the water scenes coupled with the facial expressions of the characters leave no doubt that Kim and her mother are enjoying the fishing trip more than Tim and his father. The story is a good opportunity for parents to discuss jealousy and doing your best without holding a grudge if you don’t win.

Mientras la Pequeña Gallina Roja trabajaba en su campo de trigo, el perro, el gato y el pato siempre tenían una excusa para no ayudar. Al final del verano, la Pequeña Gallina Roja se negó a compartir su pan con sus amigos perezosos porque se negaron a compartir el trabajo.

The life-like, richly colored illustrations in this story reflect the friendship between Nick and Jill as they try to find a new hat for Jill. Nick doesn’t want a hat, but when their search reveals that Nick could use a cap to improve his baseball skills, he changes his mind. An early reader for young children, the book introduces new words with phonic similarities that comfortably build a child’s reading skills. Target Reader 9 is part of Phonics Adventure's systematic, leveled reading program.

In Annie and the Ugly Caterpillar, Annie the ant stands up for a misunderstood new friend named Katy—a caterpillar mocked by others for her appearance. While others judge Katy by how she looks, Annie shows kindness and belief in inner beauty. As Katy transforms into a butterfly, the story delivers a powerful lesson: real beauty comes from the inside. This heartwarming story encourages children to value character over appearance and to treat everyone with respect.

Zig, the rascally monkey, creates hilarious chaos when he teams up with Vick, the farm dog, in this advanced early reader. Ken and his sister, Jill, are helping their grandparents by feeding the goats and ducks, but their pet, Zig, and Vick have other ideas. Warm colors in the delightfully detailed illustrations encourage giggles to bubble up as youngsters follow the story. Easy to sound words and simple sentences create a comfortable and fun reading experience.

Nell makes and flies a paper airplane, setting off a series of unexpected events in a hilarious story that reminds children of their experiences with accidents. In this advanced easy reader, the well-illustrated expressions on the red hen’s face leave no doubt she is upset. The events open opportunities to teach children to build a paper airplane and discussion points about accidents and ways to make pets feel better when scared.

This captivating story takes you back to the very beginning of time, when God created the heavens, the earth, and everything in it. Through beautifully told moments, you’ll witness the creation of light, oceans, plants, animals, and the first humans—Adam and Eve. But this paradise didn’t last. When Satan, in the form of a serpent, tempts Eve to disobey God, both she and Adam make a choice that changes everything. From their fall, humanity experiences sin, pain, and separation from God. Yet, this story doesn’t end in tragedy—it offers hope through God’s love and a promise of salvation through Jesus. If you want to understand the origins of humanity and the profound love of a Creator who offers redemption, this book will inspire you to reflect on your own choices and invite you to follow the path to eternal life.

In this story, Johnnie questions the relevance of math while in class, prompting the superhero, Super Math, to take him on a journey to demonstrate the importance of mathematics in everyday life. Together, they visit New York City, where Johnnie sees how math is used to build skyscrapers, bridges, highways, and even to wire electricity. They also visit a car manufacturing plant, a dam generating electricity, an oil refinery, and even outer space, where math is crucial for building space stations. Through this adventure, Johnnie learns that math is used in almost everything around him and decides to fully embrace learning math. His classmates cheer as he shares his newfound understanding.

In this story, Super Math visits Mrs. Lopez's classroom to help children learn basic math concepts in an engaging way. He emphasizes the importance of math in daily life and encourages the students to practice regularly to become successful. Super Math shares the story of Mr. Sommer, who, despite facing challenges, became successful by being eager to learn. Super Math teaches the children how to add using cards, animals, dice, and dominoes. He introduces a fun math game called "Math War," where players practice addition while competing. The key message is perseverance, patience, and the lifelong usefulness of math.

Pets appeal to young readers and entice them to turn the pages to see what Ted and Jan’s dog, Jed, will do on the farm. Giggles will bubble out as Jed tosses his food around in the car and then chases the chickens at the farm. Detailed, brightly colored illustrations lead new readers through this lively story with amusing context clues. Word building skills include beginning and ending word sounds that are similar, slightly longer sentences, and energetic dialogue to strengthen a child’s reading skills

Deserts around the world are home to unique animals with unusual abilities. Did you know a cheetah runs 75 miles an hour and the desert bald eagle is different from the American bald eagle? Our Amazing World Series, Advanced, presents these distinctive facts especially for young children with dazzling photos to foster a love of learning and an interest in reading. Children of all ages and their parents will enjoy this book. Advanced early readers will like adding new compound words to their vocabulary from known root words, such as “wildflowers” and “waterless”.

Engines power the world, and their fascinating mechanics come to life in Internal and External Combustion Engines. From the intermittent combustion of gasoline and diesel engines to the continuous combustion in jets and rockets, this book explains how heated gases create motion for vehicles, aircraft, and spacecraft. Readers will learn how jet engines generate thrust, why diesel engines are ideal for heavy-duty trucks, and how rockets carry their own oxidizers to reach space. It also delves into external combustion engines, such as steam locomotives and power plants, inspiring readers to imagine their contributions to science and engineering.

El molinero Elmo quiere complacer a todos, por lo que sigue los consejos de todos; su hijo Mort hace lo mismo. Su problema empeora cuando tratan de vender su burro. Al tratar de complacer a todos, terminan complaciendo a nadie.

Life on a ranch with cowboys and cowgirls, cattle and horses, is intriguing to all of us. Colorful photos in majestic ranch settings provide an inside look at life on a working ranch. Our Amazing World introduces nonfiction concepts to young children through the variety of ranch activities presenting great discussion points, which children love.

Zig, Ken, Jill, and Zig their pet monkey, are off for a fabulous family mountain hike. As usual, Zig, creates mayhem trying to make friends with a group of skunks and tries to jump on the back of a large deer for a ride, but he redeems himself when he saves Jill from a big bug. The exceptionally well-illustrated facial expressions of these fanciful characters and other wildlife in this adventurous tale provides an excellent opportunity for parents to discuss the joy of family time as their early readers master more advanced reading skills.

Bob and Dot return and ride their bikes at the boat dock with their parents. Detailed, rich illustrations depict Bob and Dot using safety practices such as life jackets and locks for their bikes, and having fun learning about fish, feeding seagulls, and taking an exciting speedboat ride. Similar sounding words and longer sentences that build on previous stories in the Sommer advanced series create a fun-filled learning experience for the early reader and support the importance of exercise for a healthy lifestyle.

Cheerful colors in this spirited story build excitement on the pages when Tad’s dog leads a frantic chase to retrieve a cleaning rag and tracks mud in a van. Tad teaches responsibility to the readers when he offers to help the man clean his car and learns that training pets to obey is important to avoid similar situations. Children enjoy trying longer sentences that incorporate one-syllable words and more dialogue, and this delightful book opens the discussion for parents to teach how to handle conflict in a positive way.

Ken, Jill, and their pet monkey Zig continue their adventures with a mountain hike. As usual, Zig’s misbehavior creates mayhem when he’s scared trying to make friends with a group of smelly skunks and then scares a flock of colorful ducks. Zig redeems himself when again he saves Jill from a big bug. The exceptionally well-illustrated facial expressions of these fanciful characters and the wildlife on the pages provide excellent context clues as early readers master their new reading skills. Target Reader 20 is part of Phonics Adventure's systematic, leveled reading program.