Kay Chorao is a children's writer and illustrator.
She was born Ann McKay Sproat in Elkhart, Indiana, United States, into a middle-class, suburban family. She loved and was encouraged to draw at a young age. She attended Laurel School in Shaker Heights, OH. Chorao went to Wheaton College, where in 1958 she earned a Bachelor of Arts in art history. After that, Chorao pursued her graduate study at Chelsea School of Art from 1958 to 1959.
Chorao got married and had three sons before moving to New York with her family. From 1966 to 1968, she studied book illustration at School of Visual Arts in New York.
Besides writing self-illustrated children's books, Chorao has been the illustrator for many books by Jane Yolen, Judith Viorst, Jan Wahl, and Marjorie Sharmat.
Ed and Kip by Kay Chorao is an easy readers about two young, playful elephants who like to play, then need rescuing from crocodile.
Chorao's artwork was made with watercolor, gouache and ink on 149 lb. hot press watercolor paper, using primarily red, orange, yellow, brown and green.
Most of the action is described in 70 words, some in dialog balloons. Among the vocabulary words used are rolled, kicked, splash, crocodile, jumped, poked, surprised, watched, threw and crush. This is an I Like to Read book.
The highlight are this serviceable beginning reader are the humorous, appealing pictures. Among the most appealing are the endpapers featuring the dozing elephants in the early morning and the evening. Bug is very cute and obviously the brains of this group. Why young elephants would be alone in the jungle away from their herd is beyond me. 3 star rating.
For beginning readers, jungle, elephants, crocodile, play and fans of Kay Chorao.
I'm going to start out by griping about the size of this one. It's an early reader. Could you PLEASE make it match the size of other early readers> I know publishers don't have to deal with this, and home libraries don't have a problem, either, but for those of us shelving in public libraries, it's a hassle and a half when books aren't the same size as the other books is the same category. My shelvers here CONSTANTLY misshelve this as a picture book. Someday, when I'm queen of the world, there will be standardized sizes for books. Then they'll all look pretty of the shelves. SO there! lol
I'll get off my soapbox now...
Decent book, although I found the illustrations a little cluttery compared the the cover. Simple story of fun and friendship.
Young elephants Ed and Kip are playing when they disturb a large bug, who joins in their fun. Then a dangerous situation arises with a crocodile. Working together with their new friend everything ends happily for everyone. Well...except for the crocodile, of course. This is a very very simple book, in a nice large format. It has many elements of an easy graphic novel, including occasional segmented pictures and dialogue boxes. The soft, detailed pictures are very child-friendly, and convey emotion well. This would be a popular choice for beginning readers.
One minute Ed and Kip are having great fun, rolling around a rock.
The next minute, their rock is LOST.
Even worse, what is FOUND? A crocodile finds THEM.
Will our friends Ed and Kip escape?
Hint: Far as I know, not a single picture book for very young children... ends with a funeral.
FIVE STARS for this cheerful book. Kay Chorao has packed so much fun into this story that you kind of have to look twice, look twice, to realize: This book has been written so skillfully, and it has been written expressly for beginning readers.
March is learning about the jungle. I don't know how to respond to this book. It is a simple story about sharing, inclusion, and acts of kindness. The illustration layout are bit confusing for younger readers (its trying to be a graphic novel layout that is not needed). However, the drawings are nice.
Ed and Kip was a great adventure story for a beginning to read book. I enjoyed reading about their adventures and the next issue that was going to come along in their lives. I also liked to read about how they along with the bug turned negative issues into positive issues. They always had positive attitudes even when times got tough. It was a great little story to read and flip through for goodreads. It showed a great friendship and their fun times together.
This would be a good story for a teacher to read about friendship and teamwork. Ed and Kip enjoy spending time together and enjoy each others company. However, it would be a great story for a teacher to explain that friends should be there for each other and help each other out when times get tough. The bug in the story helped out the elephants to make sure they stayed safe and weren't hurt. The elephants also included the bug when he did not think he would be included. It would be great for a teacher to discuss with the students they should include others when they are on the playground, during free time. or any time they are not learning and have time to play. This would be vital for children when they are in the young grades such as kindergarten because they are just getting used to the idea of making new friends and being in an environment that is not all about themselves.
This would be a good independent reading to introduce children to a beginning, middle, and end in kindergarten & 1st grade. As a beginning to read story, children are just starting to read and are focused just on being able to read words and compose it together as a story. However, if s student would read Ed and Kip they can take the story slow but also be able to see how the different actions fit into the different parts of the story.
This story has very simple language. I think this would be a good story for students who may struggle with reading and have a hard time with words. I think this would be a good book to help get a students confidence up. If reading also makes students nervous, they can experience with this story and help prepare them to move ion to more advanced stories and more advanced words and story plots as well.
Two playful elephants, Ed and Kip, are playing with their friend Monkey when their "ball" (a rock) rolls into a cave disturbing the nap of a big bug. When the four begin to play together they encounter a problem when their "ball" again rolls away. This time into a crocodile's pond. The end result will have beginning readers seeing that friends, no matter their size, can be helpful when problems arise.
This title is recommended for first grade, but can be appropriate for children who are reading at an advanced level. It is leveled at a D based on the Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading Level and focuses on reading standards for Literature and Foundational Skills in the English Language Arts Common Core Standards for kindergarten through second grade.
While perusing the stacks of the children's section of our local library, I discovered this fun little book in the easy reader section. I decided to read it right there in the library, since our girls would consider it far too 'babyish' for them.
The book cover is very colorful and invites a child to read. The narrative is short, with lots of easy dialogue. And the illustrations are very colorful and cartoonish. I can imagine that it would appeal to young children just beginning to read.
Ed and Kip are two baby elephants playing with a rock and the fun they have. The text is very simple and would be good for an early reader. It has simple words and short sentences but maintains a storyline that will interest kids. The crocodile makes for some great tension to keep the story moving. The ending is fun as the elephants don't lose their sense of fun when they lose the rock but find other ways to continue their game. The illustrations support the text using few colors and simple line drawings.
A beginning reader with muted illustrations that will not distract your booklover.
With the help of monkey, Ed and Kip, young elephants, are playing with a rock. When they disturb a bug, they soon learn that though he may be small he will become quite useful when they encounter a scary crocodile.
Told in easy to read one and two short sentences per page, your first time reader will enjoy the story and soon learn that size does not matter, friendship does.
Short sentences and controlled vocabulary make this an excellent choice for children who are just beginning to read independently. The animal antics will amuse young readers. An encounter with a crocodile adds just enough excitement for little people. Finally, Ed and Kip are baby elephants, so there is maximum cuteness.
Enh... I've read several in this great new "I like to read" series by Holiday House but this is my least favorite. It feels trite and random all at the same time. It's a respectable title for new readers who need all the practice they can get, but it's not one I'd especially seek out.
This is a cute and playful story that is simple enough for young preschoolers, but might be too simple for anyone older than that. It is a story about animals playing together and meeting under playful circumstances.
I think even with the age this book was directed towards was boring. Plus, the story jumped around. Ed and Kip play with a rock and then head for a log. WTH???
Another good book for students who are ready to try reading controlled text on their own. Easy, basic book, but starts to add some features from graphic novels that make it more fun to read.