Pedro, First-Grade Hero

by Fran Manushkin, Tammie Lyon (Illustrations)

Spend some time with Pedro, Katie Woo's fun-loving friend. From a buggy disaster to a run for class president, Pedro has what it takes to be the hero of first-grade. No matter what he's doing, Pedro is always good for some laughs and adventure.

Genres: Chapter Books, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, 1st Grade, Friendship

96 pages, Paperback

Published August 31, 2016

About the author

Fran Manushkin is the author of more than fifty books for children, including the Katie Woo series; Big Girl Panties, illustrated by Valeria Petrone; Big Sisters Are the Best, illustrated by Kirsten Richards; The Tushy Book, illustrated by Tracy Dockray; and Baby, Come Out!, illustrated by Ronald Himler and translated into eight languages. She lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an early reader chapter book. It is full of positive messages, word repetition, simple grammar and plenty of well done illustrations to help decode vocabulary. I read it with my 6 year old and felt that it was very appropriate for his reading level and interest. He very much would like to be reading chapter books and this is the perfect easier chapter book for him. There is a lot of silly humor within this book and at the end. It is the kind of humor you expect to hear a drumroll with to emphasize that it is funny, the kind of humor adults don’t appreciate so much, but 5-7 year olds think is hilarious. I give it 4 stars and recommend it to 5-7 years, depending on reading ability.

Thank you to netgalley and Capstone Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For discussion questions: http://www.book-chatter.com/?p=331

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and fun early chapter book with a likable protagonist. Appreciate the diversity in the characters. This book consists of four separate "stories" and I'm not sure if these are represented in their entirety from the individual books on the same subject but I would recommend this one as the best value for your money and a good starting point for meeting Pedro. Both my children enjoyed this, as well.

Chapters:
Pedro Goes Buggy (book by same name: Pedro Goes Buggy)
Pedro's Big Goal (Pedro's Big Goal)
Pedro's Mystery Club (Pedro's Mystery Club)
Pedro for President (Pedro for President)

[Lghiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pedro, First Grade Hero, is a delightful “chapter book” for early readers. Children usually want to read chapter books like their teacher models for them. Unfortunately most chapter books are just too difficult for them to read independently. Pedro, First Grade Hero, however, comes to the rescue for the beginning reader. It is actually a collection of four stories, all about Pedro. The readability level, length of the stories, and interest level is perfect for first graders as is the focus of each story.

Pedro is a very likable little boy. In the first story, “Pedro Goes Buggy,” Pedro has to find a bug to write about in school. Discussions about the best bug ensue in the classroom and at home. Even his little brother Paco gets involved in the fun. The story has a nice resolution and ends on a humorous note. For the teacher who likes to integrate learning strands, language arts, math and science provide easy tie-ins.

“Pedro’s Big Goal” draws in boys and girls who love soccer. This chapter has “bigger is not always better” as well as “keep trying” as its themes. Children will enjoy the ending and teachers can help them appreciate the play on words.

Most people love a good mystery as do Pedro and his friends who form a mystery club in the third story, trying to find a missing locket and cell phone. Good vocabulary words include sparkle, locket, and chirping.

The final story, “Pedro for President,” teaches Pedro and his friend Katie Woo what is involved in being class president. As they ponder what they have to offer the class, little brother Paco “helps” with the election poster and Pedro creatively turns that effort into a positive. Pedro, who always encourages his classmates and promotes fairness in the election, is the obvious favorite for president.

The illustrations by Tammie Lyon are colorful, appealing, and depict well the characters’ emotions and reactions. Teachers interested in promoting multi-cultural cohesiveness in their classrooms will appreciate the inclusion of children of various backgrounds. At the end of this book are four pages of jokes in the riddle format that will delight first graders.

Thank you to net galley.com and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an early chapter reading book for primary children. It contains 4 stories, Pedro Goes Buddy, Pedro's Big Goal, Pedro's Mystery Club, and Pedro For President. Pedro, his mother and father, his younger brother Paco and his friends Jo Jo and Katie, are all involved in the stories.

Pedro is a very nice young man who often thinks of others, does not brag or boast, does not get angry at his brother when he does things like letting his bugs out all over the house and wants to do well at school or whatever he tries. He is very positive but not overly mushy. In short, he is a positive role model for anyone who might pick up this book. His friends Katie and Jo Jo tend to be the same way. There is some excitement in the stories, such as when they are trying out for goalie for the soccer team or when Paco lets the bugs out and they are getting all over the house, but other than that, the stories are simple, everyday occurences, but not boring.

The illustrations are wonderful. They are detailed, colourful and realistic. I like that the characters in the story are culturally diverse which is more representative of the world today. This would be a great book for primary classroom libraries as well as school and public libraries. I think young readers would enjoy the exploits of Pedro and his friends.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Katie Zebrowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley to read and give an honest review.

I was so excited when this book popped up on my NetGalley dashboard. I love Fran, and I knew I HAD to get my hands on this book. If you have read the Katie Woo books, then you will love Pedro First Grade Hero! Early reader chapter books always have a tendency to either be amazing, or not so great, and this book definitely is in the great category. This title would be a great book if you have an early reader or a child that is a struggling reader in grades 1-3. I love how the book is organized by chapters. I'm always looking for young reader books that students can examine to find lots of text features. Each chapter is a different story, instead of the end of the prior chapter connecting to the next chapter. The chapters are also published individually if you don't want to purchase the anthology. Can't wait to put this book in my classroom library!

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

An early reader chapter book with a diverse main character. I wanted to like it more than I actually did. The stories seemed too simplified - the text itself was a good reading level for those early books, but the plots felt forced and underwhelming. Not bad, just not great.

[Storywraps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pedro, Katie Woo's best friend has his own series now. This book has four distinct stories about Pedro's adventures:



* "Pedro Goes Buggy " - Miss Winkle, Pedro's teacher assigns the class a challenge.

"After school today, go out and look for bugs. Pick one that you like and write about it."

The students are thrilled with the topic, who wouldn't be... teaming kids up with insects? It's a perfect match. Let the hunt begin! Pedro, a bug lover at heart, keeps on adding more and of them into his glass holding jar. His curious (and sometimes intrusive) little brother Paco decides one day when Pedro is away at school to unleash the bug stash and pandemonium ensues. Oh my! With all his bugs scattered and escaping will Pedro find the perfect bug to write about? I think you will be very happy with the one he chooses.


* "Pedro's Big Goal" - Pedro is a huge soccer fan. He loves everything about it, the running, kicking and jumping of the sport. His team is in need of goalie and all the kids want that coveted position. They go home and practice hard for the upcoming tryouts. With encouragement from his dad and more and more practice the big day arrives. Who will be the chosen one? Will Pedro be the one? Can you guess? Bet you can.



* "Pedro's Mystery Club" - Everyone loves to be a detective and solve mysteries so Paco decides to start a mystery club with his friends. They meet in his new tree house to discuss strategies.

Pedro's mother has lost her lovely locket and his dad has misplaced his new phone. They ask the club to help find their lost items. Pedro carefully records the clues he finds along the way and tracks his parents every move. He questions witnesses regarding his cases and discovers that mysteries are very hard to solve.

Tired from their sleuth work the kids decide to take a breather and play soccer for a while. Will they finally succeed at retrieving his parents lost articles? Are the kids smart enough to figure out where they have disappeared to?

They show how savvy they are in getting the job done and their reward?.... a chocolate chip cookie feast. The best payment any kid detective can ask for.



* Pedro for President" - Miss Winkle's class is in need of a president and both Katie Woo and Pedro decide to run. She asks them what they can for the class. Pedro tells her that he can do magic tricks and Katie says she can tap dance. Their teacher asks them the question that if they answer correctly will win them the position.

"But how will you help the class?"

Pedro has to ponder that question a while and then he is informed that both he and Katie must deliver a speech to tell the class why they should be elected president. Poor Pedro he is not good at public speaking. Through a series of events he shows the class that actions speak louder than words he could write on a piece of paper. By helping others and showing balance and fairness Pedro wins because he exhibits that he is a team player.

The end of book is riddled with riddles for your reading enjoyment. I loved the diversity of the kids portrayed in the book and how they all were accepting of each other and were close friends. The family dynamics were strong, supportive and loving. It was wonderful to see kids taking on leadership roles from an early age. The illustrations were just beautiful. Such a talented illustrator brought the text alive. I highly recommend this book.

[Linnea · Rating 3 out of 5]

summary: Pedro (classmate of Katie Woo) has a brother, a mother and father and his own adventures. This book contains several short stories.
- Pedro Goes Buggy (collects bugs for a school project, his brother lets them loose, now what will he write about)
- Pedro's Big Goal (wants to be the soccer team's goalie but despite his talent for catching siblings and pets on the run, he can't seem to catch that ball)
- Pedro's Mystery Club (family is missing a variety of items, Pedro and friends find them, no plot)
-Pedro for President (wants to run for class president but doesn't know what to say in his speech, running again friend and fellow classmate Katie Woo)


review: i have a hard time reviewing beginner books because they are painful for me to read, while simplistic and almost a little to sweet the mini-stories had their own easy to follow but easy to stay interested in plot lines. Each story had a little lesson or moral and I also really like the way Pedro interacts with his brother.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful early chapter book about a boy in first grade learning to solve varies problems. that come up.

He learns about bugs. He learns about how to play soccer, he learns how to solve mysteries and he learns how to run for president of his class.

He is a very likable character, and my favorite stories are the last two, where he finds his mother's necklace and his father's cell phone, and where he runs for president. With his mother, he retraces her steps and asks people questions. With the running for class president, he just shows that he is a team player and wants to help out.

I think kids learning to read chapter books will enjoy this. Heck, I enjoyed this.


Thanks to Netgalley for providing this book for an honest reveiw.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pedro is actually a buddy of Katie Woo, and his book series evolved from hers. Like Katie Woo, Pedro lives a middle-class American sort of life that centers around school and his family and friends. Like Katie Woo, his mishaps are the gentle sort that involve having your brother turn loose the bugs Pedro had captured for a school project. Like Katie Woo, it is refreshing to see a child who from a culture different from the one the typical American children's book portrays, and to not only see him, but to see him front and center.

[Lainie McGaughey]

This book follows Pedro through his first-grade adventure. The story talks about various problems that arise, and how Pedro is persistent in solving them. This first problem is his class bug project. Pedro's assignment was to find a bug he liked and write about it. Pedro finds many and keeps them in a jar in his room. His brother, Paco, lets them out one day while Pedro is at school. Pedro decides that he will have to find another bug quickly to get his assignment done. He finds a bug and completes his story. The next problem that Pedro faces is goalie tryouts for his soccer team. The biggest boy on the team assures the children that he will be the goalie. Pedro decides to go home and practice. He has a difficult time, but his dad pushes him to keep trying. After tryouts, Pedro waits to hear the news. His practice paid off, because he was the team's new goalie. His next trouble is that his family keeps losing things. Pedro and his friends start a mystery club. They search for mom's locket and dad's phone, but they find nothing. They are discouraged, but they keep trying. Eventually, they find everyone's belongings. The final problem that Pedro has to deal with is running for class president. Pedro is running against his best friend, Katie. Not only is Pedro worried about what he will put in his campaign speech, but also that he and Katie will not be friends if he wins. With some hard thinking and some talking to Katie, Pedro writes his speech and finds out that he won't lose a friend. Pedro ends up becoming class president and keeping his best friend.

Citation: Chabert, J., & Ricks, S. (2014). Eerie Elementary: The school is alive! New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.

Questions:
1. Create another problem that Pedro may run into in the first grade and tell how you would solve it.
2. Select one of problems that Pedro had, and tell how you would have dealt with it.
3. Which problem of Pedro's would you have had the toughest time with, and why?
4. Relate Pedro's situations to your life at school. Are there any similarities? Differences?
5. List characteristics of Pedro that made him a good problem solver.

[Bre Teschendorf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book for my three year old boys. It's a little bit too old for them, but because of the great pictures, they still really enjoyed it.
I really like how nice Pedro is. He's a character I would want my kids to learn from. That's hard to find in a kid's book these days!
This book features good friendships, messages about working hard, being kind and having a positive attitude towards school.
I really liked it and will pursue more of Pedro and Katie Woo.

[Beth Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read aloud to Gwen and Alec, now with John. I thought this was really well done. Its 4 short stories in one book, full of color illustrations on each page. This was a great really early chapter book. The plot wasn't profound but it was also perfect for young ages. The writing was solid and I don't mind re-reading it.

[DaNae · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid early chapter book, on the reading level of NATE THE GREAT. Shows a child of color, but no cultural awareness. So kind-of diverse. Nothing wrong with the presentation. It's still important to see the scope of readers.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pedro is a happy, funny child that many kids will relate to. Like his friend, Katie Woo, his books involve every-day events, like soccer games and class activities.

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why is Katie Woo always referred to by her whole name, when all the other kids are only referred to by their first names? Weird.

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can’t remember Katie Woo being this stilted, but maybe I’m wrong. Definitely for those JUST transitioning out of Readers. Not my favorite.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy

[Marti (Letstalkaboutbooksbaybee) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great intro to chapter books for my 6yo!

[Ms. Garr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grade 1 and up; cute collection of stories about Pedro, a cheerful, likable first grader who makes positive choices and is a great friend to his classmates. Good choice for a first independently read chapter book. At the Chandler Library.

[Kate Puleo Unger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This easy reader book has 4 chapters, but each chapter is really a stand alone story. In chapter one, Pedro's class is studying bugs. In chapter 2, he tries out to be the goalie on a soccer team with some of his classmates. In chapter 3, he and his friends solve the mysteries of some missing objects. And in chapter 4, Pedro runs for class president. Chapter 3 was my favorite, but they're all cute. The characters are very real. They felt like some of the kids I know from my son's 1st grade class. Some of them brag a little too much. They're not always nice to each other. They're very relatable.

Pedro is a character from Manushkin's Katie Woo series. I've never read those books, but Katie is featured in this book as well. This book is engaging and fun for children who share similar interests as Pedro and his friends. There are pictures on every page, so it's an easy transition to a chapter book style for early readers. Each chapter is about 20 pages long. It's realistic to have kids consume one chapter per night with this book.

This text is at an instructional level J, which is perfect for my son, who's reading independently at level K. Unfortunately, he struggles with contemporary fiction, favoring graphic novels and fantasy. He didn't even make it through the first chapter when he tried this book.

http://www.momsradius.com/2016/10/boo...

[Erica Elwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book for beginning chapter book readers!!! I love that even with a boy as a main character it is relatable to both boys and girls. Also, so often books for kids in this age (especially those with a boy focus) tend to take the 'easy' way by using bathroom humor but this book is fun and funny all while staying away from that. And the jokes at the end are such a great addition! I also love that Pedro has a great relationship with both his family and his friends. The characters do a great job of supporting each other through out the stories!

The illustrations and layout of the book are also really great. I read this using a mobile app but still feel like I got the full experience with the great pictures!
Thank you to NetGalley for my digital copy to review!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Join sweet Pedro across four different chapters each with a different premise. Each story is relatable for young readers through science, teams/ sportsmanship, being a detective and finally through some class voting. This is a fantastic early chapter book, I enjoy how each chapter focused on a simple short story perhaps making it more appealing for reluctant readers.
*I received this ARC through NetGalley & Capstone in exchange for an honest review.

[Ilana · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a high educative value, the short stories of Pedro are useful lessons about social interactions, team playing, family values and learning responsibilities. Educators or just parents, adults can learn some things too from this book.
Disclaimer: I was offered a review copy by the publisher via NetGalley.com in exchange of an honest review

[Marcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

For first grade readers who want chapter books but often find the vocabulary and quantity of text too daunting. Kids who love Katie Woo will love this, especially due to the boy main character. Pedro seems to be a great understanding and even keel kid without being too sticky sweet. Can't wait for more in the series.

[Heather Pehnec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Touches on hot topics (in stand alone chapters) to keep a first-grade reader interested - friendship, solving mysteries, navigating being on a soccer team, running for class president...though he wins/succeeds at all of his endeavors. I wish he had lost/failed somewhere in order to model handling disappointment and good sportsmanship.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC supplied by publisher via NetGalley

[DGPL Kids]

N/A

-TS

[Kelly Carey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book as it is just a collection of 4 books in the Pedro series.

[Carrie Strine]

Great chapter books for beginning readers. Each chapter is a story in itself.
Positive messages of being kind and a good friend.