Fun and Games with Lad and Slim has 15 stories, including two stories for each long vowel as well as stories for more advanced vowel digraphs (er, or, and ur; ou and ow; au and aw; and oi and oy). The book follows up our short-vowel series, Lad and His Pals. The stories feature strong story structure, inviting illustrations, a growing set of correspondences allowing an ever richer pool of words, and an idea pioneered in the Dick and Jane stories read by earlier generations: The stories follow a common cast of children through a series of adventures. However, the characters are culturally diverse, and some of the most important characters are especially accessible to young readers--a dog, two cats, a flock of angry geese, a mischievous snake, and a pet pig. While each story is self-contained, the progress of the stories develops an overarching narrative about the gift of a pet pig to an urban child who is not prepared for the unexpected problems it brings.
