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This column focuses on transitional chapter books for beginning readers. Roser, Marti- nez, McDonnold, and Fuhrken (2004) wrote that transitional chapter books "are intended to ease the picture book to chapter book transition, filling a niche for young or developing readers who are not yet ready to attempt more complex chapter books" (p. 308). Transitional books usually have a number of common characteristics, such as a table of con- tents, larger font sizes, brief chapters with some illustrations interspersed throughout, and around 100 pages of text. Some transitional chapter books, such as those in the Ling and Ting series by Grace Lin, are aimed at children in first grade, while oth- ers, like those in the Dyamonde Daniel series by Nikki Grimes, are aimed at children in...