Happy Birthday, Estela Level 3-5

Happy Birthday, Estela! is a joyful counting story centred around a birthday celebration and a colourful piñata. Estela and her friends demonstrate that breaking a piñata takes teamwork-and results in a shower of delicious rewards! With vibrant illustrations and rhythmic, caption-style text, the book uses simple sentence structures and bold typography to reinforce early reading strategies. High-frequency words and consonant blends are embedded throughout, and the illustrations often depict the same characters in various positions, encouraging visual scanning and prediction. This lively story is ideal for introducing children to number sequencing, festive traditions, and group participation. The bold onomatopoeia such as œCRACK enhances engagement and supports expressive reading. The story also subtly highlights cultural elements related to birthday celebrations, fostering appreciation of diversity and social experiences.

Educational Benefits:

• Reinforces number recognition and one-to-one correspondence.
• Enhances decoding with high-frequency words and blends.
• Promotes visual literacy and scanning for detail.
• Builds expressive reading through use of sound words and punctuation.

Classroom Ideas:

• Create and decorate paper piñatas in class.
• Retell the story in sequence using number flashcards.
• Use the story to prompt a discussion on birthday traditions around the world.
• Develop a list of sound-effect words used in storytelling.

Safety & Information:

• Ages: 4-6
• Size: 150mm x 210mm
• Reading Level: 3-5
• Safety: Safe for classroom use; no small or hazardous components.