Text Leveling System

Henry and Mudge: The First Book

RDQ:	237	Max Word/Sent	41	Total Words	823		Diff Words	266
Lex	500	Ave Word/.Sent	8	Hi Freq occurs	491	59.7%	Hi freq	101	38%
AR	2.0	Long Sentences	6.9	Low Freq occurs	6	0.7%	Low freq	6	2.3%

Henry 
Henry had no brothers 
and no sisters. 
"I want a brother" 
he told his parents. 
"Sorry" they said. 
Henry had no friends 
on his street. ]]
"I want to live 
on a different street" 
he told his parents. 
"Sorry" they said. 
Henry had no pets 
at home. 
"I want to have a dog" 
he told his parents. 
"Sorry" they almost said. ]]
But first they looked 
at their house 
with no brothers and sisters. 
Then they looked 
at their street 
with no children. 
Then they looked 
at Henry's face. ]]
Then they looked at each other. 
"Okay" they said. 
"I want to hug you!" 
Henry told his parents. 
And he did. ]]
Mudge 
Henry searched for a dog. 
"Not just any dog" said Henry. 
"Not a short one" he said. 
"Not a curly one" he said. 
"And no pointed ears." ]]
Then he found Mudge. 
Mudge had floppy ears 
not pointed. 
And Mudge had straight fur 
not curly. 
But Mudge was short. 
"Because he's a puppy" 
Henry said. 
"He'll grow." ]]
And did he ever! 
He grew out of his puppy cage. 
He grew out of his dog cage. 
He grew out of seven collars
 in a row. 
And when he finally 
stopped growing...]]
he weighed one hundred eighty pounds 
he stood three feet tall 
and he drooled. 
"I'm glad you're not short" 
Henry said. ]]
And Mudge licked him 
then sat on him. ]]
Henry 
Henry used to walk 
to school alone. 
When he walked 
he used to worry about 
tornadoes 
ghosts 
biting dogs 
and bullies. ]]
He walked as fast 
as he could. 
He looked straight ahead. 
He never looked back. 
But now he walked to school 
with Mudge. ]]
And now when he walked 
he thought about 
vanilla ice cream 
rain 
rocks 
and good dreams. 
He walked to school 
but not too fast. 
He walked to school 
and sometimes backwards.]]
He walked to school 
and patted Mudge's big head 
happy. ]]
Mudge 
Mudge loved Henry's room. 
He loved the dirty socks. 
He loved the stuffed bear. 
He loved the fish tank. 
But mostly he loved 
Henry's bed. ]]
Because in Henry's bed 
was Henry. 
Mudge loved to climb in 
with Henry. 
Then he loved 
to smell him. ]]
He smelled his lemon hair. 
He smelled his milky mouth. 
He smelled his soapy ears. 
He smelled his chocolate fingers.]]
Then he put his head 
by Henry's head. 
He looked at the fish tank. 
He looked at the bear. 
He looked at Henry. 
He licked him. 
And he fell asleep. ]]
Mudge 
One day Mudge took a walk 
without Henry. 
The sun was shining 
the birds were flying 
the grass smelled sweet. 
Mudge couldn't wait for Henry. 
So he left. ]]
He went down one road 
sniffing the bushes 
then down another road 
kicking up dust. 
He went through a field 
across a stream 
into some pine trees. ]]
And when he came out 
on the other side 
he was lost. ]]
He couldn't smell Henry. 
He couldn't smell 
his front porch. 
He couldn't smell 
the street he lived on. 
Mudge looked all around 
and didn't see anything 
or anyone 
he knew. ]]
He whined a little 
alone without Henry. 
Then he lay down 
alone without Henry. 
He missed Henry's bed. ]]
Henry 
Henry thought Mudge 
would be with him always. 
He thought Mudge 
made everything safe. 
He thought Mudge 
would never go away. ]]
And when Mudge did go away 
when Henry called and called 
but Mudge didn't come 
Henry's heart hurt 
and he cried for an hour. 
But when he finished crying 
Henry said "Mudge loves me. 
He wouldn't leave. 
He must be lost." ]]
So Henry walked and walked 
and he called and called 
and he looked and looked 
for his dog Mudge. 
He walked down one road 
then down another road. 
The sun shone as Henry ran 
through a field 
calling and calling. ]]
The birds flew past 
as he stood beside a stream 
calling and calling. ]]
And the tears fell again 
as he looked at the 
empty pine trees 
for his lost dog. 
"Mudge!" he called one last time. ]]
And Mudge woke up 
from his lonely sleep 
then came running. ]]
Henry and Mudge 
Every day when Henry woke up 
he saw Mudge's big head. 
And every day 
when Mudge woke up 
he saw Henry's small face. ]]
They ate breakfast 
at the same time; 
they ate supper 
at the same time. ]]
And when Henry was at school 
Mudge just lay around 
and waited. 
Mudge never went for a walk 
without Henry again. 
And Henry never worried 
that Mudge would leave. ]]
Because sometimes in their dreams 
they saw long silent roads 
big wide fields 
deep streams 
and pine trees. 
In those dreams 
Mudge was alone 
and Henry was alone 
So when Mudge woke up 
and knew Henry was with him 
he remembered the dream 
and stayed closer. ]]
And when Henry woke up 
and knew Mudge was with him 
he remembered the dream 
and the looking 
and the calling 
and the fear 
and he knew 
he would never lose Mudge 
again.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Some support

Dialog: Two speakers

Vocabulary: Few decoding/definition issues

Language: Simple language

Sentences: Simple phrases

Text structure: Blend of written/oral

Concepts: Concrete/Simple Social

Features

Topic

Dogs

Lost

*Animals

Pets

Relationships

School

Low Frequency Words

drooled	shone	tornadoes	vanilla	weighed
whined