Budding Blossom Stories provide the first steps of independent reading, serving as a bridge between phonological awareness instruction and decoding written English, with a focus on initial sounds and high-utility, high-frequency words. This title in the Budding Blossom Stories series focuses on initial sounds d, s, t, and r and high-frequency words a, and, is, like, likes, play, this, and to. Rich, colorful illustrations enhance the reading experience, providing content to discuss characters and settings in more depth.