Colorful Illustrations support decodable text, guiding beginning readers to identify, recognize, and use the /ul/ sound. Featuring high-frequency words, this authentic fictional narrative also gives emerging readers the opportunity to read with purpose and for meaning while reinforcing basic phonemic sounds. Readers will follow a narrator as they describe their new poodle puppy. This fiction phonics title is paired with the nonfiction phonics title In the Jungle: Practicing the UL Sound. The instructional guide on the inside front and back covers provides: * Word List with carefully selected grade-appropriate words featuring the /ul/ sound found in the text* Teacher Talk that assists instructors in introducing the /ul/ sound* Group Activity that guides students to identify the /ul/ sound, decode the words that contain it, and use the words* Extended Activity that provides students with additional opportunities to think about, list, and use words containing the /ul/ sound* Writing Activity that guides students to write the letters that make the /ul/ sound