A young man visits the Ed A.P. Book Stop, Pet Shop, Inn & Grill and soon encounters animals and characters mysteriously emerging from a book of Poe's short stories. Told in the same rhyme pattern as "The Raven," the decodable story poem focuses on open, closed, and consonant-le syllable patterns. This book aligns with Level 3 of the HOT ROD series (Higher Order Thinking through the Reading of Decodables). Based on the Science of Reading, it appeals to students of a variety of ages and ability levels. The Background Information includes fascinating details of Poe's life including several theories about the cause of his mysterious death. For grades 5-9. At Word Travel Press, we believe that meaningful content is important for developing strong readers. We have created the HOT ROD series to complement any reading program. Our books were specially designed for older students who would benefit from controlled reading practice. Our stories and poems help students develop H igher O rder T hinking through the R eading o f D ecodables. Students are exposed to higher-level vocabulary and sentence structure through a process called Pair and Share Reading. For information about the scope and sequence of HOT ROD and the progression from basic to advanced decoding visit www.wordtravelpress.com. On the website, each book is supplemented with additional Higher Order Thinking questions, reproducible materials, games, and activities.