Bob Books First! Level A, Set 1

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic for an early start in reading
Review: Read to your child early, teach your child the ABC's, and then introduce them to the Bob books. My son started on them when he was three. The joy he had being able to read his first book on his own motivated him to fly through the rest of the series. He quickly moved on to reading his other childhood stories. To polish off his reading skills I also introduced him to The Phonics Game when he was 4 and 5. When he started first grade he passed 4th grade comprehension tests and by mid first grade he can read anything.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Series
Review: 3/16/2001:
I wanted to teach my just turned five-year-old daughter how to read, but her current selection of books and educational software was just not meeting the challenge. Sure, the Winnie the Pooh, Blue's Clues, My Personal Tutor software, etc did an excellent job of motivating her and teaching her the alphabet. She really enjoyed all the Dr. Seuss and Winnie the Pooh books, but all these resources were just not cutting it in regards to getting her to read by herself. After extensive trial and error this is what I found work for my daughter.

I found Reader Rabbit's Complete Learn to Read System and Curious George Learns Phonics invaluable at teaching her to sound out her words all by herself. One small note on Curious George Learns Phonics, my daughter did not like the software. It actually made her work for once, so I usually had to be nearby to answer any questions. I would recommend using Reader Rabbit for a few days before introducing Curious George.

After about a week or so I began using the flash cards included in Reader Rabbit to have my daughter memorize beginning words. I would also have her write the words in her notebook. I particularly found helpful the list with Reader Rabbit on which order I should have her learn her words.

When I felt she should probably be ready to read very easy sentences I had her start out with Bob Books First! Level A, Set 1, although I would highly, highly recommend the entire set. Bob Books seemed to be the only books easy enough for my daughter to read by herself and progress at a reasonable rate. She loves the books!!!

I have some final thoughts. Firstly, the Reader Rabbit and Bob Books are fine quality products but are a bit overpriced in my estimation. They are STILL well worth the investment. Secondly, you would think there would be some product or resource out there to help teach your child to read. I needed not generalities but a highly specific course of actions. I was quite disappointed in that respect, but I would be interested if such a product or resource exists.

Updated 11/28/2002:
It's been two years now and it is time to teach my son to read. Apparently, Reader Rabbit Complete Learn to Read System is no longer in production. That is too bad. It is very good educational software.

Still, Curious George Learns Phonics is the sleeper education software in existence. It's not perfect and the kiddies tend not to like it. However, it is challenging and teaches them phonemic awareness very well.

I have tried "Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" due to several recommendations from individuals reading my reviews. I used it with my son and I didn't like it. Subsequently I was informed from first grade teachers (my daughter's included) and my education courses that apparently research shows that coded words (Distar conventions, e.g. e with a line over it, double oo, like the pronunciation key of a dictionary) teaches kiddies to read best. I discovered this first hand when my daughter brought home her homework to code some words. I didn't have a clue how to help her. Maybe it's just a case that daddy isn't smart enough to help his daughter.

I found myself already using some of the techniques from "Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" that I had discovered by trial and error worked with my kiddies. In any case, I still haven't used the book.

I have finally found a set of books to use after the Bob Books are all used up. I found the kiddies needed a little more structured practice before they where off reading whatever we have around the house. It is the "Now I'm Reading" series by Nora Gaydos. Again, not exactly cheap, but hey, what can I do about it?

Rating:
Summary: You must get this series!
Review: A friend lent me the first set of books for my daughter who learned to read with them. I searched everywhere for good books for her to read and couldn't find any, so I have just ordered the whole series of Bob Books. They contain simple words like "Mat sat. Sam sat." But they are stories and good ones too! GET THEM!

Rating:
Summary: My Four Year Old is Reading
Review: As a former educator, I tend to stress educational development with my four year old. I recently began teaching him the sounds of his letters. A co-worker told me about the Bob Books. My son was able to read the first two books within 1 week. I was truly impressed with the books. They are excellent for beginning readers. My son is now confident in his ability to learn. The books made it easy for him to learn how to put sounds together to form words.

Rating:
Summary: THIS STARTED ME READING!
Review: Before I was in pre-school I was reading BOB books. BOB books got me started reading, I still remember them now, when I am 14 years old. I recommend them for anyone who is learning how to read, they have different levels so you can progress through the stages of reading. They are GREAT!

Rating:
Summary: The BEST beginner books I've found!!
Review: I am a parent of two boys - ages 4 and 5. I've recently started teaching them how to read and have been looking for good beginner books. These are the best I have found. They are simple and follow the simple words. I've bought other preschool/kindergarden level first level books, only to found that they are not simple and have to many hard words. These are far better and follow simple phonetic words. I highly recommend!!

Rating:
Summary: Probably better for older kids reading to each other.
Review: I bought Level A, Sets I and II for my son who is two. Although he loves it when I read story books to him, I couldn't keep his attention on these little booklets. The pictures are cute little line drawings but I guess they don't cut it for a two year old.

I've decided to put them away for a while. I'll bring them back out when he is starting to read simple three letter words. I think that the simple three word phrases will work much better as an incentive for a beginning reader than for a pre-reader.

Rating:
Summary: 5 star or 1 star -- depends on who you buy it for
Review: I bought these books for my four year old when he first started learning to read. Discovered that he was too advanced to enjoy them. They were a flop after the first three days.

Then I pulled them out to use with my three year old. She loves them. She is just learning the sounds and how to sound out words. It gives her a great sense of pride to be able to read a whole book.

The stories are short and boring. Not worth reading to a child. The pictures are uninspiring. Nothing to spur a child on to great heights of imagination.

However, for a child on the verge of reading, these books can server as a step ladder to success. Each small book (more like a pamphlet really) has a page where the new sounds are highlighted. (A couple of new sounds introduced with each book in the set). Then there are pages with simple line drawings and short sentences like "Sam sat on the mat."

Boring to anyone who knows how to read - but very satisfying to a little girl who is sounding words out by herself for the first time. Plus, the books are short enough that she doesn't find it a strain to go through a whole book in one sitting. Repetition of words and sounds allows her to catch on and improve by the end of the book.

I dare say that using the Bob books, my daughter will be reading well before she turns four. But it takes something this easy, this short, and this repetitive to do that.

Bob Books are either totally cool or else a total waste of money. Just depends on who you are buying them for.

Rating:
Summary: Bob Books First
Review: I bought these books for my son, he could read the first four right away. They are great books. He looks forward to reading them everyday. We have moved on to the next set and he is still very excited to be reading a whole book by himself. They go slow enough that kids aren't overwhelmed.

Rating:
Summary: Finally!
Review: I can't thank you enough for putting this series together. This was the only program that my 6 year old daughter would attempt to read. She struggled with many other books for the last couple of years and would get frustrated and give up. BOB FIRST BOOKS are amazing. They are simple enough for her to read, interesting enough for her to enjoy, and the illustrations are not distracting but add enough detail to the story. I am so glad I found these books, I can't wait to get the rest of the series. GREAT JOB!!!