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Summary: Try it ! You won't believe your ears!
Review: I gave Bob Books to my son when he was four years old and quite proficient with his letters of the alphabet. He started reading, and he has been doing so ever since. Bet I don't have to tell you how happy it made me feel (althought now we have to stop at the library almost every day and pick up new "Easy Readers"). The Bob Books start with very simple words that can be sounded phonetically without knowing any of the rules, and then progress gradually, usually adding one or two new sounds per book. The books are very short and very simple in meaning, able to hold children's attention and giving them a huge sense of accomplishment upon completing each book. They are color coded for easy recognition of different levels. Excellent also for children learning English as a second language (my son). You can't go wrong with them, trust me, I am a savvy buyer.
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Summary: A Teacher now myself...
Review: I had Bob Books when I was a kid and there were only 3 sets. I used them as extra reading material while I was learning to read with the Little Readers (now called Ready for Reading, A Learn-to-Read Series). I'd have to agree with other reviewers here that they didn't hold my attention and were a lot of work - all phonics, which was too much sounding out. The other books were a lot more fun, and perfectly paced.But recently I bought the new series for my kindergarteners and they are improved. The new sets start at an earlier level, just like Ready for Reading Ant Books did. ... They still are not as fun as those first books published at this level but I do use them to have plenty of reading material around during the first steps of sounding out words.
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Summary: BOB's the Best!
Review: I have now taught two kids to read using the BOB series. I have tried several different "early reader" offerings and place the BOB Books at the top of the list. The product is actually a box containing approximately a dozen smaller paper books. With each one, the author is able to tell a story using simple words. Each book is brief to match the early reader's attention span. The level of illustration is perfect for the context: There is enough of a drawing on each page to illustrate each sentence, but not enough to detract from the sentence, allowing the reader to concentrate on the words rather than a colorful illustration. In the next set in the series, Level A Set 2, each book ends with a list of most of the words arranged in families of vowell sounds, which make a great post-read review. Supplement the BOB series with some sight word flash cards and soon you will have a reader!
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Summary: Bob Books
Review: I started my son reading these books around 3 1/2. I have and will always recommend these books to anyone. I always read each book in different ways to him. He would read one word only through out the book, or read one page, I would read another. My son's love of reading showed up when he was tested at the beginning of 1st grade and I was told he was reading at a 5 1/2 grade level. By the time he was 3 months into 2nd grade he read the 1st 4 Harry Potter books in less then 2 months and passed the comprehension test on them. He is now 9 and reads all the time. I always think back to those Bob books, the fun we made out of them, and the one on one we had with them. For those who may think the pictures are not artsy enough, all I can say is that sometimes simplicity is what is needed. The object is to remember the words not the pictures. There is more then one way to read a book and even these books can be read in many different ways. Happy Reading!
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Summary: Three Cheers for BOB!
Review: I teach first grade and also have a grown son; I use (d) the Bob books with all of my children. Many educators advocate big books in our current educational trends, but if you really want to guarantee a child's attention, use little books. Most children absolutely adore them! The Bob books are special because they really are written on a young child's level. I always have the "literary" quality books that are recommended for today's classroom, but my kids always want the Bob books or the little books I make for them. They also prefer the simple words, illustrations (Bob's are simple line drawings), and themes. Why? Because they are definitely written for children rather than adults who think that you are not providing a good education for children unless they have high quality literature in their hands. But, I ask you, parents and teachers, how valuable is it to have a cat named Aristotle or Aristophenes(sp?..who cares! at this age!) when you can name the characters Sam, or Matt, or Spot. The point is, reading should be easy to learn, not mind boggling. Get these Bob books! Get them all! And make up your own, as well. Then you will have your kids reading.....and just as important..........loving it! What age do you begin? Before they are born, in my opinion, as long as you are not "forcing" it on them. If you read to them as early as their entry into the world, and show that you enjoy it, reading will be as second nature to your children as anything else that you value.
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Summary: Just what they need to learn to read
Review: I too cannot say enough about these books. Other "beginning reader" sets on the market are way too involved for a truly beginner reader - multisyllabic words, consonant combinations, etc. But the Bob books do it right! Straightforward, simple, achievable, and fun to color! I am working my way through the sets with my 5 year old twins and they are doing really well and are proud of themselves instead of struggling and confused. These books are EXACTLY what I was looking for when we started to teach them to read. BUY THESE BOOKS! These are the right ones!!
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Summary: My 4 yr old could care less...
Review: I was excited about these books. My 4 year old can read phoneticaly but does not have the confidance to read on her own. She just thinks she can't do it even though she know all her short and long letter sounds.
So I read the reviews and got her the first set of Bob books to try to boost her confidance. But they hold absloutly no intrest to her at all. I have to bribe her with special activities to get her to read a Bob book.
Don't get me wrong. I give lots of credit that she can read the text and they seem to be doing exactly what they are ment to do, which is teach her to read. But she is not excited about these books in the least. I agree with other reviews that suggest the pictures could be more colorful and enticing, and the books could be more sturdy. Though I do like their size. They are easy to take just about anywhere.
This set definatly needs some sort of activity to go along with it to intrest children. I'm thinking of printing enlarged copies of pages and letting my 4yr old color the pages as we read them. Maybe this will intrest her more.
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Summary: Great Books for Dyslexic 1st Grade Son!
Review: I was not very excited about these books, but, purchased after reading Amazon reviews. I sat down with my son intending to read one book a night..he was so excited he didn't stop until he finished the complete set of 12 books the first night. I almost cried as this was the first reading program that is helping him learn to read. I don't know that it will be helpful for other learning disabled 1st graders,but, for my dyslexic son it turned the "light bulb" on. I am going to purchase the additional sets. This came just in time, that same day he came home from school so frustrated that he said he was starting not to like school anymore.Highly recommended! Thanks to the parents that have taken the time to review and give advice!!
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Summary: I love Bob Books too -Reading specialist
Review: I'm a reading specialist and author ("Teaching Kids To Read for Dummies"). Just in case you have any lingering doubts about trying out these great little books -my job is to start kids reading (even if they've failed before) and I use Bob Books all the time. The illustrations are a great plus for me because they're cartoonish and so appeal even to kids who are starting to read later than classmates.
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Summary: Bob Books First
Review: It was truly amazing to me. When we started our just turned 5 year old on these books, he was having difficulty sounding out the words. By the time we reached the 12th book, he was reading them with little to no difficulty. I would certainly recommend these to anyone with little ones! They have greatly improved my sons reading ability. He keeps asking when we are going to get the next set. It has given him much confidence to be able to read by himself.
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