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Rating: 
Summary: Irresistable for New Readers
Review: Everything about this set is attractive for preschoolers and kindergartners learning to read. The small books in plastic sleeves are fun for the kids. Breaking the material up into small booklets also helps to provide a lot of reading material without making it overwhelming. Each booklet has a fun rhyme, strengthening the use of a particular vowel sound. The color illustrations are cute and funny. (A similar preschool reading book with black-and-white illustrations just didn't hold my child's interest.) The Animal Antics' parent guide and comprehension questions are very useful. And the stickers included with the books reward a child's repeat visits with each booklet. I give this book an A+ for helping preschoolers beginning to read.
Rating:
Summary: Educators Recommend!
Review: For several years the phonics vs. whole language arguments could be heard nearly everywhere---from classrooms to the halls of Congress. Thankfully, we have come to realize that teaching a child to read requires a balanced approach. Yes, phonics should be taught. Yes, children should be exposed to literature. Teachers have known for years that the best reading programs for beginning readers combine both. With regard to phonics, you will find advocates for one particular approach or another. When I gather with my reading teacher colleagues, however, all agree upon the following: the absolute necessity for early phonemic awareness, the need for the child to be able to decode sequentially, and the importance of engaging text. When I examine the various reading programs available, I look specifically for these three things. If they are present, I then look at the program as a whole. How is this program different from others available? Specifically, are the books leveled? Do the illustrations enhance the text? Will the books grab and hold the child's attention? Are the books easy to hold and manipulate? Do the stories encourage fluency and comprehension? Is there a parent or teacher guide available? In reviewing the Now I'm Reading™ program I found all that and more. Six levels comprise the series, from "Pre-Reader" to "Independent." In this review I will discuss the Level 1 books. Each hardbound holder contains 10 paperback books. The holder itself is cleverly designed. The paperbacks are held inside and in place by a large magnetic flap on the outside and individual plastic holders on the inside. There is a parent/teacher guide in the front. Each book comes with a sticker that the child places on the inside front page when he or she is finsihed reading it. In Level 1, beginning readers are exposed to predictable, patterned text. The ten books provide readers with short vowel sounds, simple consonant sounds, and sight words. Fat Cat, for example, exposes the reader to the short vowel a, the sight words "a" and "is," the word ending -s, consonant blends cl, gl, and -st. Sound dry and dull? Not so! It does all this through a delightfully engaging tale about a cat. Pig Jigs, another Level 1 book not only had our beginning reader laughing out loud, but our adult reviewer as well. When both reader and reviewer came back begging for some more books, I knew we had a winner on our hands. As a parent, and now a grandparent, I have had the opportunity to experience several times over the joy of watching a child learn to read. As a reading teacher, I have had the opportunity to experience the heartache of watching teenagers struggle to read simple declarative sentences. After talking to our reviewers, readers, and reading teachers who scrutinized these books, I would, if I could, put a program such as this into the hands of every beginning reader in our nation's schools.
Rating:
Summary: Great confidence booster!
Review: I bought this set of reader books at a book fair when my son was a preschooler, thinking it would motivate him to learnn to read early. It didn't! He was very interested in math and science; however, he refused to try to read on his own. Not wanting to be overly pushy, I put the books away and continued taking him to the library weekly in the hopes that one day he would want to read on his own. Finally, just a few months ago, my kindergartener son began to show interest in sounding out words so we took another look at the Animal Antics series books. My son now loves them! He is finishing the last book of the series and I will be ordering the level 2 set soon. His confidence level has soared with reading and now he will try to read anything and everything he can get his hands on. I believe this series is successful for the following reasons: 1. Each book consistently follows a certain theme, using a specific short-vowel sound and specific sight words (such as "the" and "and"). These are reinforced throughout each book and I think they build confidence. 2. The illustrations are cute, livey and somewhat goofy, which appeals to kids. 3. The stickers, which you place in each book when you have successfully read it, are a real motivator. My son, who has never responded well to the rewards system, is very determined that he master each book so he can put his stickers in them. He then shows the stickers off proudly as if they were awards. In summary, I'm not sure whether these books will make your children want to learn to read, but once they are ready, this is an outstanding resource and confidence booster for your child!
Rating:
Summary: Very motivating books for a beginning reader
Review: My daughter loves animals so I love to find books that have animals in them so they will appeal to her. My daughter loves the whimsical and colorful illustrations and she is very motivated to read from her experiences with these books.
I love these book sets from the Now I'm Reading series. There is a parent guide included and a set of stickers so that when your child finishes a book she can put a sticker in it. There are several stickers for each book so it encourages reading and re-reading the books which is an important key to learning.
Rating:
Summary: Let's Play! Great title to describe this fun series!
Review: The "Let's Play" box set is currently the final level (level 4) of the Now I'm Reading! series by Nora Gaydos. Like the others in this series, it contains ten 10-page books which are each about 5"x5". They come in a shelvable book that looks sort of like a CD case. The case is convenient because you can view each book without actually taking it completely out of the case (an important feature for an indecisive child). Level 4 books have 1-2 short sentences per page (about 10-15 words per page) and include new consonant blends and digraphs, new vowel patterns, various word endings, silent consonants, compound words, contractions, further sight word skills, and they introduce dialogue between characters. The ten books are as follows: What a Sight, Lucky Penny, Frank and Link, Rock Climbing, The Tennis Game, The Big Winner, Kurt Surfs, Swirl and Twirl, The Campsite, and You're It. These books are truly great for keeping the momentum going in the new reader and keeping the confidence high. The skills in these books will give your emerging reader a fantastic base which will easily transfer into larger books and longer sentences. Whenever my son gets discouraged with too many words or too many new things we return to this series and rebuild his confidence. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Wow, finally books my child won't put down!
Review: These are the best books I have found for learning to read. Level One contains ten short books each emphasizing a short vowel sound. Each book starts with just a word or two and adds another word or two on each successive page. For example, "A cub," "A cub dug," "A cub dug up mud," "A cub dug up mud in the sun," etc. They are wonderful because they are so simple and consistent. My five-year-old loves them because the pictures and text are pretty silly. Ten books are found inside sleeves inside a folder with a magnetic closure. The set also includes a parent guide and forty stickers (four for each book) to be placed inside the covers of each book. At the end of each short book there are comprehension questions and questions asking the child to make up his or her own sentences using three words from the lesson and also to find a rhyming word for three words from the lesson. I love that each book focuses on just one vowel sound and doesn't include words which distract the child from learning just that one sound. It makes it easier to focus and less likely to frustrate. Also available are three other sets in the series. Level 2 is long vowel sounds, 3 focuses on longer words and blends, 4 introduces contractions, compounds, and multi-syllable words. All around just a wonderful introduction to reading--quality text and materials.
Rating:
Summary: Simply incredible - my child WANTS to read more!
Review: This series of books has been so enjoyable for my daughter. This is not the first beginning to read series that we have tried, but it has had the most longevity. This is the set that she chooses over Bob Books or the other beginning to read sets we have here. I purchased this book set to work on over the bridge from Kindergarten to First Grade and the excitement that she receives from finishing one of these is wonderful. She wants to read 3 or 4 a night! The drawings are bright and attention getting - and I can usually tell if my daughter is trying to "read" the picture rather than the words by her description of the picture. If you have a child who has learned the early soft phonics sounds and is ready to start applying this knowledge, this set is for you!
Rating:
Summary: Simply incredible - my child WANTS to read more!
Review: This series of books has been so enjoyable for my daughter. This is not the first beginning to read series that we have tried, but it has had the most longevity. This is the set that she chooses over Bob Books or the other beginning to read sets we have here. I purchased this book set to work on over the bridge from Kindergarten to First Grade and the excitement that she receives from finishing one of these is wonderful. She wants to read 3 or 4 a night! The drawings are bright and attention getting - and I can usually tell if my daughter is trying to "read" the picture rather than the words by her description of the picture. If you have a child who has learned the early soft phonics sounds and is ready to start applying this knowledge, this set is for you!
Rating:
Summary: Silly animals make reading fun!
Review: When my daughter started to read a few words, I figured it was time to look for a set of easy phonics books to boost her confidence and hold her interest. She loves animals and the colorful pictures definitely delight her. She loves that there is a sticker that matches each story that she can put on the inside cover. I feel that these books are very well done. She is learning sight recognition words alongside words she can "sound out". In addition to all of this, I like that there is a sturdy binder to keep these books.
Rating:
Summary: Silly animals make reading fun!
Review: When my daughter started to read a few words, I figured it was time to look for a set of easy phonics books to boost her confidence and hold her interest. She loves animals and the colorful pictures definitely delight her. She loves that there is a sticker that matches each story that she can put on the inside cover. I feel that these books are very well done. She is learning sight recognition words alongside words she can "sound out". In addition to all of this, I like that there is a sturdy binder to keep these books.
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