Bob Books, Set 1: Beginning Readers
by Bobby Lynn Maslen
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Book Reviews of Bob Books, Set 1: Beginning Readers
Book Review: My son couldn't read
Summary: 5 Stars
My son went to Pre-K and Kindergarten at public school. When Kindergarten was over he still did not know all of his letters and the corresponding sound that they make. He would say that he was stupid because his brain could not hold things in his head. The teachers were telling me that he could not move forward and learn to spell words or read until he knew his letters. I tried a couple of different approaches but they simply didn't work with him. A homeschooling friend recommended these books. I thought i could use them to teach him his letters and sounds, and then we would work on reading. (At the beginning of each book it shows the 1 to 4 new letters it teaches in that book. That book only uses the letters it is teaching or ones previously taught, in addition to sight words, to create the words and story for the kids to read.) My son did not want to read the books himself when i first got them. I could tell he was frustrated with the very idea of reading. I told him I would read them to him. He liked that. As i started reading he started to parrot me. He was soon sounding out words that he could not name the letters of. Then, with reviewing the letters and sounds on the first page, he learned his letters and their sounds.
I used these books and Phonics Pathways by Dolores G. Hiskes to teach him reading skills. He is now reading. But the most important thing to me is that he is enjoying it and has confidence. I have seen children struggle to learn to read over the years. In my experience, with love and support and tutoring, they eventually learn to read. But they often think they are stupid or avoid it like a disease. My son now knows that he can succeed and enjoys the process. It doesn't get much better than that.
Book Review: Priceless and a sense of accomplishment for the child.
Summary: 5 Stars
When using the Bob Books, I found if used in conjunction with a phonics program, it just reinforced what I was trying to teach. We homeschool so it was vital to find something that not only encouraged my child at the stage of very early reading but was also simple. I have an accelerated learner.
She started her first few Bob Books when she was just 3 yrs old... I know many of you may think that is too young, but she was writing her own name before she turned 3 and adding & subtracting a year later.
Anyway back to the Bob Books, we originally started them and then she got hung up on one and didn't want to move on, I put the books away... Fast Forward a year later... when she was 4... we started using the phonics program called "Explode The Code" she quickly progressed and I pulled the Bob Books back out and started a reading tree, so that for every book she would read by herself, she would earn a leaf on her 'reading tree' and we put the date she read it. (This included the Bob Books) With the Bob Books we quickly mastered what was needed in addition to the Explode The Code workbooks and let me tell you.. She has EXPLODED with her ability to read.
The 2 working in conjunction the Bob Books and the Explode the Code set the stage for her ability to be strengthened as well as confidence and she is reading on a 2nd grade level and most of her peers are only starting Kindergarten this school year 2008-2009. I kinda let her learn at her pace and that is one of the many advantages of Homeschooling... we now don't have to wait for everyone to catch up... we can keep on going. :)
These are only some suggestions that have worked for our family.
Remember to do what is best for you and your family.
Book Review: Quick help for special needs children!
Summary: 5 Stars
My son is 3 and in the autism spectrum--so he memorizes...EVERYTHING. He doesn't use his brain to figure anything out: it's either pulled from memory, or he tunes out.
When he started memorizing the shapes of letters and the words they equate to (essentially sight-reading), I panicked. I understand the value in sight-reading, but for us it was another "domain" added to the vicious memorization issue. I felt like I needed to teach him phonetic reading--and fast.
Enter the "Bob books". HALLELUJAH! My son had known the sounds associated with letters for over a year. The Bob books were SO SIMPLE that he was able to master them quickly and shot through the first set so fast that I had to express order sets 2 and 3. Two months later, he read the word "restaurant" and "bakery" to me. He is regularly using his brain to figure out new words... it's WONDERFUL!
Two weeks ago, I became foster mom to a selective mute 8yo girl who was fooling people about her reading ability--partially because she didn't speak, so nobody could truly judge it. Well, she can't read. She has limited sight words if anything at all. I had to start her on book 1 of set 1 of the Bob books and she's just barely getting by--but the accomplishment has her on the edge of her seat looking for the next book. She's gaining confidence by the day as we work through them.
I love these books. I tell everyone I know about them! The progression is wonderful. The length of the books is perfect for beginning readers or struggling readers or children with attention problems--who need small steps and some sense of accomplishment to move forward. These books are worth every dime I paid for them.
Book Review: I read it all by myself! (Thanks to Bob Books)
Summary: 5 Stars
My 3-year-old son has been interested in sounding out words and even trying to write them since he was 2 1/2, and recently he has been clamoring to read alone -- but understandably, at his age it is way too hard to explain all the rules and exceptions of the English language. He has been frustrated when we always have to run to his aid for hard words, and has taken to memorizing the story lines in order to be able to "read" the words that he can't sound out. For that reason, the books we all buy for our children are not always ideal for them to read by themselves -- not even the Caldecott winners, as they tell great stories with words children understand when they hear them, but that is different from being designed for learning how to read the words. So when I found a few solitary beginning Bob Books at a discount store for next to nothing, and saw that they seemed to use only simple words in which every letter makes the sound it is supposed to make (i.e., words like "cat" and "sun," but not "high" or "key"), I picked them up. That same day my son, at just 3 and 2 months, was able to sit down and read one of those books cover to cover without an adult's assistance for a single word. And then the next one. And the next one. So suffice it to say, I am on Amazon now at his insistence, to buy the rest of this series. I suppose I'm pretty proud to have a son who has decided he wants to learn to read by himself at barely 3, but all kids are different, and I'll hold off on the back-patting until he gets into Harvard. The moral of the story is just that whatever age your kid is, when he or she wants to learn how to read alone, these books are perfect for the purpose.Book Review: Good but may not be for everyone...
Summary: 3 Stars
My daughter just started kindergarten and is enthusiastic about reading, however, she's been a little slower to pick up a solid understanding of phonics and blending letters into words than I would like. I'm preschool teacher so I do have a few tricks up my sleeve in teaching early reading skills but every child/person is different. This process was a lot easier for my older son so I have been trying different methods to try to discover and appeal to my daughter's particular learning style. The Bob books have been fine. She was excited to be able to "read" the first few books all on her own (even though they're a little on the boring side, especially with repetition). However, she was still having trouble reading the words in the book when they were in a different context than the book. She was really just memorizing the words and using cues from the pictures to "read". I know that some rote memorization of site words is a necessary part of learning to read but I really want her to begin building a firm foundation in how to decode words by sounding them out. I've seen how having a firm grip on phonics has helped my son who is in 2nd grade but reading at at 4th grade + level. Anyway, I would probably recommend the Bob Books as part of a parents repetoire of materials to help boost their child's reading but you may need other tools in addition to the Bob Books. We're trying Hooked on Phonics right now (using a combination of DVD instruction, workbooks & easy readers (similar to the Bob books)and stickers to reward progress. So far, my daughter shows more interest in the Hooked on Phonics and I enjoy doing the lessons with her... we'll see how it goes.