Muse Reviews » Intro to reading can be fun with BOB!

Intro to reading can be fun with BOB!

Heard of BOB Books? These beginning readers are published by the wonderful folks at Scholastic. I’ve seen them in stores, but wasn’t quite sure what all the hype was about.

I wasn’t even sure I wanted to try readers with the kids yet — although their mastering of the alphabet early on combined with their flying through phonetic sounds and the recognition of simple sight words made me think I should maybe try. After all, they’re starting to ask how to learn to read. I can’t question it when they’re the initiators!

Scholastic sent us Set 1 (Beginning Readers) and Set 2 (Advancing Readers) of Bob Books to try out. I was super impressed at their clever, compact packaging and simple pamphlet-like books….less bulk, more substance. The books are light and small, easy to carry around (which our 2-year-old daughter does — she totes these little books all over the house every single day).

Each set of BOB Books has a certain number of titles within it (8 to 12), each book short and easily digestible, focusing on certain letters, letter sounds, and simple letter combinations. The books are numbered so that the child can “master” one book and move on to the next. In the back of every kit is a parental guide/sheet which tells about what’s inside….as well as offers hints on teaching your child to read. There are five sets of BOB Books, in addition to a NEW set of My First BOB Books for pre-readers.

The kids were first of all enamored by the simple cartoon-like illustrations of whimsical, bubbly folks. Colors don’t detract from the words — each book has only one color filling in parts of the black-and-white graphics. (Ahhh! Simplicity!)

As we began to read through them together, the kids enjoyed pointing to the words along with me as I went through the pages, making the phonetic sounds for each word we came to, repeating after me. I was also thrilled to see that these books will help with the consonant sounds they’re both having a little trouble sounding out (such as c’s and l’s).

Though sets 1-5 are intended for ages 4 and up, I am glad we are starting on them early. These will become more and more used and valued as they learn more and more letter sounds and begin putting letters together into words.

I can’t say enough about how great and uncomplicated BOB Books are. The stories are cute and entertaining. The theory is super user-friendly and, and the overall implementation is an excellent self-esteem booster. It’s fantastic to see my daughter’s eyes sparkle and shine when she spouts out a recognized sight word, or see my son beam with pride when he correctly identifies the sound a letter makes.

It’s so nice to find books that go back to the basics — letters and the sounds they make — phonics, pure and simple. It’s the Montessori way, it’s the way I was taught. It’s the way I want my children to learn to read! Thanks, BOB Books, for helping make learning phonics a lot more fun!

BOB Books can be found directly via the BOB Books website, at the ever-popular Scholastic Store, at Amazon.com, or at most major book retailers. (**Also new from BOB Books: The Listen & Read Series complete with audio CDs!)

Win it! Scholastic has oh-so-generously offered TEN of you one set of BOB Books Set 1! All you need to do is visit the Scholastic Store and, in one comment, tell me one other book or item you see that would be useful in teaching your children to read. I’ll accept entries through 11pm EST next Wednesday, November 19th, 2008. Sorry; U.S. addresses only. Good luck!

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I really like the Draw it Again book. My niece would really like this book. Thanks for the great giveaway!

So hard to choose just one book, but the Clifford Let’s Spell book looks pretty neat for letter recognition and beginning reading. Great giveaway – sounds like a very useful product!

Sight Word Tales looks like a great resource!

I think my oldest would appreciate the All About Deer book.

Great giveaway – I had a good look around, and would choose Little Kids…Trace! – My son has started a pre-school (he is 3) but he has never traced before he got there so isn’t very adept yet.

I think the I Spy Library would be great in developing reading skills. Thanks for the great giveaway!

I like “My First Taggies: Hey, Diddle, Diddle” – it’s a touchy-feely book that I think my daughter would like. And the rhyme is so sweet! Thanks for the great giveaway!

I would pick the How Do Dinosaurs…? Pocket Library. He LOVES dinosaurs and would be motivated to read about them. Thanks for an awesome giveaway!

I really liked the childrens dictionary. Thanks so much for the AWEsome Give-Oh-Way!

Oh I’ve wanted to get Bob books for a while but haven’t yet! What a great giveaway! I bet the Clifford library set would be great for teaching reading too, all kids love Clifford so they’d loving reading his adventures.

I would love to get You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together. It uses both rhythm and rhyme to make short cute verses to read together. My son loves rhyme and it helps him learn other words that are similar.

I Spy Phonics Fun Boxset
Go Diego Go! Phonics Box
those would help out alot here…

lilhottemomma@yahoo.com

Fly High, Fly Guy
gkstratos@yahoo.com

The ABC Match and Learn Game looks like it would be great at helping my kids learn to read.

The Sight Word Tales would help me teach my 4 year old to read and write. Thanks!

My daughter really loves the BOB books. We own the first box set and it has been amazing at helping to teach and build her confidence as a new reader! I would use the second set as a gift for my niece who is entering the pre reader stage!
The scholastic site is great I would probably check out the Come Rhyme With Me! It looks like a really fun way to show word relation! I think my kindergartner would really like it.
Thanks for the entry.
tonyamcrain (at) aol (dot) com

The Lego: Learn with Lego Books: Colors looks like it would be good. Thanks for the giveaway.

My son loves Goosebumps and would love Deep Trouble!

I didn’t realize they had so many different things there! The Draw it Again book looks like something my granddaughter would love.
Thanks!

The Little scholastic numbers book would be great for my family – reading and math in one book! Thanks!

we are HUGE fans of Clifford (no pun intended. – and by going to the Scholastic site, I noticed they’re having a 75% off sale. Waaaaay cool. Thanks, Meg!

The Care Bears Reader collection would be fun for my daughter to practice sight reading and learn new words.

Thanks for the giveaway!
foxsquirrelrabbit AT gmail DOT com

The new Tag Reading system looks great for learning to read.

I think that the following animal alphabet books would be great for learning to read also!!
http://store.scholastic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay_Animal+Parade+Alphabet+Cards_10727_-1_10052_10051

I was going to buy the BOB series last year through the school Scholastic order but they started with Box Set #2 so I didn’t. Wish I had!

At the scholastic store, I found SmartPads!: Phonics Grades K-2 that would be helpful for my kids. They love workbooks.

I’ve always liked the game I Spy, so I would pick that series.

I heard that Blokus is a good educational game for children and I have been thinking of getting this for my daughter for Christmas.

The Oops!: A Diaper David Book is adorable.

hetz-junk(at)hotmail(dot)com

The I Spy series of books are great to read and you can start young with them too!

What a great giveaway prize drawing. Bob books are wonderful. I also like the “How Do Dinosaurs…? Pocket Library. Please enter my name in your delightful drawing. Many thanks…..Cindi

I like Good Boy, Fergus!

janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

My kids would love the I Spy Phonics Fun Boxset.

I’d use the chunky Jumbo ABC puzzle to help with letter recognition and phonics

I think “Knut: The Baby Polar Bear” would be helpful because engaging books and easiest to teach!

I think the I SPY Reader Collection Level 1 would be useful for my little guy!

This sounds different, but I love using our calendar to help with reading in real life situations for my 3 year old. The magnetic calendar they offer would be perfect. He is learning to recognize the days of the week and the numbers, and I am teaching him to read the simple activities we write on it (Doctor for instance by putting on a doctor sticker next to it). Color coding, illustrations, and a routine all help him in developing awareness for the ABC world out there

My kids love books. And they love Clifford the Big Red Dog from TV. So I think the “Clifford the Big Red Dog 40th Anniversary Edition” would be perfect for them. Thanks!

I think the Clifford: Let’s Spell activity book would help my daughter learn how to read. Great giveaway!
hematopoiesis at hotmail dot com

The Tag Reading System would be a great tool for kids starting to read.

I LOVE BoB books!! I have a beginning reader at my house & one on the way!! We would get a lot of use out of them! On the Scolastic site, I’d like to try the “I’m Learning My Phonics Flashcards and CD Set”…

My son loves dinosaurs. We would enjoy How do Dinosaurs…? picture book set!

For my young son I would also like the Little Scholastic collection of books – the star one looks cute, as do the finger puppet sets! Thanks for the entry!

the Dora Phonics book looks like it would be very helpful!

I like to use audio books, such as The Gingerbread Man or The Little Red Hen, with my kids, as they learn to read so they can follow along with the narration in their own books.

The ‘I Spy Phonics’ Boxset would be great for exploring consonants, vowels, and general letter recognition.

I would love to have the You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together. my son is just starting to read so this would definitely be helpful. Thanks for a great giveaway

We love legos in this house, and I think the Lego books would be a huge hit. Thanks for the great giveaway!

This sweepstakes has been featured on Sweepstakes Advantage, http://www.sweepsadvantage.com. The Web’s Largest Directory of Free Online Sweepstakes. Good Luck to Everyone!

I am a teacher and I would love these for one of my students

wow, this giveaway is simply fantastic. My husband and I were just talking about starting trying to teach our 4 year old to read. This set would be great and wildly used at our home.

I would love to win, in addition I think that the Dora phonics would also be a big hit here…

crossing my fingers!

I LOVE the BOB books, they have been on my wishlist! I also like the Little Scholastic Baby Days set!

I like the The Very Hungry Caterpillar Book & CD, a classic

[...] Muse Reviews – BOB Books Set 1 (Nov 19th) [...]

Sight Word Tales looks like it would really be useful in teaching beginning readers.
Thanks!

I think any book is good for teaching kids to read, you can read all kinds of different level books, to a cereal box. Books are wonderful. I think the new series of books w/ dvds are great for the newer generation that won’t exactly sit quietly with a book. More adventure. Like the Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day set!

I like the rainbow magic books, they look like something my girls would love.

my both daughters (6 & 4.5) just finished learn to read with bob books..I love every scholastic product. I don’t have to look at the website to come up with name.I entirely trust this brand for my kids.My friend’s daughter would be greatly benefited by this set.thanks

Wow, those BOB books look great. My daughter loves practicing her letters, so she would enjoy Look, Write & Remember Letter Formation Practice Pages.

These are great!!
http://elislids.blogspot.com/

I love the Dora the Explorer:
My First Crystal and Fizz Adventure Kit. It’s true they are never too young to start teaching them the sciences.

Thanks for the wonderful giveaway.

Nice giveaway! I think the Dr. Seuss Learning Cards ABC would be beneficial in helping my four year old grandson learn to read.
smchester at gmail dot com

I SPy Phonics fun would be an excellent way to sharpen my daughters beginning reading skills, she just loves the I Spy book series.

Go Diego Go Phonics box would be great for my little grandson. He dressed as Diego for his halloween costume so that would be a great motivator as he begins his early reading skills

“Scholastic Reader Level 1: On the Road” by Wade Cooper looks like a great early reader for boys especially.

The montesorri school my son went to last year had these books and they were great, would love to have a set at home! The other book I found on Scholastic website that I think would be helpful in learning to read is Go, Diego, Go! Phonics Box Set Pack 2

FOR MY GRAND DAUDHTER LANEY

We are avid readers my boys really enjoy dr seuss and shel silverstein, always looking to add to our library

The Simple Words Puzzle Pairs are great for letter-sound recognition!

My kids love the computer, but are getting tired of the same learning games. They’d love the Clifford Phonics Reading Pack CD-ROM and book set. Thanks for the giveaway! I homeschool my kids and have been looking into purchasing these sets!

My daughter loves books, she would love Oh, David!: A Diaper David Book!

Great giveaway! Please enter me.

I really love the looks of the Clifford Phonics sets as well.

Thanks
RebekahC
littleminx@cox.net

This is a great giveaway! My daughter loves books, and seems to be in a princess/fairy stage right now, so I think she’d love the Fairy Colors and Fairy Numbers books, among others, even though she knows her colors and numbers already. I’m always looking for new things (and new ways) to teach her–that is why we’d love these BOB books. Thanks again for the opportunity.

I think the Tag Reading System would be useful for teaching kids how to read.

Any books that have just a few words on each page, are great to teach to read.

This is a great gift

I think The Lego: Learn with Lego Books would be good!

I think my son would love the How Do Dinosaurs… series. The books are cute and very engaging.

The I Spy Catalogue would help with mine.

My daugther would love the Care Bears Reader Collection!

Scholastic Hands-On Learning: Tonka Construction Trucks. These are cards that can help kids learn. I think my son would be interested because he LOVES trucks!

oh this would be amazing! I stay at home with my little man and we read all the time! I want to do as much as I can for him BEFORE he goes off to school one day! I like the lego color book too! I think it would help as well!

For my daughter, “Get Ready for First Grade” would be really helpful.

I would love to use the A to Z Letter Formation Practice Pages with my daughter as she’s learning letters and phonics. Thanks!

The Leap Into Phonics software would be great for teaching reluctant readers.

Deidre

we love reading david shannon books so i would for sure want his new book and i would also like the where the wild things are dvd my girls love that story

I really like the Draw it Again book.

i love the The TAG Reading System

The Junie B. Jones books have helped my son to learn to read!

We love the HOW DO DINOSAURS…..POCKET LIBRARY!!! Truly inspires a child to learn, create and read in the most magical of ways!!!

Thanks so much for this fabulous give~away! : )))

leahita[at]gmail[dot]com

[...] Muse Reviews – BOB Books Set 1 (Nov 19th) [...]

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