One of our favorite recent discoveries with our three-year-old Z has been the way storytelling and reading have evolved as related but distinct pursuits. We are big storytellers in our household and she enjoys listening to me tell made-up stories, listening to audio stories and contributing characters and ideas of her own to our impromptu sessions. At the same time, she has learned most of the alphabet, works continuously and spontaneously to "write" when drawing, and enjoys turning pages in books, following along with words, and identifying letters in games on websites like Starfall.

On the storytelling side, this evolution has been seamless, with her contributions and comprehension increasing at a smooth and steady clip. When it comes to reading, though, it is easy for parents to discover a gap with no obvious way to fill it as they make the transition from plotless picture books designed to teach spoken language to "early" readers like Harper Trophy's level 1 "I Can Read" books. Bob Books are a great way to bridge that gap.

Books are sold in sets of eight to twelve small books and are cumulative in nature. The first book in Set 1 requires knowledge of four letter sounds - M, A, S, and T - and one sight word, "on." Each subsequent book adds a couple of additional letters, until by the end of the twelve 12-page books, you've added the entire alphabet except "Q" as well as short-vowel sounds and a few more sight words, with each book continuing to use the letters and words introduced in previous books.

One of my favorite things about these books not addressed in other reviews I've read is that whenever possible the characters or objects in the illustrations are positioned according to word order. This is not always the case and some visual interest would be lost if they were but whenever it is natural to the content they are. I think this is genius, and the more complex the language of the books gets, the more interesting this process becomes.

The first of the images below is a photo by Jessica Clarkson; the others are our page scans.




These are small books, about 3x4" (that's a guess), lightweight, paperback, and stapled. They are sold in a box which does doesn't fake any additional bulk with interior cladding and which is actually the best way to store the books. Drawings are simple and include a single spot color.

A set of the books runs $16.99 retail and at first what I held in my hands felt a bit underwhelming for the price. But as we have used the first set in our home, the design has come to feel more like an evocation of the simplicity behind these books. I've also begun to realize just how much reading material is in a box - eight to twelve books per set - and to appreciate the key reason they are not simply bundled together in a book of sequenced stories. The co-creators of this series are a former schoolteacher and her architect and designer husband (he does the illustrations), and their unique blend of experience shows. These books are designed from start to finish to help kids gain confidence in reading books "all by themselves." Having small, individual books that are easy to handle is as important to this series as teaching sounds and letters a few at a time.

Bob Books sent us Sets 1 and 2 to review. Z is just now ready for them - they are labeled to be used starting at age 4, but she loves to listen to them, and since she basically knows the alphabet we think she'll start picking up the sounds soon. We went ahead and bought Set 4 for around $10 when we spotted it at a local discount bookstore.

I was surprised to discover that all the book sets currently sell for $11.55 direct from Amazon.com, over 30% below list, with free shipping if you're spending $25 on anything they warehouse. Bob Books also sells them online at a discount from list, currently at $14.95. There is also a limited-time "oversized" edition currently for sale at Costco, although there's no word on the price.

Here's a bit about each of the sets in the series.

Set 1: Beginning Readers: Twelve books with 12 pages each. Short, three-letter words and all letters of the alphabet except Q are introduced a couple at a time. This is the set we're enjoying with Z now. Plots are scant but she does not seem to care. She is fascinated by following along and seems ready to begin identifying the most obvious words (paired with their pictures) at any moment!

Set 2: Advancing Beginners: Twelve books with 16 pages each. Consistent short-vowel sounds and three-letter words. More words per page and more plurals. Plots thicken.

Level 3: Word Families: Ten books with 16 pages each. Consonant combinations, longer words and sentences, plus two activity books. When we're ready for it, we'll be buying this.

Level 4: Compound Words: Eight books, four with 16 pages and four with 24 pages. Multi-syllabic words, letter blends, longer compound words, more sight words, and additional word endings. We went ahead and purchased this set when we saw it on sale.

Level 5: Long Vowels: Eight books, four with 16 pages and four with 24 pages. Longer stories and long vowels. I'm curious to see if we'll need this set or if Z will be fully transitioned to longer books before we get there. We'll take a wait-and-see approach, but if her current level of interest is any indication, we'll probably end up with this set too.

This post from the ZRecs Archives was originally published on August 28, 2007. - Jeremiah