Testimonials
Little Miss: "I will read books to the baby when he’s born."
Dad: "Okay, but you have to learn your letter sounds to read books."
Little Miss: "Okay."
That innocent conversation took place four months ago when my daughter was 3-years-and-4-months-old. She completed her first book the very same month.
Her first book was called "Mat," the first in a series of 50 child-size 5.5"x4" Scholastic paperbacks collectively known as Bob Books.
Read more of this terrific blog entry at 
"Little Miss" reads Peg and Ted from Set 1. 6 minute recording
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From a Spanish Speaking Parent
I am a parent that speaks Spanish and I´m trying to teach English to my son. I am using your books (I have the Listen & Read collection with CD) and I am very proud of the progress of my son. For parents who do not speak English as a mother tongue is easy to teach with audio CD.
Thanks, Juan L.
From Colombia (South America).
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Mom of Many Blessings
I just wanted to let you know that I have been using the Bob Books to teach my children to read for many years. So far, 12 of the 15 are readers now. We have successfully launched (graduated) 6 of our 15 children – and they all grew up with the Bob books. Bob Books were and are the highlight of their Kindergarten year!
[insert photo]
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Molly Reading
Our family loves Bob Books! This video shows our four-year old daughter reading the first book, "Mat". As you can see, she has a real enthusiasm for the book, I think she enjoys this series so much because of the sense of fun and humor all Bob Books contain. We love seeing her self esteem and confidence blossom from that sense of accomplishment she gets when she reads the whole book all by herself. Watching her read has been one of the greatest joys Ive experienced so far as a parent and for that I thank you Bob Books! I would recommend these books to anyone who has a young child that has shown signs of reading readiness -- your child will amaze you with how quickly they can go from being a guided reader to reading all by themselves. Bob Books have been a fantastic starting point for our daughter as each book builds on the next developing her skill as a reader step by step. These are simple readers with great pictures and a funny storyline that really engages our daughter. Bob Books really do make learning to read seem easy and fun!
--Martha B, San Diego, CA
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Trevor Reading
Trevor is three years old and is just beginning to read. We did an experiment bringing the Bob Books home from the library and having him read them for the first time on camera. He did great! He is so proud of himself too. We look forward to him reading additional Bob Books levels!
Marika G., Sammamish, WA
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Singing with Mat
How did singing the Bob books come about?
I am presently homeschooling my 6 year old and I also have a 3-year old. Because of my background as a music educator, my children are what I call "musical learners." I have noticed that my children, grasp certain concepts easier when set to music. So in an effort to help my children and the children at a local private school where I teach music part-time, I began putting music to concepts that the children are learning. (It is like, choosing a fiction or nonfiction book.) So, I have been choosing to write songs that are entertaining as well as educate.
The school has a set of Bob books and I have been writing melodies and singing them with some of their classes. The children love the songs. We also play games and act out the songs. (Music and movement)
My quest is to on purpose integrate the curriculum with the classroom teacher. In other words, if you are teaching the states and capitols in social studies class, in music class we are singing a song that uses the states and capitols as lyrics. If the math teacher is teaching skip counting, in music class we are singing a skip counting song. etc......
So enjoy, singing the Bob Books.
F. S. Beresford
http://www.kurtguard.com/mat.html
01_Mat_new_melody_2.mp3
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I wanted to let you know how wonderful the Bob books are!
I am a mom to of a 2.5 year old boy! When he was 18 months, I taught him the letters of our alphabet and he knew the letters at random. At 23 months, we worked on the "sounds" of each letter and made simple three letter words -- bat, pat, mat etc.
I tried some easy reading books for beginners, and found that they all started off logically and then would have combination type words (e.g. coat), that my son could not read. He was definitely not ready to read those types of words. A friend of mine recommended the Bob books, and so I bought the first set! My son read through the first set with not much difficulty. I was very impressed at the pace of the books. It progresses very logically and challenges the reader, without frustrating the reader.
I am proud to say that my 2.5 year old boy reads with little to no help for the first 2 SETS of Bob Books! He sounds out each letter and says the word. He also infers what will happen next in the book. The best part is that when we are shopping, he picks up an item, and can sound out words on most items!
Being a teacher, I am extremely critical with books, but I find these books are totally wonderful for any reader!
Many Thanks! Linda F., Ajax, Ontario
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My First Bob Books
I learned to love Bob Books years ago when my now senior in high school was learning to read. I am now using them with some of the children in my preschool class. I purchased the My First Bob Books, Pre-Reading Skills set and am reading it to them. I like that your program incorporates many of the same things we do at preschool—shapes, patterns and sequencing!
Thanks! Alison L
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International Bob Books
I just wanted to thank you for creating Bob Books. We live overseas, so I am teaching my little boy to read English at home. Your books have made it fun and painless. He is proud of himself and motivated to keep going. And now, with only three books left to go, in the last box, he is really reading.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We couldn't have done it without Bob..
Beth T., A grateful mom in the Czech Republic.
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First Grade Teacher
I am a first grade teacher in North Carolina and I LOVE Bob Books. These books will put your child on the road to success with reading. They are the "fun" phonics readers. My students love Bob Books and so does my four year old son. Thank you for these wonderful phonics readers!
Angela Adams, National Board Certified Teacher
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Second Generation Reading with Bob Books
I learned to read by using Bob Books in the early/mid 80's. I sincerely cannot wait to introduce my daughter to this awesome series. They were a favorite of mine, and I'm hoping she will love them as much as I did.
Thank you, Holly, Mililani, Hawaii
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20 years later
I felt compelled to email you about Bob books. First of all I was not sure they still existed!
My daughter was born 20 yrs. ago. in 1988. She was talking full sentences by the time she was 1 year old. When she was between 18 mo. and two yrs. she said to me "Mommy, I want to read." Books had always been a very important part of our lives. I read several books to her every night.
But when she asked to learn to read, I thought "Oh no, how do I teach a two year old how to read?" I found out about Bob Books from a teacher friend of mine. I bought a set and started using them. My daughter was reading at two years old! By the time she was four she was reading cereal boxes, newspapers, magazines, anything she could get her hands on.
When she started kindergarten she tested out of third grade reading level, her teacher said she didn't have testing materials high enough for her. Her teacher had my daughter, Ashley, reading to the class as a reward for not complaining about the simple work, LOL! Then the other teachers started having her come to their classrooms to read to their students, and this was in kindergarten! (I didn't mention that she was only 4 when she started kindergarten.) Well she graduated in 2006 with a 98 average, and as Salutatorian.
And Bob Books started it all for us! Thank you so much!
~Wendy B.
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What to read after Set 5
My wife and I love your books for our son Carson. He was 4 years old when he read the Bob Books.
Now that we’ve finished Set 5, I believe there's no lack of reading material. My son just turned 5, and he's reading at a mid-second grade reading level. He goes through 12-14 books per week, and we have a seemingly endless supply of books. Early readers tend to like to read a lot, which causes a great deal of work for the parents.
Get very comfortable with your library. Our library (like many others) is networked with a large group of libraries, so you can request books from other places. Our library has a nice website where you can do all your book searches and book requests online, so you spend a relatively short period of time at the library itself.
Here are some sources we use.
Series Books:
1. Books written by Syd Hoff
2. Curious George series
3. Clifford the Big Red Dog series
4. Mercer Mayer's Little Critter books
5. Dr. Seuss books (ranges from very easy-to-read to 2nd or 3rd grade reading level)
6. Amelia Bedelia books
7. Books written by Audrey Wood
8. Books written by Martin Waddell
Our library has a binder containing the local school system's reading list by grade level. This book list goes beyond the school's required in-school reading. It's possible other libraries have something similar. You may ask a librarian about this, or the elementary school(s) may have a list of possible reading material.
Step Into Reading books are a great resource, and most of these books can be found at the library. http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/books/step/
Sonlight Curriculum has a fantastic list of readers. Their books are listed by reading level. It's a Christian-based group. Most of the books in the Readers section are just interesting stories. They also have a good list of books about world cultures, history and geography. You can go to www.sonlight.com and order a catalog from them. Many of these books you also can get from the library.
Sheridan Worldwise, www.wwise.com, has a nice list of science literature from Pre-K to 8th grade level. Many of these books you can find at the library.
Tony
