Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons: Revised and Updated Second Edition

I first bought this book in 2004 when I had a rising 4-year-old. She was a very keen little learner anyway, knowing all her letters and sounds. Using this book, she was reading independently by the time we got to Lesson 33. Three children later, they've all stopped before Lesson 60, reading independently. I don't think that's entirely up to my brilliant children <smile>. I think it's due in large part to this book. Why does this deserve to be the top book for teaching a child to read? Well, I've seen a lot of styles of reading education: Montessori, whole book, phonics, etc., as I am a homeschool teacher as well as a trained secondary school teacher. This book is the best because: it teaches letter sounds phonetically; it teaches how to write them from Lesson 1, choosing two letters at a time; it teaches blending better than any other method I've ever seen (it isn't kuh-a-tuh, but cat); and because it introduces "b" a long time before it introduces "d", there doesn't seem to be the confusion between those two letters that other methods struggle with. The best thing about it is, that as a parent, it's completely foolproof. You simply read what it tells you to read, in the way it tells you to read it, and honestly, bob's your uncle! There are three things that I think are important to remember, though: first, you as the parent have to be consistent in working through the book (c'mon, it's only 15 minutes at the most, so fitting it in as daily routine shouldn't be impossible); second, your child has to be ready and willing, so you might have to try to start it on several different occasions (note: you might have to whiz through the first ten lessons if you're child is anxious to start -- I had one who kept wanting to do Lesson 55 from the beginning, and though she wasn't actually capable of doing it, I realised she wanted to start a bit further ahead in the book than Lesson 1); and finally, read aloud as much as you can of other books so the child can see the joy and pleasure in the whole experience and not think of it as yet another chore centred around homework.

I didn't even get half way through this book with my 4 1/2 year old and she could read. The book actually got tedious for her because she become so proficient. Of course, we had been teaching her the alphabet since she was 2 1/2, and she could recognize words like Bible and her own name. My daughter is now a very good reader, and regularly gets positive comments from adults at how well she reads. Some parents have told us that she reads as well as their 8 year old. A friend of ours was so impressed that she bought the book to help teach her 6 year old who goes to public school. Our 4 year old is now using it, and she is struggling a little. We were not as diligent to teach her the alphabet at a young age, nor could she recognize simple words. We just felt we didn't have the time. We also feel her natural strengths don't lie in the same areas as our first daughter. All said she is progressing using this book, and it is a book we will definitely be using for years to come (we have 5 children and our oldest is 5). Definitely well worth it, and the price at the moment is amazing. We paid almost 40 for ours (still worth it) BTW I almost gave up on the book, because of the lengthy introduction, but don't give up. I got determined, I sat down, I read through it in one sitting and I have never looked back. Once the intro is out of the way you will have a good undertsanding of how it works, and you can always look back for reference, as I do, if you get a bit confused or forget if a sound is long or short.

Our daughter was starting to read quite a few words by herself, so I decided to get us a book to help us approach learning to read with a bit of 'structure''. (My daughter is under 5, and we homeschool; structure is something we don't use much!) We are loving this book. So far we have done 16 of the 100 lessons and it is amazing to see how her whole approach to reading has 'come together'. The lessons are really simple, and you, as 'teacher' are told exactly what to say to your child at each point in the lesson, which works surprisingly well. The book uses the phonics method, with an ingenious slightly-modified alphabet that originally put me off - for about two minutes. At the end of each lesson there is a simple exercise in writing the sounds you have learned, so it also teaches writing, and from about lesson 14 onwards, there are little comprehension exercises. It's all taken at a really slow pace, but the results are amazing! A lesson takes between 10 and 20 minutes. My daughter loves having her 'grown up' lessons but they do not overstretch her attention span. I would recommend this book to anyone. One tip, before you start the book, have on hand an exercise book with the pages lined for children's writing practise. This is great as a record of your child's progress, can be used as a book mark and adds to the sense of achievement she will feel as her lessons progress. Joolz

This book, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, has been absolutely amazing. It’s super easy to read, well-structured, and very easy to teach, even if you don’t have any teaching experience. The lessons are clear, short, and laid out in a way that makes it simple to follow step by step. My child stayed engaged, and I could see real progress quickly. The instructions tell you exactly what to say and do, which takes all the guesswork out of teaching reading at home. It truly builds confidence for both the parent and the child. The price was very reasonable for the value you get, especially compared to tutoring or other programs. This is a practical, effective tool that delivers real results. If you’re looking for an easy-to-follow, affordable, and proven reading program, this book is a fantastic choice. I’m very happy with this purchase and would definitely recommend it to other parents.

Book looks boring but my kids enjoyed the stories and it builds in such a way they never got frustrated. Used the book to teach 2 of my kids and now started with my three year old.

We have personally become big fans of Siegfried Engelmann because of this book. Based on Direct Instruction system: meaning teaching in very small incremental steps. If you are not able to teach your child how to read through this book, then there can be 99.9% two reasons only... 1. Your child is too young, so you need to try after a couple of months, OR 2. You are not following the book instructions properly, so read again the instruction part and focus on what are you missing out.

A veces los niños que entienden inglés pero su lengua principal es otro idioma, tienen problemas para leer en el cole porque cuando leen utilizan los fonemas de su lengua principal, estos no encajan con lo que tienen aprendido del inglés en la cabeza. Ha sido una gran ayuda, paso por paso, y ahora lee y entiende sin problemas.

We're on lesson 29 and he's learned so much already! I'm impressed with how he tries to sound things out in daily life as well. I love the script and my son gets so excited when there's a new sound or when he reads something new. This book makes teaching phonics-based reading so simple. We are supplementing with BOB books. I'll update this review if my opinion changes as we continue to work through the book.