Bob Books - Set 1: Beginning Readers Box Set | Phonics, Ages 4 and up, Kindergarten (Stage 1: Starting to Read)

As a teacher, I absolutely love the Bob Books – Animal Stories Box Set for young readers! This set is a fantastic collection of decodable phonics books that make early reading practice meaningful and confidence-building. Each story is carefully leveled so that kids can practice specific phonics skills — which is exactly what we strive for in Kindergarten and early literacy instruction. The animal-themed stories are engaging and fun, so students are excited to read them independently. I’ve used these in small groups, literacy centers, and one-on-one interventions, and they work beautifully in all settings. Since the text is simple and predictable, emergent readers actually read the words (not guess them), which builds fluency and accuracy. Over the course of using these books, I’ve seen my students gain confidence and reading stamina. Overall, this set is a must-have for teachers who want high-quality, decodable practice — especially for students who are ready to make that leap from letter sounds to real reading. Highly recommended!

I am a high school teacher. When my first was little, I tried some other phonics books. They didn't work until my kid was already reading pretty proficiently. With my next child I tried Bob Books because they were recommended by my peers. These are so much better. They are layed out in a very methodical, step by step way. My child reads them with help at first, but is able to sound out every word. (with only one or two sight words in this set like "the") It makes so much more sense. You must reread each of these books at 3 or more times before moving on. You can then go back and periodically reread them. They are very short, so it does not take up much time. It will also give your child confidence and develop reading fluency. Reading should't always feel difficult. We have enjoyed some of the stories which have humor perfect for the age group. The drawings of people do look a bit silly, but they are working in shapes and numbers into the books. We are almost finished with this set, so I bought the rhyming set as well. There is a workbook that goes along with this. I don't think you will need to buy all of the sets, but I think following what is in the workbook is probably best. My child is focusing on begining word sounds, and sometimes tries to guess at the ending unless slowed down. The rhyming words should help focus on the ending sounds as well. We are excited to try the next set! I wish there was more of a focus on decoding at a young age. In order to be proficient readers, kids need to be very good at decoding. These books will help build that foundation. Where I live they stop all phonics instruction at 3rd grade. It is so important for parents to work with their children at home one on one. Nothing can replace that one on one time learning to read no matter what your child's school says.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆ 4.9 out of 5 stars The Phonics Phenomenon That Started It All! "Bob Books Boxed Set 1: Beginning Readers" is the timeless classic that has launched millions of young readers on their journey to literacy. This iconic phonics-based set is a true gem, designed with simplicity and effectiveness in mind, ensuring that even the littlest bookworms can proudly declare, “I read the whole book!”® One of the standout features of this set is its incredible ability to cater to the needs of brand-new readers. Many early reader books throw in words that can stump a child who's just grasping the sounds of the alphabet. Not these books! With the first story containing just four letter sounds (M, A, T, and S), children can dive right in and finish a whole book, giving their confidence a major boost. The joy on a child’s face when they read their first book all by themselves is absolutely priceless. Inside the box, you’ll find 12 easy-to-read, hilariously entertaining small books, each with 12 pages and 7-20 unique words per book. The stories use two- and three-letter words with short vowels that can be easily decoded or "sounded out." Think simple sentences like "Sam sat."—short, sweet, and manageable for young readers. The progression is gentle, with new letter sounds added gradually, so kids never feel overwhelmed. By the end, they've encountered almost all the letters of the alphabet (except for the elusive Q). The friendly, two-color illustrations are a perfect match for the text—fun without being distracting. They add just the right amount of humor and charm to keep kids engaged. Plus, the parent card with tips for helping your child learn to read is a thoughtful addition, making it easier for caregivers to support their little learners. Guided Reading Levels A, B, C and Lexile® Measure BR – 290L place this set right where it needs to be for ages 4-6 and PreK to Kindergarten grade levels. Created by a teacher and grounded in the Science of Reading, Bob Books has been a reliable tool for building young readers' confidence, success, and love of reading for more than forty years. Why the 4.9 and not a perfect 5 stars? Well, in the spirit of honesty, I think the simplicity might leave parents wishing for just a touch more story variety. But that's a small nitpick for an otherwise stellar set. In conclusion, "Bob Books Boxed Set 1: Beginning Readers" is an absolute must-have for any parent or teacher looking to give their child a head start in reading. It’s a tried-and-true series that will have your little one beaming with pride as they read their first books. So, get ready to join the millions of happy kids who joyfully proclaim, "I read the whole book!"

These books are an incredible tool for teaching kids to read. I LOVE how they just introduce a few new letter sounds in each book, so kids don't have to master every letter sound in order to read the first book. Pure genius. It truly makes the whole process less overwhelming, and I'll always teach early reading this way in the future. I wish I had had them when teaching my first child to read. I am currently teaching my niece to read. Since this is my second time around, and since I've discovered these books, I feel like I have a pretty great system down. I am using this first set of Bob Books, a pack of index cards, a magnetic dry-erase board, and a set of magnetic letters. Because children can very easily memorize these books, without fully understanding how to sound out the words, I don't feel like using the books alone, with no other exercises, is sufficient to truly teach them to read (for example, my 3-year-old likes to memorize the books and pretend he is "reading"). So for my niece (age 6), we are moving through the books systematically, learning the letter sounds and words in each book. For each book, I make a set of customized flashcards, using words found in that book, plus other 3-letter, consonant-vowel-consonant words that are not found in the book, but use letter sounds found in the books that she has read already. We practice the books and flashcards separately, to make sure she is truly learning to sound out those words (and she is!). We also use a magnetic dry-erase board and a magnetic letter set to do different exercises. In one exercise we make a word with the magnetic letters, using letter sounds she has already mastered. She reads it, and then she can switch out various letters to make new words to read. Sometimes it's a real word, and sometimes a "nonsense word", which makes it fun for her. She also enjoys moving the magnetic letters around, so this makes reading more fun for her. This is a great way to reinforce, for example, that not every word that starts with "ca" is "cat". Switch out the "t" for an "n", and you have "can". It really helps her focus on how the individual letter sounds come together to make a whole word. I guess my point to all this is; these are great, wonderful books, and are perfect for what they are. But I don't consider them a complete system for teaching a child to read (and I don't think they claim to be that either). But they can form a huge part of a complete system, at least at the early stages. I don't have the other sets (set 2 and beyond), so I can't say yet if these would be sufficient for teaching more complex words, but I am, of course, prepared to supplement and adjust when we get to that point. I can say that, for these earliest stages, they were worth every penny I paid for them, and more.

My four-year-old received this set yesterday and is reading it right now to his grandparents. He’s so excited to show them his reading and share the silly stories! For background: He goes to a Montessori school, so he has a very good grasp of the letters and their sounds and already knows how to sound out simple words to read and approximately spell them. With summer break here, I wanted to make sure he’s still advancing and stimulated and I could tell from his level that he was ready to read simple beginner books. I bought the McGuffey Pictorial reader first, and he thrived on the first few pages. But the difficulty level and abstractness of the content increased too quickly. He needed more content at that introductory level to practice and enjoy his newfound skill of reading. I checked local libraries and all the “beginner” readers there were still a bit too advanced. A blog highly recommended the Bob books, so I searched to see whether local libraries had any copies… nope, all loaned out. Very popular books, it seems. So I bought it here…. Reading level and structure: The books are the perfect reading level! The first one is a story about Mat and Sam, and only uses simple, two-to-three-letter words that are easily sounded out. Book 1 only uses a handful of letters, and each subsequent book adds around 2-4 letters and a subtle bit of complexity. Each book intentionally repeats the same words several times for more practice and solidifying how the sounds come together, as well as for easier reading as the book goes on to reward their hard work with a sense of accomplishment and to let them appreciate the story as it comes to its silly conclusions. As for how quickly complexity is added from one book to the next, I would say it’s just about right. Of course I would always love to have more material at any given level, especially with how much he loves the stories, but really it is probably best as is because it leads the student to want to go to the next level. He doesn’t seem to have any lack of material and just now read a book by himself to his grandparents that we didn’t go over yesterday! And did I mention how much he loves the stories? Bonus tip: Yesterday he had trouble when b and d were in a story together. If your kid has that problem too, just do an internet search for a picture that’s floating around of a “b” and a “d” drawn as humanized stick figures. Their faces are both facing right, so the b has a “big belly” and the d has a “dirty diaper”. Kids find it hilarious and it’s a great visual device to distinguish the two while automatically remembering their sounds.

I liked the packing they came in. It's a nice case to keep them from being all over the floor. The words are easy. They are sight words basically. The size of the books is where I gave issue. They are basically 6-page pamphlets. The stories could have fit on one page of a normal children's book. I would have been happier if they made 3 larger books and put some effort into the stories. My daughter loves them though.

Bob Books are great. This is the third product I have purchased from the brand. They help build confidence and make it fun to learn phonics, sight words and word families. I plan to continue to purchase other items from this system.

Taught both my kids to read with these books. Highly recommend them

These books are great! My son loves them. They gradually get more difficult and the difficultly jump between each book is just right for skill building without them getting too difficult too fast.

Nos los recomendó la profesora del cole que es escocesa para empezar a leer en casa en inglés. Son geniales!

A mi hijo y a mi esposa le encantaron. estoy muy satisfecho con mi compra

São frases simples com repetição, excelente para crianças iniciando o aprendizado de inglês.

Brilliant. Really helped my daughter with her first sounds and words!