We Both Read-The Well-Mannered Monster (Pb)

We bought this book at the suggestion of a reviewer for Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, Siegfried Engelmann ...et al, and what a GREAT idea! Especially the Level 1 books, tho I would start with one or 2 Level K books. Our 4.75 year old son just can't get enough. This may be the most fun way to discover how much fun reading is

As a special services director at a small Catholic school, I am always looking for books that give students success in reading. This series has been a favorite for myself and the teachers on staff. Works really well both at school and home.

My grandchildren love this book and beg me to read it every time they visit.

(We own several "We both read" books, and this review pertains to ALL of them...) This line of books is fantastic! My son still enjoys being read to, but also wants to read on his own (and sometimes gets 'bored' with the simpler story lines in the early readers). This is the perfect solution. The books have engaging storylines, but with simpler text on the pages that the kids read (exactly how simple depends on the level of the book--they range from "K-K1" to "2"). I've found them to be pretty accurate in terms of level--a level 1-2 is for a child reading at a high [...], beginning [...] level. I've noticed a great improvement in the amount of expression my son puts into reading since picking up these books. The more expression I put into my page, the more he puts into his--especially the 2nd and 3rd times through the books. It also seems to be something he's taking with him while reading other things now. We have quite a few of the level 1 and level 1-2 books--they are longer in length (seem to average about 40 pages, so 20 for the adult and 20 for the child) and might be frustrating for kids that aren't used to reading that much in one sitting--however, the pictures and text are engaging enough that my son didn't *want* to stop reading. I'd highly recommend going to the "we both read" website and glancing through the books to determine which level is best for your child--and also which subject matter. My son perfers fiction to non-fiction any day of the week :) At this point, it's just about getting him to read, so I'm not going to force the issue. One last note, the illustrations are great (vibrant colors--and the kids can pick up visual clues for times when they stumble with the words) and the books are printed on durable paper--these are great quality, especially for the price. I can't believe more people don't know about these books--I think they would benefit so many young readers! My son adores them, too, and requests at *least* one of these books every night before bed and often brings me one or two throughout the day. Books we *both* enjoy--what a concept :)