Four years after using this book to learn to read at age 4, our twins would still take this book off the shelf and re-read the silly stories that made learning to read immediately rewarding. It is a phonics-based, non-consumable book authored by Siegfried Engelmann using the DISTAR method. Faced with two small children eager to read like their older sisters, but who were not ready for the more intensive writing and spelling accompanying most other reading programs, I was at a loss. All they needed at this tender age were enough decoding skills to enable them to read. We had already covered letter sounds (via song), so the twins literally zipped through the early lessons and quickly digested blends, vowel sounds, and digraphs, thoroughly enjoying every lesson. In fact, they begged for “extra” lessons, anxious to get to the next story! Large, bold type assures learning without eye strain. This volume filled a need in our own family and, judging from the numerous requests/recommendations by our customers, has done so for others as well.

Customer Reviews

 
Rachel M. from Iowa wrote the following on 12/09/2003:
This is an excellent reading curriculum that we have used with our six-year-old boy and four-year-old girl. Lesson one starts by introducing sounds "s" and "m" (the child does not even need to know the letter names) and progresses slowly (with one story per lesson after lesson 12)until by lesson 100, your child is reading easily at about a first grade level. The system uses some bizarre markings to help kids distinguish between certain sounds, but phases them out by the end of the book. It took me two relaxed years (two moves and a new baby) to get through it with our son, but my daughter started about five months ago and is on lesson 59. Each lesson will take about 20 to 30 minutes of concentrated effort on the parts of both the child and the adult. The book is written so that the teacher reads the words in red, and listens for the child to give the "suggested responses" -- it's all laid out for you and requires no prep time. But do read the introduction to the book before starting to use it. It gives an excellent overview of the authors' phiolosophy, and helps you understand the purpose behind some seemingly irrelevant tasks. My big suggestion? My kids needed some motivation to stick with the whole program. So I made up a hundreds chart for each of my kids, and they got to put a sticker on every time they did a lesson (and eat a cheese stick -- our ultimate snack around here -- if they got through the lesson with NO WHINING). Every time they completed 10 lessons (which they could see easily on their charts) they got to pick a prize out of our little prize box kept ONLY for reading reinforcement (things like Thomas trains, cassettes, headbands, sticker books), and each child gets a MAJOR prize for accomplishing the whole book. I know this sounds like tons of bribery, but since I value learning to read SO MUCH, I felt it worth it to offer these incentives, and I honestly feel that neither of my kids would have tried very hard after lesson 25 or so. That's when the newness wears off and the lessons become quite challenging! Bottom line: Buy this book (and some handwriting paper -- they practice writing two or three letters each lesson) and with the money you save over other programs, invest in some cheese sticks and PRIZES to keep motivation and interest high.

 
Stacey M. from Arizona wrote the following on 01/09/2004:
This book was fantastic. The lessons were short enough that my 5 year old could complete them in one sitting. I wish I had discovered it earlier. I liked the lessons so much that I recommended this book to several of my friends who also had much success using it to teach their children to read. The low price, and the outstanding lessons, make this a great value.

 
Pamela M. from Orlando, FL wrote the following on 11/04/2006:
I am now using this reading program with my third child. The lessons "should" last 15-20 minutes, and do so at the beginning and end. The beginning lessons are very easy; most four year olds can do them well. Around lesson 30, they begin to take longer and both of my older children (now 6 and 9) really struggled in the middle of the book. The stories get longer, more difficult, and have to be read twice to enhance comprehension. If you have an independant learner, who can sit and concentrate for maybe up to one hour (if they struggle with the lesson), this program may work. If you have a multi-sensory learner who is very fidgety, you may both end up frustrated! The book tells you to not break up lessons, but I have done so successfully. If my child is struggling and the lesson goes over 20 min., we stop, take a short break, then return fresh.

 
Amy C. from North Carolina wrote the following on 11/08/2006:
I used this book with three of my children. An incredible value for the results; no separate teacher's manual is needed and lessons are scripted step by step (almost no prep for teacher). At first, I was skeptical because the book is not flashy and there are visual changes made to letters to assist the phonics learning process at the beginning. I started with a daughter who was in a public kindergarten and not learning to read as the end of the year drew near. By the end of the 100 days she was reading and now (in 3rd grade) is at the top of her class. After her success, I went through the book with my then 5 year-old son, and again with a 4-year-old son. Though they couldn't write well at all yet, the reading lessons worked amazingly well. (I gave them tracing to do for the writing exercises.) My son (now in second grade at age 6)now reads chapter books voraciously. The younger son (now in first grade at age 5)is above his grade level and gaining confidence to read more difficult books. I haven't been willing to give up my copy of this book in case some other young child comes into my life who needs reading assistance.

 
Clarissa K. from wyoming wrote the following on 12/29/2006:
I used this program with my son, almost 5 then. It did not work. My main criticism is the use of \\\"crutches\\\" and special symbols; things such as joining the t and h for \\\"th\\\" and telling your child to ignore the finale e. Now 2 1/2 years later, he is still ignoring the final e\\\'s which make the vowel long! The child becomes dependent on these crutches, and they are unable to use any other reading materials. It is true that some of these symbols are slowly \\\"phased out\\\" thoughout the book and in the last 15 or so lessons, they are dropped suddenly and the book uses a regular typed font. However, in these last lessons, the print is very small. I would recommend Alphaphonics instead which simply teaches the child the letters and their sounds--that is what phonics is!

 
Brenda P. from Bonner Springs, Kansas wrote the following on 01/09/2007:
I have very successfully used this book to teach four very different children with different learning styles. They all enjoyed it and are all reading fluently. I suggest using some workbooks for reinforcement because it is not a comprehensive program. Plaid Phonics and Explode the Code are good and fun, but I use Christian Liberty's Adventures in Phonics books because there are only three and they cover everything that the others do. They're just not as pretty but very, very affordable and Christ-centered. My children were consistently excited to sit with me and do this book. It was a special time with us and they always had fun. I made it a big deal to hide the picture that's with each story and their reward after they finish the story was to see it. They would get so giddy and even my very short- attention-spanned wiggly ones focused well so they could see that picture!!! They always enjoyed the stories and I often times had a littler one leaning over learning as well. Even without using much reinforcement material all of my children have tested at least two grade levels higher in reading with high comprehension because this book has you ask questions after each story. Without me knowing it, they ended up developing a habit of paying good attention to what they're reading. My children read so well and enjoy reading, so despite any of my failures as a teacher they read a lot of good books on their own and know quite a lot. If they can read, and you provide good books, they'll learn!!!

 
Emily E. from Peoria, Illinois wrote the following on 02/05/2007:
This book definitely delivered what the title promised. My daughter was reading at a second grade level by the completion of the 100th lesson. It was very easy to use. I simply read the scripted lesson and guided my daughter through the exercises and reading passages. A bonus for us was that the writing practice taught my child to write her lower-case letters. The only down-side to this book as a resource is that it stops before teaching some of the more complicated phonics patterns. Both my daughter and I have very fond memories of this book. It was definitely a simple, inexpensive way to teach a child to read.

 
Sue B. from Reed City, Michigan wrote the following on 12/03/2007:
I used this book with my daughter, age 5. Despite the cheesy title, it has worked well for us. They say that once a child is done with all 100 lessons, they should be reading at a solid second-grade level. I believe that is accurate. I strongly believe that a strictly phonics-based method makes sense. This program is based on the SRA phonics method that I remember using as a first grader. The introductory material for the teacher was incredibly helpful. I believe it is important to read these instructions and follow them carefully. It is an entirely scripted program which I thought would be overkill, but it was very helpful. Once I learned to use it I made my own minor adjustments as needed. It does not assume the child knows anything to start, not even the alphabet. Of course if the child does know letters and sounds, he or she can progress more easily. What I like most is that it painlessly took us through some phonics rules, without either of us ever realizing we were learning "rules." I've seen some programs say, "OK, now we're going to learn that when two vowels are together, the first one makes the sound." That makes it sound harder than it is. This just demonstrates it, so it's much easier. It starts with basic letter sounds, then progresses to blends, digraphs, etc. (again, without ever telling the child they're about to learn blends and digraphs). It goes through the entire process of sounding out words without it ever seeming like work. Children are rewarded at the end of most lessons with a story they can read themselves, very early on. Once they read the story, they get to see a picture illustrating the story. For my daughter, that seemed like a neat surprise at the end of each lesson so she looked forward to the next. HELPFUL HINT: I took this book to my local copy shop and had them trim off the spine and put a spiral binding on it. It cost just a few bucks and made the book lay nicely while using.

 
Lanna D. from Springfield, VA wrote the following on 01/25/2008:
I have taught A-Beka in a classroom setting and used "100 Lessons" with all three of my children. Here are the Pros and Cons. Pros: I like "100 Lessons" for its ease of use and instant gratification for the children. The kids read very quickly and painlessly with "100 Lesson" . It is all inclusive and very transportable. Cons: I do feel that after a child finishes this book that they need some additional phonics work to become truly proficient readers and spellers. It is weak in basic phonic rules. I teach A-Beka phonics alongside this curriculum to develop strong word decoding skills.

 
Brittany R. from Cleveland, TN wrote the following on 01/30/2008:
This book is so basic and simplistic I found myself wondering if it could hold our attention. My daughter flew through the first 20 or so lessons - and I thought of skipping up to her level. I would encourage others not to skip ahead - even if it seems too simple at times. Always do the "rereads" and ask the comprehension questions, as this has been a tremendous strength in Leah's reading that I credit to this book. The pattern establishment and the confidence Leah gained were just what made this book work! When she finished the book - she tested at our local elementary school. They were SO impressed - she was reading and comprehending on a high 2nd grade level. She was so proud and so was I!

 
Michelle T. from Buda, TX wrote the following on 02/28/2009:
I used this with my son after all else had failed. He didn't know his letters at 7 years old and nothing was working. Anxious to get him to read I used this instead of continuing the work on learning letters. It did help his self esteem (temporarily) and he did learn to read. However, any progress in his reading skills has been painfully slow since then and it's hard to tell if it's just because of his delays or because we used this book. A friend and I have both used it with our sons, and we noticed that we both have the same complaint in addition to the use of the crutches. Our boys have yet to stop reading every "the" they see as the word thee! Children are taught that t-h-e is thee, and it really sticks and is a hard habit to break. We're still working on it 6 years later! It is probably best to use this book as a last resort when all else fails, unless you are prepared to break bad habits afterwards.

 
Linda I. from Butler, PA wrote the following on 08/20/2009:
If the thought of teaching your child to read scares you, this is the perfect book to gain confidence. I bought this book for my daughter and am currently using it for a second time with my son. Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons delivers what it says. My 4 year old is on lesson 14 and he is already picking out words around the house to slide and see what they say. Having no prep work to do is one of my favorite reasons for using this. Just sit down with your child and the book and off you go to learning. It is important to me, in the early years of my homeschooling journey to have items that are scripted. That gives me confidence that I am using the product correctly and gaining the most benefits. Some people do not like the funny way they write 'sounds' out. It is not traditional. But pressing on despite that, I have found that yes, it might be funny, but it really works! For a book that is so little in cost, this takes the step from non-reader to reading books with ease and covers all gaps! From learning letter sounds, writing letters, to reading books, this is all you will need.