You may know Mumsnet have been working with Pearson to provide some special learning-related content for you. Linked to the site is a Pearson shop where you can buy educational books for children. We invited MNers with a child aged between 1 and 7 to review the books available and this thread is for the reviews. Panellists will be sent up to 5 packs of books and reviews will continue to be added each month until the end of the year. Pearson will link to this thread from the shop.
As a thank you for taking part there will be a monthly prize draw for reviewers for all those who have submitted a review in that month. The prize each month will be £50 of John Lewis vouchers - the first draw will take place on 31 August and will be for one prize of £100 of John Lewis vouchers.
Below are the questions Pearson would like you to answer - when posting your review please add in the age of your child and please include the question as well as your response.
Q1 Which pack or books did you and your child review? Was the pack of books for "learning to read" or "reading together"?
Q2 If a "learning to read" pack, how do the books compare with the reading practice books your child brings home from school? Which reading scheme does your child use at school?
Q3 Would you say your child enjoy reading or looking at the books? Why/why not?
Q4 What's your overall review of the book pack?
Q5 And what is your child's review of the book pack?
Q6 Would you recommend these books to another parent? Why/why not?
Q7 Do you think your child would recommend these books to their friends (if they are old enough!)? Why/why not?
Q8 What star rating would you give this pack of books overall? Please use a rating system out of 5 where 1 star is poor and 5 stars are excellent
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MNHQ
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Pearson's Book Panel - Ages 1-7 - Review thread
AnnMumsnet · 25/07/2011 09:29
Just marking my place with a quick note that we arrived back from holiday today to these great books. DD was delighted and insisted that she read one straight away.
Will be back later in the weekend to do a proper review, but going by the first book - all will be positive 
Q1 Which pack or books did you and your child review? Was the pack of books for "learning to read" or "reading together"?
There was no labelling, but I suppose it was for reading together. "The Secret Garden", "The Railway Children", and "Charlotte's Web". For a 6-7 year old. Golly. 
Many thanks to Pearson for the lovely mouse mat, though. We took the books on holiday and read some of them together.
Q2 If a "learning to read" pack, how do the books compare with the reading practice books your child brings home from school? Which reading scheme does your child use at school?
The school uses RWI (Read Write Inc), though is now coming to the end of the stages I think (end of Year2). The books sent were significantly more advanced than both the RWI course and the free readers from which dd is encouraged to choose in her classroom 'library'.
Q3 Would you say your child enjoy reading or looking at the books? Why/why not?
Charlotte's Web went down a complete storm. She liked the copious illustrations, could read it herself with generally good understanding, and the chapters were just the right length for a bedtime reading. The olde worlde feel to it and USA vocabulary provoked some interesting discussions (and googling - middlings, anyone???). We both cried at the end. .
The Railway Children also worked well - fewer illustrations, so it seemed heavier going, and I couldn't convince dd to read it on her own, but it breaks up well into episodes, and she's looking forward to watching the film.
The Secret garden - well, I can't do a Yorkshire accent, and it dragged. We gave up in the end, to be honest. I think I read it when I was a bit older, so I'll put it away for a couple of years. I noticed it's 100 years old this year. Some bits don't chime too well with modern life, though I remember it fondly. Sorry we didn't get on better with this one.
Q4 What's your overall review of the book pack?
I like all the books. They are all books that, in my opinion, need to be read with a parent if tackled by a Y2/3 child, and the Secret Garden and the Railway Children take up a lot of time, too. All classics, but a bit of a 'worthy' selection - more what you'd expect to find on a Best Kids' Books Ever list than your child's wish list...
Q5 And what is your child's review of the book pack?
Charlotte's Web was very popular (and with ds aged 4, interestingly), as the different animal characters appealed. "Wilbur is really sweet and I wish I had a pig like him to look after too... it was interesting to learn about spiders too, but I still don't like them." As we've been holidaying on a farm, she really got into it. She liked the Railway Children, "because it's nice to listen to" - it seemed to put her to sleep, though! The Secret Garden was vetoed after a few readings.
Q6 Would you recommend these books to another parent? Why/why not?
Yes. All classics, but maybe to be read in more time than two weeks.... Nice editions, with appealing covers and decent sized font.
Q7 Do you think your child would recommend these books to their friends (if they are old enough!)? Why/why not?
Only one of the three, I suspect. I may update when she's back at school!
Q8 What star rating would you give this pack of books overall? Please use a rating system out of 5 where 1 star is poor and 5 stars are excellent
3/4 for a 6 year old, to be honest. Lovely books, that have stood the test of time, but a bit much as a bunch.
Q1 Which pack or books did you and your child review? Was the pack of books for "learning to read" or "reading together"?
We were given 'my first word' and 'numbers'. Reading together as my daughter is only 14 months old
Q2 If a "learning to read" pack, how do the books compare with the reading practice books your child brings home from school? Which reading scheme does your child use at school? N/a
Q3 Would you say your child enjoy reading or looking at the books? Why/why not?
My daughter was absolutely delighted with them, she loved looking at the pictures and kept going back to them. She especially liked the pictures of the dogs and other animals. She also enjoyed looking at things like hats and socks... She can relate to these items and points to her head and feet when she sees them.
Q4 What's your overall review of the book pack?
I was very impressed, they were bright and hard wearing. Dd managed to get weetabix on one page 
but it wiped clean very easily. The pictures of the animals particularly grabbed her attention and she kept returning to these pages over and over again. She was less impressed by things like shells and presents. Se doesn't really understand these objects and they are just not interesting to her. We enjoyed reading the books together although the counting sections were a bit pointless since she is so young, she was only interested in the pictures. I would have preferred 2 separate books, one for basic numbers for very young children and one for counting for the older ones.
Q5 And what is your child's review of the book pack? N/a
Q6 Would you recommend these books to another parent? Why/why not?
They are good books but nothing hugely special that makes them different from any others on the Market. I think they are slightly expensive for what they are (if I were to buy them :)). I would probably recommend them.
Q7 Do you think your child would recommend these books to their friends (if they are old enough!)? Why/why not? Na
Q8 What star rating would you give this pack of books overall? Please use a rating system out of 5 where 1 star is poor and 5 stars are excellent
4 - definitely good books that we really enjoyed, however, too many uninteresting pictures for my 14 month old and parts that were too complex for her (counting).
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Q1 Which pack or books did you and your child review? Was the pack of books for "learning to read" or "reading together"?
We received the year 2 packs (dd has just finished year 1) and I guess they are ?Learning to read? although we read them together (well, dd read them to me 
)
We have finished the first pack ? Flips and Spins, Adventure Kids Chase in New York, Casper?s Scare School and Fun Festivals.
Q2 If a "learning to read" pack, how do the books compare with the reading practice books your child brings home from school? Which reading scheme does your child use at school?
Dd?s school use the Read, Write Inc program; they use a variety of books from different reading schemes (although lots of Biff and Kipper) but they categorise them according to the RWI program.
Dd has been slow to pick up reading and at the beginning of year one had little confidence, but she has really come on in the last few months and read this first set with no difficulty at all. Looking at some of the later packs ? she will find these a challenge, but as she is not yet in year two I think this is only to be expected.
We both loved the fact that the books are very different to the ones she brings home from school.
Q3 Would you say your child enjoy reading or looking at the books? Why/why not?
Dd loved reading these books. She was aware that this was a year two pack, and so was proud that she managed to read them so well. (I won?t tell her that many of the previous reviewers thought that they were too easy 
)
She said that she liked the Flips and Spins book best ? but this is not a surprise as she loves gymnastics.
She has enjoyed both the fiction and non-fiction books and has been keen to read them again.
Q4 What's your overall review of the book pack?
This is a really engaging pack that has boosted my dd?s confidence ? she is raring to go with the other books (we are limiting to one book a day to try and eek out the packs to last until she starts back at school).
Q5 And what is your child's review of the book pack?
Dd says that she wants to take the books into her new class teacher in September to show him that ?school books can be fun and interesting you know!?
Q6 Would you recommend these books to another parent? Why/why not?
Yes - I have already agreed to loan the packs, as dd finishes them to one of her friends who is at a similar reading ability.
Q7 Do you think your child would recommend these books to their friends (if they are old enough!)? Why/why not?
Dd has been raving about the Flips and Spins book and read it to her friend who came over to play on Sunday
Q8 What star rating would you give this pack of books overall? Please use a rating system out of 5 where 1 star is poor and 5 stars are excellent
5 out of 5, without a doubt ? looking forward to reading the next sets!
Q1 Which pack or books did you and your child review? Was the pack of books for "learning to read" or "reading together"?
We reviewed the pre-school pack which included three good sized picture books: Dear Zoo, Each Peach Pear Plum, and Meg & Mog. Im assuming we are in the "reading together" panel, as DD is 2.
Q2 If a "learning to read" pack, how do the books compare with the reading practice books your child brings home from school? Which reading scheme does your child use at school?
N/A
Q3 Would you say your child enjoy reading or looking at the books? Why/why not?
DD already has "Each Peach Pear Plum" and "Dear Zoo" in board book version, (presents for her 1st birthday), so she is well familiar with them. I have noticed while previously reading EPPP together, she was not as interested in the book as it has a white background with quite subtle illustrations, wheras many other childrens books tend to have coloured backgrounds with bright pictures. However, when she realised that it was ryhming, and that you could find the characters hidden in the pictures, she developed a real interest in the book. "Dear Zoo" is one of her favourite books as she loves animals and the different sounds they make. She also loves tearing lifting the flaps to see whats underneath. Meg & Mog was encountered for the first time. She did sit the whole way through it and listened, and when asked, did appear to know roughly what was happening in the story (eg meg falling, cooking spiders in the pot). I have noticed though, that she hasn't picked it up to have a look by herself, wheras Dear Zoo was instant love/want to read this with mummy/daddy/grandma/over and over again. Some books are slow-growers on DD though, such as some helen cooper books she had and now loves to bits, so Meg & Mog is yet to be rated by her I think.
Q4 What's your overall review of the book pack?
Overall, (and if we didnt already have two of the books), I would be thrilled at how much DD enjoys them - I still am, but of course the thrill of the first two has worn thin now that I've read them 600 times each . At the cost of sounding ungrateful, I was quite surprised that EPPP and Dear Zoo were included in a send out for review, as I would have thought these books were childrens classics and were sure-fire hits with both children and parents.
Q5 And what is your child's review of the book pack?
*Loves Dear Zoo alone and together and EPPP is quite high up there with a read together book. Meg & Mog was enjoyed reading together, but not alone yet. A friend read Meg and Mog to her son (also 2) who LOVED it.
Q6 Would you recommend these books to anther parent? Why/why not?
Yes, without hesitation, as they have been the reason of many happy moments together/alone for DD.
Q7 Do you think your child would recommend these books to their friends (if they are old enough!)? Why/why not?
DD is only 2, but if she could I'm sure she'd reccomend Dear Zoo
Q8 What star rating would you give this pack of books overall? Please use a rating system out of 5 where 1 star is poor and 5 stars are excellent
5
OK, DS has now read all the books, and we finally had time to have a proper chat about them, so can finally give some feedback!
Many thanks once again to Pearson: DS loved being 'chosen' to give feedback on the books and is really looking forward to future packs arriving over the coming months
Q1 Which pack or books did you and your child review? Was the pack of books for "learning to read" or "reading together"?
We received the whole set of Bug Club Year 2 books 
...for which many many thanks, and hence the slight delay in providing full feedback as DS was determined to read all 24 and discuss properly before I was allowed to respond! The books are "learning to read".
DS (currently age 5, turns 6 next week) is going into Yr 2 in September, so I wasn't sure what to expect. He read all 24 books completely on his own :)
Q2 If a "learning to read" pack, how do the books compare with the reading practice books your child brings home from school? Which reading scheme does your child use at school?
DS' school use a mixture of schemes. The Orange/Turquise and Purple packs all seemed a bit simpler/easier than the books DS has been reading at school at the end of Year 1. Each book took about 5 minutes, which is a bit short. The Gold/White and Lime packs were a bit more challenging but still too short.
Q3 Would you say your child enjoy reading or looking at the books? Why/why not?
He very much enjoyed almost all the books. He thought the subject matter of the non-fiction books was well chose and interesting, even the ones that he commented were 'too easy' such as 'Fun Festivals' and the books about animals and the environment.
DS hugely enjoyed most of the fiction books with the exception of 'Caspar'. I think there is a general issue with basing reading books on television characters in that a) not all children will be aquainted with the characters and b) it suggests tv watching is somehow necessary and c) in my experience books based on television series are frequently less well structured and more infantile than non-franchise fiction.
The exception to this would be the Jedi book; although DS had no idea what or who a Jedi was, the book was very well structured and clearly conceived - even though he won't be watching the Star Wars films for some time...
Q4 What's your overall review of the book pack?
Great subject matter, but the actual books were too simple/easy. Fantastic mix of fiction/non fiction and impressively non-gender specific.
Q5 And what is your child's review of the book pack
He loved almost all the books but thought they were 'too easy'. He would have liked most of the books to go on for longer and to go into more detail.
The exception was the 'chase in...' series - he loved the first one (Chase in NY) but pointed out that the plot of the second (Chase in the Rainforest) was almost identical (ie there's a 'twist' at the end in both) and he was disappointed as he had been looking forward to the second book.
Q6 Would you recommend these books to another parent? Why/why not?
I think they would make great Year 1 reading.
Q7 Do you think your child would recommend these books to their friends (if they are old enough!)? Why/why not?
Mostly not, although most of ds' friends would also love the subject content. Having said that, DS has donated quite a few to a collection I made for families made homeless by the recent London riots as he thought they might help cheer up those children who had lost all their toys etc
Q8 What star rating would you give this pack of books overall? Please use a rating system out of 5 where 1 star is poor and 5 stars are excellent.
3/5 : subject matter was fantastic, but the actual reading level was too low.
We're looking forward to the next pack!
oooh, can we have treedeliverys books next time please?! DS would love reading those (although I agree would need some help) and would make a nice change for the next set!
Umm. Sorry. Didn't mean to presume. Very grateful and all that...
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