Q1 Which pack or books did you and your child review? Was the pack of books for "learning to read" or "reading together"?
we had two packs (neither of which was a repeat!):
Phonics bug pack 2 (4 fiction books inc. Tut Tut Pup and The Bop), and
Read at home Bug Club Pink pack. they are learning to read packs (although am a bit confused, as had phonics bug pack 3 last time, so presumably these are a little easier?)
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 books are of a similar standard. the books that dd2 is bringing home are not pure phonics books, though - she has mostly Ginn 360 books. She likes those; the stories seem more complete, in a way. more content, and a bit more point to them, I would say.
Q3 Would you say your child enjoy reading or looking at the books? Why/why not?
she has (as has dd1 - aged 7, but severe ASD, so just learning to read also) mostly enjoyed them. she wasn't keen on the Lego one, or Harry and the Dinosaurs oddly (she loves the full Harry stories).
Q4 What's your overall review of the book pack?
the books make a nice change from the ever present Kipper! BUt there does seem to be less flow to them - the 'stories' are very loose (and it is not as though ORT have great storylines...) and both girls don't really seem to get the point of them - there is not the same beginning, middle, end with a flow of story. having said that, they are nice little books, not too intimidating for a child to start reading. dd1 has liked them more than dd2.
Q5 And what is your child's review of the book pack?
dd2 said there were not enough flowers in the stories (
, and that the words were different from her school reading books (there has been a heavy emphasis on 'look' 'where' 'here' and 'help' in her school reading books over the last coulpe of weeks, and I think she was a bit lost without them!)
Q6 Would you recommend these books to another parent? Why/why not?
they are good, but seem less substantial somehow. quite thin and flimsy, and not as much flow as some other phonics reading books we have at home (eg ORT songbird books). not sure I would recommned them over anything else, but I would not not recommend either.
Q7 Do you think your child would recommend these books to their friends (if they are old enough!)? Why/why not?
not sure it would occur to dd2 to do so.
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. I think part of theseeming disjointed-ness is that there is no cohesive flow from one book to the next, whether in terms of charcters or the language used. to me that seems a good thing (I don't tend to read very similar books one after another all the time) but the constant repetition and familiarity of other schemes seems to help dd2 - eg the progression through the ORT or Ginn series.