What is wrong with Biff, Chip and Kipper?

[NotLostJustSomewhereSafe]

Have read a couple of threads where some posters obviously think these books are not good. I'm sure it's been discussed before but I've missed it. What is wrong with them? Or right with them?

I don't think it's that there's anything necessarily wrong with them, just that after a few months of the same basic stories, they get a bit monotonous and ergo annoying

Now that DS can move through at his own pace (ie one or two a day) there's not too much wrong with them. When he was stuck wirh one or two a WEEK at his old school there was everything wrong with them!
They do get better as they go on. I cannot agree with the approach in the early books that encourages guessing and memorising rather than decoding. It does much more harm than good ime.

They date from before phonics was the one true way. Therefore, they seem at odds with the other things DCs are being taught.

However, the only phonic readers I've ever come across are truly contrived and awful.

Biff and dear old Floppy survive because they are far more fun than any other reading scheme I've met.

DD1 refused to read the non floppy Oxford reading tree books, so I was always pleased when chip reappeared.

depends if they are the old ort books or the Floppy's phonics new improved biff chip and whats-his face

I still don't know ..whos ...who apart from the dog ??floppy? I think....btw ds1 is 11yrs old !!

DS didn't mind them. Quite liked the cartoons, too. But this was about a hundred eight or nine years ago.

I've never quite understood the loathing for them on MN, unless some schools only use one reading scheme or something (which would be boring I imagine).

I like them, the children I teach liked them and enjoyed the guided reading sessions.
But the majority on MN hates them.
I've been through The Village with 3 Corners, and Ginn and the only reading real books, learn through osmosis nonsense. ORT seems mild by comparison.

I just think that they r an acquired taste. The stories are non existent in the early books and my dd was almost five when she started so although she had to learn to read alongside all the other children in reception I think that the stories were very young for her and pretty patronizing really. The kids r leaning, not stupid.

My DCs both loved them! DS2 has Aspergers and he really liked the routine of having the same characters in all his books, and knowing which book was coming next. He even went to World Book Day at school as Kipper . both DCs loved the litte extra bits in the books, like the caretaker with glasses who seems to turn up everwhere, the nosy neighbour and the glasses you have to search for in the book, etc. They also think it's hilarious that after all these years I still get their names wrong, I call them Biffer, Chipper and Kipper

I challenge anyone to make hundreds of interesting stories out of an incredibly limited range of words. Of course the early books in any sort of formal reading scheme are boring.

They could make them less patronizing though ! Use proper words for things. Children learn to recognize other children's names long before they learn to read so the books could Use proper names.

Nothing wrong at all. The illustrations are great.

Me and DD2 used to love ORT books. Not as good as Peter and Jane and Pat the dog from my day though - so awfully sexist by todays standards though!! LOL

We had the one about the drunken horse a month or two ago. I thought it was but the stuff of legend.

I also call them Kipp and chipper, especially when nodding off after a busy day...

I like buff and chip. The noncey caretaker turns up everywhere and in one they'd clearly come upon some gentleman activity on the heath.

I like buff and chip. The noncey caretaker turns up everywhere and in one they'd clearly come upon some gentleman activity on the heath.

I don't understand the plots :( 'magic key'? 'flying carpet' ? all a bit baffling.

I know what u mean scamp :( I have had no end of trouble with these books. My dd loves stories and is often most disappointed that with the effort she has put in reading it that nothing happens. We just got like the worlds oldest copy of magic key and one called the play ground and she still wasn't overly interested in them. Luckily I have just discovered rainbow magic fairies and she is enjoying them .

They're still going? I read those when I was in Reception!

If that was 1986 dany we had ur copy :0

Lol, not quite, round 1993/4 I think, I'm 23 now :)

:o

I love them! I like the illustrations, spotting the odd random things in there, & the stories get much better as the stages get higher

DD had the magic key series, from blue level ish, I think she was fairly secure in her phonics by then and I didn't find it a problem. I find it nostalgic and she enjoyed them.

They are dull but not as awful as some posters make out, but then again maybe they have to read the whole series in order or something equally hideous. I learnt to read using my mums Peter and Jane at home and The Village with Three Corners at school. Roger Red Hat etc. were really hideous.

The familiar characters and setting we're really helpful to my dyslexic DD1, she'd loose the will to live faced with pages of description and weird names before the story started.

We both gave up on some stupid fairy tale where neither of us could work out what the prince was called.