Monday, March 21, 2011

Aesop's Fables Readers by Brill Kids



Here is another product from Brill Kids (if you're interested at teaching babies to read, you can read my previous review here)

Here's a description of the readers from their website:

"These books have been specially designed to give your child all the fun of storybook time, while also teaching your child to read."

Features include:

Text and illustration presented on separate pages.

More spacing between words to make it easier to see words individually.

A blank flap extension to cover the illustrations as you direct your child's attention to the written text.



The titles in this set Aesop's Fables (Volume 1) included:

The Lion and the Mouse
The Fox and the Grapes
The Fox and the Crow
The Boy Who Cried Wolf
The Turtle and The Rabbit

The set is available for $37.50 (reg. $50). You also get the digital format to use in your Little Reader (if you have it) for free with the purchase. It adds animated pictures as well as voices.

So, if you read my earlier review, you know I have some reservations about babies reading (maybe it'll work for you?) While the readers were brightly done, the "reading" skills were a bit advanced for any 3 mon. old's around the Bentz test laboratory...actually, the 1 year old didn't have much interest either.
The 6 and 8 year olds enjoyed them though!

One thing we did not like, the illustrations seemed a bit cheesy, and sometimes the rhymes were written in way that made you wonder if English might not be the primary language of the author...

The flaps were supposed to seperate the focus on the illustration and isolate it to the words themselves. Once again, I find that this kinda goes against personal philosophy of reading. I find the illustrations are the "hook" that draws my kiddos into the book, and then the words keep them there. But, everyone has a different approach, and this may fit yours better.

We did like the rhyming text (when it "worked"). And, I loved the idea of Aesop's Fables in a young kid friendly format.

Check out what the other members of the Review Crew thought here

(I was given a complimentary copy of this product in exchange for my honest opinion).

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