Meet the Sight Words - Level 1 - Easy Reader Books (boxed set of 12 books)

We had initially purchased Meet the Sight Words 1, just to try out the series, and my 2.5 year old loved it. So recently we also purchased Meet the Sight Words 2 and 3 DVDs, and this set of books. And he loves reading these books. We've had them for about a week now, and he keeps them on his night table, and wants to read them over the many other books that we have. I think he likes them because they have simple illustrations, and so it's very obvious what's going on in the book. It also has helped to expand his vocabulary more too, with words like picnic, which we don't use often (since we never picnic). Because the text is so simple and the diagrams are so simple, it's easy for young kids to understand. Also, he does know some of his sight words now, so for the easiest pages, say ones with 6-8 short words on them, I'll have him read it, and he can barely do it. So we really do love these books, and they work really well with our son.

I bought Levels 1, 2 and 3, and my son loves them! Each book is short, which keeps his short attention span. I actually thought the authors were very good at making up small stories from a limited number of words. And they are about simple subjects that a preK or kindergarten students will recognize such as sharing day, playing in the rain, a new toy, going to school, etc. The biggest win is that these books, coupled with his few lessons on sight words, have enabled him to quickly be able to start recognizing the words and to actually read full sentences! I was surprised to even see a couple of negative reviews on these. It seems the reviewers who didn't like them were comparing them with other early reader books. It should be noted that these books are best for 4 or 5-year-olds who are starting to recognize 3 and 4-letter words (such as cat, hat, etc.), are starting to recognize and be taught sight words, and who are learning to track words from left to right across a page. For that level, I found that these books are perfect.

Got these for my preschooler and it is really the best money I have ever spent. He already knew his sight words from watching the DVDs but these are different. He already has hundreds of kids books at home which he never reads on his own so I wasn't sure about these. When I got the books I felt like they were a little bit of a rip off since there's like one sentence per page and the pictures look amateurish and all but I realized that what they do is that they build confidence in young readers. My son knows a lot of words but if you give him a page with more than two sentences written on it in small characters, he won't read it and I now know that it's because to him, it feels daunting. These books are a must because what they teach kids is not so much to read as to realize that they CAN read, that the skill is within their grasp. And this made me reminisce about what it was like when I was the same age. I would read words on the blackboard at school when prompted by the teacher but at home, I never touched the books my parents got for me and my brother because I was AFRAID of books and failing. And that fear was the main roadblock for me. My mom would read us stories every night and I loved it but at the same time, I thought that it was some kind of magical skill only grown ups possessed. I was convinced I would never be able to read. And then one day, my big brother who is two years older started reading his books and I remember thinking “Uh Oh… he’s no longer a child. He’s crossed over… He is a grown up now… Next thing I know, he’ll be wearing a suit and drinking coffee and beer” So at night, my mom asked him to read my stories but I had lost interest. I was dejected by the whole thing. Everybody could read but me. There was no point in embarrassing myself. It just wasn’t for meI had to find something else I would excel at. That’s what I was thinking at the time. So my mom got fed up with it one day and she told me "I got to leave for work now but when I come back you'd better be done reading these three books or you're going to get a spanking so big your butt will itch long after you've reached adulthood" So I cried and whined but eventually, I had to start reading the books. To this day, I still remember the titles (“Marmouset takes a bath”, “Marmouset’s Hand” and “Marmouset goes to school”) and guess what? I read all the books and the second my mom crossed the door, I ran to her, didn’t even wait for her to ask me if I had read the books, I showed her what I could do. Of all my childhood memories, this is probably the best. Anyway, my point is this: Fear is the main barrier when trying to get your kids to read books. They may have the skills but you must build up confidence first if you want them to be successful and get over their fear of books. Now, my son is going everywhere with these twelve books, holding on to them and reading these silly stories to everyone. I put the books in his backpack so he can show off at school in front of his friends. Right now, he is holding on to these books because he thinks these are the only books he can actually read. I’m giving him another couple of weeks and then I’ll introduce other books in the same category until he realizes that he can read anything he wants. That’s normal. I went through the same phase at the same age. After reading these first three books, I asked my mom to get me other books: “Marmouset’s foot”, “Marmouset’s Hair”, “Marmouset’s Nose”, etc. And she did! Eventually, I read all about Marmouset and asked that she get me books about other kids. Kids who were actually doing fun stuff, not just marveling at the fact that they have a nose on their face. To summarize, don’t buy these thinking that your child will be entertained or that the stories are fun or interesting. Nuh Uh. There are no stories to these books. They are bland and as uninteresting as the Marmouset books of my childhood. All they do is use words your preschooler should know by now to make them realize that: 1. Reading is within their grasp if they apply themselves 2. Words have meaning and combined in such or such way, they make sentences and are in fact, as important as spoken language. Totally recommend.

I love these level 1 reader books. Purchased them for my granddaughter and she is reading them everyday. She is much more confident now and enjoying learning as a result.

Meet the Sight Words, and all of the "Preschool Prep" books and videos I've purchased for my son so far are really first rate educational aides. I would (and normally do) give nearly all of these products 5 star ratings for educational value, and it does deserve it for that; however, my Kindle for PC (where my son reads at times) doesn't seem to be able to "hold onto" the book. I can pull it up on our Kindle, but on the Kindle for PC, it will deliver it, then immediately delete it. This makes me very unhappy since my son does his "homework" (as he likes to call it) there... which means, now he is unable to view this book which I consider a valuable book for him. If someone knows how to correct this (maybe I'm missing something somewhere) please do let me know, we love the Preschool Prep series, and I would like to have it on my son's "school computer" (and then I can change it from 4 to 5 stars as well). Thanks in advance for anyone with information I am missing! :)

I bought these books for my 3 (almost 4) year old. She was already pretty familiar with most sight words but I was blown away by how fast she was reading these books. We started with the 1st set of bookS, which I thought would be too easy for her but they were not. It took her a few times to get through the non-sight words but she eventually got them. She’s even sounding out words and reading pages from her non-sight words books now. We did not use any dvds and it only came with the 12 books each set. I got all 3 series sets. I would definitely recommend this to friends.

I have hundreds of beginner books for my daughter but she needs help reading them. For some reason these books are different. They are simple, and don’t have tons of words or pictures on each page, which can make a new reader feel overwhelmed. She can read every page on her own. She is feeling more confident and absolutely loves reading these books!!!! Thank you to the author! Great product and buy!

Updated from my first review: These books are great for children that know a handful of sight words and are starting to read sentences. The sentences on the first book start out simple, 2 words per page, and each subsequent book gradually add more words per page. So it starts at a DRA 1 and gradually goes up to an 8/10, Guided Reading A-E. I bought them for my 4 year old. She’s keeping up and I’m able to introduce new sight words with these readers. She likes the stories and is able to practice recalling text. I use this in correlation with sight word & CVC word flash cards and Starfall phonics books & app.

Good for young kids