I See Sam - Review

We  got something exciting in the mail a few weeks ago. New books!

The Reading for All Learners “Little Books” program (a.k.a. I See Sam) is a sequence of 141 color-coded books. There are 8 sets of books from Kindergarten to 3.6 reading level. Each set contains up to 27 books and costs $30.

We started the program with the placement assessment. After having Jake (6 yr) read and reread portions from it, I chose to start him with book sets 4 and 5. I knew that he could read from the higher levels, but I didn't want him to possibly get overwhelmed. When the box of books came in the mail, I was surprised how excited Jake was when I told him that they were new books for him to read. The last few reviews have been for his younger sister. I guess he was starting to feel left out. That being said, he jumped at the chance to read the first book in the set.  

The beginning of each book starts with word practice and introducing new words before the student reads the first story. There are prompts (a smiley face for praise or comprehension questions) at the bottom of each page to assist the parent/teacher. The stories are filled with illustrations to keep the child's attention. Once the student has finished reading a book, he rereads it for comprehension. I was skeptical about this part. Jake is a strong-willed child. When he finishes any work of sorts, he doesn't see the need to redo it. The day after he finished book 1 of the first set, I told him we needed to read it all over again. Then, I braced myself. But he simply turned to the first page and began reading! He obviously likes the stories and level of difficulty. 

One thing I'm not crazy about is the quality of the books. They are simply a piece of cardstock for a cover and regular printer paper stapled together. We already have a book with a crimped corner and crinkled cover. {shudder} Also, because the printer paper is lower quality, you can see the print from the next page through the front of each one. Jake thought that was pretty cool though, since he could figure out the story without turning the page. 

Overall, we've enjoyed reading the Little Books. They are very easy to use and keep my child's attention. When my son doesn't complain or sigh when I say it's time to read, I am one happy mommy.

You can read other TOS Crew reviews here.

* Disclaimer - I was given 2 sets of books in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.