All About Reading

Published by Marie Rippel, literacy expert, All About Spelling is an enjoyable, multi-sensory program with step by step lesson plans and daily review. Written for elementary aged students just beginning their literacy journey, All About Spelling fits nicely with a multitude of language arts curriculum and provides a gentle, thorough program for children.

Fans of All About Spelling will be thrilled to note readers are being added to complement the lessons of each level of All About Spelling. The readers, sold under the name All About Reading, are beautifully designed 5 1/2" by 8 1/2" hard bound books; perfect for little hands. Unlike other beginning readers, All About Reading readers do not contain extra sight words which may or may not be familiar to the student. Chapters align with words being studied in the All About Spelling program.

"I know first hand the importance of having decodable books for young children who are just beginning to read and for older children who are struggling to read", said Rippel, author of the All About Spelling curriculum and All About Reading readers. "My son (now 17 years old) was diagnosed with dyslexia when he was younger. We were told that he would never be able to read fluently. The good news is that after teaching him--using the same method I lay out in the All About Spelling program-- he is now a very strong fluent reader, and he actually enjoys reading for pleasure" she continued.

Our family received What am I? a collection of short stories for free in exchange for this review. This particular reader is not currently available on the website, but should be listed by April 15, 2010. It is the first reader to correlate with Level 2 of All About Spelling.

I really, really, really like All About Spelling and the Beehive Reader. My 2nd grader, Sierra struggles with phonics and language arts related activities. All About Spelling has provided her a much needed breath of fresh air from typical language arts study. My experience in teaching four older students is that spelling is a gift. You either have it or you don't and if you don't the average spelling curricula is simply a waste of time and energy. All About Spelling, however, does teach poor spellers appropriate tools and rules for decoding mysterious words making correct spelling an achievable goal.

Sierra is finishing Level 1 of All About Spelling. She reads fluently at a third grade level so I had her read some of the short stories included in What am I? to offer a kid's perspective.

"I liked the stories. My favorite story was "The Bench" because there was music in it. Lots of the stories were interesting to read. I could find some of my spelling words in the stories and some of the words were kind of difficult. I'm glad we got this reader because I really liked the first book (Beehive Reader) too." said Sierra.

I am in agreement with Sierra. What am I? is a delightful combination of charming illustrations, stories and poems. Having the reader divided into simple short stories allows even the most reluctant of reading students a stress free opportunity to practice new skills. Introducing playful poetry to the reader broadens and enriches students literary experience even more.

To read our opinion of All About Reading Level 1, Beehive Reader 1 click here. To read our family's comprehensive review of the All About Spelling Program, click here.