Review: Beehive Reader

You may recall a few weeks ago I reviewed All About Spelling, which we  still use and love!  The creator of the spelling program has recently launched a reading program--All About Reading.  We recently received the first book in the series, The Beehive Reader.   It appears we've struck gold again.  This hardback book contains ten stories and some of the most charming illustrations I've seen. 

The Beehive Reader is designed to be used in conjunction with All About Spelling Level One, beginning with lesson 15.  A box will appear at the end of the lesson letting you know which story to read to reenforce the concept covered: consonant blends, compound words, etc.   

The stories are around 10-12 pages long (the first one is 17) and has one or two short sentences per pages.   Even my reluctant reader didn't complain about how much reading he had to do.  As one accustomed to reading I found the text a little stilted, but you try to write a story using one-syllable, short vowel sound words.   I still found the reader  much better and more entertaining than the BOB book series.

Another reason I preferred the Beehive Reader to BOB books was the construction of the book itself.  BOB books are flimsy, the staples loosen and fall apart.  My local library won't even carry them because they don't hold up with daily use.  The Beehive Reader is a hardback.  Special care was taken to use non-glare paper.  The pages even seem thicker so they shouldn't tear easily.  And there is a bookplate in the front so the child can claim it as his very own.  I want my son to see that books can be precious, cherished  things--even his first readers.  This book has earned a place in our revolving bookcase where I store our Junior Illustrated Library classics and our Landmark books.

The Beehive Reader is available here for $19.95.  This is a bit expensive in my mind, but it is a book built to last so you can use it with future beginning readers too.  It's still less expensive than a video game or a DVD.  Perhaps it can be a demonstration to your kids that good books are worth  saving/budgeting for.

You can see what my fellow crewmates thought of the Beehive Reader by clicking here.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the Beehive Reader for the purposes of completing this review.  I received no other compensation.