I know that I am going to get some major flack for this post. After all, everyone loves BOB Books, right? Especially primary teachers and parents who want to help their child learn to read (which both can describe me). I might be in the minority here, but I have to be completely honest with you…
I don’t love BOB Books. I just don’t.
I have tried to get on board. I have two sets and have used them with both of my boys. I even recommended them as a resource in my I Can Teach My Child to Read eBook with the caveat that they should be used in moderation.
The books, however, were extremely frustrating to both of my boys. When I was first introduced to them a few years ago, I thought perhaps they were just too simple for Big Brother. He is the type of child that can see a word once or twice and remember it. Little Brother, however, is the exact opposite. Sight words are a struggle for him, so he relies heavily on decoding skills. They are two totally different learners, but they do have one thing in common: BOB Books frustrated them both to no end.
Big Brother was frustrated at the lack of a storyline and Little Brother gets frustrated by having to decode every single word on the page without a predictable structure.
The premise of BOB Books is great: Present simple, decodable words in a book without the distraction of colorful illustrations so that children will learn to decode the words. My problem with BOB Books is this…children might enjoy the satisfaction of “reading” one of the BOB books, but I am not sure that they will instill a love of reading. When it comes to reading material for a new reader, I think it is always helpful to follow their lead (within reason). If your child gravitates towards one type of book over another, follow their lead as they build confidence in themselves as a reader. Some children might enjoy BOB books while others won’t (and either is perfectly okay).
When we aim to take a balanced approach toward literacy, most of the time we should be reading to our child so that he/she falls in love with the stories we read and the facts that he/she learns (when reading nonfiction). Even higher quality beginning readers should be used in moderation.
I still think BOB Books are a helpful resource for some children, for those that show an interest in them, for example. However, in my experience I have found that children will be much more successful reading books with repetition and a predictable structure. And believe it or not, I actually recommend that children read books where the illustrations help give away the text. After all, that is a strategy that good readers use when they don’t recognize a word!
If you have a child who is struggling to learn to read, work on decoding in isolation. I recommend making a Build-a-Word Tray for this task. Create a simple CVC (consonant-vowel-constant) word and ask your child to read it. Or alternate the activity and say the word, having your child find the corresponding sounds. There are a lot of different ways you can utilize this tray, including a Real Word vs. Silly Words activity and having your child change only one letter (for example, asking your child to change the word “mat” to “sat”, then “sat to pat”, then “pat” to “pan”. This is a great phonemic activity as well
(Go here for directions on creating your Build a Word Tray)
When looking to find books that your beginning reader can read, look for books with a predictable pattern. Your child might have to decode the first page or two of these books, but the remaining pages will repeat with a change to one word (which can be identified using illustrations). Reading books such as these will help build your child’s confidence as a reader.
I created a post with some of our favorite books for brand-new readers. Most of these books all have colorful illustrations and a predictable pattern in the text. You’ll even see BOB Books mentioned at the end, because I still think they can be a good resource for some kids (just not mine and many others I have taught). :)
If you are interested in learning about more tried-and-true strategies for teaching your child to read, check out my eBook I Can Teach My Child to Read. It is half-price through the end of August! Just use the code “YAYAUGUST” at checkout.
I totally agree. My newest reader would not have anything to do with BOB books. She much prefers books that have meaning (and fun pictures!)
I am in total agreement!!! I’ve taught many kiddos how to read, and most of them fall into the 2 categories your sons did in relation to BOB books – there wasn’t enough context or there wasn’t enough interesting content. Plus, I just don’t think they’re the best books because they aren’t meaningful (and learning to read should be meaningful)!
YES, yes, yes! My oldest son would get SO aggravated by the meaningless story lines. He just didn’t get the point of them. And I agree that often these are not the best choice for brand new readers because it is just plain exhausting to sound out every word. That said, our middle son really liked the rhyming and word family sets. They are not what I used to teach him to read, but they are something he has used to get extra phonics practice. Definitely not for every reader!
My kids have liked the older reading textbooks, usually from the 1940’s -1950’s. I don’t know exactly why, but often the story line is a bit more interesting than in the newer books we’ve perused. We read books printed from every decade over the last 130 years, but the kids really like the illustrations and stories in the old texts. I have 3 kids with learning disabilities and have used BOB Books with each of them, since BOB is often one of the few books that uses such limited vocabulary and is very, very short. Since they struggled so mightily with decoding, anyway, a short and simple storyline was fine.
We are soooooo right there with you. After one or two my daughter said no more. We then just found things that worked in the early reader section. She liked this every so much better. I will have to check out that list of early reader suggestions though as we are about venture on to #2 learning to read.
A few years back the school I taught at used Bob books. I remember leafing through them, putting them in a file cabinet drawer and never opening that drawer again. I agree with much that you said above. I am now a reading teacher for k-2 students. Using pictures to solve words is something that is explicitly taught to young kids. Plus when the story is interesting and engaging they are much more likely to enjoy reading, and that’s what is most important. I greatly recommend reading a-z, it has great books at varying levels and great resources to go with the books. You can also enroll your child in razkids, which I’ve not met a kid who doesn’t love it yet. Creating life long learners starts with teaching a love of learning, something Bob books missed (in my opinion)
I’ve taught kindergarten for more than 20 years, and I’ve never had a student who wasn’t bored to death or completely puzzled by BOB books and other similar decodable books. They are, by design, stilted and contrived and make reading drudgery. There are so many better ways to teach early phonics, and I’m glad blogs like yours exist that give parents fun alternatives to decodable books. Thank you!
My son is 5 and is learning to read beautifully with Bob’s books. Each child is so different!
Check out Home Grown Books!!! They are beautiful and content rich. Love your article.
Agree. I used Bob books for my boys, found them too boring and the drawings were annoying to me.. lol
As a retired K-1-2 teacher I agree completely with you. I have never liked Bob books. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
I agree with you that every child is different and my oldest son liked Bob books, my youngest not so much. As a k-1 teacher, it can be hard to find a variety of on level texts (I have thousands of books) so it is just one more resource for kids.
Although I see your point, I do disagree. Yes, the storylines make no sense and the illustrations are terrible but I do not use these books for awesome plots and graphics. I have my daughter (currently in Pre-K and going to K in August) read 1-2 Bob books a night for the phonics practice. I usually find that after two books, she is done! But, my husband or I will read a “fun” book to her before bed. These books allow my daughter to practice decoding since she is not a fan of flash cards. At the end of the day, it’s a good feeling knowing that she will enter Kindergarten knowing how to read basic sentences-far ahead others who are still learning the alphabet.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Stephanie! I say if your kiddo doesn’t mind reading them and it doesn’t interfere with his/her enjoyment of reading, then I’m all for them. But in my experience with both of my boys and many kids that I taught is that I found better options to engage my kiddos. But to each their own! :)