Guest Posted September 11, 2010 Share Posted September 11, 2010 Do you prefer to own your own early reader books or do you get them from the library? Many early (emergent) reader sets are kind of pricey - close to $100 - and I think that's a lot of money. If it's something important to have on hand, though, I want to make sure I make that a priority in what I buy. ETA: For example, if you had to choose between buying your child's readers or a bunch of science or history books, which would you choose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickelfritz Posted September 11, 2010 Share Posted September 11, 2010 I like to have some on hand for times I can't get to the library. And I do own some phonically controlled readers (Bob books, BJU grade 1 reader--which I used for 1st when I couldn't get to the library) and a variety of picture books and chapter books up through 4th or 5th grade level. But our library is so extensive that I wouldn't spend a lot of money on a reader set. After they can read easy readers, it's pretty easy to get reading practice from the childrens books with a little help on odd words. I'm currently having 2nd grade dd read orally from Aesops fables, which I already owned. Besides that, I have her read from book basket books from the library that are for for history and science (sometimes it's a caption or informational blurb and sometimes its a "Rookie Reader" type book ) and she has free reading time where she can pick any book she wants, including Curious George and such. Sometimes she picks easy books, but the other day she read "Chocolate Fever", which is listed as ... I think 4th grade. I mainly just want her reading frequently. That's a long answer to say that I don't think a set of emerging books is necessary, unless you don't own any suitable(loosely defined as such) reading material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted September 11, 2010 Share Posted September 11, 2010 I prefer thrifts stores, and used book stores. I found almost the entire set of HOD emergent readers(and then some) by shopping thrift stores. I did end up buying 3 of them new from Amazon with a 4 for 3 promotion, but I'm sure if I had waited I would have found them used eventually. If you can't do that or afford them new then by all means use the library. I want to own all the books that I plan to use with all 4 of my kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickelfritz Posted September 11, 2010 Share Posted September 11, 2010 Just to add: I place greatest importance on reading, writing, and math. So if I owned nothing and had access to nothing.... I would cover those bases first. BUT, once kiddos have a fair amount of phonics under their belt, I don't see the need for a super special list of books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 I only buy early readers if they're valuable as stories rather than just as educational practice. Frog and Toad is good to read aloud to youngers and to reread as an older child. Young Cam Jansen books don't have that kind of lasting appeal. They're good one-time reads from the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyz Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 We have approximately 130 library books in our house right now. About 50 of them are early reader books. We go to the library every week to return the books we are done with or tired of and pick up new books. I choose new ones and reserve them online so we don't actually spend a lot of time at the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 I only buy early readers if they're valuable as stories rather than just as educational practice. Frog and Toad is good to read aloud to youngers and to reread as an older child. Young Cam Jansen books don't have that kind of lasting appeal. They're good one-time reads from the library. This is how I do it, too. I don't buy any of the books that are part of a long series like Nate the Great, Boxcar Children. I do have quite a few controlled phonics readers, and I'm glad because it's nice to have a choice of what to read at that level before they can read much at the library. This stage lasts longer when you use something like OPGTR and very few sight words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 I'm not sure what sets you're looking at that cost that much. For us, the BOB books, which aren't that much, and the free to print I See Sam books have been plenty in the phonetically controlled department. The old McGuffey Reader is also free to print online - the copyright is expired. We supplement from the library with piles of books - Seuss, series books, and now for my reader things like Cynthia Rylant, Frog and Toad, Elephant and Piggie, etc. It's nice to have some things on hand, but the majority of things we have I've just slowly collected from the thrift store for $0.60 each - and that includes a lot of Berenstains early readers, Seuss things, Frog and Toad, as well as paperback series titles like the Step Into Reading or the Hello Reader books. For me, I only want to spend money on things that are consumable (like workbooks), things that will really hold up be of value for a long time (like reference books), and things that we're relying on throughout the year for curriculum (like a spine or a teacher's manual). For all extras, I try to use the library as much as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonia Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 Use the library. I bought one small set of phonics readers for about $20 and after that we just used the library. No need to spend a ton of money on books they will probably outgrow fairly quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissKNG Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 What about Paperback Swap? Wal Mart often sells the "Step Into Reading" books for $3 each. Pick up a couple here and there. The "for sale" board here often has readers. I just bought some Magic School Bus Readers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 I'm not sure what sets you're looking at that cost that much. The Sonlight 1 Reader package is $102; the Heart of Dakota is $60ish. Thank you, all. I just didn't want to not buy them if they were going to be an integral item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonia Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 The Sonlight 1 Reader package is $102; the Heart of Dakota is $60ish. Thank you, all. I just didn't want to not buy them if they were going to be an integral item. But there isn't a need to purchase those - just use the lists as a guide to pick up comparable books at the library. Meant to add - I've kept a running list of what my dd has been reading. The only thing I've purchased is a set of Nora Gaydos readers and the odd Dr. Seuss book here and there. The rest of the books came from the library. Here's the list (you'll want to scroll to the last post for the easiest books). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 http://order.starfall.org/k/shop2/index.html Have you looked at these? If you can find several people to order together, the books don't cost very much, and they're quite nicely done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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