Oxford Reading Tree Read at home Songbirds Phonics Collection Julia Donaldson 36 Books Set Pack RRP: £128.82 (Stage 1,2,3,4,5,6) (Read at Home)

Like a lot of grandparents, I have spent a small fortune over the last few years on things for my grandchildren. I am happy to do this but do feel a bit 'ripped-off', as they used to say when I was young, by the cost of some comics, toys etc. I keep a stash of reading books for when the children come to visit but get the feeling that many of these are published, understandably, with a view to their shelf appeal more than their reading level. I have to say that some of the bedtime stories, published by well known multinationals, have a reading structure more in line with Joyce's Ulyses than a children's story. One granddaughter is hesitant with her reading and was becoming insecure over it so I wanted some more structured books to boost her confidence. I was quite amazed to see these 36 books offered for less than £20 and bought them on a 'I'll give them a try' basis. They have been a real success. Okay, they are not all the most exciting stories in the world but they start from very simple and progress, in a nicely structured way, to some quite complex word structures. There is lots of repetition to build on word structures such as 'eigh' or 'ay' and, although I don't know much about the theories of teaching children to read, they seem to have a sound learning sequence. My granddaughter likes the way they are colour coded in a neat plastic folder. When she comes round at the end of a school day she picks ones she likes and reads them to me. If she is tired she chooses an easy one to reinforce her confidence and if she is feeling more adventurous she picks 'harder ones' and tries those. As a result she has grown both in confidence and in her ability to deal with reading. What is more much important is that she is enjoying her success and hopefully will soon be able to return to the bedtime books that proved so difficult before.I don't know if these books are subsidised but, if they are, ... thanks.

Bought this set for my son who had just turned five - the youngest child in his Primary 1 year. He was struggling with his reading, refusing to do any finding many books just so boring.... I was really worried and was hunting for something different to help it click(although he loved being read to). Got these in July hoping they might help as he really enjoys all the well know JD books. He absolutely loves these. He got stuck right in and within days was picking the books up and reading to himself. His reading has really come on leaps and bounds, and following recent reading tests was told by teacher that he has jumped up 10 stages since end of year tests in June which is amazing! From discretely probing him (just trying to see where he is against his peers rather than to brag)! I think he is top of the class for reading as the next pupils are at stage 13. I never bother to leave feedback on products but wanted to share this with all the mammies and daddies who probably worry as much as me and want their wee ones to be their best. Try these out - I am so glad I did.

PERFECT!! If you have children then this collection is a MUST! If you have a look through you can really see the different stages. There are 36 books...6 books in each stage...and there is 6 stages. Each stage is perfect for that reading level and age group. Beautifully illustrated!If you buy this collection, you won't need another for a while! This collection is probably the best we have and we do have a few...but these are so perfect for my 4 year old. If you have multiple children at different stages then it's also perfect as they are being used over and over!worth every penny! And it came a day early : )

My Daughter was really struggling at school learning to read and although the school taught phonics in class they didn't have any reading books to go with the scheme. This just confused my daughter and wasn't helping her to be a confident reader. These books are great. Just start at the beginning and work through them. Each book introduces new sounds. The stories are good and so are the illustrations. My daughters confidence has improved a lot and she now even wants to read them for fun.

A really good set of books, the Mrs is working through them with our 4yr old at the moment. They are short stories so only take 5mins to do and very good to interact with. Priced individually they would be expensive (hence 1 star off) and woukd have passed them by but the heavily discounted set are worth it. Our little one is a fan of Julia Donaldson and as with all her books they are well illustrated.

I like how children, in the first stage, can work out the words by themselves through their phonic knowlege as they are simple CVC words. These words then continuously pop up in the stories throughout that reading stage so children continue to practise them. More difficult words and sight words are then introduced and these too pop up throughout the reading stage. I also like how the characters in the stories are used again but at different reading levels. The stories are entertaining and colourful and they make sense. My five-year old daughter started reading thanks to these books and has built up a lot of confidence with this series. She now reads them by herself and most importantly she asks to read!

Goods books and great for starting to read. One book Fish and Chips missing and got two of Miss Miss instead. Overall not a bad price for a set of 36. Songbirds, Oxford tree such as Chip and Kipper series are ok, nothing comes as good as the old Ladybird books and Peter and Jane.

Bought these books for my 3 year old nephew as an introduction to reading and he loves them. The characters, stories and illustrations are visually stimulating and appeal to a young child's sense of curiosity, which is a wonderful starting point to encourage an interest in reading. Even if they can't read yet, talking about what they think is going in the pictures, is a great way of bonding over a book. Divided into sets, each book introduces young readers to a range of phonics and sounds. An excellent price. Would highly recommend this collection.