Superman Phonics Fun (I Can Read! Phonics) Paperback – 26 Jun. 2012

These books are small. They are only 5" square with 6 pages each. This is not necessarily a disadvantage though. Young children find very small books less intimidating when learning to read. Whether a child has learned to read through phonics, or whole language, these short books are great as a confidence booster once they have started to read on their own. You will find most school reading primers for young children are also quite small. I found my oldest was able to read small books like this with confidence quite a bit before he was able to read a longer book, even the vocabulary in the longer books was easier.In all honesty, I don't find most of the stories in these books very exciting. Because they are so small, you are not going to get any serious plot development. But my youngest son, age 4 loves them. Something about tiny books appeals to him, and he has memorised the short stories so he can look through these on his own, remembering the story if he wishes. Being so short also means these would be ideal for children with very short attention spans. He is not reading yet, having only just turned four, but these books are well loved storybooks and he has had a lot of enjoyment from them.For older children, these books do focus on phonetic sounds and can be useful as a supplement to reading instruction in school or a more complete phonics programme at home. They are not adequate as a primary resource for reading instruction. They are not strictly phonics readers, and many words can not be decoded only with phonics. There is no progression, and there are some words which are rather difficult for new readers. If you are trying to teach your child to read on your own either as a home educator, or because your child isn't catching on at school, I would strongly recommend either a step by step phonics programme like BOB Books or Hooked on Phonics, and/ or the Oxford Reading Tree. I would recommend these as simple short books for very young children ( ages 2 -5). I would also recommend them as confidence builders for a child who is starting to read ( ages 5 -7), and a way to keep reading fun. These would be excellent for children who have learned to read through whole language but need some background in phonics for spelling, as well as a bit of additional material for a child learning to read through phonics. They are also ideal for children who have not yet discovered that reading really is fun.We have bought all three sets of super hero phonics books Batman, Spiderman and Superman and should they produce another series I would jump at the chance to buy it as well. While I feel these are not adequate as a stand alone reading programme, they are well loved little books in our house, and books like these were very useful as an additional resource in teaching my oldest to read.In addition to using these as quick stories for my little one, I use the list of words on the front of each page as a spelling list for my 7 year old, as well a refresher course on phonics. I would highly recommend these, either as stroybooks for very young children, as an addition to a more complete phonics programme, or as an introduction to phonics for a child who has learned through whole language reading instruction.

This was my four year olds fav. Christmas gift. He can't read at all yet but wants us to read to him all the time. The little box is a great idea and they just really appeal to superhero fans. The vocabulary is far too tricky as a learning aid for reading. They are probably only useful for asking them to spot letters they recognise. Might buy him others in set eg batman

If you have a youngster who isn't happy reading the jolly phonics books in year one, give these a try, the cover and pictures encourage reading and the books complent national reading programmes. Even his teacher is impressed with these books

I bought these along with the batman books for my classroom many years ago to encourage the boys to read. These were great as they got the boys (and girls) really keen to go into the book corner to read. Even some of my more reluctant readers were really excited about these books and they linked up well with the photos I was teaching so they were able to practice what I was teaching in a fun way. I would recommend for people teaching children to read or if you have a reluctant reader that likes superheroes!

Bought this for my grandson and wish these had been available when my son was smaller. They are great for getting children, probably boys, into reading. They're a handy size for taking on journeys and the print and pictures were bold and interesting to a five year old. Great success!

The books are ok, but I was surprised to open the box and find a big piece of cardboard padding it out - the books are tiny!

I bought these for my 3 yr old who is getting into superheroes. There are 12 different story books with lovely pictures of the hero and his villians.It comes in a small box which keeps them separate from his other books. Only fault was one of the books pages hasn't been cut at production so had to cut the folds to release the pages..but these things happen. Love them!

My 5 year old loves these books. Yes he cant read every word but he manages all the phonic words and they stories are a perfect introduction to the world of superheros.