By Albine Klawatsch, Occupational Therapist, Certified Dyslexia Trainer
Made for Ages 5 and Under
$3.99
Bob Books is a series of children’s books designed to teach reading skills to young readers. Based on phonics methods, the series comes in a number of levels, each reflecting a stage in a child’s reading development. Bob Books has inspired reading success for many years and now your kids can have fun reading with an app version available on both iOS and Android.
The app follows the same principles as the book series. The books’ familiar characters come alive through full-color animations, encouraging your kids on the path to literacy. But the app ensures your kids don’t just sit back, watching passively. The lessons are highly interactive, continually prompting your child to respond, by letting them read, drag and drop letters to build words.
I like that the children will receive immediate feedback. If they spell the word right the color fills in, and after spelling all the words correctly, they can watch the scene come to life. Another positive aspect is that the lessons are very short. Not only does this fit the short attention span of young readers, but kids also learn better with short but frequent sessions. I often get feedback that the short and fun stories give kids a sense of accomplishment that makes them want to keep reading more.
The Bob Books app continues to bring the same content as well as the same benefits as the book series. Bob Books Reading Magic will show your child how to:
- Make the connection between letters and sounds.
- Sound out simple words.
- Spell the words they’ve read.
The game includes twelve scenes for a total of 32 words. Four game levels provide increasing challenges to children as they play. The levels get progressively harder. For example, at a more advanced level, no clues are provided at the bottom, and children must type the word by looking at only the word and the picture, while on another level, children must form more complex sentences.
There are more editions available from this popular series:
Bob Books Reading Magic Sight Words (only available on iOS at the moment)
Bob Books #2 – Reading Magic HD (on iOS and Android)
Albine Klawatsch, M.Sc
Occupational Therapist, Certified Dyslexia Trainer
Albine is an Occupational Therapist at The Essential Learning Group, working in different cities around Shanghai. She has extensive experience in the field of neuro-pediatrics, in particular cerebral palsy. She has also treated children with mild to severe developmental delays.