High Interest-Easy Reading Series
High Interest-Easy Reading Book Series are collections of books created specifically for students who have difficulty reading materials written for their age level. Typical series contain books on related topics and themes, are similarly packaged, and are advertised and sold as sets. The vast majority of these series fall into four categories: original fiction, simplified classics, self-help/teenage problems or concerns, and other non-fiction.
Examples:
Four Corner Series
Bring the Classics to Life
Prime Time Library
Pro Wrestlers
Tony Jefferson
Reading Level: Authors: Interest Level: Category:
Four Corner Series
Publisher: High Noon Books
Reading Level: 2
Authors: Penn Mullin
Interest Level: 5-12+
Category: Fictional World Adventures
Description
Corina and Zack are co-workers at the Park Museum. They work under the guidance of Claire, who sends these two adventurous young people around the world to partake in some exciting archeological digs. They visit Crete, Egypt, Russia, Africa, and China, learning about various eras of history and meeting with a few frightening figures along the way. In The Tomb of the Emperor, they go to China to watch their friend Wu Hong excavate the clay soldiers surrounding the ancient burial site of Emperor Qin. Shortly after uncovering a jewel-laden clay solider, they encounter thieves, and the young archeologists must face down the villains to save the day. Like other books from the High Noon series at the second grade reading level, the stories are 44 pages in length, with four simply sketched pictures scattered throughout the text. The books are 5" x 7" paperback editions and have eight chapters.
Evaluation
Like the other series by Penn Mullin (Trailblazers), the Four Corner Series appears to be interesting and educational. Readers can learn a little about the history of the various geographical regions and develop some appreciation of other cultures. The back cover of each book shows emails that Zack and Corina send to Claire from their various destinations. Since no glossary is provided, some of the words from the various regions and from the field of archeology may be a bit difficult for struggling readers. Like much of the fiction in high interest-easy reading series, this series seems to be quite dependent on dialogue. In fact, a brief look at The Tomb of the Emperor shows that most of the text comes in conversation between the characters. Still, the story moves along nicely, which will keep readers interested.
Supplementary Materials
For an extra $15.00, High Noon offers a "Four Corners Reproducible Workbook," which will provide the following items: a synopsis of each story, numerous pre- and post reading activities, vocabulary lists, worksheets, and reading comprehension checks.
Contact Information
Address: High Noon Press, 20 Commercial Blvd., Novato,
CA 94949-6191
Phone: 800-422-7249
Fax: 415-883-3720
Email: NA
Website: http://www.academictherapy.com
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Bring the Classics to Life
Publisher: EDCON Publishing Group
Reading Level: 1-5
Authors: Various
Interest Level: 1- adult
Category: Classics
Description
This collection of 40 classic British and American titles presents adapted stories that will, in the words of the catalogue, "excite the reluctant reader as well as the enthusiastic one." Laid out in the style of a workbook, these 8" x 11" paperback editions have colorful, painted pictures on the cover that depict the adventure of the stories. Most of the classics in the series are adventures: Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson; The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells; White Fang by Jack London. Each chapter begins with a list of key words, and provides a phonetic spelling and a definition for each of them. The next page contains the title of the section, a sketch and a preview multiple-choice question. Then there is one page of solid prose, which retells a segment of the story in simplified language. The next page has ten multiple choice questions, asking the reader to recall details of the story for six questions, infer information from the story for two questions, rename the chapter, and determine the main idea. The last page of each chapter tests the reader’s understanding of the key words. The first part contains five sentences with blanks, and the reader is asked to match the word in the word bank to the corresponding sentence. The second part is a word find, crossword puzzle, or some other type of activity to encourage the reader to use the words.
Evaluation
This series covers an impressive list of classics. Though it may be a little short of women or minority writers, it could serve as a resource for those students who are struggling with reading but who are interested in traditional stories of high adventure. The books provide a number of features that could make the plots of the stories easier to digest. Each book follows the same format, with the story reduced to exactly ten segments, so readers can get a sense of consistency across the various books. This series takes on the difficult task of suggesting the greatness of classic literature using a vocabulary and format that will keep less-skilled readers from getting discouraged. For the most part, these books accomplish that task, though at times the structure and format is so controlling that the books almost take on the appearance of workbooks.
Supplementary Materials
No additional materials are provided.
Contact Information
Address: EDCON Publishing, 30 Montauk Boulevard, Oakdale,
NY 11769-1399
Phone: 631-567-7227
Fax: 631-567-8745
Email: info@edconpublishing.com
Website: http://www.edconpublishing.com/index.html
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Prime Time Library
Publisher: Essential Learning Products
Reading Level: 3-6
Authors: Various Authors
Interest Level: “age-neutral”
Category: Fiction and Non-fiction
Description
This reading series consisting of 18 books covering five categories: multicultural, science and health, reading, arts and sports, and social studies. These pocket-sized (4" x 7") paperbacks average about 48 pages in length with six to eight chapters (or stories) apiece. The multicultural books, which focus on Africa, South America, and Australia, contain various pieces about the geography, culture, and wildlife of the various regions. The social studies books feature topics like “history,” “famous women,” or “United States.” The health and science category includes environmental studies, mental health, and general science topics. The reading category contains various short works including folktales, short stories, and unsolved mysteries (e.g.—the disappearance of Amelia Earhart). Finally, art and sports books include a book on artists of the world and "secrets of past and present sports greats." The books do not have glossaries or indexes for difficult words and most do not have illustrations (although some include maps).
Evaluation
The Prime Time Library offers a wide variety of writings at lower reading levels. The entire collection of 18 books provides a good scope of writing types. The books address a diverse and eclectic range of topics and reading materials. The layout of each page consists of a highlighted, bold print sentence at the top followed by three or four paragraphs. Therefore, the reader gets the feel of a typical book with chapters, yet is not overwhelmed by the density of writing on each page. The size, layout, content and design of the books would make them good books for struggling readers from various background.
Supplementary Materials
Read-Along cassettes can be purchased for each book.
Contact Information
Address: Essential Learning Products, P.O. Box 2590,
Columbus, OH 43216-2590
Phone: 800-357-3570
Fax: 614-487-2272
Email: NA
Website: http://www.elp-web.com
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Pro Wrestlers
Publisher: Capstone
Reading Level: 3-4
Authors: Michael Burgan and Arlene Bourgeois Malzahn
Interest Level: 3-9
Category: Biography
Description
The Pro Wrestlers series includes four books about wrestlers who are currently at the top of the game. The books provide autobiographical information on their subjects with a focus on their wrestling careers. In The Rock: Pro Wrestler Rocky Maivia, for example, the text works through Maivia's early life and training, but mainly focuses on his accomplishments in the ring. In the process, readers get a little insight into the world of a wrestler. Each 6" x 8" book is 48 pages in length with a hardcover. Pictures appear on every other page, and many of them are full-paged color shots. The text is organized into chapters about seven to ten pages in length. These chapters are subdivided into various subjects with the help of bold print. A number of charts, timelines, quotations, and definitions for jargon specific terminology complement the text. At the end of the book, there are a number of helpful reading features: an appendix, words to know, and a list of additional sources where students can attain more information on wrestling.
Evaluation
The books are most likely targeted for the young male teens who follow wrestling. Someone without much knowledge of the sport may be confused by descriptions of various fights, where it is difficult to figure out who is fighting whom. While much of this information could be found in various wrestling magazines, this book may be easier for a struggling reader to understand. Unfortunately, the flow of the writing is sometimes affected by the author’s attempt to keep the reading level low. For example, here are four sentences from The Rock: "Rocky trained for several months. He then called Pat Patterson. Patterson once wrestled with Rocky’s grandfather. He now worked for the WWF." On the other hand, overall this is a nicely packaged series. It has a number of user-friendly reading features (index, bold print, words to know, side articles), which make these easy and interesting books to read.
Supplementary Materials
Quizzes are available from Accelerated Reader.
Contact Information
Address: Capstone Press, 151 Good Counsel Drive, P.O.
Box 669, Mankato, MN 56002-0669
Phone: 800-747-4992
Fax: 888-262-0705
Email: NA
Website: http://www.capstone-press.com
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Tony Jefferson
Publisher: New Readers Press
Reading Level: 3 and up
Authors: Agnes M. Hagen
Interest Level: Not given
Category: Detective Fiction
Description
Hagen’s four book series details the adventures of Tony Jefferson, a tough city detective who has moved to Virginia to find peace. After witnessing the murder of his partner in the line of duty, Tony reflects on his friend in typical detective-story fashion: “He was a cop who loved his wife and kids. He coached Little League on his days off. Now he was gone because a frantic criminal did not want to die alone.” These pocket-sized paperbacks (4" by 7") run 64 pages in length. Written in 12-point font with eleven or twelve chapters, these stories clip along at a good pace. With his retired police dog, Chance, Tony finds a missing woman, protects some vulnerable women from internet fraud, identifies the true murder when justice goes astray, and tracks down those responsible for arson.
Evaluation
The characters and plots of the Tony Jefferson series seem to comfortably fit in the genre of detective fiction. Tony is a wizened detective, fed up with the filth of the big city. Yet no matter where he goes, he seems to find some sort of adventure. The nearly supernatural talents of his dog, and the helpful hand of his sidekick and potential romantic interest, Julie, enable Tony to find things that the rather unsophisticated law enforcement of Stanton, Virginia can’t. Like many other easy reading series, this one is heavily dependent on dialogue. In fact, approximately half of the material is conversation. Though the dialogue can be campy at times, Hagen does a good job of hiding the true villains, so that the stories do require some close scrutiny on the part of the readers.
Supplementary Materials
No additional materials are provided.
Contact Information
Address: New Readers Press, P.O. Box 3588, Syracuse,
NY 13235-5888
Phone: 800-448-8878
Fax: 315-422-5561
Email: nrp@laubach.org
Website: http://www.newreaderspress.com
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