20 Best Tips

Life of Fred Beginning Readers Review

This post may contain affiliate or advertiser links. Read my full disclosure policy .

Life of Fred beginning readers set 1 - simple, fun, and engaging readers for children

A four year old named Fred has been a long-time friend in our house. Fred typically visits when it’s math time, but the last few weeks he has also been a part of our reading time with our youngest.

Time and again I’ve mentioned that our boys are very cautious readers. That’s the nice way of saying our girls started reading just.like.that and our boys, using the same techniques and such, get frustrated, think they can’t read, fuss, cry, or all of the above when it comes to reading time. It’s been trying to say the least.

Don’t get me wrong, they both made progress and our reading program really is fabulous and works, but last year it was a million loud cheers when Zachary finally decided to sit down and really read a book all by himself. And he hasn’t stopped since. Some kids just aren’t wired the same. (There’s a shocking newsflash, eh?)

Kaleb is pushing along the same path as his brother. Despite encouragement and the fact that he can read, there are days when it is a struggle. A huge struggle. We sit down and cuddle up, work on a lesson, and again starts the cycle. We’ll stop when needed and continue with encouragement, but it’s just hard.

The Life of Fred math books are a huge hit in our house and something we have enjoyed for years. When Educents asked if I would be willing to take a look at the Life of Fred Eden beginning readers…well, it wasn’t a very difficult choice. I’ll admit that even I was a bit curious about what exactly was inside the pages of these books. (Incidentally, they have some great deals on Life of Fred products right now!)

Here’s a peek at one of our favorites that I shared on Facebook (you can also watch it via YouTube).

 

We have been LOVING the Life of Fred Beginning Readers we received from Educents earlier this month. Here is a quick peek inside and a little more on what we are loving. Stay tuned for a blog post today with more (and a giveaway!)! (Sponsor)

Posted by Homeschool Creations on Monday, 28 September 2015

 

More About the Life of Fred Beginning Readers

life of fred eden readers-26

The Life of Fred beginning readers set 1 contains the following six books: Blue, Bus, Lake, Potato Dreams, Ducks, and Rain. Each of the books is focused on a specific color (you’ll notice the cover titles are all done in the color they feature), so children learn eighteen color words when working through the books in the three different sets. (See sample pages here.)

The books all follow Fred, a four year old genius boy who has a doll named Kingie. Together they go on adventures. In this series, you follow Fred and Kingie as they take the bus to Fall River Lake, learn about different colors (blue, orange, red, brown, pink, and gray), meet ducks, talk about emotions, learn how to cook potatoes, and so much more random silliness.

Each hardcover book features a combination of real pictures and images along with drawings of Fred and Kingie, other creatures, and cartoons. They are completely non-sensical stories that children l.o.v.e. to no end. In short, the stories are simple and engaging. Silly, yes, but in such an amazingly fun way.

Targeted toward children ages 4 and up.

 

Our Thoughts on the Life of Fred Beginning Readers

life of fred eden readers-44

We have the first six readers (Eden set 1), but Kaleb has been toting around his reader pile for the last two weeks. Every day he pulls out two or three of them and we read and re-read the stories together. And it isn’t just Kaleb who has been engaged with the books! As we have curled up and the laughter begins bubbling from him, the other three kids are soon crowding around to see what is happening with Fred and Kingie. (Yes, they all love Fred – even the high schooler.)

Where this boy normally reads with ZERO voice inflection (i.e. questions don’t sound like questions and he has completely flat tone overall), he is giggling, reading with different voices, speech rate patterns, and truly engaging with the stories. It has been so amazing and fun to watch the process.

life of fred eden readers

These silly, non-sensical stories are bringing this little boy to life. Yes, he still gets a little frustrated here and there reading, but he tries so hard. We had intended to videotape him reading a story, but he was extremely nervous and after five tries – well, we decided that we’d just tell you that he thinks Fred is very funny. Very funny. Kingie even more so (especially when you see what Kingie packs to take to the lake). We’ve had more conversations about how Kingie could have even fit a pool table into his bag, never mind lifted it.

We laugh at the drawings (Fred does have a square head after all). We laugh especially hard at Kingie’s paintings – because they are always amazing and completely ridiculous. Did I mention these books are funny?

life of fred eden readers-99

Text on each page is fairly minimal in the six books we have, and the books aren’t overwhelming, wonderful for hesitant readers. Keep in mind this is not a full reading program (no teacher’s guide or specific introduction of blends/words in any order), but readers for children to practice the skills they have already learned and help them further enjoy the reading process. They may likely pick up several new words and some added confidence in the as they go through the stories too.

While initially I wasn’t sure what to think of the books, I did know how much our kids have loved Life of Fred for math, and these readers are no different. They are books I know we will go back to over and over again. Yes, they are beginning readers, but so often that confidence boost and added humor are needed to bring life to our reading!

Save an extra 10% TODAY ONLY!!

Currently Educents is offering discounted bundles for purchase. You can purchase the Life of Fred readers directly from their site AND save an extra 10% off with the coupon code HSC10. It’s a special code JUST for my readers, so be sure to use it!!

The LIFE OF FRED SALE ENDS October 18th, so don’t miss it!

Be sure to browse the rest of their affordable deals as well!

A Bonus Giveaway!!

lifeoffredbeginning_1

Educents has also offered one of my readers the Life of Fred Beginning Readers Set 1! To enter the giveaway, follow the directions in the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

LIfe of Fred beginning readers - simple, fun, and engaging for children

This post may contain affiliate or advertiser links. Read my full disclosure policy .


10 great tips for people who are teaching a struggling learner

 

Would you rather SUBSCRIBE BY RSS?

Comments

  1. Those look cute! My daughter loved the math books. Thanks for doing a giveaway!

  2. We haven’t used any Life of Fred books yet but they seem great.

  3. We have been talking about making the switch to Life of Fred for math. I have read great things about both the readers and the math sets! Thanks for the chance to win this set!

  4. markntiff777 says

    I’m very interested in trying these with my son and daughter. I’ve heard great things about them.

  5. Would love to win! These are fun books!

  6. We have never used them but I hear so much about how great they are. I think my girls would love them! Thanks for the chance!

  7. I’m excited to get back into using LOF Math and possibly adding the readers as well.

  8. Kimberley Quinlan says

    We love Life of Fred and have been wanting to try the readers but haven’t yet been able to fit them in the budget. My dyslexic who doesn’t usually get excited about reading is hoping we can get them soon!

  9. Trinity52607 says

    we’ll be starting the math soon, can’t wait to see what everyone is talking about

  10. Abigail Carpenter says

    I have used Educents before. I can’t remember what I bought but it was a great deal.

  11. LOF math resources look like a good fit for my family. I’ve purchased resources from Educents before….such a great website!

  12. Lynette Wilhelm says

    Thanks so much for the review! I have heard great things about the Math program and we finally bought them this year, and have wondered about the Readers. I have a Kindy this year and these might be fun to get! We have been reading through Apples in the car as a family on errand day and Loving it!

  13. These look so fun!!!! My oldest was a fast and easy reader, my second….we are going to need some help, and these look perfect!!! I would love to win this set!

  14. Christy Wiggins says

    I’m doing Apples with my daughter right now. I really like it so far.

  15. We absolutely love the LOF elementary math series, and are about to begin the next level. We just bought them from educents! I know my younger kiddos would really enjoy the readers. Thanks!

  16. Kristina Best says

    No we haven’t but wish we could.

  17. We haven’t used anything, but thanks for the giveaway!

  18. I also have a hesitant reader. Thanks for sharing!

  19. So fun!! So glad to hear that Kaleb is fining the love of reading!! Fred cracks me up!! We did a math chapter today and Sammy was begging for one more chapter!

  20. Karenunabridged says

    We’ve picked up some LoF math at the library but haven’t seen the readers yet. Thanks for the chance, Educents!

  21. I haven’t purchased anything through Educents, but am definitely looking into these Life of Fred products. They look perfect for my son. Thank you for hosting this giveaway!

  22. I’ve never used life of fred books but my son is just learning how to read so I would love to try them!

  23. We’ve used the math books before. Thank you for hosting!

  24. I’ve got a silly 4yo boy who would enjoy some silly beginning readers! I’ve gotten other things from Educents, but not Life of Fred.

  25. Charis Chapman says

    I’ve been wanting to try these!

  26. We are new to homeschooling, but decided to try the math books after following your blog for years. We love the math books and the crazy drawings as well. This would be a great addition to our learning library.

  27. It was so helpful to hear that reading can be a challenge for your boys, as we’re newer to homeschooling and I’m never quite sure what’s ‘normal’ or expected. My son is the exact same way as yours, so now i know it’s ok and he will get there one day!

  28. Tamara White Chase says

    We are going to start the Life of Fred math. It would be great to try out the readers, as well!

  29. I would love to get this collection. We love life of fred math and I bet his readers are just as good.

  30. We love life of fred math! My first grader can’t seem to get enough of it and asks to keep reading. I almost always need to stop him from doing math all day.

  31. I haven’t used Life of Fred, but I’ve heard many great things about it from many people.

  32. I have never used Life of Fred but would love to! And I am subscribed to Educents already and love all their freebies! Thanks for hosting Educents!

  33. Roxanne Raiche says

    We have never used Life of Fred products, but I have been eyeing up them up for the last few years.

  34. I’ve never used life of fred but these might get me there! My son would love them!

  35. We love LOF math!! “Apples” has turned our math-hater into a math-lover!!

  36. I’d love these for my 2 youngest daughters (one a beginning reader and the younger a story-lover!

  37. Thanks for doing this giveaway! We’ve wanted to try Life of Fred :-)

  38. I didn’t know about Life of Fred’s readers, I’ve used LOF-Math with my older kids. I think my youngest would enjoy a Fred reader. Thanks for the giveaway:)

  39. With a struggling reader in the house I will definitely taking a closer look at these. Thank you.

  40. Amanda 'Hicks' Feiock says

    I think my soon would love these

  41. The stories remind me of “Elephant and Piggie”, drama-wise….my kiddoes would love them!

  42. I used the Life of Fred Math books with my oldest daughter, but my youngest daughter likes them more. Seeing the comment of the Reading books being similar to ‘Elephant and Piggie’ makes want to check these out for my youngest son.

  43. I’ve never used Life of Fred but I have gotten lots of freebies from educents! Love it!

  44. Donna McBride says

    These are very popular in our house with 4 early readers.

  45. We have used this curriculum before and really liked it. Thanks :)

  46. Heap A Hoopla says

    I have often wondered about buying Life of Fred. My kids attended a homeschool class at the library with Life of Fred math and loved it.

  47. Meghan Weyerbacher says

    Just found your site, thanks for doing the review of the Fred books, Sounds like something my middle child needs, also checking out the Times Tales as this is right up our ally. My 10 yr old is getting better but this may really encourage him!

    • The Times Tales has been helping as well. It’s fun to see something ‘click’ in our kids, especially when it isn’t in the traditional way. :)

Leave a Comment

*

n

Send this to a friend