Start Reading with ARC Bookshelf

Dear American Reading Company,

I just want to stand on the top of a mountain and shout to all who can hear me, the American Reading Company reading program is the BEST READING PROGRAM ever!

I have three children, all at different academic ability levels. My 11-year-old is in a gifted and talented program; he was independently reading at age 3. My middle son, now 9, has shown signs of struggle since PreK and we have struggled alongside him until now. We have tried EVERYTHING we could think of or were told to do to help him read, but his gains were minimal and frustrating. We went to the library to get books and would check out 75 at a time, but NONE ever seemed to be right or at his level where he could read independently with confidence. I spent years reading to him because the words on the page were just too hard for him to read himself; he would cry and so would I, wondering if he'd ever be able to read on his own. Teachers told us to just keep reading, but that wasn't enough and it was not working. He was frustrated and so were we.

FINALLY, an answer to our prayer; we were introduced to IRLA in December 2015, and the program is AMAZING (and that word does not even do justice)! How every single school and library in the country does not have this is beyond me and unacceptable. The American Reading Company IRLA program is the ROADMAP to reading, it really does put the training wheels on the reading bike and gradually moves them up to a 12-speed AT THEIR LEVEL, AT THEIR PACE, until they are riding the reading bike with NO HANDS!

My son could hang in third grade reading with one-on-one instruction, but he couldn't read on his own. When we finally had him IRLA tested, his independent reading level was end of Kindergarten/beginning of first grade...we had NO IDEA IT WAS THAT BAD! He had school interventions, special education, and private tutoring for two years and gains were slow, but no one could tell us exactly where he was, let alone what he needed to do...no one! In December he tested in IRLA as a Yellow/1G level, crumbling at the sight word level (we did not even KNOW that he was struggling to read his sight words at flash speed), and after following the program each month he went from 1 Green to 2 Green (in one month), from 2 Green to 1B (in another month), to 2 Blue and then 1 Red by spring break. The program had books at HIS level that were fast, fun, and easy! He could read on his own as long as he stayed on his color or below. Best of all, I was no longer a frustrated mom trying to build my own home school curriculum; I knew what books he had to read and what words he had practice to get to the next level.

My stress over how to help him was taken away by this program, a true gift to me and my family. Best of all his confidence grew, and slowly he began to SOAR! He loved that it was on his iPad among his other video games; he was proud to get on Bookshelf to read 20 books a day and was no longer embarrassed like when he would pick up a book and it was too hard for him to read. He had a plan to move to the next level—there were goals and words he had to practice to get there. Reading was no longer frustrating, it made sense and like the sports he loves, practicing reading AT HIS ABILITY LEVEL was making him get better. In years of school, no other program or intervention had ever done what IRLA did. It was amazing to see him tested at 2B one month, watching him go from crumbling when he tried to read, to soaring through the exact same books and test a month later ready to move up to the next level.

So here he is and at the beginning of June, only 6 months later, he is reading 2R/White books (end of second grade/beginning of third)! Three years of growth in only 6 months! AMAZING is an understatement. He is closing the gap faster than any of us could imagine...he just needed the tools to get there. He used to be afraid of fourth grade, that it would be too hard. Now he knows it won’t be as hard as he thought! What IRLA proved to me and my family is that EVERY CHILD CAN READ WITH THE RIGHT BOOK! My son is proud and confident and motivated to read...he is no longer embarrassed, but driven.

Thank you, American Reading Company! Words cannot express our gratitude for your program, and I can't wait to see how his younger sister does with it. She has had speech issues her whole life and we aren't waiting, we started IRLA in December too, and I know that it will help her become an independent reader faster than any other program. She was frustrated at the beginning of first grade with books from the library or books given to her by her teacher that were too hard to read. Now she is soaring through 1G and 2G books and beginning to tackle 1 Blue books (a little behind from where she should be, but with IRLA in our pocket I KNOW she will not only catch up but rise to the top and be soaring too). The difference in her reading in one month alone lets me know that she is going to be just fine!

Let me close by telling you a cute story from this past weekend. My son went to a sleepover at his friend’s house—boys, basketball, water slides, sprinklers, video games, and fun. He came home and said, "Mom, guess what? I got bored playing my games on my iPad so I read two books. Let me show you which ones I read.” Enough said!

Loyally, Lori

Vittoria: I love your program. I am from Italy and I have used your system since my child was 4. Ezra is now in 1st grade and ready for 2R. He reads hebrew and italian too. Your program is sure the best. I have been sharing the books that Ezra has overgrown with his school.

American Reading at Home: Oh wow, thank you so much for your wonderful feedback! If you don't mind, would you like to answer a couple questions since you've been such a long time customer with us? We are always trying to improve and would love to hear your thoughts: 1. How did you find us? 2. How did you know how to use the program? 3. How can we make the website more useful?

Vittoria: 1. I found the American Reading website some times ago while searching for reading methods in young children. My child was exposed to books since the day he was born and I always read to him but, as I mentioned in another message, I am from Italy and english is not my first language so I knew I needed help in giving my child a head start. I am a doctor and scientist and I know how improtant is a for a young child to be right on time as far as reading is concerned. I did try a lot of methods from "Your baby can read" to "preschool prep" to "leapfrog" but I have never been completely satisfied with any of them. "k5learning" is the one that I liked better but I needed something more.

2. Before starting using the books, I read almost everything in your website and when I tought I figured out how the method worked, I tested Ezra and I started buying the 2 yellow books. He loved them and he progressed very smoothly. At the time we started he already knew his alphabet and he was able to read simple phonics words (cat, mat, that, car, sun, etc.). He started kindergarten with 2 green and started 1st grade with 1 red.

3. The website is very well done. I dis not have any problem in navigating it and finding the information I needed since the very beginning. The athome part is very straightforward.
3a. I would say that having e-book for the more advanced level would be a good addition even though my child always preferred the paper version. I only used the e-books when travelling.
3b. Maybe expanding the video part on how to use the books at home would be helpfull for the parents.
3c. The program really works and my child always got very excited in changing the color/level. Maybe a certificate of achievement with the books or a medal or a trophy will add enthusiasm to the young kids.

Hope this helps; please feel free to contact me in the case you need further clarifications.

American Reading at Home: Thank you so very much for your kind words and feedback! We are so happy to see that our website helps facilitate the program and we are slowly expanding our electronic library so hopefully soon we'll have more eBooks available at higher levels via American Reading at Home. We do have higher levels available but those are collections we cater to schools via the main company branch.

I truly understand and appreciate your attitude towards early reading, especially since English is my third language and my mom raised me with an ocean of books :) It's so wonderful and I'm sure so rewarding to you as a parent to see your child really grow and succeed! I only know Ezra through your words but I'm very proud of him and all the work you've put into his love of reading!

Also wanted to note that I agree on the achievement rewards and we do have some available but as part of a bundle, not à la carte. I will pass your comments along and see if that's something we could add to the store for those only wishing to buy a cape, or a medal etc.