Dreadful reading book series, anyone else had them? Tell me they improve, please!

[philmassive]

DS is in year 1 and since reception he has been reading Oxford Reading Tree stories about Floppy, Biff, Chip and co which he's really enjoyed and he's progressed really well. He's just finished the last one in a series and I was expecting him to be given the next title in the next colour.

Anyway yesterday he came home with his reading folder and the book in it was not ORT and Biff and co but something entirely different which wasn't as funny or modern seeming as the ORT and was 'here is fat pig, fat pig runs, I don't like to run says fat pig. Here is dog, dog runs, come on fat pig says dog' etc etc ad infinitum. It was truly dreadful. DS said (for this first time ever) 'I'm not reading this, it's horrible' and I had to agree (mentally, didn't tell him I thought it was awful too!)

So am I being unreasonable to talk to the teacher about direness of the book or is it a case of put up and shut up? I don't want DS who is really enthusiastic about reading to be put off forever by fat pig and co.

Your thoughts please!

[nolongeraworriedmummy]

Oh they really are terrible arent they!
I would maybe wait to see if they come home again as we only had them as a one off, actually twice but on the second time i wrote in her book "dd is not enjoying this series and is therefore lacking the motivation to read them"

[peanutbutterkid]

Ginn? Are you sure he'll have the entire series or just an occas book?

[Hulababy]

New Way?

Not exciting no, put pretty good for phonics based stuff I gather.

DD's school has some of these too, along with several other schemes which they swap between. Using a range of reading schemes is good IMO, as just using one really limits vocab annd text style IME.

[rolereversal]

ask to change it if he doesnt wnt to read them, we had a truly awful pirate series of books in yr3 I think. I used to literally fall asleep while ds tried to read them. we stuck with it, but when I mentioned it to his teacher at parents evening she said, oh change them, if its not engaging him theres nothing worse.

[chipkid]

its the gay way series and there are lots and lots of them. The old fashioned ones have fat pig-the updated version which is more PC has Pat the pig.

[Elk]

My dd has these and the first ones were dire (she refused to read them), however, now she loves them. They also do other stories (we have just had their version of The Three Pigs and last year we had some of Aesops Fables). DD also hates ORT books.

[TeeBee]

My son's school uses a lot of different schemes and I found the earlier level books to be dreadful, with no characters, no story line, nothing endearing at all. My son used to laugh at them! However, things do get better and I think the higher they go, the more interesting the books. We got some great ones this week - a joke book and a book about publc art. I enjoyed reading them, and so did he.

[philmassive]

Thanks, I will see how we go and resort to the comment in the book saying he doesn't like the books if he continues to feel like this.

People on another thread have commented that schools often swap between reading schemes so I live in hope!

[seeker]

I would have a word with the teacher. Just pop in in the morning and say "Mrs X - please could Master Phil swap his book - we don't like this one"