Mat

Bob Books Set 1: Beginning Readers #1

by Bobby Lynn Maslen

With their engaging stories and clever illustrations, the Bob Books have ushered millions of kids into the world of reading. This relaunch of the popular series features a handy new chart on the back of each box that enables parents and educators to easily identify which set is best suited for their child's reading capabilities. Each set is color coded to indicate reading level and each story is carefully crafted to help children at different learning stages master essential reading skills.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction

9 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Bobby and John Maslen developed the Bob Books, while Bobby was a teacher of 3 to 5-year-olds at a private school in Portland, Oregon. After many years of self-publishing, Scholastic became Bob Books’ publisher in 1995.

Reviews

[Aneesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wouldn't choose to start teaching Ev to read with sight words, but she loves these books.

All the preschoolers agreed that Mat shouldn't sit on Sam's head, and Sam shouldn't sit on Mat's head, yet later that day Ev sat on my head.

[ameya · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too repetitive. Also, why does Sam look like a member of the Ku Klux Klan?

[Addyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read. The author does a great job of incorporating challenging world's such as "monomorphemic" with easier words such as "sat". As the reader I was quite surprised to see that Mat was sitting on Sam and vice versa. This was quite the plot twist as I was not expecting this. I would have liked the author to make it a little bit clearer that Mat and Sam were upset about the other one sitting on them as I was left wondering their feelings about this matter. Although I am not a parent myself, I can see this leading to some confusion about where to sit and likely resulting in mishaps in the classroom or during play time. I myself have a few questions about the character design and coloring of this book. As you can see, Mat and Sam are unusual shapes leaving me wondering if they were human at all. As for the coloring, I thought that the red was a little bit distracting to my eyes as the reader. Moving away from the design of the book and back to the actual storyline, I had a few questions about the character Steve. I thought his character was quite unnecessary and confusing. Why was he an elephant? What relationship does he have with Mat and Sam? Why did he sit on Sam? Why was he invited to Sam's funeral? Was he the one who killed Sam? Overall, I did like the thriller-like aspect that this book had at the end and will be reading this to my future children. Although I'll make sure to teach them not to let an elephant sit on them so they don't end up like Sam haha!

[Nicole Walden · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book Mat and Sam learning to sit and where to sit. It is a basic book with the concept of learning right from wrong of where to sit, including on eachother. There are not very many words and it is a slower read but it is also a beginning reader book so there a very few words that are not very hard to understand. This book is a very good example to show as a beginner reader because it has the elements like the color red being the on every page because it is something important or the thin lines because it is still a children's book so it is more elegante. Having the picture take up most of the page and only having very few easy words for the child to read is another component that makes it a book for beginners. I think that this is a book that I would use in a kindergarten classroom since it is such a basic concept and book to read I feel like older kids could be uninterested. I can connect this to a book I was evaluating in class about the process of going to bed because it is a book that is teaching a simple concept like brushing your teeth or putting your clothes away and it is written in the style of more pictures and less words.

[X · Rating 3 out of 5]

They are just easy readers for kids.

Just so you know... parents and caretakers of children... these are EASY READERS. Meaning they are for kids, who are barely learning how to read, to read themselves. Because the language is extremely simple. All CVC words with "a" as the vowel. These are not PICTURE BOOKS. They are easy readers with pictures - but PICTURE BOOKS means books that parents are meant to read to young children, with words that kids can understand but not necessarily read.

Please do not read easy readers to your kids, you'll bore them to death. Too many people have made this fatal mistake.

[Sandra Lemus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: This book was about Mat and Sam who sat.

Evaluation: I gave this book three stars because it is boring, but I understand why. This is a beginning reader's book, so there aren't much words and the words that are shown have the same vowel sound.

Teaching Idea I would incorporate the BOB books in a kindergarten class. I believe these books are great for students to practice at home and in the classroom. You can even do a little comprehension check.

[Loki · Rating 5 out of 5]

it is too funee

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have young readers? Grab these books. Short length and rhyme make it an easy read for teaching new readers to read.

[kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these Bob Books. They are wonderful for children who know their letter sounds. They progress at a slow, medical pace. This one is entertaining because the characters sit on each other.

[su · Rating 1 out of 5]

why were they sitting on each other 🤔

[Toad Soup · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quality literature

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned not to sit on top of each other, and I'm a great reader!

[Stevie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has Mat and Sam in it.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book my 3 year old mastered. I highly recommend BOB BOOKS Set 1 for beginning readers.

[Ilse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Own.

Well, it was fine.

[Elanor]

All by herself!

[Remy · Rating 5 out of 5]

JF read to me - good practice for working on blending vs. just sounding out. I've used this with my kids and now I'm using it with the grandkids. <3