This is one of my favorite resources for early childhood education. I still reference their reading lists when looking for a good book to read to the little ones. I love the concepts they teach and credit this program with my children's love of reading.
I have to add to this review though that by the time I got to Volume 3, I didn't use this book as much as I did the first 2. It may have been that I just felt overly confident, but I think it was more that it felt a bit repetitive. I really just used the book for their book lists and a few ideas. I had the concept down ... and maybe it was that my 3 children were aging a bit and we were trying some new homeschooling ideas. I don't know.
But, I still love their lists of books, and I would still recommend the concepts behind Five in a Row. Google them and read about them. They are a great company. I would at least buy the first couple of books, if you have little ones in the home and you want them to love reading. I don't think you even need to be homeschooling in order to appreciate these books.