About Reading Chest
Background
As a teacher and a mum, the idea of Reading Chest came about when my own son started to learn to read. I was frustrated that I did not have enough suitable reading books at home to help him.
For early readers in particular it is hard to get books at the right level of difficulty. They are not often available in public libraries and so parents either have to depend on the books children borrow from school, or purchase them.
Home-school book lending systems can be a bit ‘hit and miss’. Children sometimes forget to change their reading books or might be restricted to changing their books on certain days. There are also the long holidays without school reading books.
After buying a few books suited to my son’s reading level, I was struck by the expense, especially as they were finished with so quickly. I decided that there had to be a better way to help parents become more involved in their child’s reading development. So the idea of Reading Chest began - to provide easy affordable access to a wide range of new and exciting children’s reading books.
I have worked with parents, teachers, head teachers, educational consultants and publishers in order to bring together the most inspirational reading resources which reflect the latest research in helping children learn to read.
Aim and Philosophy
Reading Chest wants to make it easier for parents to help children enjoy learning to read. We are not about replacing the home school book lending system, but we aim to boost the supply of good reading books at home when needed.
Reading Chest firmly believes in the importance of the parental-school relationship but also supports those parents who want to get more involved in their child’s reading journey.
Reading Chest opens up choices to parents and children by providing affordable access to a fantastic range of fiction and non-fiction books at an appropriate level. Ultimately we want to help your child enjoy reading and make progress.
Who is it for?
Reading Chest is great for almost anyone with young children learning to read. Our books are selected with younger readers in mind, as it is generally more difficult to find suitable reading material for early readers.
Reading Chest has a range of carefully levelled books, perfect for children from when they are first learning to read to when they become fluent readers (reading ages of 4 to 9).
People join Reading Chest for various reasons: it is ideal for reluctant readers who might need inspiring books and other incentives, such as stickers and certificates, to get them going again; it is also ideal for more speedy readers who love reading and just never seem to have enough books at home. Obviously, it is also great for home school educators who don’t have access to any school reading book lending service.
We hope you will make the most of Reading Chest. We are pleased to have been able to help so many children and parents over the last few years.
