I have been involved in early childhood reading for over 10 years now.  Back in the beginning, we made our materials and at best bought a few ready made flash cards.  That is why I am so excited to see great new products becoming available to make teaching babies to read easy.  The Little Reader software from BrillKids definitely does that.  Little Reader is a software program that you install on your computer.  Once you do that, you can choose the curriculum for the day, have your child sit on your lap and watch the lesson.  The lessons are short and sweet, so this is a great tool for busy parents.  There is a curriculum for a whole year that you can follow, but you can also customize your own lessons.  If you have the time, you can really make Little Reader personal for your child.

I do not have the time to customize, so we used the lessons provided in the curriculum.  I found that my daughter, who was 3 years old when we began  using Little Reader, enjoyed the few minutes we spent using Little Reader.  Since then, she has gotten quite independent and can get the whole program going on her own without assistance.  The nice thing about Little Reader is that you can choose to view pattern phonics files, which quickly flash words that follow a particular pattern.  You ca get the software to work for you how you want it to.  That is a big plus.  The program is very similar to a flash card program, except you have the option to show a word and even a short video that demonstrate what is being taught.  You can even print paper flash cards from the program if you like.

We have not been using Little Reader lately because my now 4 year old is reading very well and so she prefers to read books on her own, however, she occasionally asks to do Little Reader.

Little Reader offers a few different options for purchase.  You can purchase the Little Reader Deluxe for $250 USD, and you will get the software program with a one year curriculum, books, flash cards, pattern phonics cards, labels, and more.  It is a very nice, very complete program and I highly recommend it.

For those that are on a tighter budget, the Little Reader software is available by itself in 6 month or 12 month curriculum packages.  Those may be purchased for $149 USD.  The Little Reader program is appropriate for children between the ages of 4 months old and 5 years old, possibly older, depending on the particular child and may be purchased at www.brillkids.com/teach-reading/.  I especially like all the support available in the BrillKids Forum.  It is a great place to frequent for asking questions and finding answers to your own questions.

You can even sign up for a free trial to decide if Little Reader is right for you and your child here.

You can view the Little Reader Quicktour here.



If you want to teach your baby to read, the Little Reader Program is an excellent choice.  It has been well received in our home.  You should know that I was provided this product in exchange for my honest opinion.  I was not paid to write this review or compensated for writing it.