"I want them to know that they can read, that they read many things all day long, just maybe not books, yet."
Carmin Hall
- About
Through Carmin's 30+ years of work as a Behavioural optometrist and amongst her dealings with children she has observed a rise in her young patients finding themselves a little behind in their reading abilities, leading to unsettlement in these children.
Carmin, Maya and Greg have teamed up to launch Rally Reading such that we may all rally around and support those among us who find learning to read somewhat of a challenge.
These works are expanding with others in the community adding to the collection of books that will become available to provide a wealth of material for young and old alike to share in the joy of learning to read. So watch this space!!!
To paraphrase the first book in the series, "I can read" : reading words, or books, has a purpose and is just one of the many aspects of reading life, many of which we are already mastered in from very young. Learning to read should be fun - there is depth of joy in the illustrations to be bathed in, so don't rush through just reading the text...
Rally Reading:
There are many dimensions to this young reader’s book.
Firstly, they are written to be read by an early reader, together with a competent reader who implicitly demonstrates the convention of reading from left to right and top to bottom – the early reader learns through observation and experience. We encourage you to initially follow the lines and words with a finger until reading across the line becomes natural.
Secondly, together with a competent reader, the book can be read at any age and any level.
Words are colour coded:
‘Easy’ three-letter words, that can be sounded out phonetically, are printed in Pink
Orange words are largely phonetic words, and include the sounds: ch, ck, th, wh, sh
More advanced words, that require sound code knowledge, are in Blue
Sight words are in Green
And the rest are in Black print
The objective is that a beginner reader reads every Pink word and the competent reader reads out loud all the rest. As they build their reading skills, they are encouraged to read the Pink and Orange words, and progress to including the Blue words, etc.
I have called this Rally Reading, as in rallying the troops – gather together as a group to enthusiastically support your budding reader. The idea of Rally Reading is not uniquely mine, there are other programs that use similar techniques.
These books came about from working with young people who struggle with reading. The older they get, the more they tend to avoid reading and the further they lag behind. They may be teased by their classmates and lose self-confidence. Many start sentences with “I can’t …”. (In my offce, they are not allowed to say, “I can’t” without ending with “yet”.)
I want them to know that they can read, that they read many things all day long, just maybe not books, yet.
Another issue that these young readers face is that they don’t want to read ‘baby books’ with meaningless phrases such as ‘The cat sat on the mat’. Reading is not necessarily their favourite thing to do, but Rally Reading allows them to participate in reading and reminds them that reading has a purpose.
From our readers
My heart jumps in joy: The first Book of ‘I can read’ in German ‘Ich kann lesen’ got a feedback right now from a 6 year old girl. Such an amazing treasure. Thank you for the great work and the translation. The second book I ordered is already packed to be sent. From deepest heart, Thank youSonja E
So far I have listened to twelve 8 year olds read 'I can read!' to me. The kids who have read it so far are the so called ' slow readers' and it is beautiful to see them actually enjoying reading it, their whole body lightens up and one of the teachers commented that she could see that the kids loved reading your book. Thank you for bringing through this super amazing gift.Elizabeth M
I was back in school today and showed your book to the class teacher who is lovely. And she thought it fab. She suggested two poor readers would benefit. Two six year olds who struggle with reading read it with me. They loved it! The colours make such a difference.Sue Q
I was sitting in a waiting room and picked up what I initially thought was just a children’s book, called Big Cats. I was a couple of pages into the book and tears started rolling down my face. Not long after I realised that I was deeply moved and touched by this so-called kid’s book...Thomas S
The books are life changing for my clients ✨ joy and confidence building with children who have 'severe learning disorders'.Sarah
I wanted to share - my class are loving your books. They have been the theme of the class learning and projects for the past few weeks with the kids even making videos about what they learnt. Love it, thank you Can't wait for your next bookKristy
Customer experience:
I was sitting in a waiting room and picked up what I initially thought was just a children’s book, called Big Cats.
I was a couple of pages into the book and tears started rolling down my face. Not long after I realised that I was deeply moved and touched by this so-called kid’s book.
It was actually very informative and I found it really interesting, as a mature adult I learnt a lot.
I couldn’t help but imagine how different my childhood could have been 55 years ago if books of this calibre were given to me to read.
In addition, this book treats the child with integrity and respect, not talking down or dismissing the child in any way.
Thomas S
Frequently asked questions
Got Questions? We’ve Got Answers!
Are the books available in different languages?
Yes! Our first book 'I can read!' has been translated into Dutch, German and Greek, with a Spanish version on its way. Some of our other books are currently being translated and will be available in Dutch soon.
Why are the words in different colours?
‘Easy’ three-letter words, that can be sounded out phonetically, are printed in Pink
Orange words are largely phonetic words, and include the sounds: ch, ck, th, wh, sh
More advanced words, that require sound code knowledge, are in Blue
Sight words are in Green
And the rest are in Black print
The objective is that a beginner reader reads every Pink word and the competent reader reads out loud all the rest. As they build their reading skills, they are encouraged to read the Pink and Orange words, and progress to including the Blue words, etc.
What happens if my child has colour deficiency?
The shades of pink, orange, blue and green in the books (not on the website) have been specially chosen so that a person with the most common type of red-green colour deficiency (deutans) can distinguish them apart. They may not be able to tell you that the colour of the word is 'pink' but they will see it as different to the colour 'green'.
Why are Rally Reading books different to other children's books?
As young people who struggle with reading get older they don't want to read 'baby books' with meaningless phrases such as 'The cat sat on the mat'. Reading is not necessarily their favourite thing to do, but Rally Reading allows them to participate in reading and reminds them that reading has a purpose.
There is also a depth of joy in the illustrations - so have fun reading the words and pictures.