First Reader

First Reader is a book written by Phyllis Schlafly to teach children how to read using phonics. This inexpensive textbook has been remarkably successful at teaching 4 generations of students, many of whom went on to top colleges and graduate schools.

After Why Johnny Can't Read (1955) shocked Americans at how liberals were failing to teach children how to read in school, particularly public school, Phyllis Schlafly embarked on a phonics-based approach and used it successfully for 60 years.

If kids fail to learn how to read -- as tens of millions fail to learn today -- then they will never be able to read the Bible.

California has the highest illiteracy in the United States, and other liberal-run regions are nearly as dismal in reading ability.

Boys who grow up in an illiterate-dominant region has a life expectancy in England that is 26 years shorter than a boy who grow up in a highly literate area.

Textbook

This book is 165 pages long, with colorful images and big print. Unlike other books, it is a phonics-first approach, with "sight words" taught as merely an exception to the vast majority of words t be learned phonetically.

The book does not censor religious words or images, and includes them fully. Pages are progressively more difficult, with a challenging amount of three-syllable words presented on page 154, a more challenging array of four-syllable words listed on page 162, and then the final page 165 has a few five- and six-syllable words after the student is able to read out any big word phonetically.