Look, it’s a miracle! Ian (almost 9) is reading a chapter book while Sponge Bob is on TV!

This is it. The first series of chapter books your son will actually want to read! Now I know what you’re thinking! You’ll believe it when you see it…which is exactly why we give away the first book in the series. Your child can read them right here, right now. Or we can send you a pdf copy of the book so you can print it out.

He’s Going to “Get Bitten By the Reading Bug!”  FREE

We want to prove it to you before you part with a nickel of your money. After all, plenty of people have told you about good books your kid would love. But we think it’s fair that you should see it first – before you believe it and plunk down your hard-earned money.

Maybe your child is dyslexic like my own son? Or, maybe your child has reading processing difficulties? Or…maybe reading isn’t high on the list of fun things your child likes to do. It doesn’t matter. Just open up thepages of the first book and watch the magic work. The power of a DaVinchy Chapter Book Series story will keep your child’s interest from start to finish!

He Read It. Twice. Wow.

You’ll find that each chapter is reasonably short. Remember the goal is to create a sense of accomplishment. You’ll also see that the books have pictures on every page. Pictures are a must for chapter readers – and an absolute necessity for reluctant or struggling readers. All these kids need to be drawn into the book with pictures.

New readers, struggling readers and reluctant readers can usually “decode” — translate letters into sounds and into words. But when they struggle, saying the words doesn’t mean understanding the meaning or following the story.  In books without pictures, kids can’t “picture” what is happening (which is really the key to comprehension.) They are too busy trying to decipher the words! In the beginning, just the act of reading occupies all your child’s attention.

So this is the magic of the DaVinchy Chapter Book Series. It’s full of  pictures that have a close connection to the words. By doing this, we made it easy for kids to read the words and pull meaing out of the pictures – so the story comes to life for them. They follow the story and “get it.” And by get it, I mean they fall in love with reading!

It will be such a thrill for you when you see your child going back again and again to re-read the books!

It’s funny, but the pictures literally open the door for kids to learn how to read for meaning. Some kids just need the pictures longer than others, that’s all. (Ahem…have you noticed all the pictures in your own magazines! We all need them!)

Great “Read Aloud” Books for Beginning Chapter Book Readers

The DaVinchy Chapter Book Series makes a great “stretch” reading experience for beginning chapter book readers. Why? Because the pictures add so much meaning. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you should expect beginner to read these without assisatance, however. We recommend reading the books aloud with your beginning chapter book reader. Take turns reading every other sentence. Then do every other chapter. If you come to a word that your child just doesn’t know jump in and help.

Keep it light and fun! Your job here is to get your child hooked on the story. Because once that happens, your little one is going to really want to try and read the books alone without you.

What Level Are These Books?

Mom’s tell me that these books are a bit harder than the Baily School Kids books (which span from a second to third grade reading level).  We’ve had kids who read at mid-first grade levels fall in love with the books – when reading with assistance. We’ve had second graders who felt the books were a stretch fall in love with them – because the pictures were like having an adult help out. (But they read the books on their own!)  We’ve had struggling readers in the 5th grade fall in love with the books and comment that the books were exciting and didn’t feel baby-ish. And we’ve had kids who are already reading Harry Potter tell us that they loved the books and that they were fun to read.

You get the idea, right? Because of the cool pictures and exciting story, the DaVinchy Series Chapter Books don’t neatly fit into a category. One nine year old compared them to the experience of watching an exciting movie…which was high praise indeed. My goal in writing the books was to pull kids away from the TV and turn them onto reading!

Adventure Is The Miracle Door Into Reading!

DaVinchy and Milo are the main characters. They are two little mice guys who have all sorts of adventures. They go into a hole in the basement wall…into a cave. There they meet a big cat, get chased by army cats, escape earthquakes and cave-ins. They run from big snakes and get tossed in the army cat jails.

Kids identify with them. Their adventures draws your kids into the story.

Secret: when your kid’s imagination is excited - comprehension skyrockets!  With words and pictures both full of clues as to what is happening, your kid’s nose will be buried in a book.

Halelujah! My kid is reading! (is what you will shout!)

One of my favorite comments came from one of Fran’s friends. She was a happy mom whose child fell in love with reading through the DaVinchy Chapter Book Series.  She told me she grabbed her husband from the other room. She dragged him into where their son, Ian, was reading. Ian was in the same room as the television, and the TV was turned off!

She told me that she said to her husband, “Look, it’s a miracle! Ian is reading a chapter book while Spongebob is on TV.”

(This was a major compliment since Ian was a Spongebob addict!)

5-9 Year Old Appropriate – Stimulating, But A Safe Place

We hear from a lot of parents with older boys who are looking for a good chapter book series that doesn’t seem “baby-ish.” And what we hear is that the DaVinchy chapter book series is perfect. It is hard to find books older boys can read that aren’t “silly.” But the DaVinchy Chapter Book Series keeps their interest both with the words (and pictures). In fact, it’s only the rare kid who is into factual books who seems to shy away from DaVinchy.

Younger boys love the series too. Why not? Jet packs, chase scenes, army cats, giant snakes…it’s fun! But DaVinchy and Milo never get hurt. It’s a safe place for these kids to place their imagination. But if you have any doubts – let’s say you have a sensitive child – read the free book first. Then, maybe let your child read a page or two to decide. Sensitive kids can get frightened easily.

Chapter Book Reading That Lets Them Graduate to Bigger and Better

I gave the DaVinchy Chapter Series books to a reading specialist  in Massachusetts. At the time, she was teaching a 5th grade girl to read. She asked this girl to read the books to “see if they were any good.” Now, this 11 year old girl had a strategy of just pretending to read…and some processing issues that made reading difficult for her. Because of this, she didn’t like reading at all.

Well, she read the first three books straight through- one each at a sitting. The reading specialist said this set a record for her. Prior to this, she could never pay attention to any book for that length of time. The DaVinchy chapter books got her excited enough that she started talking about reading other books, too.

There’s such magic in getting kids to have fun while reading. Because one good reading experience always leads to another

He Couldn’t Put The Book Down – a Funny “Bathroom Reader” Story!

There’s no “poopy” humor in the DaVinchy Series Chapter Books. (Sorry, Captain Underpants fans! – we do have other fun stuff!) But one of my favorite stories comes from a friend whose 7 year old homeschooling boy who got hooked on reading while reading our books.

She told me:

“The  next thing I knew, I walked past the bathroom door and saw Brian with the book in one hand and…toilet paper in the other. I’ll tell you he wasn’t going to stop reading for anything! Brian and I had started out reading the books together. But as you can tell from this [bathroom] story, he just took over for himself. He liked the cliffhanger endings a lot. Plus, Brian really liked the big cat, Scruff. He read the first two books in a couple days, and he’s planning on reading the third book tomorrow.”

Free Means Free

I confess. We give away the first book for free because we know that your child will fall in love with it and you’ll want to buy more books from us. But we think you’ll agree that it’s a fair trade – once you see your son or daughter so enthused with reading. We also think you’ll agree how important it is for your child to have fun reading….and heading toward a life-long love of reading! Let us prove it to you!

Really Free!

We give away the first book. For real. Because the only way to get your child hooked on reading is to try us out! We’ll ask for your email address, because we really want feedback about how the reading sessions went with your child.

Writing books that make kids fall in love with reading is harder than it looks! My wife and I homeschooled our kids. But the days when I could sit in a comfy chair and watch a 6 year old read and learn what makes them tick are long gone! (until I get me some grandkids!)  So meantime, I’ll need your feedback. Write to me and tell me what your child liked and didn’t like. I’ll do my best then to juggle the feedback and make better books!

Thanks for your help! – Chris