I am upgrading the nonfiction section of my elementary library. This has me using scholastic dollars, because without a grant, there is no way to afford such an endeavor. Books are worth every penny, I just hate to check out $25+ books to students who might lose them and then not afford the cost.

Despite the expense the blast off readers have one thing right - they are designed to be easily interpreted by an early reading. The lexile level is low enough for a child that is struggling with reading and the pictures support the text with examples that would be harder to read but easy enough to infer.