I learned on the Bastien books when I was a child. I started with the Primer Level at age 6, and when my boyfriend's daughter expressed an interest in learning to play the piano, I dug out my old Bastien books. Imagine my delight when I found that my beloved piano book is still in print after 25 years and I was able to get her her own copy for Christmas :) We only have her twice a year, for Christmas and summer break, but all she wants to do when she is with us is play the piano from these books. I would highly recommend these books for piano teachers. Based on my experience, this book is appropriate for children as young as 5 to learn from. (When my parents tried to enroll my little sister in piano lessons at age 4, she was not able to pick up the concepts or concentrate long enough to get the most out of her lessons.) The series has a collection of main books broken down by skill level, as well as supplementary technique books for each level. I remember hating the technique books (technique is so BORING when you're a kid) but I am extremely thankful for them now.