Homeschool Resource Review: BuddyBooks {Reading Support}

I was paid a wee bit to write this review, but just like with all things from The WOLFe Pack, what you will find here is an honest opinion from a seasoned homeschool mom with a Master’s Degree in Education and a decade of experience in the classroom…who also happens to be a mom with way too much to do, not enough sleep, and only 18 months left on her homeschool clock {which is to say that I do not waste my time on bad curriculum, pointless resources or dubious suggestions nor will I waste your time either!}

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BuddyBooks by ObjectiveEd

I travel to several homeschool conventions each spring/summer as part of my “real job” working as a Customer Connection/School Success Manager for a well-known math resource company. And, while traveling around this year, I came across this new company, BuddyBooks. At each convention I saw them (maybe four or five,) they had a big set-up with several monitors and a distinctive voice reading passages from books for passer-byers to hear. As is typical with the homeschool convention vendor culture, I stopped and talked with one of the ladies a couple of times. We did not talk about her product (or mine,) but instead about how busy that day had been (or not,) how expensive the bottled water was at the concession booth, etc. But, while we chatted, I took note of her product.

So, when I was offered the opportunity to review BuddyBooks by ObjectiveEd, of course I jumped at the chance! Why? I was excited for the opportunity because I love love love all things literacy including any resource that can potentially teach, encourage, inspire or improve a child’s ability and desire to read. But, it had been 16 years since I had taught reading in the classroom and 13 years since my own sweet boy started to read, so I was also curious to see what sort of new approach BuddyBooks by ObjectiveEd was offering.

Read on for a full review of BuddyBooks by ObjectiveEd.

WHAT IS BUDDYBOOKS?

BuddyBooks by ObjectiveEd is an independent practice tool for developing readers. The program is designed to allow your child to read with a computer partner {AI Buddy}, alternating turns between passages.

WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM BUDDYBOOKS?

BuddyBooks was designed for kids with dyslexia, ASD, ADHD or struggling readers with a reading impairment.

However, I believe that BuddyBooks could prove helpful to any number of other students:

• Students who simply need additional practice reading aloud.
• Students who need to build their self-confidence.
• Students who need somebody to read to due to busy parents, older siblings, etc.
• Students who need to hear an adult read to them on a regular basis.

HOW EASY IS IT TO SET UP BUDDYBOOKS?

It’s actually rather easy. Parents have a dashboard and students log in to their own part of the site. Everything is marked clearly and is easy to maneuver. You, of course, need sound so you can hear the ai reader. And you also need a working microphone so the computer can record your reader. Both of those were very easy to set up, though I do use them on a regular basis so they were more or less ready to roll already. Just bare in mind if you decide to check out the site, you will need both the ability to hear the ai reader and the ability to record your student reading.

You may find the following video helpful to see how simple it is to get things set up.

HOW DOES BUDDYBOOKS WORK?

Once the student accounts are set up, the parent assigns a book title and reading time amount to the student.

Parents can choose whether the passages are broken down by sentence or paragraph. The passages are then flip-flopped between the student reader and the AI Buddy. Taking turns helps reduce reader fatigue and improve comprehension while also allowing the student reader to hear correct pronunciation while also visually tracking the words.

NOTE: I do feel that there needs to be some improvement with the way the AI Buddy reads. As with most things AI, there is a lack of a natural sound and rhythm.

​Check out the quick video below of me reading Charlotte’s Web with my AI Buddy.

You can monitor your student’s reading practice through the Parent Dashboard. The amount of data provided about your student’s reading practice and progress is rather impressive.

WHICH BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE ON BUDDYBOOKS?

I believe, and have seen in hundreds of young readers, that the more interesting a topic is to a child, the more likely they are to read about that topic.

BuddyBooks seems to share this thought as indicated by this quote on their site, “When a book matches your children’s interests, they spend more time reading.  And that improves their reading skills.”

This might lead to the belief that they would have a huge variety of books available on their site.

And, that belief would be right, but also wrong.

Upon signing up with BuddyBooks, the parent is given access to several books which I will put into two categories:

• books that are old enough to be considered public domain (The Wizard of Oz)
• books that nobody has heard of and were written by ObjectiveEd (Cracking the Case)

Unfortunately, the former can be poorly formatted and the latter had a tendency to not be overly exciting or interesting.

But there is also a third category of book which opens up a whole new world to readers using BuddyBooks by ObjectiveEd. Qualifying students can access anything from BookShare, an online resource containing over a million copyrighted books. After reading about the qualifying factors for BookShare, I knew I would not qualify for an account, but I was able to acquire temporary access for the sole purpose of completing this review. And, I am so glad I did! Because BookShare has it all!

• Current top-sellers on Scholastic
• Popular series
• Classics still under copyright
• Favorite storybooks
• Easy readers
• And so much more! Like, seriously anything you can possibly imagine, they had!

NOTE: Though the BuddyBooks people plan on adding more books (as indicated in the statement below,) I will caution y’all that until they add more quality books on their own, without access to BookShare, I feel that BuddyBooks won’t fit the interest-needs of many students at all. But, if you have access to BookShare, the value of this product rises to the top.

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BuddyBooks’ response to a colleague’s inquiry regarding access to more books: “At the recent homeschool conventions, we talked with dozens of small publishers and authors about including their books into BuddyBooks and most were excited by the opportunity. When we asked homeschool moms what books they wanted, they asked for the books sold at the convention. At the FPEA convention, we even had several authors ask to put their books into BuddyBooks. For students who do not qualify, we will have lots of books that moms want. We will be adding more books, and we are contacting many publishers to include their book content. It’s an ongoing project.

However, keep in mind that BuddyBooks was designed for kids with dyslexia, ASD, ADHD or struggling readers with a reading impairment, all of which would qualify them for Bookshare.  As we expand out to help other students, we will have far more books available.”

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NOTE: BuddyBooks offers a money-back guarantee on the cost of NeuroLearning screening for parents who purchase BuddyBooks. If the tested child is not eligible for Bookshare, BuddyBooks will refund the $50 for the screening. If the child is eligible, the child would have access to the entire Bookshare library at no cost until the child is 18. Bookshare books can be accessed from within BuddyBooks by entering the Bookshare username & password into BuddyBooks. Bookshare books are also available using Bookshare’s web browser reading app, but that does not provide any of the features of BuddyBooks.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON BUDDYBOOKS…

One of the most popular reading activities I made available in my classroom (and with my own son,) was books on tape/CD. Whether they simply tracked the book as the tape/CD played or they audibly read along, students loved the experience. And I found that it helped students improve fluency without any adult interaction.

And, BuddyBooks offers the next level beyond that old-school favorite. It actually requires the student to read his/her own portion and records it along the way!