About the Author

Barbara Simkus, who wrote this book of 10 Readers known as the Alpha-Phonics and How To Tutor Companion Readers, to accompany either Alpha-Phonics or How To Tutor by Samuel L. Blumenfeld, was a very longtime friend and associate of Sam Blumenfeld's. She felt the need to have a set of readers fully coordinated with the phonics reading instruction in the two books by Blumenfeld. She composed this wonderfully well accepted set with the full blessing of Blumenfeld. As opposed to sets of phonics reading practice books like the Bob Books, her set is specifically keyed to accompany the Blumenfeld reading instruction in Alpha-Phonics or How To Tutor. Barbara was a private Tutor in the Detroit, Michigan area for several decades. Tutors only get the difficult cases so she fully understood the needs of students, especially those youngsters who were not learning reading as well as they could. Mrs. Simkus developed the Readers along with her two daughters, Valerie and Arianne, whom Simkus Homeschooled. Cathy Duffy, one of the leaders in reviewing Homeschooling instruction materials, in her popular 2005 book: "100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum - choosing the right curriculum and approach for your child's learning style," Broadman and Holden Publishers, Nashville TN, ISBN: 9780805431384) chose Alpha-Phonics as one of only nine phonics programs to be reviewed in her book. Duffy also lists the Alpha-Phonics and How To Tutor Little Companion Reader (Duffy says: work well with Alpha-Phonics) and the Alpha-Phonics and How To Tutor Phonics Workbook (Duffy says: reinforces lessons in Alpha-Phonics with fill-in-the-blank and written exercises) Mary Pride is another leading Homeschool materials reviewer and expert on Homeschooling. Pride has called Blumenfeld's How To Tutor: an entire school in one book.