e-future Graded Comic Readers EFL ES extensive reading high school junior high school kids materials readers Reading reviews
by sendaiben
25 comments
e-future Graded Comic Readers: Magic Adventures
I just received my order of a full set of e-future Graded Comic Readers (Magic Adventures) and am, so far, extremely impressed.
The series consists of 18 comic books over three levels (200, 400, and 600 headwords). The story starts off in our world, then goes into Magic Land, then comes back to the real world. The characters are children and it has a real Harry Potter kind of vibe to it. The artwork is very nice, and the production values are high. They also have exercises and a glossary in the back.
Each book has a CD (not mp3 thankfully) with various tracks: theme song, the story, listen and read, listen and repeat, key words and expressions, then a great one: read the story using prompts, making them ideal for homework or self-study.
The books are comics, so feel very fresh. The students I tried them with today (elementary and junior high school) really liked them and so did I.
This is my find of the week: great, fresh, reading material at a reasonable price (set of 18 is just over 13,000 yen before discounts).
Hi Jim
I got mine from englishbooks.jp -just ordered two more sets, actually 😉
Got a set for my own kids, and they really like it. Definitely a thumbs up for the elementary school crowd.
Marcos
Thank you so much! They were definitely a work of love.
-Jason Wilburn
Dear Jason
Did you Edit the Smart Phonics series in Korea published by e future?
We like this book and would like to chat with you about it
Hi Ben, I actually orderd a couple sets of this comic series for our school library/extensive reading program after reading this post last year. The kids (high school) are eating them up. I was wondering if you had compiled a word count list for these books. Can’t seem to find that info. on any of web lists. Thanks! Michael in Osaka (former Miyagi JET)
I’m so glad to hear that everyone is enjoying these books. The books are divided into three levels. For the first level, we wanted each story to have about 200 words, the second level 400, and the final 600. What they are exactly is close to that give or take a few. The target vocabulary words are much less, but the number still increases by level. I believe the goal was 120, 150 and 180 for the six books of each level.
And yes, there are more comics coming out. Jack and Bella will be spending the summer at camp where they learn fun, yet important life lessons. These comics are currently with our illustrator, but hopefully they’ll be at your bookstores soon.
Hi,
That word count you mentioned – is that headwords or actual number of words, please? Actual word count would be very useful.
Thanks!
Thanks for the quick responses Ben and Jason, Very helpful.
Hello from Spain! What would the best way for me to buy this series, I’m interested in all three levels!
Ben, did you also get the Teacher’s Guide with the word cards? I’m wondering what the word cards are like more than the Teacher’s Guide.
Hmmm. Maybe I’ll ask on the ETJ list. Maybe someone there knows. Thanks anyway!
I haven’t used it much yet, but the teacher’s guide looks quite useful. Word cards as you mentioned, teaching guide (lesson plans), and also a photocopiable appendix with dictation and writing activities. It’s well done.
FYI: http://efuture-elt.com/Pages/Products/View.aspx?catkey=101&serieskey=54 “School Adventure Series”
Are these graded comic readers written in American or British English?
Ben,
Could you let us know where these books are available in Japan?
Keep up the reviews ; )
Jim