Monday, November 14, 2011

TOS Review ~ Vocabcafe Series (College Prep Genius)


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College Prep Genius was kind enough to send us all four titles in their Vocabcafe book series. The vocabcafe series is a set of four books that aim to increase SAT vocabulary. Each book contains approximately 300 advanced words. The words are bold/italicized and defined at the bottom of the page. 

From the Website:
VocabCafé books help students easily learn SAT-level words while reading an original wholesome story.
These modern novellas contain no foul language, no illicit sexual themes, and no sorcery!
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The Nuts & Bolts:
~$12.95ea/4 for $38.85
~Middle/Jr. High & High School (I would say mostly HS)
~4 paperback books: Planet Exile, The Summer of St. Nick, I.M. for Murder and Operation High School
~133-222 pages
~Medium sized print
~Other products (15 Secrets to Free College; CollegePrep Genius)

My Thoughts:
I love this concept. Novels with SAT-type words defined on each page and repeated throughout the book. However, I would be dishonest if I said that I did not have concerns with some of the topics in these books. There is no foul language, no illicit sexual themes and no sorcery but there is bullying, dishonesty, kids getting tattoos, etc. that I am not comfortable with my 6th grade daughter reading yet. Now, my concerns may not be your concerns, but as with any book I strongly urge you to read the books before you hand them off to your child. What bothers me for my almost 12 year-old my be just fine for your 17 year-old. I did let Unicorn read Planet Exile as I found the themes in that book more mild. We also discussed the words and the content as she read. I will most likely put these books on our bookshelves when she is in high school and we will discuss the themes together if she chooses to read them.

Click here to read what my Crew Mates thought of these books and other CollegePrep Genius products.

{Disclaimer: I received these products in exchange for my honest opinion. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.}
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4 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this review with NOBH!
    Stefanie

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  2. AdventuresinHomeEducatingNovember 16, 2011 at 1:01 PM

    You are welcome! :)

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  3. Thanks for the review Michelle! We are currently in the process of revising the books to make them even better! We even removed the temporary tattoo segment from The Summer of Saint Nick. The newly revised program will be released shortly!

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  4. AdventuresinHomeEducatingFebruary 2, 2012 at 9:41 AM

    Thank you Josh! It is great to see companies that are willing to have their products reviewed and to take the advice of their target audience! Kudos to you!

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