McGuffey's First Eclectic Reader: A Facsimile of the 1863 Edition

McGuffey's Primer #1

by William Holmes McGuffey

McGuffey's "Readers" helped almost an entire country become literate over the course of an entire century. Its appeal spawned numerous editions and revisions, making it a popular choice for teaching reading, even today. Like John Cotton in his "New England Primer" ( 9781947844346), McGuffey incorporated the Bible and his faith into the content of "Readers." Unfortunately, by around 1879, almost all of the content about God and Christ was stripped out. Many of the versions available today are based on these later ones. This 'First Eclectic' edition, however, is a facsimile of the Wilson, Hinkle & CO 1863 edition, which while revised and updated, still makes reference to God. For those interested in teaching reading from time-tested methods and are not shy about their values, this edition will do. The 'First Eclectic' followed his 'Primer' ( 9781947844841) and was for children who had already established very basic reading skills.

Genres: Classics, Education, Childrens, Fiction, Collections, 1st Grade

86 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1836

About the author

William Holmes McGuffey (September 23, 1800 – May 4, 1873) was an American professor and college president who is best known for writing the McGuffey Readers, one of the nation's first and most widely used series of textbooks. It is estimated that at least 122 million copies of McGuffey Readers were sold between 1836 and 1960, placing its sales in a category with the Bible and Webster's Dictionary.

Reviews

[Jennifer (JenIsNotaBookSnob)]

This was okay, forgot to mark it read earlier in the year. It filled a void for reading material and is free to download because of the age of the material. It has some obvious drawbacks, a lot of religious type passages that a secular homeschooler may find a bit cringe-inducing. It also has very traditional gender roles that parents of young girls may not enjoy.

We didn't read the whole thing, skipped some passages and then took a break from it entirely as it progressed a bit too quickly for my daughter about midway through. By the time we made it back to the book a few months later she was past the reading level of this.

I would still recommend it if you are tired of buying or borrowing reading level appropriate EZ reader type material. However, what worked better for my daughter was a subscription to ReadingA-Z. I absolutely loved that site and it was worth every penny. We used it from K-1st and discontinued our subscription when she was reading past 5th grade level. If you can't afford a subscription to that site, than this book was better than a lot of easy readers.

[Jessica]

Eight years and counting using McGuffey’s Readers to build my children’s reading fluency and vocabulary. I love these readers and stories dearly!

[Christabelle]

I am so proud of my girl for finishing this! She is so excited at her newfound ability to read that she has been reading everything she can. She also is excited to start the next one. I will admit, her fascination with this one surprised me. I had tried it with her brother and he was bored with it. He preferred readers with bright pictures and "newer" language. I couldn't get him to sit still long enough to try. On a whim, I grabbed it and it's been a good fit. It's been a nice change for me, too. Having been through several programs and MANY readers, I can appreciate the beauty of the story, the logic of the layout, and the quaintness of the pictures. I look forward to going through the next one with my daughter.

[Brad]

Historically cool

Practically worthless

[Desiree Hagen]

Teaches reading proficiency very well! So glad I bought this set. The first reader is my favorite! Perfectly small and gradual sentence structure that builds on it’s self. I taught grammar lessons alongside each new stage. Also used the original Webster’s blue backed speller for vocabulary simultaneously.

[DeAnn]

Not Illustrated

This version briefly tells the adult how to use the reader. It gives the lessons to be taught, but it only says what kind of picture the adult will use with the script to be taught. Pictures will need to be located by the adult.

[Nathan Rackliffe]

We wore out our previous copy and so had to repurchase it. Excellent for teaching kids to read. It is getting a little dated however... :)

[Jane E.T.]

A classic all parents should use as a first reader.

[Laurie Wheeler]

Reader for about grades 3-4 to practice fluency. Teaches about morals and God.

[Miles Smith]

Useful resource to understand 19th Cent pedagogy.

[Awjtf]

Very interesting reader!

[Gina C. Miller]

Format issues

None of the illustrations are there nor do tables line up. Very poor quality kindle edition. I would recommend a print version, or PDF

[Darla]

Totally recommend these books for children. I got these for my grandson to help learn how to read.

[quinnlyn]

help i used to read these for fun

[Susan Molloy]

🖊 This introductory book from the Turn of the Century on learning to read was delightful. In fact, it was a trip down Memory Lane of sorts for me. Specifically, the alphabet was presented and explained regarding the various and changeable sounds the letters make, and exercises for students to hone their skills. This reminded me of how I was taught how to read back in the (ahem!) ancient days, including the short exercises sprinkled within the chapters to reinforce the lessons.

On the downside, unfortunately, the Kindle version does not have the illustrations.
💥 Recommended for the reading fan of today.

📕Published in 1836.

જ⁀🟢The e-book version can be found on the Project Gutenberg website.
🟣Kindle.
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✧⋆˚₊˚⋆✧Excerpts of note:
Each lesson begins with vocabulary words, followed by the description of a picture (if any) related to the lesson's reading exercise. The lesson then consists of printed text for reading and sometimes script (handwriting) for reading or copying.

[Patrick\]

Grandmother had this as a child and kept the reader right up until death. This was how America was taught back in the latter 1800's. An eye-opener. Historically interesting. Now with another member of the family. This version is a little heavier in Christian content than the latter as used by Grandmother.

[Don Heiman]

McGuffey's 1879 "First Eclectic Reader Revised" was the phonics, handwriting, and word recognition student text used by my grandparents' living in the rural Midwest. The book story lines are wonderful and reflect the cultural values of my grandparents times. The book was fun to read.

[Kymberly]

This is such an excellent set. I love to tutor by them.

[Jennifer]

The content in this is deeper and more interesting than the primer. Isabel could read most of it to me. Love these readers!

[Kylie Shobe]

Fun!

[Jeremy]

Kata finished reading this soon after starting kindergarten.

[Angelia]

We were reading this as part of our homeschool Curriculum for helping my son learn to read and he didn't like it.I guess it was too outdated, in his opinion.

[Sally]

A very easy children's book that is perfect for english beginners!