I feel like confetti should've fallen from the ceiling and music should've started playing when I finished this book. It was definitely a hefty one!
That being said, I thought it was great. I felt like a lot of this I already knew, but I feel like I only knew it because this book was published before I went into grad school. I don't think I've ever read such a comprehensive book on the teaching of comprehension and fluency. The best thing about this book, besides all the awesome things on the DVD, was definitely the charts. Almost everything they discussed, they put into a chart for really easy convenience. Loved it.
This is an excellent resource for developing a foundation for understanding reading comprehension and fluency. Fountas and Pinnell are comprehensive in their exploration of the current research, and provide a useful framework for understanding how students learn to read.
The DVD to me is much more helpful than the book. Pulled some great ideas out of the book but felt I got more from some of their other books. Would recommend to someone who has no idea where to start with their literacy block.
Fountas and Pinnell do a great job with this book, a lot of good information. I do find that they didn't give credit to other researchers as much as they should have.