Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons vs First Start Reading

The sharpest difference is faith content: Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons is None, First Start Reading is Light. Three more attributes come apart too.

At a glance

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

Grades PreK-1

Owners report it suits

Multi-age families

First Start Reading

Grades K-1

Owners report it suits

Hands-on learners

Both are reported to suit Struggling learners.

Skip to who fits

Where they differ

Attribute	Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons	First Start Reading
Rigor ? How demanding the material is versus grade level. Where a program lands on the 1 to 5 scale: 1gentle, below grade 2relaxed 3on grade 4demanding 5advanced Read the rigor guide
Independence ? How much the child can do alone. Where a program lands on the 1 to 5 scale: 1adult-led 2guided 3semi-independent 4mostly independent 5fully independent Read the independence guide
Faith content	None	Light
Format	Textbook	Workbook
Best for Tags show where owners consistently report a good fit. They are not exclusions.	Struggling learnersMulti-age families	Struggling learnersHands-on learners
Method	TraditionalSynthetic phonics	ClassicalSynthetic phonicsOrton-Gillingham
Grades	PreK-1	K-1

Solid tags are unique to that program. Muted tags are carried by both.

Where they match

Parent involvementboth parent-taught
Prep loadboth open-and-go
Screen timeboth fully offline
Time commitmentboth 15 to 25 min
Approachboth Mastery
Used asboth Spine

How each one plays by grade

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

Grades PreK-1

Most families start between ages 4 and 6 once the child shows readiness. After the book, families move to easy readers or a fuller phonics program.

First Start Reading

Grades K-1

Kindergarten uses the teacher guide plus Books A-D, and first grade continues with Book E. Optional Classical Phonics and phonetic readers cover some of the noted gaps.

Cost

Cost item	Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons	First Start Reading
Price	$16-25 (one book)	$54.20/set (A-D)
Consumable	No	Yes
Per child / year	~$20 once, reusable across kids	~$54-70 first child, ~$33 after

Where to buy

What parents report

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

Consistently praised

Cheap and it works
The script means a parent needn't know phonics
Kids hit a solid second-grade level in 100 lessons
One book taught all their kids
Twenty-minute lessons keep it doable

Reported as challenges

Plain black and white pages, no color
The stories feel silly or dry to parents
The "bet you can't" wording rubs some parents wrong
The last 40 lessons drag

First Start Reading

Consistently praised

Phonics, reading, and handwriting all in one book
Open and go for a first-time teacher
Serious focus on pencil grip and letter formation
Kids start reading in the very first lessons
One of the most affordable ways to teach reading

Reported as challenges

Real gaps by the end (no r-controlled vowels, -ing, or -ed)
Not enough sight words compared to other programs
Book D and E pace can feel fast
Scripting and plain pages are not for everyone

Who Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons fits

Budget-minded families who want a scripted, no-prep way to get a young child reading and don't mind plain pages. Kinesthetic kids and children who need games or extra decoding practice often do better with something more hands-on.

Read the full Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons entry Check price Simon and Schuster

Who First Start Reading fits

Fits classical or traditional families who want an affordable, parent-taught print primer that folds handwriting into phonics and needs no separate readers to start. Parents who want a screen-based, hands-off option, or full phonogram coverage without supplementing, should look at an app like Reading Eggs or a fuller program like All About Reading.

Read the full First Start Reading entry Check price Memoria Press

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Still deciding?

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons compared with

First Start Reading compared with

Descriptions aggregate what homeschool parents consistently report across public community sources together with each publisher's own materials. Prices and editions change over time. Both entries last reviewed July 2026.