I absolutely love this book for both teachers or parents looking to improve reading skills. My daughter first came home with these stories from her 4th grade teacher and I loved them so much I bought a copy to use with the students I tutor. Now I'm teaching basic skills to fifth graders and do these stories one-on-one. Each story is intelligently written with a touch of humor and jam-packed with interesting facts. Topics include American History ("Thomas Jefferson and the Big Cheese"), fiction, biography, poetry, science (Star Trek!"), and popular culture. There is one reading skill to work on per story such as using context clues, italics, or main idea/supporting details. I've just ordered Mary Rose's other similar books for math and other reading levels. One word of caution: the vocabulary may be too advanced for a struggling third grader--best for grades 4-6 unless the child is already a fluent reader.

I've been assigning these readings weekly to my fifth graders for a few years now.
The parents and students love them as a quick, manageable, helpful activity they can do together in about 20 minutes.
They just return it, signed, at the end of the week, and I give them credit towards their reading grade.
Some parents don't take time to read with their children until it is assigned; so it's good to give them a reason to do it!

I bought this book last summer and used it with my 5th grade language arts students this past year. It contains some helpful usage and assessment ideas. The passages are divided into sections, all of them "kid-interesting" content. Each assignment features a particular reading skill and tips to the parent on how to help his/her child with the assignment. There is a place at the bottom of each assignment for both child and parent to sign. Certainly I recommend it to teachers, but I would also recommend it to parents who would like to help their children's reading skills but might be at a loss as to how to help them.