Why did we revise the Sunrise Readers?

We know you loved them! We did too! Our own children learned to read with the Sunrise Readers – nearly forty years ago!

YES! They WORKED – generations of children learned to read.

YES! They ENTERTAINED AND DELIGHTED – we know that the Sunrise children, Tatenda, Chipo, David and Jenny, became your best friends as you ‘did life’ together.

But it was time to bring the Sunrise Readers into the 21st century – so that today’s children will love them the way you did.

We assure you – we didn’t change anything you loved, or anything that made them so effective in learning to read!

The Revised Sunrise Readers

WORK just the same way! The same approach to the teaching of reading is used, many of the same stories – teachers, you will agree! They are just as effective and user-friendly as the vintage books!

ENTERTAIN and DELIGHT – Tatenda, Chipo, David and Jenny remain to do life with today’s children, just the way they did, and many of the stories are exactly the same!

So, why did we revise them?

1. The technology to print them was now obsolete and the old print-ready PDFS were fading and blurry, no matter what our modern techie wizards tried to do. (Just look at the illegal copies available, and you will see that our children deserve better.)

2. The original pictures were done by multiple artists, so Tatenda, Chipo and friends looked different in every book. Some artists were good, and some not as good. Our children deserve the best. When you first learn to read, the details in the pictures tell the story.

3. The Sunrise Readers need to be relevant to the context and culture of today’s children! Cell phones, computers and TV! Even if these are often just in the pictures! Not all families are nuclear these days … grandparents, aunts and uncles play important roles in modern families. (Meet David and Jenny’s Uncle Tim and Aunt Pat!) And the role of women in business and industry and life in general has changed dramatically over the past three decades. (Mother is a business woman, not a stay-at-home Mom; Aunt Pat is a pilot …)

4.There have been many developments in the teaching of reading since 1985, and the Sunrise Readers original authors’ V. Jenkins and C. Lewis had more teaching experience, training and expertise to bring to these revisions.

And – a very important point!

The Ministries of Education in Zimbabwe and Zambia have approved these Books for use in schools in those countries. The original Sunrise Readers are now officially obsolete.

Teachers and parents – if you find the original, ‘vintage’ Sunrise Readers in shops or on the streets, please be aware that you will be buying illegal , sub-standard copies. The original series if officially out of print.

Thank you for loving them so well. You are part of the “Sunrise Family”, and we are proud of you! Get the revised Sunrise Readers and you will see that your children LOVE them, just the way you did! Our most recent comment this week from a teacher was:

“The children LOVED the Sunrise Readers. They didn’t want to stop reading!”