Book Review: Alpha-Mania Adventures

Disclaimer: I received a book to review. All opinions are my own.

Sometimes teaching my son to read can be a real chore. He wants to read, but he wants to do it NOW and doesn't understand that it takes time to be able to read on your own and there are so many parts of reading to comprehend. Like I said, it can be a chore, so I try to find fun stories, games, and worksheets to help us along. I was sent a book that does just that.

I was sent Alpha-Mania Adventures, Pirates: Book One- Captain Ray and the Rhyming Pirates. This was perfect because Rhyming has been one of those things that are hard for Tbomb to understand. He likes to put beginning sounds and rhyming, but this book has put the concept of rhyming more in his mind and he has gotten much better at his rhyming matching game after reading this a few times.

In the first book, the five Alpha-Maniacs are playing pirates on the beach when a band of real, but bumbling pirates come ashore looking for help with a treasure map. The Alpha-Maniacs jump at the chance to train the clumsy buccaneers in all aspects of being proper pirates.

In the story, Captain Ray and his pirate crew speak only in rhyme (Learn more about rhyming here). Occasionally, they stumble on their words and the Alpha-Maniacs help them to complete the rhyme. Drawing children’s attention to the rhyme helps them to develop this skill more quickly. As you read, be sure to emphasize the rhymes and encourage them to repeat the rhymes along with you.

Book 1 includes additional rhyming activities to play at home or in a classroom, as well as activities to practice letter formation.



There are five books in the Alpha-Mania Adventures series. These books help teach phonics and teach phonological and phonemic awareness.

How does Alpha-Mania Adventures teach phonological and phonemic awareness?

Phonological awareness is the ability to recognize, identify, and eventually manipulate the sounds of spoken language. Over three decades of research have shown that phonological awareness is one of the essential building blocks for strong reading skills. In fact, strong phonemic awareness skills are a proven predictor of long-term reading and spelling success.

The Alpha-Mania Adventures series is specifically designed to capture a child’s imagination, as the Alpha-Maniacs meet lively and amusing characters and creatures that each address an important component of phonological awareness. The books also include clear instructions which allow adults to properly teach while reading, so children receive Alpha-Mania’s full benefit.

How does Alpha-Mania Adventures teach phonics?

Research supports that phonics is another important component of learning to read. In each book, you will find a cleverly disguised phonics activity embedded in the colorful illustrations, sure to captivate young readers! Children are asked to search for hidden letters and objects as they follow along with the story, helping to reinforce the important skill of sound-symbol correspondence.

These are wonderful books to help teach the fundamentals of reading and language arts. They were written after years of research and work in the field.