All About Reading vs Explode the Code for Kindergarten: Which Fits Your Family?

All About Reading and Explode the Code are two of the most common phonics names in homeschool circles, and they come up in the same conversations even though they're very different products. All About Reading is a full, scripted, parent-led reading curriculum. Explode the Code is a series of inexpensive phonics workbooks. Choosing between them is mostly a question of how much you want to teach versus how much you want your child to practise on their own.

We haven't used either program with our own children for this article. The comparison below comes from each publisher's or retailer's published prices and descriptions, plus public reading research, all linked. Prices were checked in October 2026.

The short answer

• Choose All About Reading if you want every lesson planned for you, your child is a beginner or struggling reader, and you can sit with them for a short lesson most days.
• Choose Explode the Code if you want low-cost, short, independent-ish practice pages, your child already knows most consonant sounds, and you're teaching phonics some other way, or you just need more practice.
• Use both if you like All About Reading's teaching but your child needs extra written practice. Explode the Code pages make cheap reinforcement.

Price comparison

Sources: All About Learning Press price list dated 07/21/2026 and All About Reading Level 1 page; School Specialty: Explode the Code Book 1 and Book 1½. Shipping and tax aren't included.

In round numbers: starting All About Reading Level 1 with the required extras comes to about $204 ($159.95 + $17.95 + $25.95), while Explode the Code Books 1 and 1½ together cost about $20. That's roughly a tenfold difference, so the question is what the extra money buys you.

What you get with All About Reading

All About Reading's Level 1 Materials package includes a Teacher's Manual, a Student Packet (activity book, flashcards and stickers) and three readers: Run, Bug, Run!, The Runt Pig and Cobweb the Cat (AALP Level 1 page). The publisher also requires a Review Box for organizing flashcards and Letter Tiles for hands-on word building, and offers a 12-month return window on the program.

If your kindergartner isn't ready for Level 1, the Pre-Reading program ($119.95) includes a Teacher's Manual, Student Packet, the Zigzag Zebra reader, an Activity Box and a Ziggy puppet (AALP price list).

What the money buys:

• A teaching script. You don't have to work out what to teach next or how to explain it.
• Hands-on blending. Letter tiles let a child build and change words physically, which suits kids who struggle with paper-only work.
• Decodable readers matched to the lessons, so your child reads real stories using only the patterns taught so far.

The trade-offs:

• It needs you. This isn't independent work; a parent leads every lesson.
• Cost, especially with more than one child at different levels.
• Lots of pieces to store and organize (cards, tiles, box).

What you get with Explode the Code

Explode the Code Book 1 is a 96-page consumable workbook that introduces the short vowels (a, i, u, e, o) and practises blending sounds to read and write CVC words. It includes a pretest of consonant sounds, which the book treats as a prerequisite, and a posttest (Christianbook product description). The same listing describes the series as Orton-Gillingham based and Book 1 as ideal for grades 1–3. Book 1½ adds 10 more lessons reinforcing the same short-vowel concepts (School Specialty).

What the low price buys:

• Short, focused pages that many children can do with little help once they understand the instructions.
• A clear progression through short vowels, with reviews built in.
• Easy to add to whatever else you're doing.

The trade-offs:

• It isn't a full teaching program. There's no parent script or reader set, so you'll need to introduce sounds yourself and supply books to read.
• The grade label (1–3) means a kindergartner who doesn't know consonant sounds yet should start with the pretest, and may need more preparation first.
• Paper-only, which some wriggly five-year-olds resist.

How they line up with what research recommends

The National Reading Panel found that systematic phonics instruction, meaning a planned sequence of letter-sound patterns, is "significantly more effective than instruction that teaches little or no phonics," with substantial effects in kindergarten and first grade (NICHD, National Reading Panel findings). Both products follow a planned sequence, so both fit that description.

Where they differ is in the other parts the K–3 practice guide from the U.S. Department of Education recommends: building awareness of sounds in spoken words, teaching decoding and writing, and having children read connected text every day (IES practice guide, Foundational Skills K–3).

So with Explode the Code you're buying the practice and supplying the teaching and the books yourself. With All About Reading you're buying all three.

Which fits your child?

Your child is a true beginner, or behind. All About Reading (Pre-Reading if letter sounds are shaky) gives you the most structure. If the budget won't stretch, combine Explode the Code with daily oral sound games and library decodable readers; our guide on teaching a 5-year-old to blend sounds covers the teaching part.

Your child knows letter sounds and is starting to blend. Either works. Explode the Code is the budget choice; All About Reading Level 1 is the hands-on, guided choice.

Your child resists sitting with you but likes "doing pages". Explode the Code's independent format may suit them better. Check the first few pages together.

You have several young children. All About Reading's teacher's manual and readers are reusable, but each extra child needs a Student Packet ($67.95) and Review Box. Explode the Code is a new workbook per child.

You're short on time. Be honest. All About Reading only works if the lessons happen. A cheap workbook done daily beats an expensive curriculum done once a week.

A budget middle path

If $200 is too much but you want more than workbook pages:

1. Teach sounds and blending yourself with short daily oral games (see our blending guide).
2. Use Explode the Code Book 1 for written practice, one or two pages a day.
3. Borrow decodable readers from the library so your child reads connected text daily.
4. Add a few mixed review pages with an answer key, so you can check work in seconds.

Our own kindergarten workbook can fill that last slot: its phonics pages cover letter sounds, CVC words, word families, rhyming, sight words, digraphs and blends, with an answer key.

FAQ

Can a kindergartner start Explode the Code Book 1? Many do, but the retailer listing describes it as grades 1–3 and it assumes consonant sounds are known. Use the pretest in the book to decide.

Is All About Reading worth it for an average reader? If your child is progressing well and you enjoy teaching from a script, it can be. If your child is already reading CVC words easily, cheaper practice plus lots of reading may be enough.

Can I resell or reuse them? The publisher says All About Reading's teacher's manual and readers are non-consumable, and each additional student needs their own Student Packet. Explode the Code books are consumable workbooks (Christianbook listing).

Prices checked October 2026; confirm on the seller's site before buying.