Logic of English vs All About Reading: Which Phonics Program Is Right for You?

Logic of English vs All About Reading: the short answer

Both programs teach reading the way research supports: explicit, systematic phonics, taught by a parent, with decodable reading. The difference is how much each one tries to do.

All About Reading does one job, reading, and does it gently. Lessons are lightly scripted, about 20 minutes, and you move on only when your child is ready. Logic of English does four jobs at once: reading, spelling, handwriting and grammar, all built on the idea that English spelling follows learnable rules. It covers more, and it asks more of you.

Teaching approach

All About Reading is multisensory and mastery-based. Kids see, hear and touch each concept, mostly by building words with magnetic letter tiles. A review box of flashcards keeps old skills fresh. The publisher describes it as research-based multisensory instruction, and reviewers often group it with Orton-Gillingham-style programs. By the end of Level 4, students can decode nearly any word.

Logic of English teaches all the basic phonograms (75 in Foundations) and the spelling rules that explain why words look the way they do. It skips memorized sight words: the goal is to decode and spell every word. Foundations A–D serves ages 4–7. Essentials teaches the same system to students 8 and up in 30 units, which makes it one of the better choices for an older child who never clicked with phonics.

What a lesson looks like

All About Reading, Level 1:

1. Review a few flashcards.
2. Introduce a new sound with the letter tiles.
3. Build and read words together.
4. Do a short activity page or game.
5. Read a story from the decodable reader.

Some lessons take several days. That's by design.

Logic of English, Foundations:

1. Review phonograms with flash cards or a game.
2. Learn a new sound or spelling rule.
3. Practice writing the new phonogram with the built-in handwriting method.
4. Blend and spell words on a whiteboard or in the workbook.
5. Read from a controlled reader.

The extra writing and spelling steps are why LOE lessons run longer and need more of your attention.

Price and value

Both are one-time purchases, and both reuse well for younger siblings. As of October 2026:

Year one looks similar. Over several years, LOE can be the better value because spelling and handwriting are included, while AAR families usually add All About Spelling. AAR's one-year return guarantee is the most generous in the category.

Who should choose All About Reading

• Parents who want to open the book and teach with no prep
• Kids who need slow, patient review, including many with dyslexia traits
• Preschool and kindergarten starters (the Pre-Reading level is gentle)
• Families who want a long return window before committing

Who should choose Logic of English

• Parents who enjoy teaching and want to understand English spelling themselves
• Curious kids who ask "why is it spelled that way?"
• Students 8 and up who need a fresh start (Essentials)
• Families who want reading, spelling, handwriting and grammar in one plan

Alternatives to both

• Explode the Code: low-cost workbooks, often used alongside either program.
• Barton Reading: a more intensive tutoring system for dyslexia.
• The Good and the Beautiful: lower-cost, faith-based language arts.
• UFLI: an inexpensive, teacher-led foundational skills program.
• Reading Eggs: an app if you need the screen to do some teaching.

See the full list of best phonics programs and reading programs for dyslexia.

Can you use a scholarship for either?

Often, yes. Print curriculum is commonly an allowable expense in education savings account programs; Arizona's ESA law lists curricula and supplementary materials, and All About Learning Press accepts ESA and state scholarship orders (with a 45-day return window on those). Each program decides which vendors and items qualify. Check Arizona, Florida or your own state, read what ESA funds can buy, then save your pick to your wishlist and apply once through Edulist.