My experience: 30 years as a Montessori teacher, 22 of which have included teacher-training.
I saw these books in a friend's classroom. They are quite fine for using with beginning readers. The thing most adults do not understand about children's beginning reading books is that the illustrations must be simple. We are not focusing on elaborate illustrations, but on the reading of the words themselves. These books are meant to be used after the Montessori sound booklets, these are booklets that contain 5-7 simple phonetic words using the same short vowel. One can also read the books to the children.
Note that these books are created along the guidelines set up by Dr. Montessori. If you read her original works, which I encourage, you will see the value of this work.
My critiques would be that the books should be edited to make the gender balance even, ensure that male and female characters are equally as active in the books, and remove words with such constructions as the ending "le" in puzzle.
The low feedback by the other buyer is unfortunate. Extensive illustrations and fanciful stories are not successful in helping children learn to read. It should also be noted that the silky coatings on many children's books contain rather toxic elements such as BPAs, so plain paper is healthier for young hands.
I love that these books are both phonetically regular and reinforce the culture of our classroom. Each book has a realistic problem and the solution that is in keeping with how we treat each other. Each book also has the Peacekeeper Song which is an added bonus. They are well used and enjoyed in our 3-6 classroom!
