Why Must Read Primer Level - Lesson Book: Piano Adventures?

I am a piano teacher and I grew up playing the Alfred series. When I started teaching, I used the Alfred series. As I expanded my knowledge of resources out there, I came across this book. In comparison to the Alfred Level 1A book, this one works much better for young beginners. The introduction of notes on the staff is gradual and gives students a chance to absorb 1-3 notes at a time before introducing others (the Alfred book shows all 5 notes in C Position at once and only gives you 1 song for each hand before students are expected to read the grand staff with 5 notes on each staff. For many young beginners, this is overwhelming and they end up struggling with note reading). This book also emphasizes the difference between steps and skips - while you come across a couple 5ths here and there, they are not formally labeled as 5ths. This allows students the chance to get comfortable understanding the staff and the difference between steps and skips before overwhelming them with intervals galore. The first half(ish) of the book is all pre-reading - no staff, just lettered notes and rhythms. I love having the option to use all these pages for younger beginners who need more time to understand the connections between rhythm, the letters of the keys, and their hands. However, for fast learners or some 8-9 year old beginners, we skip some of these songs. Lastly, there are many teacher duets in this book, which are great for (1) spicing up some otherwise bland songs (what can you expect when you only know 2 notes?), (2) helping kids develop their sense of rhythm (we have to count together to stay together!), and (3) allowing beginners to have fun. Almost all my students love playing duets. My students do better when they start with this book rather than the Alfred 1A book. If you have an older beginner, or one with some experience reading music, this book will probably be too easy for them and they'll race right through. But for beginning kids 8-9 and younger, this works like a charm.