The Hooked on Phonics reading program is coming to Christian retail, with a special Bible version developed for the market. After almost 20 years as a direct-to-consumer product promoted by TV advertising, Hooked on Phonics entered the general market last year and unveiled its Christian retail arrival this week.

With more than 2 million units sold through the years, Hooked on Phonics has long been popular among homeschoolers, where the company realized many consumers were Christians, Director of Marketing Mark Mashaw said.

“We feel like this market of homeschool and the Christian market are a great fit for us because parents pay a lot of attention to what they buy for their children,” he said. “They want to feel their values are in the products they often use with their kids. They want products they can trust.”

Aimed at children ages 4 to 8 years old, the standard Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read program has a $249.99 retail price, and has been supplemented by a pre-reading program, Hooked on Math and Hooked on Handwriting. Due in stores in the summer, Learn to Read With Bible Stories is a three-part program that includes musical audio CDs, workbooks and storybooks. Each program will retail for $19.99.

Mashaw said there had been a “strong response” to the product. “People have been surprised when they see us because they maybe don't know that we are going to retail and have been very interested because they know the brand. We have been taking a ton of orders.”

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