Our Story

Where it all began…

Picture Me Reading was developed in the 1990s by teacher/educational psychologist Dr. Marlys Isaacson, as she sought to help children who were failing to learn to read by the phonics-only approach. Originally, she was trying to help one child who quickly mastered words when she added a small visual clue to each word. Soon she had parents and teachers asking her to source materials which used this technique to teach the important high frequency words, but her search turned up nothing. This is when she decided to produce pictograph cards for all of the Dolch high frequency words herself. She and her husband, Alan, produced and sold them from their home in San Diego, California.

Our Story

Where it all began…

Picture Me Reading was developed in the 1990s by teacher/educational psychologist Dr. Marlys Isaacson, as she sought to help children who were failing to learn to read by the phonics-only approach. Originally, she was trying to help one child who quickly mastered words when she added a small visual clue to each word. Soon she had parents and teachers asking her to source materials which used this technique to teach the important high frequency words, but her search turned up nothing. This is when she decided to produce pictograph cards for all of the Dolch high frequency words herself. She and her husband, Alan, produced and sold them from their home in San Diego, California.

A New Beginning

When the Isaacsons were no longer able to continue in the business, my friend Marian and I (Karen) were concerned that Picture Me Reading would no longer be available to children who need an alternative approach to developing early reading skills. That is why in 2017 we purchased the business from the Isaacsons who, in their words, welcomed us to “the ranks of reading missionaries.”
We were delighted when Rachel, our digital guru, joined our team. Her ideas and expertise in digital and print media have greatly enhanced our ability to improve and disseminate our products.

The Team: Marian, Karen & Rachel

Where we are now

We are all truly passionate about helping children and adults worldwide learn to read English. Thanks to the generosity of Marian’s father-in-law, Joe, we were able to set up a philanthropic fund in 2020, making it possible to provide materials at reduced cost or free of charge to struggling learners who might not otherwise be able to purchase our cards. To date, we have helped readers in the US, Canada, Ireland, the UK, Australia and other countries, as well as refugees in Europe who are learning English.