Little Stories for Little Folks was designed for this purpose: to provide an affordable, Catholic phonics program to Catholic homeschooling families. Most beginning reading programs contain large illustrations, lots of "white space," and as few as fifteen or twenty words per story. Hence, to reach the same word exposure and level of fluency as offered in Little Stories, the parent must often purchase a much larger program or several books, at a far greater expense. Little Stories contains few illustrations and a minimum of "white space," but nearly 7,000 words, giving the child maximum word exposure and reading practice at a minimum price. It is not unusual for children who are taught to read with Little Stories for Little Folks to test at least two years above grade level in reading when they have completed the program.