The little turtle can see the grass. The little turtle can see the trees. The little turtle can see the flowers. These are the opening lines to one popular reading program’s leveled books: short, ...

Jess Hutchison’s daughter Sawyer, 8, is often bored by the books she gets assigned based on her reading level at school. And she’s not the only one. “Many of them are dumb. They’re just nonsensical,” ...