R.
About those BOB books. I see them all the time at Half Price books in Irving and Lewisville. I wouldn't pay full price for a set unless you know he will respond to them. Take him to the book store and show him, to see how he reacts, before you buy them. My DD hated them, but the little boy I babbysit loves them. So I guess it wasn't a total waste of money.
Same goes with flashcards. Some kids like them some don't. It helps if you can create little games to go with them instead of simply show, guess, and repeat. I found this site useful too- http://www.adrianbruce.com/reading/games.htm
My daughter loved the Bossy E game and it really got her to understand silent E.
Also, Every kid I have shown the Leapfrog Letter Factory to loves it.
I have also used Head Sprout to give my kids a head start on reading.
http://www.headsprout.com/
It's a simple subscription program with fun lessons they do over the internet. They are sent a progress chart, and books to read and print that go with the program. You have to sit and monitor them while they do lessons, but don't help them with the games or it dosn't work well.
RPocai