McGuffey’s First Eclectic Reader, USA, McGuffey Readers, Paperback The tried and true McGuffey’s First Eclectic Reader develops basic reading comprehension skills for children as young as three all the way to adults learning to read. Using stories, word lists, phonics charts, and 19th-century illustrations, it is a timeless teaching tool. This is the revised 1879 edition. The McGuffey Readers are among the best known schoolbooks in the history of American education, having sold more than 120 million copies since the time of their first publication in 1836.