Paper and books were expensive commodities for the 19^th century student. However, most schools required learning from two books: the Christian Bible and the McGuffey Reader. The Reader was so popular that it was in common use for over 100 years, and over 120 million copies were sold – making it the 10^th all-time best-selling book in the world. The McGuffey Reader series was perfect for the early, one-room schools (that housed students ranging in ages from 6 to 21) because the books contained lessons on everything from simple word pronunciation to complex stories.

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