The McGuffy Readers were originally written by William H. McGuffy and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company in 1837. The Christian Eclectic Readers and Study Guide were revised and edited by Charles and Betty Burger in 1998 and published by Eerdmans Publishing Company. 

This is a five volume set for grades 1-4 and includes a study guide. 

From the Study Guide: This study guide for The Christian Eclectic Readers emphasizes using the readers to develop articulate speaking abilities as well as fluent reading skills. That this was, in fact, one of the original goals of the readers is attested to by the oral reading/speaking rules and pronunciation lessons contained in the third and fourth readers. 

We emphasize this, in part, because rhetoric skills have traditionally been considered a basic part of education. As Christians, however, we have an even more important reason to resurrect and dust off these skills (in ourselves and our children). The Christian faith is under fire in the West as it hasn't been for almost a millennium. Once again we are being called upon to "give a reason for the hope that lies with us." To aid our children in this fight, we wish to teach them how to present themselves publicly and to give lucid arguments, whether they are talking to the neighbor over the back fence or the judge before they've been arraigned. If all they can say is, "Da...well...um," they will not make credible witnesses. We want us all to do better than that.