A teacher-led supplemental reading program
Graphic novels, structured discussion, creative writing. Built to sit alongside your English program.
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Scroll for the journey.
In classrooms and on shelves with
The books
A story they
already speak.
Digital Lizards of Doom, published by Papercutz / Simon & Schuster.
Chat-style dialogue on the left. Full art on the right. About 10,000 words.
So it reads like texting?
You
Exactly. Full text volume, a fraction of the decoding load.
Chat on the left
Full art on the right
Why stories
A story does what
standards can’t.
Confidence
Voice
Curiosity
Empathy
The skills that make a student a thinker — not just a test-taker — don’t come from rigor alone. They come from caring. We build the caring in first.
The format
Print first.
No devices.
1
Physical books
One per student.
2
Notebooks
Every response on paper.
3
No student devices
Teacher guide, optional music and video.
4
16 lessons
for Level 1
Tested inside 40-minute periods.
Long lessons split across periods. We don’t rush discussion or writing.
What students get
→
Real reading participation
→
Comprehension + inference
→
Vocabulary in context
→
Ideas backed by evidence from the story
Who it’s for
Pick students by reading readiness and need, not the age printed on the book.
The India pilot will show the best classroom fit, including English-language learners.
Grades 3–7
For teachers
One video covers everything. No prior PD needed. Full training on request.
Teacher training
About 12 minutes
Assessment
Different answers.
Same clear bar.
We review a sample rubric with your teachers before launch.
CRRE studied DDK in San Diego Unified, grades 3 to 5.
Findings support engagement and classroom usability. Reading results varied.
Does it prove it’ll work here?
You
No, and we won’t pretend. That’s what the local pilot tests.
Evidence
Independently
evaluated by
Johns Hopkins.
students in an independent 2025 evaluation
What’s next
Four steps to a pilot.
1
Pick classrooms
Choose students by readiness and need.
2
Train teachers
Watch the 12-minute video. Review the rubric together.
3
Run Level 1
16 lessons, fit to your 40-minute periods.
4
Read the results
Teacher surveys before and after. Decide on fit together.