I am sorry but teaching reading is easy if you use the phonics method. Even when whole language is successful it doesn't prepare a kid for new words. I taught my kid to recognize the alphabet by the time he was 16 months old. We went right into phonics after that. Little bitty kids are capable of doing it, pre preschool even. Every parent should teach their kid how to read BEFORE kindergarten, imo. Then the schools can't mess 'em up.
And all the "readers" I've seen are BORING!!! My kid loves to read precisely because I never bored him with readers. There is a mountain of fantastic children's literature out there. No one should ever need stupid readers that ask stupid questions that supposedly get the child to "think." Kids brains are amazing little sponges and they all have a tremendous, natural love for life and learning. Give them quality material, present it in a logical manner, and success is easy. Bore or defeat them early and you may never capture their attention again. They will learn. The question is what will they learn?