這樣國內出版的這套讀本***包括6冊。第1冊從字母表開始，主要側重於字母的發音與書寫、簡單的單詞與句型，同時強調英文書寫，課文後面附有不少書法練習，讓孩子們不僅將英語說得像外國人，而且寫得也跟外文書法壹樣，這是國內英語教學所缺少的壹個環節。從第2冊開始，均是比較正式的課文了，每壹課包括詞匯和課文，對壹些生詞有英文解釋，讓學生學會通過簡單英文理解生詞，養成用英語理解和思維的習慣。第4冊還附有課後思考練習，這些練習可以幫助學生更好理解文章，引發孩子們的思考。第5冊和第6冊的課文前增加了作者簡介與相關背景知識，內容豐富而有壹定深度。
從所選課文的英文難易程度來看，大致而言，這套讀本的第1-3冊跟國內小學畢業程度相近，第4冊則適用於初中生閱讀使用，第5、6冊可供高中及以上程度學習者閱讀。從文體方面我們可以看出，除了常見的記敘、散文體以外，這套讀本對詩歌、戲劇、論說文等文體也很重視，書中選取了不少名家的名作名篇。這對國內孩子們真正感受英語這壹西方語言的魄力是大有幫助的。
This series of schoolbooks teaching reading and moral precepts, originally prepared by William Holmes who was a professor at Miami University McGuffey, had a profound influence on public education in the United States. The eclectic readers, meaning that the selections were chosen from a number of sources, were considered remarkably literary works and probably exerted a greater influence upon literary tastes in the United States more than any other book, excluding the Bible.
It is estimated that at least 120 million copies of McGuffey's Readers were sold between 1836 and 1960, placing its sales in a category with the Bible and Webster's Dictionary. Since 1961 they have continued to sell at a rate of some 30,000 copies a year. No other textbook bearing a single person's name has come close to that mark. McGuffey's Readers are still in use today in some school systems, and by parents for home schooling purposes.