This paper is a guide to Foundations Reading Library, the 1-7 level graded readers series of 42 full-color illustrated books, whose characters are mainly fictional “Bayview High School” students of diverse origins including Japanese and Koreans in the United States. This series is quite unique since many of introductory graded readers generally tend to be children’s books, or fairy tales written for children. Of course, it cannot be denied both Grimm’s and Andersen’s masterpieces are still worth reading for young adults, and even the graded readers for English-speaking children like Oxford Reading Tree and Info Trails are also readable and informative for high school students learning English as a foreign language. In reality, however, ordinary, Japanese high school students, especially male students, avoid those books probably because they look too childish for them to choose. Although there are stories retold or newly written for such students, they do not seem interesting enough to attract their attention. As for Foundations Reading Library, the main characters of the series are ordinary, American high school students, whom the Japanese counterparts can easily sympathize with. American high school life always looks so attractive to them, for example, part-time jobs, skateboards, rock concerts, rock bands, basketball, sports meets, bike races, summer camps, and dances. Furthermore, this series includes some extraordinary adventures such as fights against gangsters and robbers. Far from boring, Foundations Reading Library provides ideal textbooks to those who want to enjoy learning English from the basics by themselves
