What Saddleback Educational Publishing does

Saddleback Educational Publishing is a privately held US educational publisher that has specialized for over four decades in Hi-Lo (High Interest, Low Readability) books and complementary instructional materials for grades 3-12. The company targets a narrow but educationally critical buyer: schools, districts, and educators serving struggling readers, English Language Learners and newcomers (including SLIFE populations), special education students, and learners requiring social-emotional and life-skills curricula. Its catalog is organized across two main grade bands (Tweens grades 4-8 and Teens grades 9-12) and spans Lexile levels from BR-190L to 1060L, with registered trademarks protecting brand identities such as Hi-Lo Books™, Emoti-Cards®, SEL Teen Literacy Library®, and Welcome SLIFE™.

The core technology stack combines physical printed books with digital counterparts, including audiobooks, downloadable teacher guides, student activity worksheets delivered via thumb drive or direct download, and the Saddleback Digital platform that distributes content across language arts, math, science, and test prep categories. Products are sold as one-time purchases under a unit-pricing model, ranging from individual paperbacks ($11.75-$17.95) to comprehensive classroom bundles (up to $2,816.85), with category add-ons such as Emoti-Cards, vocabulary cards, and phonics-based programs (TERL/TwERL).

Saddleback's go-to-market is primarily direct-to-customer e-commerce through its BigCommerce storefront at sdlback.com, supported by phone ordering, an email newsletter, a content blog, webinars, and video content. International expansion is achieved through an exclusive distribution partnership with Saunders Book Company for Canadian orders, while the website accepts direct global orders. The company holds no disclosed institutional funding, has no parent company, and has not recorded any mergers, acquisitions, leadership changes, or restructuring events in the available source material, positioning it as an independently operated specialty publisher focused on organic catalog and channel expansion.

Name

Saddleback Educational Publishing

Legal name

Saddleback Educational Publishing

Website

https://sdlback.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Saddleback Educational Publishing is a privately held US specialty publisher producing Hi-Lo (high-interest, low-readability) books, phonics programs, ELL/Newcomer libraries, SEL collections, and digital downloads for grades 3-12 struggling readers, English language learners, and special education students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s Educational & Curriculum Publishing (MPAJAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Special Needs & Inclusive Learning Trade (Dyslexia, ADHD, ASD Supports) (EDAGAIAL), Middle Grade Publishing (MPAJAFAC)

Keywords

• Hi-lo educational publishing
• Reading intervention books
• ELL literacy materials
• Classroom library bundles
• Decodable phonics programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Costa Mesa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Physical Book Sales: One-time purchase of individual books, sample sets, boxed sets, and classroom libraries. Books are sold at various price points from individual titles ($11.75) to comprehensive classroom bundles ($2,816.85).
2. Digital Products: Sale of digital downloads including audiobooks, downloadable teacher guides, student activity worksheets, and digital instructional support materials available on thumb drive or direct download.
3. Bundled Solutions: Comprehensive library packages combining books, vocabulary cards, Emoti-Cards, and instructional support materials sold as integrated solutions for schools and districts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Saddleback Educational Publishing is a specialty educational publisher that designs, produces, and sells Hi-Lo (high-interest, low-readability) books and integrated literacy programs for grades 3-12, serving struggling readers, English Language Learners, newcomers, and special education students. The catalog spans fiction and nonfiction titles organized by Lexile levels, adapted classic literature and Shakespeare, phonics-based decodable readers, social-emotional learning libraries, life-skills handbooks, and digital downloads including audiobooks, teacher guides, and student activity worksheets sold individually or in bundled classroom library sets.

Product overview

Saddleback Educational Publishing is an educational publisher specializing in Hi-Lo (high-interest, low-readability) books and literacy solutions for struggling readers, English Language Learners (ELL), newcomers, and students with special needs. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio organized into two main grade bands: Books for Tweens (Grades 4-8) and Books for Teens (Grades 9-12). The core product is the Hi-Lo Books line, which spans multiple sub-brands including My New Normal, Monarch Jungle, Luna Garza Accidental Detective, Lockwood Lions, Red Rhino Books, White Lightning Books, Timeless Classics, Graphic Shakespeare, and Urban Underground. Supporting the Hi-Lo book lines are complementary programs including TERL/TwERL Phonics for decoding instruction, GO! ELL Literacy Libraries and Welcome Newcomers/SLIFE libraries for English learners, GO! SEL and SEL Teen Literacy Libraries for social-emotional learning, Life Skills Handbooks and CTE resources for career readiness, and Saddleback Digital for downloadable digital content including audiobooks and teacher guides.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hi-Lo Books: High Interest, Low Level books designed for struggling readers, English language learners, and special education students in grades 4-12.

Products and services

• My New Normal Hi-Lo post-apocalyptic fiction series for teen readers featuring survival storylines, written by Texas teen Sara Michelle; paperback books of approximately 100 pages targeting struggling teen readers.
• Monarch Jungle Hi-Lo teen suspense fiction series for struggling readers featuring contemporary storylines, realistic teen characters, and fast-paced plotlines testing characters in mind, body, and spirit.
• Luna Garza, Accidental Detective Hi-Lo mystery fiction series for middle school readers featuring Luna Garza, a tween in small-town Ohio who is pulled into solving puzzling occurrences; each book approximately 100 pages.
• Lockwood Lions Urban teen fiction flip book series presenting two perspectives of the same story (cheer squad and football team); readers flip the book to view the story from either side, telling high school couple stories through dual viewpoints.
• GO! Welcome SLIFE Boxed Set Emergent-level Hi-Lo boxed set for tweens (grades 6-8) with limited or interrupted formal education, including migrant students and refugees; includes 120 topic-based books (20 nonfiction paired with 20 fiction), 200 vocabulary cards, and instructional support guide.
• Social Emotional Learning Emoti-Cards (60 cards) 60 full-color emotion recognition cards featuring diverse male and female faces with facial cue callouts; one side shows images with callouts, the other side shows emotion words, used with GO! SEL Social Emotional Stories and SEL Teen Literacy Library.
• Social Emotional Learning Emotion Vocabulary Cards (60 cards) 60 full-color 3.5 by 5.5 vocabulary cards with photographs on one side and vocabulary words with definitions on the other; includes 5 emotions from each of 12 SEL topics, used with GO! SEL Social Emotional Stories and SEL Teen Literacy Library.
• SEL Teen Literacy Library Student Activity Worksheets (Thumb Drive) 72 reproducible student activities on thumb drive covering 12 SEL topics with 2 topic-based activities, 2 vocabulary activities, 1 nonfiction and 1 fiction book-based activity per topic; includes graphic organizers and answer keys.
• GO! SEL Tween Literacy Library Student Activity Worksheets (Thumb Drive) Reproducible student activity worksheets sold separately on thumb drive for extending instruction through independent activities in SEL topics for the GO! SEL Tween Literacy Library.
• GO! Welcome SLIFE Student Activity Worksheets (Digital Download) Digital download of reproducible student activities for additional independent practice on SLIFE topics, available late 2025.
• SEL Teen Literacy Library Print 72 topic-based books (3 each of 24 titles) for teens covering 12 SEL topics in self-awareness and social awareness; includes 12 nonfiction paired with 12 fiction books, 60 photo vocabulary cards, 60 Emoti-Cards, and instructional support, designed for upper middle and high school students, newcomers, and ELL students.
• GO! SEL Tween Literacy Library Print Topic-based Hi-Lo boxed set helping tweens (grades 4-8) master social and emotional skills; organized around 12 key SEL topics with 72 books (3 each of 24 titles), 60 Emoti-Cards, 60 emotion vocabulary cards, and instructional support.
• Welcome SLIFE Additional Book Set Additional book set for the Welcome SLIFE library containing 40 topic-based books (1 each of 40 titles), emergent-level Hi-Lo books for teens with limited or interrupted formal education.
• Welcome SLIFE Vocabulary Cards (200 Cards) 200 full-color vocabulary cards (3.5 x 5.5 inches) for the Welcome SLIFE library; photographs on one side and vocabulary words with definitions on the other, includes 10 words per topic for 20 topics.
• Welcome Newcomers Stories Additional Book Set 18 autobiographical books (1 each of 18 titles) featuring personal accounts from teen newcomers who immigrated to the United States; stories transcribed from interviews in teens' own words covering journey to America, first days in American classrooms, and advice for other newcomers.
• Welcome Newcomers Stories Vocabulary Cards Set 263 full-color vocabulary cards across 2 boxes (Box 1 & Box 2) for Welcome Newcomers Stories; vocabulary word on one side and definition on the other, 15 words per book.
• Hi-Lo Books Core product line of high-interest, low-readability books for struggling readers, including fiction and nonfiction titles organized by Lexile levels (BR-190L, 200L-490L, 500L-690L, 700L-1060L); targets tweens grades 4-8 and teens grades 9-12.
• TERL Phonics / TwERL Phonics Phonics-based reading programs with three progressive levels (Decode [1], Develop [2], Discover [3]), available for both tweens and teens; includes decodable books and teacher guides for phonics instruction.
• GO! ELL Literacy Libraries English Language Learner literacy libraries for tweens and teens, including GO! ELL Tween Literacy Library and GO! ELL 2 Tween Literacy Library, featuring leveled books with vocabulary cards and instructional support.
• Life Skills Handbooks Career exploration and life skills books for teens including CTE Handbooks, Lifeskills Handbooks, and Lifeskills In Action series covering Job Skills, Living Skills, Money Skills, and Soft Skills.
• Red Rhino Books Hi-Lo fiction and nonfiction book series for struggling readers, including Red Rhino Fiction, Red Rhino Nonfiction, and themed collections.
• White Lightning Books Hi-Lo book series including White Lightning Fiction, White Lightning Mysteries, and White Lightning Nonfiction for teen readers.
• Timeless Classics Classic literature adaptations including Adapted, Differentiated, and Illustrated versions of timeless classics and Shakespeare plays for teens.
• Graphic Shakespeare Graphic novel adaptations of Shakespeare plays making classic literature accessible to struggling readers.
• Urban Underground Hi-Lo fiction series for teens set in urban environments, part of the Gravel Road imprint.
• Saddleback Digital Digital content platform offering downloadable resources including audiobooks, teacher guides, language arts materials (English, Reading Comprehension, Spelling, Vocabulary, Writing), math, science, and test prep digital downloads.

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Saunders Book CompanycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExclusive Canadian distributor for Saddleback Educational Publishing products. Handles all orders delivering into Canada. Provides localized service for Canadian schools and educators. Contact: [email protected], Phone: (800) 461-9120 x 3001.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Learning A-Z: Major digital-first literacy provider (Raz-Plus, Reading A-Z) offering leveled e-books, worksheets, and intervention tools; a broader incumbent moving into the space Saddleback addresses via Saddleback Digital.
• Scholastic Education: Large diversified education publisher whose leveled readers, ELL programs, and classroom book clubs address overlapping school procurement budgets with Saddleback's target districts.

Direct peers

• Orca Book Publishers: Independent publisher with a flagship Hi-Lo imprint (Orca Soundings) serving reluctant and struggling teen readers, mirroring Saddleback's teen Hi-Lo fiction strategy.
• Teacher Created Materials: Publisher of leveled readers, content-area nonfiction, and classroom libraries serving K-8 struggling readers; comparable to Saddleback's leveled, curriculum-tied offerings.
• Rosen Publishing Group: Publisher of high-interest, differentiated nonfiction for reluctant and ELL readers; competes in the same instructional print category that Saddleback targets.
• Perfection Learning: Educational publisher offering leveled readers, classroom libraries, and reading intervention programs that overlap directly with Saddleback's Hi-Lo and intervention product lines for grades 4-12.
• Benchmark Education Company: Producer of leveled ELA/ELL classroom libraries and intervention materials; overlaps directly with Saddleback's leveled libraries and ELL instructional offerings.
• High Noon Books: Avoxi/Hampton-Brown imprint dedicated to Hi-Lo leveled readers for struggling learners and ELL; competes head-on with Saddleback across fiction/nonfiction Hi-Lo titles for grades 3-12.
• Newmark Learning: Publisher of leveled readers, ELL resources, and intervention kits for K-8 classrooms; addresses the same struggling-reader and ELL segments with a comparable bundled-product approach.

Emerging players

• Voya/Sundance Newbridge Reading Program: Sundance/Newbridge leveled readers and literacy sets for ELL and intervention classrooms; narrower portfolio than Saddleback but directly comparable in buyer and use case.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SDLBACK
• Facebookfacebook.com/sdlback

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Saddleback Educational Publishing