Books for children learning to read don’t just need to be informational; they need to be exciting. Reading is one of the most valuable skills your child can learn at an early age. This is why you should start teaching them alphabets and phonetics before they start formal schooling.
Besides, inculcating the habit of reading in your child from a tender age will nurture their curiosity and imagination. The stories you read to your child when they’re young can stay with them throughout their lives and help shape their personalities. However, not all children take to reading easily.
If your child is unable to make sense of the words before them, reading can quickly turn into a frustrating activity. This, in turn, chips away at their confidence and makes it difficult for them to perform well at school. After all, reading is a skill they need to master to learn a language and study other elementary and secondary school subjects.
Since there are scores of publishers out there today that have books for children learning to read, it can be difficult to determine which books are most effective. Therefore, in this article, we’ve reviewed some high-quality books that can help your child learn and master this valuable skill as quickly as possible. We’ve listed the main features, pros, and cons of each of these books to give you an idea of what to expect from them.
1. Learn To Read Sight Words Storybook By Kimberly Ann Kiedrowski
This storybook is designed for children between the ages of 3 and 5. The stories featured in the book are easy to understand for young readers. You’ll find that your child will enjoy reading about stories in various settings from this book, all of which are described in detail.
This book is perfect for teaching elementary school kids how to read because it contains no less than 50 sight words. Sight words are essential words that your child should know to help them read common phrases and sentences. A few good examples of sight words are ‘said’ and ‘they’. These sight words are repeated throughout the stories, which allows your child to learn to read them by the time they’re done with the book.
There are 25 stories in the book, with each story being harder to read than the previous. The reason behind the increasing difficulty is that more and more sight words are introduced to a story as your child progresses through the book. Therefore, reading the stories in order from start to finish will help your child’s confidence grow as they recognize sight words successfully.
Moreover, this is not just a storybook for children; it doubles up as an activity book as well. Once your child is done reading each story, they’ll find an activity page with illustrated activities. These activities are word games of sorts and contain sight words that were included in the story your child just read.
Pros
- It contains stories that are easy enough for elementary-level children to understand
- Every story contains sight words that your child should learn at an early age
- There’s an activity page after every story to help your child practice the words they learn
- The stories grow increasingly more difficult to read as your child progresses meaning it’s ideal for children at different levels
- It helps children understand the importance of essential words in forming sentences and phrases
Cons
- The illustrations are not as bright and lively as those in other children’s books
2. Learn To Read Phonics Storybook By Laurin Brainard
This book aims to teach young children about phonics which is the basic skill of relating sounds with alphabets. While this may sound simple, it’s not easy to learn, and young children often have a hard time mastering phonics. Storybooks such as this one by highly reputed author Laurin Brainard can help children aged 3 and above how to read and pronounce words properly.
This book is illustrated in warm, bright colors, and your child is sure to love turning each page with excitement, wondering what it has to offer next. By using this book, you can teach your child fundamental reading skills while also keeping them busy and entertained. The 25 stories in this book are both funny and educational.
Each of these stories contains words that have sound patterns which are predictable and easy to pronounce. These words are the building blocks of teaching children how to read because they are used quite often in phonics. Besides, the words used through the book rhyme with each other to familiarize your child with similar sounds.
For example, you’ll find stories on ‘Jox the fox who dances in a box’ and ‘a pig with a wig who dances a jig’. You can see how these stories are not only great for teaching kids phonics but also for making them laugh and have a good time while reading them.
Additionally, at the end of each story, you’ll find activity pages containing word searches, letter tracing games, and more. These activities and games can help your child refresh their memory and therefore retain the words they learned in the stories.
Pros
- It helps your child learn the basics of phonics
- The rhyming words included in the stories help children read more easily and understand similar sounds
- It contains stories that are quite funny and engaging for young readers
- It contains activity pages with word puzzles and more to help your child memorize words
- It helps children grow into strong and confident readers
Cons
- It’s not very easy for children who have no prior reading experience to start reading with this book
3. The Reading Lesson By Michael Levin
This book consists of a program of sorts that allows your child how to read with the help of 20 simple lessons. The program is a step-by-step course designed for parents who would like to teach their preschool or elementary school children the basics of reading at home. Designed by a pediatrician with years of experience, using this book is one of the easiest methods of helping young kids read well as they begin their academic journey.
The lessons in the program consist of guidance on keyword recognition and phonics – basic skills that make up the foundation of reading. Each lesson is easy to follow if you approach it one step at a time. Since phonics make up such an integral part of reading, we’d say that this book is very useful in helping kids grow into confident readers.
It’ll take you roughly two weeks for your child to work their way through this book. You needn’t devote more than 15 – 20 minutes per day to these lessons to complete the program. Each lesson comes with a set of useful instructions that give you an idea of how you can navigate it successfully. This allows you to make the most out of the limited time your child uses to study every day.
Different lessons introduce different letters to your child. The instructions that precede the lesson consist of tips on how you can help your child understand the sounds associated with those letters. You’ll also find some short stories and exercises peppered throughout the book to keep it interesting for young children.
Pros
- The lessons included in it followed a guided, step-by-step approach
- It takes only a few minutes every day to help your child learn reading with the help of this book
- Each lesson contains a set of instructions on how you can teach them to your child
- It can also be used to teach children with learning disabilities how to read
- It contains useful tips on helping your child recognize keywords and sounds
Cons
- It contains only plain text, no colorful illustrations that could entice young readers
- The lessons are a little too fast-paced for preschoolers
4. Pete The Cat 12-Books Phonics Fun By James Dean
This beautifully illustrated, engaging book is ideal for young children who simply can’t get themselves interested in reading. Beginners and slightly experienced readers alike are sure to love the stories in this set of books. So it doesn’t matter if your child is just beginning their journey with reading or can read small words, they’ll make good progress with these books either way.
Children between the ages of 3 and 6 are known to respond well to the kind of short stories included in this set. You’ll find the beloved character of Pete the Cat featured in activities and stories throughout these books.
If your child isn’t familiar with Pete, they’ll grow to love him eventually and enjoy their lessons every day. Each book includes both long and short vowels in various instances.
Including vowels of different lengths allows children to learn how to read and pronounce commonly-used words correctly. The activities and stories are reviewed by a phonics expert and found to be effective at teaching young kids the relationship between alphabets and sounds.
Learning phonics doesn’t just let kids learn how to read, it improves their spelling as well. The combination of fun stories and activities in this Pete the Cat book is perfect for preschoolers to understand the importance of reading. You won’t need to compel your child to sit down for their lessons with this book; the intricate illustrations will do the job for you.
Pros
- It contains beautiful and bright illustrations on different stories
- Children can build upon their understanding of vowels and phonics with this set
- It can help improve spellings among preschoolers as well
- It allows children to familiarize themselves with commonly used words
- The character of Pete the Cat makes learning a fun experience
Cons
- Some of the words included in it are challenging for first-time readers to read and understand
- The accompanying instructions are not as explicit as they should be
5. The Berenstain Bears’ Storytime Collection
This study box includes 5 paperback books for level 1 readers. The characters of the Berenstain Bears are included in each story, which gives the books a sense of continuity. This makes young children curious about what each book has to offer and makes your task of sitting them down for lessons a lot easier.
These stories are not only highly entertaining, but they’re also very easy to read and follow for children who are in preschool. Once your child starts reading these books with you, they’re sure to wonder what the bear family is up to as they plan trips, sleepovers, and much more.
You’ll find that these books are especially useful to have on hand while you’re traveling. Your child will stay engaged and entertained throughout long flights or road trips with these stories and learn how to read as well. None of the words and sentences included in these books is particularly complicated, so level 1 readers should have no difficulty understanding them.
You may have to start with reading these stories out loud to your child first before they can read by themselves. However, with enough patience (on your part) and practice (on their part), they’ll be confident enough to read every story without your help. Besides, the words included in the stories may be simple, but they can expand your child’s vocabulary.
The large fonts and colorful illustrations in these books help you capture the imagination of your little one and let them look forward to each reading lesson.
Pros
- The books contain words and sentences which are ideal for level 1 readers
- The bears are interesting characters that your child will enjoy following from story to story
- It helps improve your child’s vocabulary over time alongside their reading skills
- It’s useful to teach your child reading lessons while traveling
- The stories are imaginative and quite amusing
Cons
- It doesn’t include any activities, unlike most other learn to read sets
- It’s slightly costlier than similar book sets for children
6. Learn To Read Activity Book By Hannah Braun
This activity book contains an impressive 101 phonic lessons that make up a complete lesson plan for teaching preschoolers the basics of reading. Each of these 101 activities is brightly colored and attractive for young children. You should have no difficulty establishing a strong literary foundation for your child using this activity book.
The different aspects of this plan make it perfect for kids to learn about phonics and spelling. All the fun activities for children you can think of, like word searches, coloring, mazes, and more, are included in this book. Study time will feel more like a fun time for your child if you ask them to complete these activities every day.
After a few days of using this book, children often start recognizing alphabets and their sounds. This not only helps them to read properly, but it also helps them structure sentences over time. The advantage of using an interactive book such as this one overusing a storybook is that it makes your child feel more involved in the learning process.
Besides, these activities hone several skills, not just reading. Children learn the importance of researching and practicing words with the help of this book. What’s more, the book also contains instructions on how you can teach your child basic reading lessons in the most effective ways.
You’ll be pleased to discover that with only a few weeks of constant practice, your child will learn how to read well enough to get them to progress through elementary school.
Pros
- It contains over a hundred exercises that provide great practice for weeks
- Since these activities are interactive, children don’t bored of the learning process
- It helps children recognize letters and sounds over time
- It hones several skills among young readers, including research and logical thinking
- It teaches children how to construct sentences
Cons
- Some of the activities are repetitive and can lose their challenging edge over time
- It’s only suitable for completely inexperienced readers, not those who can recognize letters
Additional Resources
While books are highly effective learning resources you can use to teach your child to read, they’re not the only resources. Online courses and programs such as The Children Learning Reading program have helped scores of children around the world pick up this fundamental skill.
You can teach your child basic phonics and read with this program. Besides, if you’re not happy with the results you achieve with this program, you can contact customer care within 60 days to receive a full refund.
Alternatively, if your child enjoys listening to stories, you can use this website that creates personalized stories for them.
These exclusive stories are created with the help of experts, and you’re sure to find a story or two that your child would find interesting. You can receive and treasure hardcover editions of the stories your child would enjoy and teach them the basics of reading with the same.
To personalize the stories, the site adds your child’s name and avatar to them. This is a highly effective method of getting your child to feel like they’re a part of the story and pique their interest in reading.
Conclusion
Young children on the verge of entering school will need to know basic skills such as reading. As level 1 readers, they have a long way to go and can expect to encounter several challenges during their journey. As a parent, you can help them overcome these challenges by providing them with the right resources.
Books are easily the most popular learning resource for children learning how to read. They’re also useful for young children looking to improve their reading skills. Having a strong foundation in reading can allow them to progress through elementary school quickly and grasp other subjects well.
However, considering that young children have very short attention spans and don’t generally enjoy studying, they’ll need to see how fun reading can be before they learn to read. This is why the books we’ve reviewed in this article all feature illustrations, activities, and stories that can ignite the curiosity of young minds.
Using these books will not only help your child learn to read, but it’ll also keep them engaged and entertained for hours. Since we’ve done all the homework for you and reviewed these books above, all you need to do is take your pick and begin your child’s journey with reading.