RAR# 105: Favorite Early Reader Books (for kids who are learning to read)
Do you remember struggling through early reader books back when you were learning to read? Was it all Dick and Jane? Was it … boring?
Think about this: nobody asks you now, as a grownup, how old you were when you became a fluent reader. Know why?
Because nobody cares.
What age your child is when s/he learns to read fluently (whether at age 4, or 7, or 9, or even older) doesn’t bear on their ability to read well later on. Early readers are not consistently better readers when they are adults.
What does matter, though, (and it matters a LOT) is that your child’s thirst and desire for stories is not hampered by the reading process.
We want our kids–even through the slog of learning to read (and yes, it can be a slog for a whole lot of us)–to know that reading is one of life’s sweetest delights.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
- why reading aloud is critical at this stage of the game
- why your kids need to read words – lots and lots of words! – as they are learning to read (and how to help them get that)
- my suggestions for books that your kids will truly enjoy, and that will help you build warm memories as your child learns to love reading
Helping our kids become independent readers is a hugely important job for most of us– and we want to do it well! If you have an early reader in your life, don’t miss this episode.
Click the play button below:
Listener Guide
Use the time stamps below to skip to any part of the podcast:
- 2:41 What are the stages of reading development?
- 4:48 It’s ALL OK (no really. It is.)
- 7:14 Books for kids ‘in the process’
- 8:46 You need options
- 12:40 Get the list
- 13:50 Readers by All About Reading
- 19:16 Early/easy reader books + Cynthia Rylant
- 22:14 Another favorite author/illustrator
- 24:08 Arnold Lobel – a master!
- 26:02 Little Bear
- 27:10 Mouse and Mole, Ling and Ting, and Frances
- 29:15 Fox and Crow, Inch and Roly
- 30:00 Mo Willems and reading from memory
- 31:12 Classics!
- 33:01 Let the kids speak
Books from this episode:
(All links are affiliate links.)
Get the printable booklist right here.
Links from this episode:
- Series Books That Will Turn Your Struggling Reader Into a Voracious One (this is the list you want if your child is beyond the book recommendations in the post you’re reading now)
- All About Reading
- Curious about the idea that it doesn’t matter all that much when your child learns to read? Start here.
- Get RAR Premium
Teaching your child to read
If you’re looking for a solid program to teach your kids to read, I recommend either All About Reading or Logic of English. Just peek at both and choose the one that looks more appealing to you (they are equally effective).
If your child is struggling to learn to read, be sure to listen to our episode on dyslexia. Dyslexia doesn’t always present itself the way we expect, and the good news is: there are tools you can use to help your dyslexic students thrive!
In fact, many dyslexics go one to be some of the biggest world changers.
Quotes to remember:
“When your child is just learning to read, every time they come to the page and they’re sounding out words it’s hard. It’s like scaling a mountain for them, intellectually. So if they get a few times where they get to come to the page and know what it says without having to do all the hard work, that feels good, they feel like a reader, and those are experiences we want to give our kids.“
“When kids are just learning to read or they’re just becoming more fluent and confident readers they’re actually at a critical part of their learning to love reading journey.“
“We need to make sure we’re spending more time reading aloud to our kids than we are doing those ‘how to’ read sessions.”
I totally agree with what you are saying and that is one of the main reasons we are homeschooling. We are a part of a program where the kids go to school on Fridays and they do standardized testing in this program. My daughter continues to test low in reading and they are recommending intervention. We are going to pass on that this year, as it doesn’t bother us that she is taking her time becoming fluent and the intervention is something she would hate, but I would like to have some articles or studies to present to the teachers in case they question our decision. I was wondering if you have any sources or literature about this topic. Thanks!
Thank you for the recommendations! I love having books recommended to me especially someone who knows what they’re talking about. My 1st and 2nd graders are just getting into reading and I want them to LOVE it. I have put so many of these books on hold at my library. I can’t wait to give them to my kids to read. Thank you, thank you!
Hi!
I have been listening through the archives of RAR for a while now. I am wondering if anyone knows of any Early Reader versions of Classical Literature? I am at a little bit of a standstill trying to source some.
Thanks! And I adore what you are doing!
Cheers,
Amanda
Hello Amanda, I haven’t read them yet, but Sterling publishing has a series called “Classic Starts” abridged versions of many classics. I do believe they are also illustrated and I’m keeping them in mind my daughter in a couple years. Maybe they are what you’re looking for too. :) Hope that helps!
Thanks for sharing such an amazing blog!!! I would like to share this my daughter who has just started homeschooling for her children.
What a great episode!! My kids are 11 and 13, so we’re out of the Early Reader stage, but I wholeheartedly agree with all your recommendations. In fact, my kids still enjoyed the Mr Putter and Tabby books up until just a couple of years ago (especially my son who didn’t take to reading as quickly as my daughter). We too read so many of these books as read-aloud over and over again. I also love your point about every child having a unique journey to learning to read. So true!!
Fantastic list! Except… not a single Elephant and Piggie book by Mo Willems?? Or maybe those are a bit earlier/easier. But my kids would spend *hours* figuring out how to read those independently! Then read them again and again and again…
Yep, we really like Mo Willems, too! I talk about his work around minute 30 of this episode. :)
My oldest daughter is just heading into this stage – can’t wait to find some of these recommendations for her! We already love Frog & Toad are friends, and several books by P.D. Eastman. She’s starting to recognize letters and “read” the names of family members, but this episode encouraged me not to pressure her read as early as possible. When she’s ready, she’s ready. I remember I took off in reading around 3rd grade thanks to the Mandie series. I couldn’t stop reading them!
I enjoy following your blog, and have not yet commented here. After 14 years of homeschooling, and with read-alouds being the backbone of our 8 childrens’ education, I just want to add that we’ve also enjoyed the Arthur books by Lillian Hoban (she did the illustrations for the Frances books). Some of Lillian Hoban’s Arthur book titles include “Arthur’s Funny Money”, “Arthur’s Honey Bear”, “Arthur’s Loose Tooth” and “Arthur’s Camp Out” – among others. Funny and charming – a pleasure to read these to my children. Thanks for all you do to encourage reading aloud!
Melisa
Great list! I can’t wait to listen to this episode. We also really loved the Penny books from Kevin Henkes for early readers.
I don’t think I’ve seen those! Off to put them on hold at the library… :)
We love the Penny books also!
Also, one of my children liked Bink and Gollie.
And Brownie and Pearl (by Cynthia Rylant) was a big hit with another child.
Thanks for taking the time to make this list and podcast.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! So excited to see if some of these books will work for my daughter! I have been hoping you would do an episode on early reader books and as always you did not disappoint!