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Best books to help your child learn to read
Do your kids need to read books that that will not only ignite their enthusiasm for stories, but also meet their developmental and learning needs?
Speech Pathologist and former director of the Multi-Lit Literacy Centre at Macquarie University, Vickie Leung, shares top tips about the best books to buy for emerging readers.
What books are best for your kids?
When you are buying books (or choosing them from the library) it’s important to select stories that are not only interesting for your child, but also appropriate for their level of development.
Knowing where to start can be tricky, so here is a list of books that you can add to your child’s collection so that learning to read is both fun and easy.
The ones marked with an asterix (*) are my personal favourites!
Decodable Reading Books
When children are just starting to learn to read, they need simple books that are easy to decode. When they can read the words, they are more likely to stay interested in the story and so develop early literacy skills.
Many publishers have book ranges that are perfect for your emerging reader. They contain high frequency words and picture that will help your child to understand what they are reading.
Below are some series for emerging readers that you may wish to check out at your local library, book shop or on-line book store…
| Series |
Publisher |
Where to buy? |
| Fantastic Phonics * |
Early Reading Company, Australia | Early Reading Company |
| Beginning Reading Instruction (BRI) | Piper Books, UK | Spearwood Press |
| Fitzroy Phonics Readers | Fitzroy Phonics Reading Centre, Australia | Fitzroy Phonics Reading Centre |
| Ants in the Apple Series | Ants in the Apple Pty. Ltd, Australia | Ants in the Apple Pty. Ltd |
| Read Write Inc Story Books | Oxford University Press, UK | Dyslexia SPELD, WA |
| Dandelion Readers | Phonic Books Ltd, UK | Dyslexia SPELD, WA |
| Gilt Edge Readers – Emergent, Early | Gilt Edge Publishing, New Zealand | Online(Sound Hunt books) |
| First Little Readers | Scholastics | Scholastics |
| Jolly Phonics | Jolly Learning Ltd, UK | Dominie, Brookvale |
| Sails – Main Sails, Advanced Fluency | Pearson Australia | Pearson |
| Usbourne ‘Start to Read’ * | Usbourne Publishing Ltd, UK | Berkelouw Books – Mona Vale, Dee Why and Balogowlah |
Whole Language Reading Books
As your child’s reading skills develop, a transition into ‘Whole Language’ Reading Books is a natural progression. These books feature more sight words and are better than decodable readers for building your child’s comprehension skills.
The list below details some well-respected series that your child might both enjoy and benefit from.
| Series |
Publisher |
Where to buy? |
| PM Readers | Nelson Cengage Learning, Australia | Nelson Cengage Learning |
| Flying Colours | Nelson Cengage Learning, Australia | Nelson Cengage Learning |
| Rigby Rocket | Pearson, Australia | Pearson |
| Rigby Star | Pearson, Australia | Pearson |
| Gilt Edge Readers – Emergent, Early | Gilt Edge Publishing, New Zealand | Online |
| Sparklers * | Blake Education – Easy to Read, Hard to Put Down | Blake Education |
Books can usually be purchased online at sites like bigpond, book-o, book depository, fishpond
Suggested Storybooks
These are a few of our favourite story books at Kids First. These books are fantastic for print awareness, introducing social stories and language development
Next time you are thinking of a gift for a child…try one of these great options.
| Author | Book |
| ALLEN, Pamela | My Cat MaisieWho Sank the BoatBelinda Bertie and the Bear I Wish I Had a Pirate Suit Alexander’s Outing Mr McGee and the Biting Flea |
| ANDREDE, Giles | Giraffes Can’t Dance The Lion Who Wanted to Love |
| BAKER, Jeannie | Where the Forest Meets the Sea |
| BROWNE, Anthony | Silly BillyGorilla |
| CARLE, Eric * | The Very Hungry Caterpillar |
| CRONIN, Doreen | Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type Giggle, Giggle, Quack |
| CROSER, Josephine | Crunch the Crocodile |
| DODD, Lynley | Slinky Malinki |
| DONALDSON, Julia * | The Snail and the Whale The Gruffalo |
| EDWARDS, Hazel | There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake |
| FOX, Lee | Ella Kazoo Will not Brush Her Hair |
| FOX, Mem | Possum Magic Koala Lu |
| FRENCH, Jackie * | Diary of a Wombat |
| GLEESON, Libby | Uncle David |
| JEFFERS, Oliver | Stuck How to Catch a StarLost and Found The Day the Crayons Quit The Incredible Book Eating Boy The Heart and the Bottle Up and Down Th Moose Belongs to Me |
| KERR, Judith | The Tiger who Came to Tea |
| McALISTER, Angela &FUGE, Charles | Found You, Little Wombat! |
| MONKS, Lydia | Aaaarrgghh! Spider! |
| MUNSCH, Robert | The Paperbag Princess |
| MURPHY, Jill | On the Way Home |
| SEUSS, Dr | The Cat in the Hat |
| SHANNON, David | Duck on a Bike |
| WHYBROW, Ian Harry * | Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs:At the MuseumMake a Splash Go To School |
Does your child need help to read more confidently?
Kids First’s qualified speech pathologists have years of experience in supporting children’s literacy.
If your child is struggling, we can help by identifying what is causing your child’s difficulties and creating a personalised program of support that will take your son or daughter forward.
Kids First is located in Brookvale in Sydney’s northern beaches.
Call us now on (02) 9938 5419 to make an appointment with a member of our highly qualified team.
