beginning readers?

[mo2]

I'm looking for sets of beginning practice readers---enough to take us from the absolute beginner to an independent reader. I have a crummy library system so we don't really even bother going there anymore. I would prefer to purchase sets of books so as to have continuity. I know there are Bob books, but what level do these go up to? What else is there?

 

Oh, yes, since I'm planning to purchase, cheap is good. ;)

 

Thanks.

[Abbysfriend]

We got hooked up with May Ruth Books. They are all about a Lab named Danny (with photos of him throughout) and my children love reading them. They are similar to Bob books in word difficulty but much better. Written by a reading teacher, they pay attention to tracking and other issues. My daughter didn't really 'take' to reading for whatever reading and when I brought these home her whole attitude changed. They do have 'levels' that the series progresses through. Highly recommended in our house!

[Laurel]

We used Bob books, but only the first level. (I didn't like them, so as soon as possible I transitioned into something else.)

 

Then the Nora Gaydos readers, Levels 1 and 2. (Level 1 begins with short vowel sounds, but they are more difficult than Bob books. I found it to be an easy transition.)

 

Then leveled readers, mainly the I Can Read series.

 

If you are a member at Sam's Club (or similar), look for the Nora Gaydos sets and the Bob books sets there. I've found them both there cheaper, and they are bigger, more like a normal book, which I like better as well.

[Dawn E]

We used the Primary Phonics readers. There are 6 sets of storybooks, and you can use them independent of the workbooks in this program. I believe you can purchase most, if not all, of the reader sets at Rainbow Resource.

[Ali in OR]

One set of Bob books. We used the library for other sets, but they are kind of expensive for how long they are used, so I wouldn't want to buy more.

 

Nora Gaydos fit well after Bob. Again, I think we only invested in one level.

 

Hop on Pop and/or other simple Dr. Seuss books

 

Then you start getting to the good stuff.

 

Little Bear series (my personal favorite)

 

Frog and Toad series (another good one)

 

Mouse Tales and Owl at Home are good too.

 

Henry and Mudge books. We had one four book set and then used the library.

 

Nate the Great was our last step before basically being able to read anything. Again we owned the first Nate the Great and got others from the library.

 

Do you have a used bookstore in town? Ours has a ton of early readers and that can save quite a bit of money. If you know of a school that has a Scholastic book fair coming up, that can be good too. I found our Frog and Toad and Henry and Mudge books at one of those. And the spring sales often have 1/2 price books.

Edited May 23, 2010 by Ali in OR

[Dmmetler]

If you have a Costco membership, check there. I know they carry many of the early reader books in sets, including a ton of the "I can Read" books when you get to that level.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

Check these out! Learn to Read , Its fun to read , and I'm Reading

 

We got the bob books, but have not yet started, and we got the very first level. I like them so far and they do go up to compound words I believe

[Ohdanigirl]

I just saw the Bob books at a San Diego Costco for $9.99.

[mo2]

Check these out! Learn to Read , Its fun to read , and I'm Reading

 

We got the bob books, but have not yet started, and we got the very first level. I like them so far and they do go up to compound words I believe

 

 

I love starfall for teaching letter sounds. HOWEVER, my daughter just lets starfall read the story to her. She doesn't even try. I have to sit next to her and make her read.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

I love starfall for teaching letter sounds. HOWEVER, my daughter just lets starfall read the story to her. She doesn't even try. I have to sit next to her and make her read.

 

Oh really? My son isnt to that point yet, I hope he doesnt do that :001_huh:

[mo2]

Oh really? My son isnt to that point yet, I hope he doesnt do that :001_huh:

 

I hope, for your sake, that you never get to that point. :banghead:

 

:D

[shukriyya]

 

These ones by Shelley Davidow are nice.

[Food4Thought]

I really like the Now I'm Reading sets by Nora Gaydos. Timberdoodle.com has them for $11.95 a set. They go up through level 4, which one of my friends just bought to read with her 3rd grader who is struggling.

 

ETA: The reason I like these books is because they are downright funny (like the yak who was hot and needed a fan to cool off) and the illustrations are very well-done and in full-color. Each set comes with 3 stickers for each story, so you get a built-in reward system if your kids like that. Each set has 10 small books included.

Edited May 23, 2010 by Food4Thought

[mo2]

These ones by Shelley Davidow are nice.

 

Are there samples anywhere? I really can't tell anything from those tiny pictures. It also doesn't say how many pages they are.

[naturelovinmama]

Bob books have been wonderful for us, although we have just finished level 1. I haven't looked at Level 2 yet. I am at the same level--wondering where to go next, so I appreciate all of the suggestions.

 

Jackie

[shukriyya]

Are there samples anywhere? I really can't tell anything from those tiny pictures. It also doesn't say how many pages they are.

 

More info and samples here.

[Dmmetler]

You can buy the Starfall books in print pretty cheaply. What I did was to buy several sets and give them to friends, because it cost about the same to buy 5 sets as a "school" as it did to buy 1 as a parent.

 

For the phonics readers, you can just print them off on your computer if you don't mind not having color.

[Just Robyn]

We really like Dr. Maggie's Phonics Readers. There are four sets. We only have the first two. After those I agree with the pp who suggested Little Bear, Frog and Toad etc. There is also the Beehive Reader by AAS, which I guess is called Cobweb the Cat now and they also have What Am I? and Queen Bee.

Edited May 24, 2010 by crstarlette

[Holly]

HOD has a nice list for emerging readers here. These are for about 1st-2nd grades. My DD is finishing 2nd, and I'm having her work on some of them this summer. We love the Arnold Lobel books (Frog & Toad, Mouse Soup, Owl at Home, etc.).

 

Before my DC are ready for these, I like to use the McGuffey Readers. You can download them for free through a link at the Old Fashioned Education site. My DS is working on them right now, and my older two both enjoy them. They start with absolute beginners (I teach them letter sounds before beginning). They also make great copywork and can be used through HS.

[Jen in PA]

I love starfall for teaching letter sounds. HOWEVER, my daughter just lets starfall read the story to her. She doesn't even try. I have to sit next to her and make her read.

 

If you go to the download center on Starfall you can print out a little cut-and-color storybook for each of the Starfall stories. I always do this and have DS read through it a few times before he plays the online version of the story.

[tinkhs]

We used Fun Tales from Sonlight (like Bob books) then moved on to Pathway Readers (Rainbow Resource has them, they are cheap, too). The library isn't an option for us either, so I usually purchase my books.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

My kids really liked the Bob books and had a real sense of accomplishment after reading them. We quickly moved on to bigger and better things, but they still sometimes want to read some of their old favorite Bob books. For other readers, I just went to the library, but I live in the middle of two awesome library systems. Dr. Seuss books are good and fun to read.

[Guest lovemypies]

We really like Phonics Pathways, with Abeka or CLP readers :)

[weddell]

We have been using Bob Books and the Now I'm Reading books by Nora Gaydos. I don't love the last 2 or 3 sets of the Bob Books, but the first two sets are great. Then we transitioned to the Nora Gaydos books. We are still reading the remaining Bob books because I already bought them, but I wouldn't buy them again past the first two or three sets. There is a huge gap in skills between the 2nd and 3rd sets.

 

Right now Costco has the Bob books for cheap. They are repackaged into 3 sets instead of 5, but have all the same books. I bought my Nora Gaydos books used on amazon and ebay for around half price (including shipping).

[savmom]

The Kindergarten level of Hooked on Phonics has some nice beginning readers. My dd went from sounding out words in the Bob books to actually reading the words with HOP. She just finished Kindergarten and started the 1st grade and the books have really boosted her confidence (she has struggled with learning to read). She likes reading the books over & over for fun (and to show off her newly acquired skill :D).

 

They have the book sets on ebay for less than $20. Or, you can buy the entire deluxe set on ebay (if you can find it complete, as it is an older edition with the game, audio cd's and regular readers plus companion readers).

 

The first grade level starst with blends, but it is not too hard of a transition if you complete the K level.

 

Cindy

[sbgrace]

The I See Sam books are doing that beautifully here. This site has lots of great information about them. http://www.3rsplus.com/index.htm'>http://www.3rsplus.com/index.htm I think it's a genius program. It introduces sounds perfectly/sequenced to be fool proof it seems. The books are fully decodable yet interesting even to me. The pictures add to the story without giving clues to allow the child to guess. The site above will tell a lot about the program and it's success. But it's been wonderful here.

 

The first two sets are free here. Though the directions aren't good.

 

Follow directions including for the slider/notched card on the site above--I linked the resources page here--the getting started file is I believe the one that describes the use of the card.

 

You can purchase the sets on these sites. I'm still using the free ones linked above:

http://www.3rsplus.com/index.htm

http://iseesam.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=8_9

 

 

There is a yahoo group for the program someone here mentioned that has been a great help to me. It's Beginning Reading Instruction.

 

A couple of people on this board suggested this program to me after our first attempt at phonics was failing one of my kids. I'm really thankful.

Edited May 24, 2010 by sbgrace

[simka2]

We are using www.progressivephonics.com right now...the readers and correspoding worksheets are free!

[ElizabethB]

The McGuffey Readers should hold you for years!

 

Free online from Gutenberg press or the entire set from Amazon for $37.

[5ray2006]

We are using a variety of programs for reading this year. Our fave thus far is the HOP program (K level). I have the older set that has 24 readers included. Ds is doing well with this. We also use ETC (this product alone reinforces beginning reading!) and Adventure in Phonics from CLP. Ds also loves to read Dr.Seuss books and we have started Abeka's 1st grade readers well.

 

 

Next on our reading list will be books from the "Little Bear" series, "Frog and Toad" series, "Henry and Mudge" series, other Dr.Seuss books and progressing through all of Abeka's 1st grade readers. Ds should be ready for chapter books by the end of this year ( Mr.Putter and Tabby, Magic Tree House books, Amelia Bedelia, Nate the Great and so on. )

 

HTH, Trina:)

[Flaura]

The I See Sam books are doing that beautifully here. This site has lots of great information about them. http://www.3rsplus.com/index.htm I think it's a genius program. It introduces sounds perfectly/sequenced to be fool proof it seems. The books are fully decodable yet interesting even to me. The pictures add to the story without giving clues to allow the child to guess. The site above will tell a lot about the program and it's success. But it's been wonderful here.

 

 

:iagree:

I have used these with my dyslexic and my more typical reader. In

my experience you can move to real books after set 4.

Hth

[squirtymomma]

I've spent the last couple of days making a list for my dd from the I Can Read site. She's right at Level 1 now - Little Bear is perfect for her. I'm reserving others from the library - titles from Syd Hoff (Danny and the Dinosaur, Grizzwold, etc). Also, there's an author named Alvin Schwartz who has written some retellings of folktales and rhymes for this level that look interesting. Level 2 has all of the Arnold Lobel titles, Frances, Amelia Bedelia, etc. The Level 3 list is shorter, but almost all of them look good (as opposed to the pages of titles like Fancy Nancy and movie take-offs from the earlier levels). I'm hoping this list will get us through the next year-and-a-half, until her 1st grade year, when (tentatively) I plan to get her a Sonlight 2 intermediate reader package.

 

Up until now, we've used Bob and Nora Gaydos for phonics readers. Then, some Dr. Seuss, and the Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems is fun and unitimidating with few words on a page.

[mo2]

:iagree:

I have used these with my dyslexic and my more typical reader. In

my experience you can move to real books after set 4.

Hth

 

 

What do you mean by "real books?" Like the I Can Read series of leveled readers or like Magic Treehouse type stuff?

[AngieW in Texas]

I See Sam readers will be perfect for you. That start with absolute beginner (only 5 sounds in the first book) and go up to 3rd grade level. They have actual stories. They cost $20/set (plus about $7 for shipping if you buy just one set, shipping goes down for multiple sets).

 

http://3rsplus.com/