Recommended Reading

Hi Friends,

It’s never too early or too late to start reading with your child. One reading strategy I like for early reading is, “Read to me, Read with me, Watch me read”.  In this strategy you will read a short book to your child sitting near you so they can see the words and pictures.  As you read to your child, use your finger to show which word you are reading. Be sure to read at a comfortable pace, not too fast and not too slow. 

The next time you read the same book, ask your child to read a page, gauge their interest and their level of frustration as they work through the page.  If they struggle with more than two or three words, you can read the rest of the book so they are not too overwhelmed.  The goal is to build a lifetime reader not to have a win for that day. 

If they are reading the majority of the words and don’t feel frustrated, continue reading every other page until you finish the book.  Sometimes they will read more pages, some days you may need to finish the book.  Don’t worry if some reading days go better than others.  The goal is to always keep reading. 

If you find as you are reading together every other page that your child is interested in reading more pages, encourage them to do it.  Even if your child has memorized the book. That is a reading strategy for some words (sight words).  Once your child reads the whole book, they will have a great feeling of accomplishment.  You can ask them to read that book to you (Watch me Read) as part of your reading time.  Continue the “Read to me, Read with me, Watch me Read” strategy on a new book.    

Here are 10 recommended starter books for the “Read to me, Read with me, Watch me Read” strategy.

• Bob Books Set 1 by Bobby Lynn Maslen

Bob books are a set of readers by Bobby Lynn Maslen.  These are beginner readers designed for pre-reading once letter sounds have been mastered.  The Set 1 readers cover the consent-vowel-consent words (eg. Mat sat).  There are ten books in each set with the books getting progressively more challenging.  This is a great place to start with the, “Read to me, Read with me, Watch me Read” strategy.  

• Cat Days by Alexa Andrews

Cat Days is a penguin young reader level 1 book.  The penguin young reader books have three levels of reading books.  Level 1 is sub-divided into four sublevels A-D.  These typically are good for beginning readers and have smaller sentences with consent-vowel-consent words. 

• On a Farm by Alexa Andrews

On a Farm is a penguin young reader level 1 book.  These books are available at our local library under the children’s easy reading section.  I like these books because they are very clearly labeled on the back with the reading level.  For a new readers finding a just right reading book can be a challenge.  These readers help you select the right book for your child.  We are fortunate our library carries several of these books.   

• Can a Cat do That? by Eric Carle

This book by Eric Carle combines the classic Eric Carle illistrations with pre-reading text for new readers.  The repetitive word structure of each sentence allows new readers to recognize words within the book quickly for easy reading success.

• Fox the Tiger by Corey R. Tabor

Fox the Tiger by Corey R. Tabor is part of the, “I Can Read, My First Book” publishing series.  There are over 100 titles in this series.  The “I Can Read” series has several levels also.  They don’t detail the level to the sublevel which can make selecting a “just right” reading book a little more challenging.

• Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

The whole Biscuit series is full of early reading gems.  The original Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli is a great place to start.  When my daughter was learning to read, I would read most of the words in the book while she read the dog barks (woff, woff).  The Biscuit series is great for “Read to me, Read with me, Watch me Read” strategy.  

• Who Can? Daniel Can! by Maggie Testa

Daniel Tiger is the beloved character from the Mister Rodgers Neighborhood spin-off Daniel Tiger’s neighborhood.  Children love these books because they are simple to read and they are generally familiar with the characters from watching the television show.  Uga-Muga!

• Puppy Mudge has a Snack by Cynthia Rylant

Puppy Mudge is the emergent reader of the Henry and Mudge series by Cynthia Rylant. Puppy Mudge had easy to read stories with clear beginning, middle and ending activities to check for reading comprehension.  Puppy Mudge is always up to something fun, or messy for children to read about.

• Apple Picking Day by Candice Ransom

Apple Picking Day by Candice Ransom is a great fall read that helps children get in the fall spirit. This book has high frequency words and picture ques to help the reader be successful. I also feel like this book has a good story flow that makes reading enjoyable for both child and adult.

• Pumpkin Day by Candice Ransom

Visiting the pumpkin patch is a fun time for kids.  They love to see the bright orange pumpkins in the field.  This book is part of the “Step into Reading” publishing series.  This series only has four steps so the reading level can vary significantly within each step.  This book is on the easier end of the level so it should be a good book to read this fall season with your preschooler or early elementary reader.

Remember what Gretchen Rubin says, “The days are long but the years are short”.  Spend those longer fall days reading and those moments will never be wasted.