Early Readers

My son started reading at age 4 with a Now I'm Reading set (http://www.innovativekids.com/index.php?page=shop.product...) -- hope that link works... if not just go to http://www.innovativekids.com. You can search by series: it's the Now I'm Reading series. They have lots of sets and tons of other educational materials. I bought mine at Barnes and Noble for $16.99, which to me is a little pricey. I buy books on www.alibris.com a lot, too. I found this series (new and used) just now on this site for some good prices. Your little girl isn't in school quite yet, but you can access this site through another site called www.SchoolMall.com where you can set up an account linked to a school of your choice and then access the Alibris site through the School Mall login and 7.5% of whatever you buy is donated to the school (different sites contribute different percentages). Anyway, you get great prices and help out your child's school. Sorry to ramble on; hope this helps!

At our mother's group last month, we had a guest speaker who home-schooled her kids and is now involved in a Christian-based private school. She recommended the book "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons." She had all four of her kids reading by age 4 - her daughter by age 3!

Good Morning, FYI try scholastic.com, they always have good sales. Also get their noun and verb books, they are great. Another on is called Childrens book of the month club. I use both, and we have a christian book store that resales used homeschool books. I homeschool my 9 and 7 year old, so this works great for us. We buy, and use, they trade and get new ones.. Hope this helps, have a blessed day.

Check out Half Price Books. They have excellent childrens sections with many of the leveled readers. The half price on Campbell in Richardson and the one in Frisco by the mall both have great children's selections.

Check out "Bob Books". You can find them at Borders.

They are for the VERY beginning readers - and they are how I taught both of my kids to read (along with some I wrote for them).

Good Luck!

I second the library. You can try out all types of books with lots of different interests to see what she likes.

Also, she will learn to enjoy the library and reading. Most libraries have summer reading programs, story times and activities that are free. My daughter loved the library programs when when was younger.

We also used the Jumpstart series of computer games which included reading.

I also still have the Dr. Suess collection my mom bought for me whan I was a kid and she loved those books.

She is now 13 and not as "into" the library because she'd rather be with friends but I strongly feel that the library visits helped instill the value of reading to her.

TF

BOB books are great! Its a set of twelve and they have different levels The best way to get any child to read is to read to them.

Good luck.

I second Half Price Books. I have been taking my son there since before he turned 1 and he always picks out what he is interested in. He really loves books, and I really think it is because I always let him pick what he wants. Sometimes his choices surprise me. He is only 2 1/2 and is already starting to identify some sight words. I also highly recommend Preschool Prep Company DVDs.

I hope my answer isn't too simple, but I highly recommend the Library, Library, Library!

Most have an "easy reader" section. There are many great historical fiction easy readers. So, while she's reading she learn about something in history. I call this my "two birds with one stone" education. Pick subjects that she likes. She'll take off!

The summer is a GREAT time to get your child interested in the library. Plus, librarians are GREAT resources for age and reading level appropriate books. That's what librarians have Masters Degrees (yes, that's right - to be a "librarian", you have to have a masters degree in library science. Obviously, they know what they are talking about).

Summer reading programs encourage reading for fun and they are a great place to browse and read (don't feel like you have to find the books and leave as soon as possible. Sit down with her in a comfy spot and read a book together to see how she likes it. Most libraries will give a child their own card. Watching the employees scan and check out my books was one of my most favorite things as a child. I would re-enact it at home with my own books (sometimes with the hymnals at church, even). :)

try www.sonlight.com

great books to choose from.

I like the BOB books - about 15 a set, and there's 3 or 4 sets. They start off very easy by page (Mat) (Mat sat) (Sam) (Sam sat) (Mat sat on Sam)(Sam sat on Mat) (Mat Sat, Sam Sat) (The end). The next one introduces Cat, Sad, maybe a few others. I like these books because they're cute, the words are phonetically regular (message me if you want more info on that), they're cheap, and they're portable. We shove a box in a backpack for the car and doctor's offices.. they have a little plot that you can ask questions over for comprehension.

My son and I started with these books at 3. Focusing on sound and word mastery, we get through a book in about 6 hours. He will be starting kindergarten this August, and can sound out ANY phonetically regular word. We're still working on the weird ones this summer.

S.

I have used and am still using BOB books. My son learned to read on them and now my daughter is learning. We also take weekly library trips in the summer. Take a BOB book to the library! There are many sets as they progress. The first set is blue. Hope this helps and good luck!

Hello,

I'm a bit late in responding, but I wanted to thank you for liking my Handprints books. They are actually less expensive than most leveled readers, but that doesn't help you. You can sometimes find individual titles at Amazon or ChristianBooks.com.

My publisher tells me that soon e-books will be available.

As a reading specialist, I wrote the book to make learning to read a natural process for children. The vocabulary, sentence structure, content, story line, and format of the books are designed with children's development in mind. There are 20 book levels, from Kindergarten to early 2nd grade level, so you can see that the reading "steps" are very gradual.

Of course now your beginning readers are fluent readers, but maybe this post can help other parents.

A. Staman
Author, Handprints