Products--Series for Beginning Readers

So, my daughter has been learning to read. I've been using the Wilson Reading System. While I am not certified to teach the program, my mom, a certified special education teacher who was trained in the program, uses the program with her students and taught me the basics of it. I do not go through the entire program with Kara but have found the flash-cards part of it very useful for introducing her to phonics. Rather than going through the other aspects of the program, I decided that I instead wanted to instead follow up our flash-card session with books that compliment the program.

With that, here are some of my--and my daughter's--favorite sets for beginning readers...




Maslen, Bobby Lynn. Bob Books, Set 1: Beginning Readers. Illustrated by John R. Maslen. New York, Scholastic, 2006. Unpaged. Boxed Set. $16.99 ISBN 0-439-84500-9

One of the first sets that I purchased for Kara were the Bob Books (Set 1 - Beginning Readers). This set contains 12 books and a tips sheet for parents--CDs can be purchased separately. This series is a great supplement for the Wilson program, as sounds are introduced in a similar order to the Wilson program. Each book focuses on a few different sounds and introduces those sounds on the first page of each book, providing examples of words with those sounds, which is helpful to those who do not have the Wilson program materials. With only a few words per page, sometimes only a single word, and some repetition, these are perfect for beginning readers; they are easy to read and will help beginning readers build confidence as they develop their reading skills. Simple pen-and-ink illustrations compliment the text and assist toddlers with comprehension; however, the simplicity of the illustrations may not be appealing for all toddlers (like my daughter). Despite this, they are still a valuable teaching tool.

Weinberg, Jennifer Liberts. Phonics Fun with Barbie. Illustrated by Karen Wolcott. New York, Random House, 2010. Unpaged. Boxed Set. $14.99 ISBN 978-0-375-85944-1

I recently purchased the Barbie set (above) for my daughter. She was immediately to drawn to it, recognizing Barbie on the front of the case. This set contains 12 books and a brief Parent Guide--a Barbie Phonics workbook is sold separately. Each book features a different sound; however, words containing other sounds are included in each book. For those using the Wilson program, this may mean that additional sounds may need to be introduced prior to reading; however, these are still great for beginning readers and are easy to read, containing only a few words per page, using smaller sentences, and some repetition. The colorful illustrations and the familiarity of Barbie will be appealing to little girls who are just learning to read and who love playing Barbies.

Hult, Gene (Editor). Clifford the Big Red Dog, Phonics Reading Program (Pack 1). New York, Scholastic, 2002. Unpaged. Boxed Set. $12.99 ISBN 0-439-40382-0

I also recently purchased the Clifford set (above) for my daughter. As with the Barbie set, she was immediately drawn to this set because of the familiarity of Clifford, appearing on the front of the case. This set also contains 12 books and a brief parent letter. Each book features a few different sounds, in a similar order to the Wilson program; however, additional sounds are included in each book. At the beginning of each book, Emily Elizabeth introduces the sounds and provides some examples of words with those sounds, which will be helpful to who do not have the Wilson program materials. These are also great for beginning readers and are easy to read, containing only a few words per page, using smaller sentences, and some repetition. Names like Cleo and Clifford may be difficult for some early readers. The colorful illustrations and familiarity of Clifford will be appealing to little girls and boys who are just learning to read.

A few tips...

One thing that I've found helpful with the above series is to go through the books in advance and create flashcards with some of the words from the books. I type up the words on photo paper--as a substitute for cardstock--then bind them together. Kara and I review the words in her "word book" before reading the books.