Recommended Readers:
BOB BOOKS (Scholastic)
The Bob Books, available almost anywhere, are especially good with very young children just beginning to read. Many people have used them with great success. Small half-sized books, with very simple stylized black and white drawings on every page.
FUN PHONICS (Sizzy Books)
www.funphonics.com 1-888-886-7323
These little Sizzy books are similar to the Bob Books, with line drawings on every page, but have three questions at the end of each booklet to check for comprehension. (Also on the last page is a state map with the capitol, state flower, & tree on it. There is a different state for every booklet.) Emphasis is on short-vowel words. After that it moves faster--for example, all long-vowel sounds are grouped together.
STORIES BASED ON PHONICS (Learning Pyramid)
www.learningpyramid.com 1-800-386-3386
Similar to the above but emphasizing all of the phonograms equally--short-vowels, long-vowels, digraphs, etc. These booklets have separate worksheets for comprehension.
J & J LANGUAGE READERS (Sopris West)
www.sopriswest.com 1-800-547-6747
These booklets are also as progressively decodable as the above, but with stories appealing to older children (baseball, rollerskating, etc.) as well as beginning readers. As such, very nice for older remedial readers. Contains more stories than the above--several short stories in each booklet. Small, with black and white drawings. Comprehension questions at the end of each reader.
POWER READERS - New 2007 Edition - by Susan Ebbers
www.sopriswest.com 1-800-547-6747
Children read, write, and color in these charming new interactive Power Readers. The first four pages ensure reading readiness (sounds, letters, sight words, vocabulary). The next six pages provide an opportunity to "sound out" the decodable story. Several post-reading pages provide additional practice with engaging comprehension and rhyming activities. With the exception of beginning blends, the series follows the Phonics Pathways sequence up through the –ing suffix. Packaged set of 28 exceptionally-decodable books plus program guide. Preview this delightful new series at the author’s web page: www.readingway.com
THE FAMILY READER
http://begintoread.com
This lively set of 72 little readers by Rachel McOmber is beautifully illustrated, extremely decodable, and has cumulative stories that impart good values, featuring the same interesting characters. These books are humorous and enjoyable, and have comprehension questions at the end of each booklet. There are full-color covers and two-color pages, which have very large print for easy reading.
Other readers we've looked at are beautiful with colored illustrations, but move ahead faster and have many more sight words. Listed above are the readers I am familiar with that are systematic, progressive, and have a minimum of sight words. I'm sure there are more!
