Ask a Bookseller: What books are best for kids learning to read?
This week the Children’s Buyer at our Carlton store recommends some great books for children who are learning to read.
‘Some of the reading scheme books we’ve seen are functional but a bit joyless - what books can you recommend that are suitable for the first year of reading?’
Children learn to read when the pressure is off and the emphasis is on enjoyment, which is why choosing books that are fun both for the child and the adult who is patiently sitting there while they sound out every letter is highly desirable.
Books that have been around for decades are worth looking at (Arnold Lobel, Maurice Sendak, Dr. Seuss) as are more recent ones by Sally Rippin and Mo Willems. Here’s a small selection.
“Today I will fly!” says Piggie. “No,” says Elephant. “You will not fly today.”
So simple and funny, all the text in Today I Will Fly is in speech bubbles and kept to a bare minimum with plenty of repetition balanced by humour.
Pessimist meets optimist: Elephant and Piggie are a winning pair.
These short stories about Rascal the dragon are a great introduction into Paul Jennings’ hugely popular collection.
In this story, the repetition that help builds confidence and increase knowledge of sight words is balanced by humour and conflict-resolution so that your early reader feels like they’re getting a (very brief!) story that’s worth the effort.
The late Arnold Lobel is my hero for stories at this level. They really appeal to a child’s sense of humour. Owl is a wonderful mixture of sincere and daft with a childlike imagination but a solid and confident stance. ‘Tear Water Tea’ is my favourite story of this book. Owl deliberately makes himself cry, in order to brew some special tea, by thinking of sad things: pencils too short to use, mashed potatoes left on a plate, mornings nobody saw because they were asleep!
Equally wonderful are Lobel’s Frog and Toad stories.
Toad’s stroppiness and occasional anxiety are so perfectly balanced by Frog’s maturity. The affection between them will break your heart but your child will love these funny and thoughtful fables.
I will not eat them in the rain. I will not eat them on a train. Not in the dark! Not in a tree! Not in a car! You let me be!
Another oldie-but-goodie here. Will it drive you slightly insane? Possibly. But I know I’m not the only parent whose child’s first read-alone sentence was “I am Sam”. Funny and effective tongue-twisters. Hop On Pop is another good one.
When your child has moved on from these easier texts, there’s a great selection in the Aussie Nibbles (beginner), Bites (7-10) and Chomps (8-12) series, written by a very wide range of Australian authors.
If you’re looking for somewhere to start, I recommend this read from Jane Godwin.
Billie B Brown: The Bully Buster
The hit series in Junior Fiction is Billie B Brown, and the off-shoot Hey Jack! I’ve watched girls queue patiently for over an hour to meet the author, Sally Rippin, and on Saturday at the Carlton store you won’t hear a more enthusiastic voice than the ones saying ‘There’s a new Billie B!’
This is a really accessible series to help grow their confidence.
[[emily-gale-staff-pic]] Emily Gale
