The Best Books for Early Readers
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Welcome to one of the most amazing stages: moving on from decodable books to authentic texts! This truly has been one of the most fun milestones for us. I have shared about our favorite decodable books and have many posts about our reading journey. Here, I am sharing books we have loved now that we have completed phonics instruction and my son can read almost any word. I found when my son entered this stage I was a bit overwhelmed. Some of the books I did not find appropriate for his age (for example, potty humor I would like to avoid introducing) or simply content-wise went over his head. These stories here are designed for early readers and are perfect even for younger readers like my son (but still absolutely appropriate for older early readers, too). My son loves all of these at 3.5.
If you’re looking for sweet stories for your beginner reader, check out these books! These are written at a first or second-grade reading level. I would not be too concerned about the exact level though. The most important thing is joy in reading.
Little Bear Series: If you’re looking for some sweet beginner reader books (that maybe even offer some nostalgia for you), I highly recommend Little Bear. These stories are so darling and they are perfect for beginner readers familiar with most or all phonetic patterns. They don’t need to be read in any specific order.
Danny and the Dinosaur: If your little one likes dinosaurs definitely look into this series! It has a few more books than Frog and Toad or Little Bear and is very cute. It is the story of a boy who makes friends with a dinosaur. They do all sorts of things together: have birthday parties, go to camp, go to school. It is funny watching the dinosaur navigate all these situations! The first book introduces the characters, but afterward, it really doesn’t matter what order they are read in. The author, Syd Hoff, also wrote Sammy and the Seal which my son enjoys.
Ted and Tom Adventures: The first books we read outside of decodables were books from the Good and the Beautiful library. These were still somewhat phonetic controlled, particularly in the earlier ones, making it a slower introduction to fully authentic texts. My son loved Ted and Tom Adventures the most. It is from their 1B library, meaning they designed it for halfway through first grade. He also loved Sniff, Pinecone Hill, Zip Zap Zoom, and Mark Lives on Mars. One note: The Good and The Beautiful is a religious Christian company and that appears in some of their books. Of course, that would be wonderful if you were looking for that. For us, I was a bit disappointed when I ordered some second-grade-level books. Nearly all of the second-grade books were pretty religious. The first-grade ones we read occasionally (rarely) mentioned praying, which was fine for us. The second-grade ones all seemed to mention Jesus, which doesn’t work so well for our Jewish family. There is nothing wrong with that—it’s perfect for Christian families—just something to keep in mind if it doesn’t work for your family. I wish they mentioned it in the description!
Frog and Toad Stories: Frog and Toad are classics and for good reason! These are such sweet stories about a frog and a toad who are good friends. They feel beautifully seasonal and are lovely stories for young readers. These can be read in any order. Arnold Lobel's books more broadly are real gems. We also enjoyed Mouse Soup, Uncle Elephant, and Owl at Home.
Henry and Mudge: This series is the jackpot and I was thrilled my son loves it! There are so many Henry and Mudge books which is just great if you have a voracious reader like I do. The stories are about a boy and his big dog, Mudge. Henry didn’t have any siblings or neighbor children so his parents get him Mudge in the first book. They go through all sorts of adventures together, enjoying different seasons and holidays. I would recommend the first book first but then they do not need to be read in order. This author also wrote some other sweet series. We haven’t gotten as into them, but my son has enjoyed them occasionally.
Nate the Great: This is another fantastic series with a lot of books to get into! It is the perfect introduction to the detective/mystery genre. Nate is a detective who solves all sorts of cute cases such as missing artwork and turkeys on top of cars in grocery store parking lots. There are some holiday ones which are always exciting too!
Commander Toad: These books are perfect for space-loving kids. It is as if Frog and Toad and Star Wars merged. My son loved them despite not getting many references that were clearly placed there for adults. I think these would be so great too if you have an older early reader who might want something a bit more exciting than Frog and Toad.
Beginner Chapter Books
If your child is ready for some early chapter books here are some of our favorites! These books have more pictures than most chapter books, making them the perfect introduction or bridge to full chapter books.
Owl Diaries: We discovered these a bit by mistake and I have not actually read the whole book. My son did several times, however, and really enjoyed it. He is now obsessed with the bakery one in the series and it has inspired him to want to open his own bakery. It is a beginner chapter book in that it has chapters but there are also pictures throughout the pages and fewer words on a page than a traditional chapter book. My son was laughing a bunch while reading it so that’s his review! I plan to order him more of the series.
Mercy Watson: If you’re looking for a fun story and (non-potty) humor, this series is great! These are beginner chapter books with full color pictures. The chapters are short and very manageable. My son went from reading one chapter a night to me to reading the whole book in one sitting within a couple of months. These are about a family who has a pig living with them. They have some tricky words, such as Eugenia (the neighbor) and porcine, but are otherwise fairly approachable to an early reader. There also is a splinter series that is more like a full chapter book. This is great if your child gets invested in the characters and is ready for the next step! These were the first books in this sort of category of early chapter books he read.
Sydney and Taylor: Sydney and Taylor is another series with full-color pages and short chapters. It is about a skunk and a hedgehog who are best friends and go on adventures together. If your little one enjoys stories like Frog and Toad they will likely love this one too!
Orris and Timble: We are patiently waiting for the second in this series to come out! This book is one of those books, like Frog and Toad, that just feels beautifully cozy. It has gorgeous pictures supporting the story about an unlikely friendship between a mouse and an owl after the mouse rescues the owl from danger.
Cornbread and Poppy: This is another cozy early chapter book read. It fits in with the others about two little animal friends doing sweet things together. My son learned the word “forage” reading this book about one mouse who is very prepared for winter and his friend who is not. He was absolutely thrilled when I purchased a second book for him from this series.
