Top 10 Decodable Readers for Kindergarten and Grade One: Best Books to Boost Phonics and Reading Skills
Decodable Books contain words you can read and understand because you know the letter/sound correspondences for those words.
Decoding means using the alphabetic system, often referred to as phonics, to read words and sentences. Decodable books for beginning readers provide practice in decoding simple words using letters and sounds they have already learned.
Practice with using the alphabetic code shows early readers that knowing the code is essential for reading. Early reading success improves word recognition and fluency skills. Reading a real book builds a child’s confidence and motivation for reading.
Are Decodable Books and Levelled Books the Same?
Levelled Books are divided into categories based on a summary of their overall vocabulary, sentence structure, comprehension levels, and content. They are often labelled A-Z.
Because levelled books usually contain many words that are not easily decoded by beginning readers, children have to rely on picture clues or repeated text patterns to read them.
Levelled books do not provide the simple practice with learned letter-sound correspondences that help children build fluent sight word vocabulary based on connections between spelling, pronunciation, and meaning.
Decodable Books are perfect for practicing phonics skills because they provide early reading success. When a child has learned most of the phonemes and is feeling confident in their reading ability, they will be excited to tackle more challenging levelled books that expand their vocabulary, comprehension, and critical thinking skills.
If you move on to more challenging books and then notice your child is developing a habit of guessing the words, revisit the decodable books. This will help reinforce that reading is not about guessing. Reading is about using the sounds the letters represent to decode words and put them into long term memory. With practice, these words become sight words and can be instantly recalled.
What to Look for in a Decodable Book
Are they actually decodable?
A decodable book should provide easy reading practice with already learned letter-sound correspondences. Most decodable books will also contain high frequency words, such as the, and, I, it, is, you, to, of, in, and a. These linking words are needed to write basic sentences, so your child should be familiar with them.
Are they engaging?
Children want to read books that draw them into the story and make reading enjoyable. This raises a challenge for decodable books because of the limited vocabulary.
Some ways authors make decodable books engaging are through humor, rhythm, repetition, playful language, and surprising plot twists. When children enjoy reading, they find it easier to practice the skills they need to become a strong reader.
Are the characters and themes relatable?
Children enjoy reading books with lovable characters and everyday situations that they can relate to. They feel comfortable when they see themselves and their life experiences reflected in the stories. Children also like to learn about the world around them, so it’s a good idea to add non-fiction books as their reading ability grows.
Do the illustrations add to the story line?
Decodable books should have quality illustrations that enhance the storyline in a way that encourages your child to decode the text. Lovable characters and age appropriate, detailed scenes make the experience more interactive and support comprehension. However, to be a decodable book, you should be able to cover the picture, and your child can still read the text.
Your child will be more motivated to read when the books are actually decodable based on their knowledge of letter-sound correspondences. Having too many undecodable words in a book slows the reading down and is exhausting and frustrating.
As your child’s knowledge of letter/sound correspondences expands, look for decodable books that break stories into chapters. This makes the reading more manageable. Long stories and too many words on a page can be intimidating for early readers.
Summary
To help your child experience early reading success, look for decodable readers that have:
- known letters/sounds,
- are interesting and enjoyable to read,
- contain relatable characters and themes, and
- feel like real books.
Our Top 10 Decodable Books: Including our top FREE picks!
Early readers move through decodable books quickly, so we encourage you to borrow them from the library, school, and friends, look in your local “little free library”, or buy used copies.
You can even get creative and write simple decodable phrases and sentences using the sounds and words your child has learned.
Encourage your child to work along with you to write and illustrate a decodable book together. A whiteboard or folded paper booklet can be used for this activity.
The following is a list of publishers, in no particular order, who offer books that provide decodable reading practice. There are many more we could have included. We’d love to hear about your favorite decodable books. Please email us and tell us all about them here.
Source: Dash Into Learning
1. Dash Into Learning - These books are an early reader program. They have a parent guide, practice activities in each book, and unique, colorful illustrations. The stories center around a horse named Dash, and the characters are diverse. Handwriting, poetry, and emotional resilience resources are also available.
Source: Bob Books
2. Bob Books - These books were written long before decodable books became popular. They are relatively affordable and new/used copies are readily available. Kids enjoy them. Adults may not appreciate the simple illustrations, however a decodable is more about the decodable text than the pictures.
Source: Charge into Reading
3. Charge into Reading Decodable Readers - A large series that is divided into sets beginning with 10 books for short vowel sounds and progressing through 9 stages. A non-fiction series matches the skills learned by the 7th level. These books are thoughtfully written, with real storylines and colorful illustrations. Word lists and phonemic awareness activities are included in each book.
Source: Flyleaf Books
4. Flyleaf Books - This site has a series of early reader decodable books that can be accessed online for FREE. The books have colorful pictures and tell real stories, with a mix of fiction and nonfiction titles.
Source: Academic Success
5. Academic Success - Reading for All Learners - This is a large collection that ranges from decodable books with simple vocabulary to advanced chapter books. There is a free online section available.
Source: Oxford Reading Tree
6. Oxford Reading Tree - This publisher provides a wide range of books for school and home use. There are simple decodable texts that kids can read to build their skills to advance to more challenging texts. Some of the books have outdated illustrations. Choose books with decodable sounds your child has learned rather than focusing on the suggested “reading levels.” Oxford also has a series of FREE ebooks. You have to register to access them.
Source: Crabtree Publishing
7. CrabTree Publishing - This publisher has a wide range of fiction and nonfiction books for early readers. The fiction decodable series has 20 books including Ed & Em, Doc’s Job, and Fun for Pups. This series is decodable for readers who have learned most of their letter/sound correspondences and common high frequency words.
Source: Acorn
8. Acorn Early Readers - Acorn is part of Scholastic’s Early Reader Books. Sample stories include Goat in a Boat, Frog Meet Dog, Hog on a Log, and Bumble and Bee. These beginner graphic novels provide enjoyable practice for young readers who have learned most letter/sound correspondences. It can sometimes be easy to “guess” words based on the pictures. We liked that they “trick” you and repeat a word but then change one letter so you have to pay attention: drip, drip, drop, and crack, crack, creak.
Source: Syllasense
9. Syllasense - There are several series in this collection. The decodable yellow series includes 10 books with colorful illustrations and photos, engaging stories, and diverse characters. The series follows an available scope and sequence that introduces phonics concepts from easy to more challenging.
Source: Phonic Books
10. PhonicBooks.com - This company sells a broad range of levels, including books with topics that appeal to older readers who missed phonics instruction and need to catch up. The books have full color illustrations with a mix of real photos and cartoon characters. There’s a cumulative progression of skills and plot lines, and diversity is represented in the books. The Dandelion Launchers series is truly decodable, but the illustrations are unusual and might not appeal to all readers.
Source: Half-Pint Kids
BONUS SUGGESTION: FREE online series for 2024-25 school year from Half-Pint Readers. This series has cute characters, funny adventures, and clickable pages that turn like a paper copy book.
How to get started with your child:
First, make sure they know the sounds of reading and how to put them together and break them apart in a word. The Alphabites Game Pack is a great way to start practicing sounds in a fun and engaging way. Build words with the cards and practice sounding them out.