More early reader books.

Your kiddo has started school and, for the first time ever, you are in need of more of those Reader Bag books. But they’re a funny style, a type of text you have no idea where to get more from. Until now!

Unbeknownst until this moment, there exists a section in your local library filled with more Early Reader books. Furthermore, you can buy them… but in my opinion (IMO) this is a potential waste as you won’t need them long enough. Multiple education publishers across the globe produce thousands of these types of books each year. So how do you know which are any good?

Our Australian favourites below, in no particular order, to start you off before discovering your own favourites.

Little Learners Love Literacy - These are sequenced in stages to build on particular sound knowledge. They focus on the skill of decoding words. IMO, great for your kiddo to try reading aloud, not so great for interesting plots.

Fitzroy Readers - Another set of excellent phonics approach books. They focus on a new sound in each reader. IMO, great for kiddos struggling to make progress, not so great for variety of interesting sentences.

PM Readers by Nelson Cengage - These levelled readers use a variety of sounds in each book. They focus on a breadth of reading skills. IMO, great for kiddos who have a solid foundation of simple phonemic knowledge, not so great for beginners to read all by themselves.

Scholastic Australia non-fiction titles - These are also levelled readers and so contain a variety of words. They introduce facts and use a different structure than fiction stories. IMO, great for when you are looking to broaden the type of book exposure, not so great if the need is on phonics acquisition.

So go ahead, ask your librarian where that section has been hiding your whole life.