Leveled Reading Books

Early Reading Books

2010-03-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

Early reading books are often known by the name of Leveled Reading Books. When it comes to choosing this type of book for kids parents are often at a loss to understand what works.

Various publishers produce books designed to help kids learn to read. Unfortunately, some of the books are just not fun and are likely to put kids off reading rather than encourage them. Bob Books for instance are funny, but I've never met a kid who liked them. Maybe you know different.

The trouble is that there is a limited list of words which are suitable for kids at this early stage of reading and combining them into a book which makes sense and is attractive is an art that not all authors are versed in. Notable among fun books for early reading are those by Dr Seuss.

For a more extensive discussion of this topic and suggestions on early reading books, including fun choices from Usborne, take a look at the early reading books section at the site GreatFunBooks.com.

Leveled Reading Books

2008-11-03T12:30:00.000-08:00

Usborne titles are ideal for building a home or school library of leveled reading books. Books in The Usborne Reading Program are chapter-book sized, hardback, gift books with ribbon bookmarks. Currently selling for an equivalent of $5 per title (apart from the First Reading Level 1 Set) they are just right for stocking a shelf of books for a child to pick from as they step into and grow their reading skills. For an investment of $100 you can provide leveled reading books to cover at least a year's worth of reading growth for a child ages 3-9 yrs in the early, or intermediate, stage of learning to read.

Do children need these early reading books? Don't teachers take care of this kind of stuff? Can't I just use chapter books from the bookstore? According to Education.com "'Early Readers' at the store aren’t quite so “early.” They usually correspond to mid- to-high-range leveled readers from school." While some children move through the early stages of reading very quickly, others need small steps. This is the reading step that many children founder on, being stuck somewhere between starting to read and reading well enough to read chapter books from the bookstore and library. It's a critical step which parents can support their child through by providing fun, leveled, reading books such as books from the leveled Usborne Reading Program.

Usborne Leveled reading book sets start with the First Reading Level 1 Set which contains three colorful, engaging, classic tales, is suitable for 3-6 year olds, and is currently on sale for $18.95. Each book uses simple reading words, with 2-8 words per sentence. After the story are reading puzzles which are fun and aid comprehension. See inside The Fox and the Stork, one of the books in First Reading Level 1 Set at Usborne's UK website.

Sets continue up through First Reading Level 3, First Reading Level 4, Young Reading Series 1, Young Reading Series 2, Young Reading Series 3 Classics, Young Reading Series 3 Famous Lives, and Older Reader Gift Sets.

In the Young Reading series, level 1 denotes 1st grade reading level, level 2 denotes 2nd grade reading level etc. However, not all children are reading at the same level. What could be more off-putting to a child who is struggling a little with reading to see a grade level below where they currently are in school denoted on a book?

The best way to pick out appropriate books for your student is to work with someone who can answer your questions and make recommendations. With this in mind, please do e-mail me for personal attention to your questions using the Contact Us form at GreatFunBooks.com.

Learning to Read Activities #1

2008-10-13T19:15:00.000-07:00

Early reading preparation begins with talking to your child. This is your first learning to read activity because a child's vocabulary is critical in helping her when it comes to learning to read. I've noticed that some parents are natural chatter-boxes and talk a lot to their children. Other parents are not so chatty. Whichever type of talker you are is not that critical. The best way to grow your child's vocabulary is by sharing books with him. This is so important to understand that I'm going to say it again. The best way to grow your child's vocabulary is to share books with her. Books contain much richer vocabulary than everyday conversation. Books are also better than TV; when you are reading you are interacting with your child and you are there to explain and expand on what you are reading - something that's hard to do with TV. Learning to read activities really begin early in your child's development.

Hopefully you have a local library that can provide you with a source of quality reading materials to share with your child. However, you may want a selection of board books, a cloth book or two, and a couple of bath books for your child to call their own. Who wants their child to be chewing on a board book that has been in the mouths of countless other little ones? When budgets are tight think of the following:

You can request books as baby shower, birthday and holiday gifts for your child.
Ask friends and relatives for board books that their children have grown out of. Most board books are sturdy enough to survive several children and can be wiped down with a suitable disinfectant.
If you really want to grow a home library do leave me a comment or visit GreatFunBooks.com and contact me. I can help you to host an online book party and explain the Usborne business opportunity - both wonderful ways to bring stacks of books into your child's life.

Whichever route you choose for acquiring books, I hope you enjoy your first learning to read activities with your child :-)

Reading Sets

2008-10-10T14:18:00.000-07:00

Usborne Reading Sets will save you a total of $8-39 per set compared to buying individual books. Sets are suitable for all levels of readers from non-independent learning readers (age 4-5 yrs) to 4th grade equivalent readers (ages 10+).

Humor and interest in the stories is such that they are suitable for a wide range of ages as far as interest is concerned. This makes them suitable for children who's reading levels are delayed, ESL students, adult learning readers, gifted students and learning disabled students, as well as for reading to 3-6 year olds.

see the Usborne Reading Sets
includes books from First Reading, Young Reading and Gift Books for Older Readers
all books are hardbound gift editions with ribbon bookmarks
sized as chapter books but with varied reading levels - 1 sentence per page in First Reading Level 1 increasing in difficulty to that of a typical chapter book at Young Reading Series 3 and Gift Books for Older Readers
choose First Reading for age 3-6 yrs pre-readers and early readers, Young Reading series 1 for 1st grade, Young Reading series 2 for 2nd grade, Young Reading series 3 for 3rd grade and Gift Books for Older Readers for grades 4 and 5

Reading consultant - Alison Kelly.

Ready for Reading

2008-10-09T08:04:00.000-07:00

Ready for Reading is an Usborne First Learning workbook. It is designed for an adult and child to do together, providing practice for the skills which build toward reading and the confidence for a child to read their first words.

Activities included: spot the difference; story picture sequencing; odd picture out; find the letters; word matching; letter matching; sound and picture matching. The illustrations in this book are colorful and fun - follow cat and mouse as they prepare for a birthday party.

Title - Ready for Reading
Series - Usborne First Learning

Writers: Jenny Tyler and Robyn Gee. Illustrator: Graham Round. Reading Consultants: Gillian Hartley and John Newson.

Usborne Farmyard Tales Noisy Animals

2008-10-03T12:57:00.000-07:00

A Farmyard Tales interactive book that engages young children and teaches them to follow along with the story. Poppy and Sam take care of the animals on Apple Tree Farm by giving them their breakfast. Each page contains a cue for a sound effect. Your child presses matching pictures to hear 8 different sounds. The tractor brrrms; Rusty woofs; Daisy moos; Curly says "oink"; Clucky clucks; Woolly baas; Pippin neighs; and Ears says "eee-or"!

Title - Farmyard Tales Noisy Animals.
Series - Farmyard Tales.
Read this book to help a child learn to listen, to connect written words with their sounds, and to wait for the cue to press the picture.
Includes hidden ducks to find.

Author: Felicity Brooks. Illustrator: Stephen Cartwright. Designer: Matt Durber.

Stories of Haunted Houses

2008-09-29T15:54:00.000-07:00

A collection of three funny, fiction stories about haunted houses: Chillmore Castle; Highwayman's Halt; and Grimly Grange. Two to four sentences per page with fun illustrations. The characters in the stories sometimes talk in word bubbles and include: Max Moon, Norm Nuckle, a polite ghost, Polly Small, Jess the ghost horse, Darcy Buckle and Claude Aura (world famous ghost expert).

Title - Stories of Haunted Houses
Series - Young Reading Series 1
Fountas and Pinnel Level F/H
Suitable for mid-1st grade and 2nd grade reading level
Currently on sale (unti October 6th)
See inside at the publisher's site

Reading consultant - Alison Kelly. Writer - Russell Punter. Illustrator - Mike Phillips.

On Sale Until October 6th, 2008

2008-09-24T05:34:00.000-07:00

Every two weeks I offer you a selection of books at 40-70% off (while supplies last). Most are at 50% off. I can't think of a better way to encourage your child to love books than to pick something out from the sale list, unless it's buying them a big pile of books!

See the current sale for ordering online.

Ted and Friends C/V

2008-09-23T16:38:00.000-07:00

Ted and Friends is an Usborne C/V book - a combined volume where several books are combined into one binding. It contains the four popular phonics stories Ted's Shed, Sam Sheep Can't Sleep, Fat Cat on a Mat, and Toad Makes a Road. This books contains flaps and hidden Stephen Cartwright ducks for children to find.

Ted is working on his shed with tools and all his friends try to guess what he is building. Sam Sheep can't sleep and he has to tell all his friends by waking them up so that they can help him. Fat Cat climbs a tree and gets himself into a nest of trouble - where will this end up? Toad has no road to his house. But Billy the Goat says toads can't make roads. Can they?

Title - Ted and Friends
Series - Easy Words to Read Phonics
Includes flaps and hidden ducks
See inside
Consistently in the Usborne top 10 sellers list
Saves $17.97 compared to purchasing individual titles
Fountas & Pinnell Level C

A favorite for introducing children to phonemes for early reading.

Language consultant - Marlynne Grant. Writer - Phil Roxbee Cox. Illustrator - Stephen Cartwright.
For information on the words in this book and others in the Easy Words to Read Phonics Series visit here.

There's A Mouse About the House

2008-09-20T13:28:00.000-07:00

Consistently Usborne's #1 seller, Mouse About the House is a story slot book with a little mouse for your child to pass through the pages. Parents consistently tell me that this is their child's favorite book - the one they ask for over and over. Each page of the story has a dotted line for mouse to travel along as you read. On the back cover is a template to allow you to make a new mouse. Ordering through me, your Usborne consultant, supplies you with a lifetime half-price replacement policy.

Title - There's A Mouse About the House
Inside view
Develops: attention, fine motor skills, left to right tracking
One of Usborne's top sellers - currently #1 on our list

Author: Richard Fowler.

Complete Book of Farmyard Tales with CD

2008-09-18T06:31:00.000-07:00

Illustrated by Stephen Cartwright with a cute duck to find on every page. This book is a dual level reader. Dual level readers allow flexibility in how a story is read. At the top of the page is a simple sentence for parent or child to read. At the bottom of the page are 2 or 3 sentences which are a little harder reading level. You have the option to read one part, or both parts, depending on you child's attention span and reading ability.

Popular with families who have multiple children in the 2-6yr age range. A 2-3 year old can find the duck, a 3-4 year old loves the story, and a 5-6 year old can read some of the words.

Title - Complete Book of Farmyard Tales with CD
Series - Farmyard Tales
Inside view
Includes hidden ducks
CD contains all the stories read with a British accent (no page turning prompts)
Contains 20 stories and saves you $94 compared to purchasing individual stories
One of Usborne's top sellers - currently #5 in our list

Author: Heather Amery. Illustrator: Stephen Cartwright.

Shakespeare and A Midsummer Night's Dream

2008-09-15T13:58:00.000-07:00

Usborne selections related to Shakespeare:

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Young Reading Series 2 - 2nd/3rd grade reading level - age 7-12 yrs.
Romeo and Juliet - Young Reading Series 2 - 2nd/3rd grade reading level - age 7-12 yrs.
William Shakespeare IR - Young Reading Series 3 - 3rd grade reading level - age 9-15yrs. A 64 page biography with additional references to look up on the internet.
Stories from Shakespeare - 12yrs and up - ten well-loved Shakespearean tales, including A Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet.
IL World of Shakespeare - winner of the Times Educational Supplement Information Book Award. An encyclopedia of information related to Shakespeare - internet links to access at Usborne's custom designed educational and fun site. Designed for ages 11 and up, I've sold this to many adults because it's full of fascinating, quality information.

Reading Games - On Sale Until Sept 22nd, 2008

2008-09-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

This item is currently selling at list price. Reading Games - 32 pages full of ideas - list price $6.95

Games are a great way to help young children become readers. This book contains lots of simple word games that encourage the development of basic reading skills, such as sounding out letters, using initial letters as clues and recognizing groups of letters. The games are presented in a bright and colorful way and there are useful notes about the learning opportunities of each game and ideas for extending the games.

Stories of Cowboys

2008-09-10T17:28:00.000-07:00

A collection of three funny, fiction cowboy stories: The rotten rustler; Rodeo runaway; and Wanted! Two to four sentences per page - sentences to read top and bottom with illustrations in the middle. The characters in the stories talk in word bubbles and include: Johnny Spur, Pa, Clementine, Hank Horseshoe, and Big Bad Bart.

Title - Stories of Cowboys
Series - Young Reading Series 1
Inside view
Includes a glossary of cowboy words such as varmint
Fountas and Pinnel Level F/H
Suitable for mid-1st grade and 2nd grade reading level

Reading consultant - Alison Kelly. Writer - Russell Punter. Illustrator - Fabiano Fiorin.

On Sale Until Sept 22nd, 2008

2008-09-08T21:06:00.000-07:00

Every two weeks I offer you a selection of books at 40-70% off (while supplies last). Most are at 50% off with prices as low as $1.98 per book. I can't think of a better way to encourage your child to love books than to pick something out from the sale list.

See the current sale for ordering online.

Big Pig on a Dig

2008-09-06T05:53:00.000-07:00

Big Pig receives a letter which sends him off on a treasure hunt. During his hunt he encounters a map, a pirate hat, Fat Cat, a wig and... Well, you need to read the story to find out. This books contains flaps and hidden Stephen Cartwright ducks for children to find.

Title - Big Pig on a Dig
Series - Easy Words to Read Phonics
Includes flaps and hidden ducks
Earned the 2000 Parent Council LTD Award
In Easy Words to Read Set 1
Included in Accelerated Reader Set
Included in Accelerated Reader Library Set
Fountas & Pinnell Level B

Easy Words to Read Phonics Series

2008-09-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

Books in this series are both fun story books and also act as the first real reading books for young children. They are colorful, rhyming, phonics flap books with animal characters and a hidden duck to find on every double page spread. They are appealing to a wide range of ages. Parents who've also tried Bob Books tell me that their children prefer the Easy Words to Read books. Titles include: Big Pig on a Dig, Fat Cat on a Mat, Hen's Pens and Frog on a Log (with these titles being closer to reading level B). See inside a book in this series.

Easy Words to Read Phonics books are on an equivalent reading level to Little Red Readers.

Interest level - age 3yrs and up
Reading Level - 1st grade
Fountas and Pinnell Levels B, C
Full information on the words included

Book presentations available for some of the books in Easy Words to Read Phonics Series include:

board book $4.99
paperback $6.99
combined volume C/V - bind-up of 4 titles - $9.99
library - very robust binding which easily survives library and school use - $14.99
included in Bedtime Stories Set $49.99
Easy Words to Read Set 1 $33.95
Easy Words to Read Set 2 $33.95
included in Accelerated Reader Set $400
included in Accelerated Reader Library Set $900

Language consultant - Marlynne Grant. Author - Phil Roxbee Cox. Illustrator - Stephen Cartwright.

The Story of Chocolate

2008-09-04T05:23:00.000-07:00

An amusing history of one of our favorite treats which begins with the words: "A thousand years ago, chocolate was a big secret." The story includes: the discovery of chocolate; how chocolate was brought to Europe; the invention of the chocolate bar; the invention of Hershey's Kisses; and chocolate families including Cadbury and Mars.

Title - The Story of Chocolate
Series - Young Reading Series 1
Inside Views can be seen at Usborne UK (different cover from the USA version)
Includes a recipe for Chocolate Sauce

A favorite among moms who enjoy holding an Usborne Chocolate Party.

Reading consultant - Alison Kelly. Writer - Katie Daynes. Illustrator - Adam Larkum.

On Sale Until Sept 8th, 2008

2008-09-03T04:49:00.000-07:00

Every two weeks I offer you a selection of books at 40-70% off (while supplies last). Choose from around 20 different items with prices as low as less than $2 per book.

See them in full color for ordering online.

Young Reading Series 1

2008-09-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

Colorfully illustrated books for children just beginning to read independently. Titles include classic fables and fairytales, contemporary fiction and quirky non-fiction histories. Examples: The Billy Goats Gruff, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Nutcracker, Stories of Cowboys, The Story of Toilets and Telephones and The Story of Chocolate. See inside a book in this series.

Young Reading Series 1 books are on an equivalent reading level to Dr. Seuss The Foot Book and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. These books are both easy to read and contain interesting content (adults enjoy them too). The stories do not require the reader to memorize plot or characters so that the reader can focus on the task of successful reading.

Interest level - age 6yrs and up
Reading Level - mid-1st to 2nd grade
Fountas and Pinnell Levels F, H

Book presentations available for some of the books in Young Reading Series 1 include:

paperback $5.95-5.99
hardback gift book - includes built-in ribbon bookmark $8.95-8.99
library - very robust binding which easily survives library and school use $13.95-13.99
book with read-along CD, which includes sound effects $9.99
included in Illustrated Stories for Boys, Illustrated Stories for Girls, and Illustrated Fairy Tales $19.99
Young Readers Fiction Set $29.99

Welcome to the World of Usborne Books

2008-08-31T08:55:00.000-07:00

Come here to explore how Usborne books grow readers. Whatever age your child is you are sure to find helpful information. Reading is the key that unlocks so many things; it is my job to share what Usborne books can do. Whether you are a parent, aunt, uncle, grandparent, teacher, or tutor you are welcome here.

Whether you care most about your child's earning ability or happiness you are bound to hope that they will grow up in a satisfying way. Being an independent and capable reader is certainly a part of that. You may want to provide the tools for success rather than relying on someone else to do this. I can help you with that.

Through these pages I will provide detailed information on both specific Usborne books and on Usborne book series, with information on how to use Usborne books to grow readers. I will also highlight special deals that you can take advantage of so that growing a reader is economical for you. And last but not least I will do book give-aways.

Happy Reading!