Science says reading to your child is important. Not only does reading to your child develop language skills, but it builds empathy and emotional awareness. It also promotes a parent-child bond. When your child can communicate clearly, you can introduce Easy Reader Books so they can begin learning how to read themselves.
Easy Reader Books come in different levels for toddlers as young as three to school-age children. These books are an excellent tool to read with your child once they show interest in reading.
- What Are Easy Reader Books?
- How to Choose the Right Easy Reader for Your Child
- TrulyMama's Picks for the Best Easy Reader Books
- Easy Readers for Babies
- First Little Readers: Ages 3+
- Easy Readers for Phonics and Sight Words
- Classic Easy Reader Books
- Non-Fiction Easy Readers
- Easy Readers: Teachers' Picks
What Are Easy Reader Books?
Easy Reader Books are just as they sound. They are books written to engage children in developmentally appropriate text. Easy Readers are leveled based on age, language skills, and sentence structure.
Sometimes called Beginning Readers or Early Readers, Easy Readers include some of the following characteristics:
- Limited vocabulary
- Predictable text
- Simple sentence structure
- Picture cues
Each publisher has their own leveling system. However, their common goal is to provide books that challenge while building comprehension skills. Popular Easy Reader series include Step Into Reading and I Can Read.
How to Choose the Right Easy Reader for Your Child
The last thing we want as parents is to create a frustrating environment when our child learns a new skill. Reading is no different. Your child might show interest in reading, but if they are constantly frustrated while they learn, they’ll give up too soon.
Check the reading levels before purchasing Easy Reader Books to ensure they are developmentally appropriate for your child’s skills. Many publishers supply a recommended age range for their Easy Readers. They also typically lay out the required skills for each level and the skills children will gain.
As children get older, the subject matter of their books plays a big part in engagement. Be sure to choose books that will hold their interest, or better yet, let them choose for themselves.
TrulyMama’s Picks for the Best Easy Reader Books
Our Easy Reader selections cover a wide variety of topics and age ranges. We’ve got books for babies, toddlers, and beyond. There’s something on our list for every emerging reader. Which one is your favorite?
Easy Readers for Babies
Early Learning Library: 10-Book Boxed Set
Recommended Age: 0-3 years
It’s never too early to develop a love for words. Studies show that reading to your baby improves their language and communication skills. It becomes their basis for numbers and letters and gives them information about the world around them.
The Early Learning Library is a collection of ten board books featuring easy text suitable for newborns to three-year-olds. The topics include shapes, colors, animals, numbers, things that go, food, and more!
With books like the Early Learning Library, children learn a wide range of vocabulary words and discover everyday objects. Your baby might not know the pictures and words right away, but by consistently reading with your child, they might be able to copy your sounds and point to objects on the page by twelve months.
First Little Readers: Ages 3+
First Little Readers Parent Pack: Guided Reading Level A
Recommended Age: 3-6 years
With 25 titles that encompass a variety of topics, the First Little Readers set comes highly recommended by parents and teachers alike. Their Level A books feature one line per page of simple, repetitive text — perfect for new readers.
Best of all, this is a First Little Readers Parent Pack. It includes a parent guide full of tips to help you instruct your child during reading time. Many reviewers love the confidence these books instill in their little ones and how challenging yet manageable they are.
One Amazon reviewer writes: “These books are great for my kindergartener, who is so eager to learn to read— he uses his sight words and the pictures to be able to read each page on his own. He feels so proud to be able to read a book by himself.”
Easy Readers for Phonics and Sight Words
Pete the Cat 12-Book Phonics Fun!
Recommended Age: 4-6 years
This box set included 12 Pete the Cat books that familiarize young readers with long and short vowel sounds and common sight words. With a basis in phonics, these groovy Pete the Cat Early Readers teach children the relationship between letters and their sounds.
These Easy Reader Books are from the “I Can Read!” series and are categorized at the “My First” level. This level exposes children to repeated words and basic language and features colorful, engaging illustrations.
If your child is a Pete the Cat fan, then these are the perfect books for your eager reader!
Recommended Age: 4-6 years
The Little Skill Seekers: Sight Words workbook is the practical application you need for a child learning sight words. It features a variety of activities to reinforce sight words with speed and accuracy.
With this workbook, children strengthen their spelling and comprehension skills while improving their handwriting. Activities include coloring, word searches, mazes, and more.
“I recently purchased this activity book for my five-year-old kindergarten son, who was facing some challenges with reading. We have tried several other books before, but this one has become his absolute favorite. Beginning with straightforward 1-2 letter words, the book incorporates coloring, sentence construction with the words, and word scrambles—making it an ideal choice for little kids. My son has even started completing the activities independently, showing a keen interest and wanting to engage with it consistently. I wholeheartedly recommend this book! This MUST be the first reading-activity book for the little kids!” ~Amazon Reviewer
Classic Easy Reader Books
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
Recommended Age: 3-7 years
Dr. Seuss believed in the importance of words so much that he launched an early reader series called “Beginner Books” in 1957. Since then, children everywhere have been learning to read in the whimsical world of Seuss.
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish exposes children to counting, opposites, and rhymes. It uses short, simple words and picture clues so children can read independently.
One 5-star Amazon reviewer believes every child should have this book. “Such a great book! My son learned to like reading from this book. I have been gifting it to little kids every chance I get.”
Frog and Toad Are Friends
Recommended Age: 4-8 years
From the “I Can Read” series, Frog and Toad Are Friends is a Level 2 Easy Reader Book. It’s for children who can read independently but still might need a little help. “I Can Read” Level 2 books include engaging stories with longer sentences and language play.
Celebrate friendship with these five fun Frog and Toad tales. With stories about writing letters, losing buttons, and going swimming, children will love going on adventures with these two best friends.
“This well-loved children’s series has been able to withstand the test of time. The stories are simply written with humor that appeals to young readers. Frog and Toad Are Friends is a great book choice for emergent readers.” ~Amazon Reviewer
Non-Fiction Easy Readers
National Geographic Readers: Storms!
Recommended Age: 3-7
For the science-loving kids, National Geographic Kids has a line of Easy Readers about a ton of different subjects. This one about storms teaches children all about extreme weather in approachable, comprehensive language.
One 5-star Amazon review says this: “I love Nat Geo Kids books because they are interesting and not too difficult for emerging readers to get through. Highly recommend!”
Smithsonian Kids All-Star Readers: All About Dogs Level 1
Recommended Age: 3-5 years
This Smithsonian Kids All-Star Reader is a prime example of how to engage your child based on their interests. All About Dogs explores dog breeds, behaviors, training, and more while encouraging reading comprehension at a preschool and kindergarten level.
When children have finished reading, this book includes a quiz at the end to test comprehension. It also features a glossary of important words.
Easy Readers: Teachers’ Picks
Too Many Cats
Recommended Age: 3-6 years
This teacher favorite is a level 1 “Step into Reading” book about a bunch of cats who jump an old lady’s fence while she’s trying to enjoy some music. The rhyming text and colorful illustrations engage and delight little ones as they independently read about the singing cats.
One Amazon customer gave an amazing review of Too Many Cats in which they stated: “…I can easily see how the book, Too Many Cats by Lori Haskins Houran could be used with older children learning about adjectives, or with students to practice using a thesaurus.”
Recommended Age: 4-6 years
Another Amazon Teachers’ Pick, Ice Cream Soup is a level 1 “Step into Reading” book about a boy who turns his ice cream into soup by putting on one too many toppings. Amazon classifies this book as “[for] children who know the alphabet and are eager to begin reading.”
This book features rhythmic and rhythmic text as well as picture clues. It also uses large print and easy words so first-time readers can feel confident.
Recommended Age: 5-6 years
You may have noticed this is the second First Little Readers set on our list—for good reason. Teachers love this series for the skills children master at their guided reading levels.
Levels E and F are recommended for grades K through 2. These books feature longer sentences with more challenging words than the previously listed Level A books. Each page in the E and F books has up to five sentences, which promotes confidence for young readers at this level.
This pack includes 16 titles filled with simple text and picture cues and a parent guide.
Don’t just take our word for it. Check out this thorough Amazon review from a mom with every level of First Little Readers.
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