usborne phonics readers

"Crow starts hopping to and fro. He picks up sticks, some stones and cones... And look -- a crow made out of snow." The 20 books in the Usborne Phonics Readers boxed set are full of intentional language that will help your little ones gain confidence in reading. And they're a hoot, to boot!

The words in these books are simple and have easily distinguishable lines - but the stories themselves are fun to read and are paired with playful illustrations. Fat Cat on a Mat, Toad Makes a Road, Big Pig on a Rig, Llamas in Pajamas... each book focuses on a few different sounds, and those sounds are repeated regularly throughout each story. 

The boxed set collection features books written by four different combinations of authors and illustrators, which is nice because each pair has a slightly different book structure, so you don't feel like you're reading the same thing over and over. 

It's that book that opens up a world of books for your young reader. ​

Book benefits:

• Small paperback books are easy for small hands to hold
• Stories and illustrations are playful and creative - they doesn't feel like school work :) 
• Each of the 20 books in the boxed set has a different topic, engaging readers with varying interests
• Each book in the series focuses on a few different phonemes (sounds of letters)
• The books include a page at the back with tips for helping read intentionally with your child

The six books illustrated by Stephen Cartwright in the set also include fold-out flaps on some pages, adding an extra dimension of interest:

Books in the Phonics Readers series can be purchased individually or as the boxed set:

• Check out the individual books (paperback, $6.99 each)
• Buy the complete set of 20 books here and save 50%! (paperback books in heavy-duty cardboard case, $69.99)

And did you know? Usborne actually has a whole collection of resources available to help young kids start to read:

• There's a whole website devoted to their reading program, including resources for parents and teachers: Very First Reading
• Teach Your Monster to Read, a free program with games designed to help kids at different levels of the reading process (free to play on the computer, but also available as an app for phone and tablets)
• Phonics books like the boxed collection described in this post
• The "my first reading" library that includes 50 books from Usborne's early reading program
• A "very first reading" set that includes 15 books for young readers
• A smaller "starting to read" pack that includes eight Very First Reading books, activity book with stickers, and a poster
• On the Usborne website, you can also sort books based on reading level - beginning reader, Accelerated Reader, and Lexile