Author Brian P Cleary

Brian P Cleary is a prolific author who has written many books, including the titles below that are perfect for practicing different phonics patterns. Follow the sequence for teaching reading to introduce these.

  • Short u – “The Bug in the Jug Wants a Hug” by Brian Cleary
  • Silent e – “Nice Mice in the Rice” by Brian P Cleary
  • Vowel Teams: AI – “The Frail Snail on the Trail” & EA “The Peaches on the Beaches”
  • Digraphs: “Whose Shoes Would You Choose?,” “The Thing on the Wing Can Sing,” and “Spring in the Kingdom of Ying”
  • Diphthongs: “Whose Shoes Would You Choose?” and “The Clown in the Gown Drives the Car with the Star”

Check out his website at www.brianpcleary.com.

Learn about more phonics favs, and more books to target specific phonics skills at READ, just read

Animal Alphabet

The Animal Antics A to Z series by Barbara DeRubertis includes a book with each letter for teaching the alphabet. Each title is an example of alliteration, with the repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close to one another. Rhyme and alliteration help to develop phonological awareness skills.

Animal antics A to Z by Barbara DeRubertis

1.Alexander Anteater’s amazing act (Jan 2010)
2.Bobby Baboon’s banana be-bop (Jan 2010)
3.Corky Cub’s crazy caps (Jan 2010)
4.Dilly Dog’s dizzy dancing (Jan 2010)
5.Eddie Elephant’s exciting egg-sitting (Sep 2010)
6.Frances Frog’s forever friend (Sep 2010)
7.Gertie Gorilla’s glorious gift (Sep 2010)
8.Hanna Hippo’s horrible hiccups (Sep 2010)
9.Izzy Impala’s imaginary illnesses (Sep 2010)
10.Jeremy Jackrabbit’s jumping journey (Sep 2010)
11.Kylie Kangaroo’s karate kickers (Jan 2011)
12.Lana Llama’s little lamb (Jan 2011)
13.Maxwell Moose’s mountain monster (Jan 2011)
14.Nina Nandu’s nervous noggin (Jan 2011)
15.Oliver Otter’s own office (Jan 2011)
16.Polly Porcupine’s painting prizes (Jan 2011)
17.Quentin Quokka’s quick questions (Jan 2011)
18.Rosie Raccoon’s rock and roll raft (Jan 2011)
19.Sammy Skunk’s super sniffer (Sep 2011)
20.Tessa Tiger’s temper tantrums (Sep 2011)
21.Umma Ungka’s unusual umbrella (Sep 2011)
22.Victor Vicuna’s volcano vacation (Sep 2011)
23.Walter Warthog’s wonderful wagon (Sep 2011)
24.Xavier Ox’s xylophone experiment (Sep 2011)
25.Yoko Yak’s yakety yakking (Sep 2011)
26.Zachary Zebra’s zippity zooming (Sep 2011)

Find the book series listed at Goodreads, and download a printable list here:  Animal Antics A to Z series by Barbara DeRubertis. Watch Letter K read aloud!

more animal alphabet books:

  • ABC Animal Jamboree by Andreae, Giles
  • ABC Animal Riddles by Susan Joyce
  • Alphabet by Alex Lluch
  • Animalia by Graeme Base
  • 8, An Animal Alphabet by Elisha Cooper
  • Animal ABC by Marcus Pfister
  • Search and find alphabet of alphabets by Allan Sanders
  • Bembo’s Zoo by Roberto De Vicq de Cumptich

The Animal Alphabet Wakelet has links to videos and printables for learning the alphabet with animals! Find games and more resources at Learn the Alphabet.

Author Kevin Bolger

Books that are funny are especially popular with kids, which is why “Gran on a Fan: silly short vowels” by Kevin Bolger is a great choice for beginning readers. The author does a great job of creating fun stories while staying within the limitation of using words with short vowels. The illustrations by Ben Hodson are wonderful.

The author has other books for readers as they progress: “Lazy Bear, Crazy Bear” has a focus on long vowels. Two books with sight words are “See Fred Run” and “Fun With Ed and Fred.” Check out his website at www.kevinbolger.com.

Be a Super Reader

This slide presentation with literary artwork shows students the power of reading. The Superman READ poster for National Library Week 1984 from the American Libraries Association: Knowledge is REAL Power!

Reading gives you power: Every book opens up a whole new world. Reading is like magic: You can travel to another dimension. Reading has the power to take you anywhere! You can explore the world, go on adventures, meet people, fly away, visit other worlds. There are many doors to open; open a book and what will you find? You might open the door to imagination, to opportunities, to freedom. You can find answers and solutions, and have access to the greatest minds. You can build a stronger brain. Go above and beyond – READ! The English language can be a nasty beast, but it is one that you can beat!

The average child ages 8-18 reads less than three hours a week…but in that same week, watches television for more than 32 hours. (see video here)  With a television, you can also go on adventures, explore, travel, meet real or imagined people, and even learn. But reading offers a special benefit – it builds a strong brain.

It is universally acknowledged that television is enjoyable, it is easily accessible and extremely consumable. Television is visually attractive and provides instant gratification, but it is passive. It is an easier choice, but it is a path that often leads nowhere.

Reading is mentally active. It is a path that leads to opportunities for education and employment. Check out this Pinterest board with links to more articles about the benefits of reading.

Credit for artwork is provided wherever it was possible, but for some I was unable to find sources. Please contact me with any information regarding credits for artwork at https://www.facebook.com/phonicspow/.

 

READ, just read

photo of girl reading book
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Reading 20 minutes a day has been shown by research to have many benefits. Students who read 20 minutes a day from kindergarten through 6th grade are likely to score in the 90th percentile on standardized tests. Basically, reading makes you a smartie!

Smartie1

Below is a collection of great options for reading. Check your local library or a bookstore for books to target specific phonics skills, and explore the links below for books you can access anytime! Besides books and ebooks, your library may provide online access to resources like Bookflix from Scholastic – check with them.

This Symbaloo collection has links to many websites that provide books online. Some even include audio and/or video!

BEGINNING READERS

Decodable books contain only phonetic code that has been learned. Practice with words and sentences from Stickyball.net. Progressive Phonics has books that target phonics patterns that can be read online or printed. Harcourt provides decodable books: k6 thinkcentral.com-K | 1. Freereading.net also has decodable passages.

Emergent readers contain pictures for support and repeating text. shala-books provides emergent and transitional readers with audio. Beginning reads from textproject.org contain many color pictures.

MORE ADVANCED READERS

Check Reading Comprehension at Mr Nussbaum (passages w/audio & comprehension check), myenglishpages.com and K5 Learning (passages w/comprehension)

Classic Ebooks: Bygosh.com has ebooks for children, and Project Gutenberg has a children’s bookshelf with picture books and children’s literature. Loyalbooks.com has free classic ebooks and audiobooks, and free classic ebooks may be found at Manybooks.net and Planetebook.

With so many options, there is no better time to read than now!