The best phonics books for kindergarten. Perhaps you’re homeschooling and just starting to teach your child to read. You may be looking for decodable readers to help your child build confidence. Or, you may be a classroom teacher looking to build up your kindergarten phonics library.
Whether you’re looking to engage a resistant learner or need extra phonics books to reinforce reading concepts, you’re in the right place. Here are some of the best phonics books for kindergarten through middle grades.
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Best Phonics Books for Kindergarten
Today, when referring to phonics books, we’re talking about books written specifically to support your child’s developing skills.
The following list includes some of the best phonics books to help your emergent reader. Specifically, this list contains decodable readers with simple sentences and simple words for emerging readers.
Additionally, I share recommendations for a couple of complete phonics programs.
Bob Books Set
Bob Books are a wonderful resource that has been around since 1976 when first published.
This collection of readers is written with extremely simple text made of short sentences for emergent readers.
Each box set contains multiple independent readers that focus on basic letter sounds and vowel sounds.
Some of the Bob Book sets include:
- Beginning Readers
- Kindergarten Sight Words
- Animal Stories
- Complex Words (with long vowel sounds and consonant blends)
Additionally, Bob Books has a collection of pre-reading box sets that are to be read aloud to children.
Each pre-reading box set is focused on a variety of pre-reading skills to lay a solid foundation for reading.
All About Reading
All About Reading is one of my favorite Orton-Gillingham phonics reading programs.
Their kindergarten phonics program contains decodable texts that encourage young children in their reading.
So, if you’re looking for a complete phonics program, this All About Reading is a great option.
The curriculum is not based on grade level but rather is based on developmental reading levels.
This is one of the benefits of an Orton-Gillingham approach to reading instruction.
It’s systematic and sequential which means children don’t miss foundational phonics.
Additionally, the parent guide makes teaching reading a breeze with detailed lesson plans to support you.
For a more in-depth review of the entire curriculum, Orton-Gillingham and All About Reading: Why They Work!
Logic of English Decodable Readers
Logic of English is a full Orton-Gillingham curriculum based on the science of reading.
If you’re looking for a full phonics program with a research-based approach, you’ll definitely want to consider it.
However, if you’re simply looking for additional decodable readers to support your child’s reading, Logic of English sells those separately.
The illustrations are colorful and engaging and the books are beautifully decodable to help your child build their reading fluency.
What are Decodable Readers?
Decoding is the process of taking individual sounds and blending them into words. Decodable Readers are books written using the phonetic codes that have already been learned.
Decodable books can help boost your child’s confidence by giving them phonics readers that they can read fairly well.
Reading-Literature Free & Treadwell
The Free and Treadwell book series is a wonderful collection of first readers for young students. The books are simple stories, nursery rhymes, poems, and fables for a classical approach.
I recommend reading these books with your child as a part of your reading instruction time. Because these are classic works of literature, you may need to translate an old English word.
Additionally, there are more sight words than I prefer for beginning readers. As such, I recommend them once your child has moved beyond CVC words.
Primary Phonics
Primary Phonics has a great selection of leveled readers for kids to practice reading.
These books are the creation of School Speciality the publisher of Explode the Code. The first book in Level 1 of Primary Phonics begins with Mac and Tab.
It focuses on closed-syllable CVC words with the short “a” vowel sound.
Complete Sets of Decodable Reading Books
In the end, Primary Phonics has six complete sets of decodable readers for young readers that address the following phonics skills.
- Initial consonant sounds, short vowels, some sight words
- Long vowels
- Blends, two-syllable words, and compound words
- Digraphs and R-controlled vowels
- Final -y sounds
- Soft c, g, and -dge
Use just the Primary Phonics reading books or, you can use the phonics and comprehension workbooks for a complete phonics program.
Sing, Spell, Read, and Write Readers
Sing, Spell, Read, and Write is a homeschool reading curriculum created decades ago. The phonics books are perfect for beginning readers at the kindergarten reading level.
Explode the Code
Take a look around my website and you’ll see that I LOVE Explode the Code. While they aren’t phonics reading books, they are one of the best Orton-Gillingham tools.
I love them because they can be done independently to support your child’s phonics, reading, and spelling skills. For more, read my complete review of Explode the Code: Why It Works for Neurodivergent Kids.
Learn to Read: Phonics Storybook
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Learn to Read Phonics Storybook is a large workbook filled with 25 simple phonics stories.
While each story contains a few common words (or sight words), overall, the stories follow a structured approach to reading.
Additionally, each story contains colorful illustrations to keep kids engaged. Further, following each story, there are a couple simple activities to help your child work on fine motor skills and spelling.
In the end, I think this Learn to Read: Phonics Storybook workbook is a useful resource to support any kindergartener’s reading skills.
You can get it for free with your Kindle Unlimited Subscription or purchase the workbook.
Alpha-Phonics
Samuel L. Blumenfeld created Alpha-Phonics in 1983 and it’s still widely hailed. Alpha-Phonics uses systematic instruction in one book.
Each of these easy lessons is meant to be completed with both parent-teacher and student.
Follow the teaching instructions for each lesson and slowly watch your child turn into a reader. Warning you now. This program is not flashy at all.
It doesn’t include any illustrations, but the lessons don’t take a long time and can be highly effective.
- Lesson 1 starts with the short “a” sound and blends it into the following words:
- am, an, as, at, ax
- Lesson 128 works on y as short “i” sounds
- cyst, gymnast, symbol, etc.
The point is that this phonics book is a complete program to support your child for many years.
You can access the book for free on Kindle Unlimited or download a PDF free from a website called Camp Constitution.
Alpha-Phonics Companion Readers
Barbara Simkus created these Alpha-Phonics Companion Readers to be used with the original Alpha-Phonics program.
She encourages parents to work through specific lessons in the Alpha-Phonics program.
Once those lessons are complete, have your child read the corresponding companion reader.
These are great beginner readers to provide extra support for your child while working through any phonics program.
ABC See, Hear, Do Readers
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ABC See, Hear, Do Readers are the epitome of multi-sensory learning.
These phonics readers rely on movements and hand motions to teach phonics sounds. In my opinion, creator Stephanie Hohl is brilliant.
If you have a child who’s a wiggly worm (ADHD diagnosis or not), this program is a great option. For example, the consonant blend “st-” is taught as such:
ABC See, Hear, Do is perfect for kinesthetic learners who need physical movement to learn.
The bonus is that you can access the entire series on Kindle Unlimited and add it to your child’s Amazon Fire for independent practice.
Additionally, these would be fun to use in small groups of preschoolers up to second grade. I see this as an excellent support tool to teach phonics, reading, and spelling.
Dr. Seuss Books
Often, the best way to teach a child any skill is to make it fun. And no one does it better than Dr. Seuss.
Friend, your child can practice phonics skills and have so much fun. Simply read the classic Dr. Seuss books that we all know and love.
Quite frankly, I’d argue that the classic Dr. Seuss books are better than some of those written in complete phonics programs.
In fact, Theodor Seuss Geisel wrote the original Cat in the Hat in response to the boring early phonics readers of his time.
Take Hop on Pop, for example.
Start with Hop on Pop
Hop on Pop is a great book for first-time readers such as those in kindergarten or first grade.
The entire book rhymes beautifully with simple CVC words and other simple word families throughout.
If you’re looking for solid and fun phonics books for your child, many Dr. Seuss early readers are a perfect choice.
Some of my favorite titles for early reading include:
- Hop on Pop
- The Cat in the Hat
- Green Eggs and Ham
- A Fly Went By
Each title is rooted in decodable words with a few common sight words throughout. Because Dr. Seuss’s books can run long, try partner reading with your child.
You read a page or two, and then have them read a page. Take their lead, and most importantly, make it fun.
Rhyming Books
When discussing the best phonics books for kindergarten, it’s important not to overcomplicate things.
There’s enough stress out there on homeschool parents and teachers to get kids reading, that we often miss the obvious.
Rhyming books are underrated and yet so valuable to any child’s reading journey.
As mentioned earlier, rhyming is a critical phonological awareness skill that’s foundational to a love of reading.
Collect a pile of the best rhyming books and read them with your child. On the other hand, when they’re ready, have your young reader read them to you.
I Can Read- HarperCollins
HarperCollins created a series of I Can Read Books often based on popular shows or characters. They do this to appeal to young kids.
Unfortunately, they’re often poorly marketed to parents.
For example, these books are marketed with phrases such as “My First I Can Read” listed on the covers of their books.
If you’ve ever picked one up, you know they’re rarely written for beginning readers. To give you an example, this series of Pete the Cat books is described with the following labels:
- Phonics
- Features short and long vowel sounds
When you open these readers, however, you’ll notice that they don’t have a strong emphasis on phonics. They’re filled with complex words and lots of sight words.
Use with Caution
All that to say, do not mistake these for phonics books for kindergarten readers. I recommend them to fluent readers. Specifically, I’m sharing these books as an option for more advanced kindergarten-age children.
A benefit of books like these is that they can motivate a resistant reader to pick up a book. This free printable reading chart may help encourage your child to read more often.
Phonological Awareness
Young children need lots of pre-reading skills to support them as they learn to read. These skills are referred to as phonological awareness skills.
Phonological awareness is the understanding that spoken words can be broken into smaller sound chunks. (We’re specifically referring to the ability to “hear” the sounds of words.) Some phonological awareness skills include the following.
- Identifying how many words are in a spoken sentence
- Counting syllables
- Rhyming
- Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear the smallest units of sound within a word. Those units of sound are referred to as PHONEMES. For example, in the word CAT, there are three phonemes.
- Hard c (“k”)
- Short a (“a”)
- T sound (“t”)
Many of these skills develop naturally. However, they’re essential skills that must be established before formal reading lessons.
Don’t assume your child has these skills without checking first.
When your child can “hear” and verbalize that the word CAT is made of these three sounds, you know they’re ready for phonics lessons.
What is Phonics?
In a nutshell, phonics is the sound-symbol relationship (or the alphabetic principle). This is when a child can hear a sound and correctly identify that it’s represented by a letter symbol.
For example, when you say the short “a” sound, your child can identify it with the letter A symbol.
Sound AND Symbols
In other words, phonological awareness is solely based on sound. Whereas phonics refers to sounds and symbols coming together.
Phonics instruction:
- connects phonemic awareness to alphabet symbols
- should be systematic in approach
- is explicit (sound-spelling relationships are explicitly taught)
- progresses gradually with one or two new sounds at a time
- includes lots of opportunities to practice
When teaching your child to read, it’s important to use a phonics approach.
Recap: Phonics Books for Kindergarten
Whether your child is in kindergarten or going into second grade, finding the right phonics books is essential to equipping your child to read.
Once your child has a solid foundation in phonological awareness, it’s time to begin phonics.
It’s often best to choose a complete phonics curriculum based on the Orton-Gillingham method. Then be sure to collect a variety of phonics early reading books for your child to practice and enjoy.
Remember, don’t try to rush through foundational reading skills to be “on grade level”. It’s never worth it.
I hope this list of phonics books was helpful. Now, it’s your turn. Did I miss some of your favorite early readers?
Does your child struggle to remember?
What they’ve read? Multi-step directions?
What you asked them to do 5 min ago?
If so, take the Homeschool Teacher Training to help!
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