Kids early reading
Expert-Approved First Reader Books
Hearing your child read words aloud for the first time is a lot like watching a baby take their first steps. There is the thrill of the milestone ("He can read all by himself!") balanced by the knowledge that there's still a long road ahead. Your child can use all the help and support you can muster to understand her true potential.
Thankfully, there are plenty of first reader books and early reading titles that have been created to meet newly independent readers (typically kids in kindergarten through 2nd grade) right at their level, with easy-to-follow plots, simple vocabulary, and lots of sight words. But the most important thing you can do to support your early reader is to help them love reading, and that means offering them a variety of book choices at their reading level to see what they gravitate towards, says Katie Carella, a former teacher and executive editor at Scholastic who oversees the Acorn and Branches book series for early readers. "When I was teaching, that moment where I saw kids light up about a book was when I knew I'd made a difference," says Carella. "If you miss that window in the first, second, or third grade, kids go on to say, 'I'm not a reader' and 'I don't like reasding.'"
Here, with input from Carella, Scholastic Parents has crafted a varied list of early reader books that will get your growing bookworm saying, "I love to read!"
For Kids Who Just Started to Read: Try a Simple Series
The books in the Acorn line provide kids an entertaining window into topics they care about (like friendship, pets, and magic), with engaging characters created by award-winning children's book authors and illustrators. They grow reading confidence with short chapters, each of which can be read as a stand-alone story. Each book has a Grade 1 Scholastic reading level, but is designed to appeal to kids in kindergarten through second grade. "As a teacher, it was hard to find fresh and engaging stories for this age group," says Carella, who conceived of and launched the Acorn line.
"I wanted to create books that could really light a fire in kids." One tip for parents looking to help a new reader along? Trade off reading the speech bubbles for each character with your child.
The first books in the Acorn line feature the laugh-out-loud A Crabby Book: Hello, Crabby, about a cranky crab who drives his friends crazy with his refusal to be cheered up; Unicorn and Yeti, a magical exploration of friendship; Hello, Hedgehog: Do You Like My Bike?, which offers emotional/social lessons, such as identifying how a friend might be feeling based on their facial expression; and Dragon: A Friend for Dragon, who goes through some hilarious mishaps that are the trademark of author Dav Pilkey of Dog Man fame. (The second book of many of these series is due out in September, so keep an eye peeled!)
Shop Books Created Just for New Readers!
For Kids Who Just Started to Read: Revisit Favorite Childhood Books
If you lived for the cuddles of a daily read-aloud routine with your littles, get ready to reap a serious payoff now.
Revisiting already-familiar books is a great way to build reader confidence, according to Scholastic Parents contributor Christie Burnett, an experienced early childhood educator and a mom of two. Kids already have a strong emotional connection to these books, and early childhood books share many commonalities with early reader books, like simple sentences and easy-to-decipher pictures. Even if your child can read these books from memory, "every word read, in each and every book, is valuable to their beginning literacy skills," wrote Burnett in an ode to board books. These so-called "baby books" are great options to revisit once your kids start reading on their own.
Childhood Books Early Readers Love and Cherish
For Kids Who Just Started to Read: Try Scholastic Level 1 Readers
The education experts at Scholastic use the latest research on children's literacy to develop leveled readers (levels 1, 2, 3) designed to build reading confidence throughout elementary school.
The Level 1 readers tell an engaging story with simple sentences and a mix of familiar words and new vocabulary — perfect for readers just beginning their literacy journey. A beloved character like Clifford, Noodles or Peppa Pig helps kids feel even more connected. Shop the full list of Scholastic Leveled Readers at the Scholastic Store Online.
Fall In Love With Reading With Level 1 Readers!
For New Readers Ready to Build Stamina: Try Branches Early Chapter Books
If your early reading is breezing along, nailing sight words and reading aloud at a natural-sounding clip, a Branches book series may be the perfect next step for them. Branches books are specifically designed to help early readers build stamina and work their way up to traditional chapter books. Branches books have more illustrations than more mature chapter books, but they offer more complexity than other early readers. The books have a Scholastic Grade 2 reading level, and are written to appeal to grades 1 to 3.
With accessible text, fast-paced plots, and plenty of cliffhangers, Branches books encourage kids to keep reading and reading.
One great way to get your kids into the book: Trade off reading chapters. If kids can connect to the first book in the series, they have a ready-made trove of reading material they'll love. "A lot of parents will tell me, 'Oh, we read the first book together, and then he stayed up all night reading the next three on his own," says Carella, who oversees the Branches series. With 20 Branches books in print, you're sure to find a character and storyline that will fascinate your early reader. Shop the full Branches series at The Scholastic Store Online.
Early Chapter Books That Build Stamina and a Love of Reading
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The Ultimate List of the Best Books for Beginning Readers!
Are you looking for the best books for beginning readers? Happily Ever Elephants has the ultimate list of early reader books for your kids that are just starting to decode and read.
Check it out below!
Early reader books are perfect if your kids are mastering sight words and decoding text!
My five-year-old and my twin nieces are in kindergarten. They are mastering sight words, decoding text, and are well on their way to reading.
My boy loves that he can pick up books now and read some of the words on his own. Even better? When he can pick up a book and read nearly all of the words on his own, with very little help from me.
This only happens, however, when he has just the right books.
What makes a story become one of our best books for beginning readers?
Here’s the deal.
Early reader books are VERY different from beginning chapter books. Early readers (also known as “beginning readers,” “emerging readers,” “easy readers” or, quite simply “kindergarten books,” all of which are used interchangeably here and elsewhere) have some distinct characteristics.
For example, the font in these early reader books is large, and the sentences are short.
Additionally, the pictures provide supportive clues to the reader. Finally, the text has a lot of repetition when it comes to structuring (often containing word families and rhyme), with simple and easily decodable words.
Is your child ready for this list of early reader books?
How do you know if your little one is ready for our list of books for beginning readers?
Your kids may benefit from beginning reader books if they are doing the following:
- (1) mastering sight words
- (2) beginning to decode unknown words, often through chunking the text (breaking words up into smaller components)
- (3) building their fluency to make their reading smoother and less robotic, and
- (4) self-correcting when the word they are reading doesn’t make sense.
Most importantly, remember that each publisher has a different system for “leveling” their early reader books. Thus, a “level 1” published by one imprint may be slightly easier or more challenging than a different publisher’s series of books.
That being said, no matter the publisher, when the numbers progress, so too does the complexity of the text.
When it comes to books for beginning readers, quality matters!
Before we get to our list of the best books for beginning readers, there’s one thing you should know. A lot of these books — I’ll say this as nicely as possible — just aren’t very good. Because they have to be so simple, the stories are often lacking. The problem with that? A dull story won’t typically fulfill the very critical function of engaging your beginning reader.
My son and I tested out a BUNCH of early reader books, and in our minds, these are the very best easy readers — the ones he always comes back to because they are engaging, silly, and fun.
And coming back to them is a GOOD thing.
When it comes to easy readers, the more times your child reads a book, the more he will hone and sharpen his skills, and the more his fluency improves. Since practice is key when it comes to reading, repetition is awesome.
So what does this mean?
The best books for beginning readers will help foster your child’s love of stories!
A good early reader book is vitally important to help foster an early love of reading! We hope you love this list of easy-to-read books for beginners as much as we do!
Happy reading!
RELATED: Do you want to check out all of our children’s book lists in one place? This is the link you need!
Frequently Asked Questions
What book is best for beginning readers?
Early reader books have several important characteristics that lend themselves well to early readers. These books include large fonts, short sentences, and pictures that often provide supportive clues to the readers. Additionally, the text typically contains a significant amount of repetition, often containing word families and rhyme. Finally, the best books for beginning readers contain simple words that are easily decodable.
What age is a beginning reader?
Every child is different! Some children may begin sounding out words in pre-kindergarten when they are only four years old. Others learn to read in kindergarten, typically around five or six. Some countries don’t even begin teaching kids to read until they are seven years old! The most important thing you can do is read to your child as frequently as possible. When he or she is ready, they will be sure to let you know. Children become readers at different ages, and that is a-ok!
What is your favorite book for beginning readers?
I will forever love Fox the Tiger because it teaches a phenomenal lesson in addition to being a great easy reader. I also love the Mo series of books (beginning with Don’t Throw it to Mo), because so many of my reluctant readers at school get hooked on this adorable series. Finally, See the Cat and See the Dog crack me up, every single time! There are so many wonderful early reader books, but these three will forever have special places in my heart!
Our Favorite Books for Beginning Readers
Bob Books: Set 1, Beginning Readers
By Bobby Lynn Maslen and John Maslen
I have to start off with the Bob Books because this is such a wonderful foundational set.
The first book begins with just four letters, and each story builds upon the last with new sounds added gradually. These beginning books contain short vowels and three-letter words (think consonant vowel consonant), making this a perfect first set for your newest readers. As the Bob books say, “with little books comes big success!” These are the perfect early reader books for your child. We read Set 1 and Set 2 for months and months!
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See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog
By David LaRochelle and Mike Wohnoutka
If ever an early reader book can make you laugh out loud, snatch it up for your kiddo immediately! That’s exactly what happened with this darling book and its companion, See the Dog: Three Stories About a Cat. We adore these funny early readers! In See the Cat, the reader is continually instructed to “see the cat.” But Max isn’t a cat – he’s a dog! How can he make both the audience and the narrator aware that he’s a dog, after all? These easy readers are clever, delightful, and fun spoofs on classic early readers.
And any book that bashes the fourth wall and speaks directly to the readers? Those are wins by me!
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Fox the Tiger
By Corey R. Tabor
This is my favorite of all the early reader books we’ve checked out to date, about a fox who really wishes he were a tiger instead. Clever, fun, and with an awesome message to boot, it’s no wonder this great book won the 2019 Theodore Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished book for beginning readers. For our full review of Fox the Tiger, click here!
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Don’t Throw it to Mo!
By David Adler and Sam Ricks
When it comes to getting kids to love reading, you’ve gotta get them books they will be interested in, right? My eldest son is sports-obsessed, and this fabulous series about a tiny, sports-loving boy named Mo is his favorite. If you have a sports fanatic at home, he will be eager to put down his ball and pick up a book when you try out these adorable stories about little Mo with a big heart.
Make sure also to check out Pass the Ball, Mo!, Get a Hit, Mo! and Kick It, Mo! We love this series of early books!
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The Ultimate List of the Best Books for Beginning Readers!
The Adventures of Otto Collector’s Set
By David Milgrim
We love this set of six early reader books about Otto the Robot and all of his great adventures! This is the perfect starter collection for new readers who are beginning to master sight words and decode words all on their own. Several books in this set have won Theodore Seuss Geisel Award Honors for being distinguished books for beginning readers. We can’t rave about this starter set enough!
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Big Egg
By Molly Coxe
When Hen wakes up to find a massive egg in her nest, she has no idea who it belongs to. Is it from the cat? The cow? The dog? Big Egg will keep your littles guessing until the end and then leave them with giggles.
And the best part? It’s a wonderful first book for beginning readers that conveys a message of love and acceptance.
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Drop it, Rocket!
By Tad Hills
Everyone’s favorite pup from How Rocket Learned to Read is the star of this early reader about Rocket and his eagerness to learn new words! Rocket loves learning the words for all of his favorite objects, and then putting the words on his special word tree. But, uh-oh! When it comes to the word “boot,” Rocket loves the red boot in his mouth so much, he won’t let it go — and if he won’t let it go, he can’t learn new words! There’s only one special object Rocket loves more than boots, but will it convince him to drop his prized possession? We love this book for beginning readers for its ease, but also for the way it champions books!
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Dancing Dinos Go to School
By Sally Lucas and Margeaux Lucas
Two Dancing Dinos love to jump right out of the book they are in and make mayhem wherever they end up – in this case, a library and a classroom! Great rhyme, a fun theme, and silly all around.
The Dancing Dinos are a hit in our house!
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Hot Dog
By Molly Coxe
Poor dog is so very, very hot, but no one wants to share the things they have that might cool him off! He can’t have some of mom’s lemonade, and cat won’t share her perfect spot in the shade. Will this hot little dog ever feel cold again? This is a darling early reader book and one of the easiest on our list!
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Pig Makes Art
By Laura Gehl and Fred Blunt
Pig makes art. Cat does not like Pig’s art. Will Cat ever have a change of heart? We love this early reader book’s expressive characters, the silly story, and the grumpy Cat who Pig cannot impress. My little one laughs aloud every time he reads this adorable story!
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Ty’s Travels
By Kelly Starling Lyons and Nina Mata
This dynamic duo can do no wrong, and this book for beginning readers is the sweetest! Ty is so excited to ride his new scooter at the park, but all he does is wobble while others zip and zoom past him.
Will he give up, or will his new friend be able to help him find the will to keep going? We love early reader books with sweet characters that celebrate persistence!
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Nothing Fits a Dinosaur
By Jonathan Fenske
What child doesn’t love bedtime shenanigans, especially when a dinosaur is involved? This silly early reader book showcases all the trouble that arises when trying to put a kid to bed – especially a kid who imagines he’s a devilish dino who can’t find anything that fits! This pitch-perfect rhyming early reader book will have your kids laughing out loud- and eager to begin deciding some of the simple words.
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Ice Cream Soup
By Ann Ingalls and Richard Watson
What child doesn’t love experimenting in the kitchen, especially with dessert? When one little boy’s attempts to make an ice cream cake turn into ice cream soup instead, your own kids will be racing to the kitchen to try to make soup of their own!
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Silly Milly
By Wendy Cheyette Lewison and Nadine Bernard Westcott
This entire early reader book is a riddle, one that will puzzle and challenge your kids the whole way through.
Why does Miss Milly like what she likes? This one makes our list of best early readers for the way it gets kids thinking and problem-solving, and for its lively, detailed illustrations that kids can pore over for hours!
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May I Please Have a Cookie
By Jennifer E. Morris
I love nothing more than a book about manners, especially an easy reader that reminds kids to say please and thank you with humor! We love anything that reminds children they won’t get what they want by grabbing, whining, or tricking their way into it. And this early reader book for beginning readers conveys that message in a silly and authentic way that your kids will love!
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Get the Giggles: A First Joke Boke
By Bronwen Davies
I mean, an easy-reader joke book? Yes, please! This one is definitely a bit more challenging, but I have no doubt your kids will be just like mine – they will walk around your house or classroom with the book in hand, telling anyone who will listen their new hilarious jokes! Gotta love a book that makes children laugh!
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One Hundred Shoes: A Math Reader
By Charles Ghigna and Bob Staake
Centipede has 100 feet, which means she needs 100 shoes! How on earth does a centipede choose shoes? If you have a little math lover at home, she will love this book and how it emphasizes numbers and pairs, all told in a fun, easy-to-read rhyme.
This is an adorable book for beginning readers!
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A Pig, A Fox, and a Box
By Jonathan Fenske
This Geisel Honor book tells the story of two goofy friends, a pig, and a fox, and the shenanigans they get into with one cardboard box. Humorous? Check! Illustrations that help tell the story? Check! Comic bubbles? Check! In other words, your kids will love both this one and its sequel, A Pig, A Fox, and Stinky Socks!
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Pig and Pug
By Laura Marchesani, Zenaides A. Medina Jr., and Jarvis
Anything illustrated by Jarvis is a winner in our home, and this easy-reader book has it all! Pig lives on a farm with many other animals, but the little guy has no friends! Until Pug comes along. They look similar and act similar, but Pug is definitely not a pig! From its message of friendship, acceptance, and inclusiveness to its adorable pictures, we adore Pig and Pug!
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What this Story Needs is a Pig in a Wig
By Emma Virjan
A pig in a wig, a boat in a moat with a frog, and a dog… need I say more? This adorable, cumulative early reader book incorporates word families, terrific rhyme, and vibrant illustrations, all of which make for one awesome easy reader.
Kids will love this one, the first in the Pig in a Wig series which contains several books!
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The Cookie Fiasco
By Dan Santat
In this book within a book, readers are first welcomed by Willems’ Elephant & Piggie who perfectly draw them into the story about one dramatic problem: there are four friends… but there are only three cookies! Whatever will they do? Will they find a way to share? Humor, problem-solving, and math skills make this a slam dunk on our list of best books for beginning readers!
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We Are Growing!
By Laurie Keller
Poor Walt! Though the grass is growing, he is not the tallest, the curliest, or even the silliest. But as the great lawnmower approaches, Walt discovers he has a special quality too. We love how this beginning reader inspires readers to embrace and love themselves, even when they think they have nothing special to bring to the table.
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HI! Fly Guy
By Tedd Arnold
A Geisel Honor and the first in an awesome series, these are some of our favorite early reader books because they are chock full of humor and fun! When boy meets fly, a beautiful friendship blossoms. Or does it? Boy takes Fly to The Amazing Pet Show, which will leave your children laughing and begging for more. My students are in love with the Fly Guy books, and the whole series is always on heavy rotation in our library! This is also a great easy chapter book for new readers.
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Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same
By Grace Lin
Ling and Ting are twins. They look alike, do everything together, and even have the same happy smiles. But do their similarities extend beyond their looks, or are they more different than meets the eye? The first book in a great series by award-winning author Grace Lin is a total winner! This series also spans both the best books for beginning readers and the easy chapter book category!
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Well? What are you waiting for? Grab some of these books, and watch your kiddos thrive! And be sure to check out our other great lists of books for beginners: beginning books for 6 year olds and kindergarten books!
About early reading: coercion or environment
In Russia, there are many both supporters of early reading instruction and its opponents.
The first since the year show cards with syllables to children and take them to special courses. The latter advise up to seven years to resist even the child's natural craving for letters. Our blogger Anastasia Mironova claims that her daughter herself learned to read at three, and believes that in a family with a developed reading culture, a child can start reading well early.
My daughter learned to read at three. At four and a half, she began to sit down in an armchair with a book and read it in its entirety. Oh, yes, before that, she suddenly began to write our names, the names of pets, the words "mom", "dad", "woman". And for almost a year now I have been making excuses, trying to prove to skeptics that my daughter learned all this herself! nine0003
No violence!
Even during pregnancy, my husband and I agreed that no one would forcefully teach a child to read, write, or count unless she asked herself. My husband is a primary school teacher, he worked at a Waldorf school and his position is tough: no coercion until the age of seven.
If he doesn't want to read at five or six, let him not read. We agreed that we would not push the child to knowledge.
But everything went wrong. Initially, our daughter liked us to read to her a lot. She devoured 5-10 books a day, she was interested. We read short poems, nursery rhymes, fairy tales to her and ran our fingers along the lines. Soon the daughter began to look closely at the letters. She spoke very early, so at the age of one and a half she could already ask what these lines were and what was written. She asked - we answered. They pointed to "o", "e", "y" and called. Well, what was to be done if the child was interested? nine0003
At exactly two years old, my daughter knew most of the letters. Itself! With, I repeat, the fundamental unwillingness of the father to forcefully teach and somehow stimulate interest in reading.
We were just driving in the car, and she suddenly pointed from the window at the signs and happily reported "O found it!", "E found it!"
At two and a half, my daughter knew all the letters exactly.
Someone gave her a wall-mounted alphabet with a recorded voice of the announcer for growth. We didn't want to turn it on, but the child asked. There were tasks: find letters, select words that begin with certain letters, look for numbers. None of us can say for sure how it happened that even before the age of three, our daughter successfully completed all these tasks, and threw away the alphabet. nine0003
When she was three and a half, she explicitly asked to be taught to read. Before that, she had already somehow understood what words were made of, she herself correlated sounds with graphic symbols.
It cannot be said that we specially taught her. At first she read monosyllabic words, then - words from the same syllables: "mom", "dad", "woman". Then - from well-mastered syllables. Nobody taught her the concept of a syllable, but she began to intuitively make a break in syllables, because the division into syllables itself was also invented on the basis of a natural flow of speech.
Also, the husband explained to her the basic difference between a letter and a sound - the daughter understood. nine0003
It must be admitted that there was no progress in reading for a long time. The daughter learned to read and at some point seemed to have abandoned this business
She did not want to read herself, for more than six months the rate of reading did not increase. And we thought that the child had lost interest in books. He was not specially stimulated, his daughter was not urged on. She could read one sentence at most and put the book down, still asking us to read it. This went on for about four years and a month and a half, after which there was a breakthrough in development. nine0003
Literally in a matter of days, my daughter began to pick up a book herself and sit down to read. At first I read slowly and aloud, a month later I learned to read in a barely perceptible whisper.
For me, this moment was a signal that the child was ready to enter a foreign language.
I already wrote about why I do not consider it necessary to teach my daughter English from the cradle. I patiently waited for her to start reading in Russian, and only then I started to speak a foreign language.
Our child's early reading is controversial. Relatives, who know me and my husband well and our rules of upbringing, only admire the maturation of our daughter and her seriousness, thoughtfulness. But strangers condemn. It turns out that there are many people, including educators and child psychologists, who simply do not believe that a child can show an early interest in reading, and who even consider such an interest dangerous, and therefore urge to refuse books in the early years. nine0003
Can you imagine? The child himself understood what letters are, every day he begs his parents to explain reading to him, and his parents refuse
For example, I can’t imagine such a course of events. Let's take a look at some of the most common misconceptions among laymen and educators about early reading, which our family has refuted by personal experience.
"Unable to six, period!"
The first and most doubtful statement for me is that children very rarely can themselves show interest in reading and master letters without a stick before the age of six. In all articles, from amateurish ones written for Internet forums to the works of psychoneurologist Vilenin Garbuzov, an average figure is indicated: allegedly, only one child out of a hundred is ready to read before the age of six. But that's not true! If you have read noble memoirs of pre-revolutionary Russia, if you have studied the biographies of European aristocrats, then you know that, on average, they learned to read there already at the age of three. nine0003
Vladimir Nabokov read from three. Pushkin learned to read late, presumably at five; Not being able to read even at five was strange in an aristocratic environment, such families were condemned. Because if a child grew up in a bookish environment, he learned to read early. If he didn’t know how, then there were no books and a tutor in the house.
However, for those who do not like the experience of the nobles, I suggest referring to the examples of relatives and friends. Ask at what age and how their children learned to read. You will be surprised that so many families read from an early age. For example, I went to school at five, it was an experimental program. I already knew how to read, count and write. My husband spoke at three, and at four he began to read. Neither my mother nor him remember how we learned this skill.
I have my own version of this: one full bookcase of children's books - and the child is guaranteed to read at the age of four, and quickly. If a child does not have any tangible deviations in development or health problems, he simply cannot but show interest in reading in a family where good books are read to him all the time. nine0003
A significant part of my daughter's books were still from the USSR - we specially bought used books, Soviet children's literature had beautiful illustrations and solid design.
My daughter is used to holding good books in her hands.
In three years, if not earlier, we recorded it in the library. In your name, of course. But at the age of three she was already walking and choosing books. Well, at home, of course, they read. Now she is four and five, she does not know how to play on a smartphone or tablet - she just never played with them. I saw the first cartoons after two and now I watch one cartoon a day. nine0003
I do not believe that there are children who, with such an upbringing, will not be interested in reading. If not at four, then at five years old in reading families, the child, as a rule, also reads. Moreover, he not only knows how to read, but takes a book and reads it. I see families in which children do not read until they are six years old: there they have been sitting on their phones for hours since six months, such children have at most a couple of dozen books, and even those are squeakers, whistles or for swimming. Our child had three or four crappy modern books with cardboard sheets and primitive computer illustrations, while someone else has no other books and no interest in reading.
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Another common misconception tells us that before the age of six a child is not able to master abstract concepts and that units manage to cope with this task at five. But even here it is not true! At the age of three, a child understands not just letters, he can explain what love, happiness are. At three, our daughter used words such as "tomorrow", "yesterday", "not soon". In all families where children did not grow up in front of tablets and TVs, they knew these words.
If you spend enough time with your child and talk to him a lot, he will learn the right words
This leads to the third myth. Almost all opponents of early reading believe that at 3-4 years old a child is not able to understand the definition of the words "letter", "sound", "syllable" and "word". And my child understood! And for many other parents, the children also coped. The difference between a letter and a sound, the meaning of the word "syllable", the daughter learned, if not at exactly three, then closer to four.
I'm afraid to scare respected scientists, but she even understood what a sentence is and guessed about the function of punctuation marks. Notice that no one forced the child to read books and did not explain - she asked herself. When she began to read several words at once, she had a question about the dot and commas. We explained - the daughter understood. She reads, albeit slowly, but intonation highlights punctuation marks. Moreover, the daughter herself writes! Nobody taught her this. For example, I saw my daughter signing a drawing. At the age of four years and two months, she herself drew a postcard in the kindergarten and signed "Postcard for Mom's birthday." nine0003
Political costs
I am convinced that the standards of teaching children to read in Soviet times were greatly reduced due to a sharp decline in the general level of culture and education. Tens of millions of uneducated masses poured onto the historical stage, many Soviet citizens became the first literate generation in their families.
Later training was connected precisely with this. And the late transition from kindergarten to school is with production necessity.
The child was in the garden for 10-12 hours, there were extensions, five-day kindergartens. He was at school until noon at most - if children were sent to the first grade at the age of five, they simply would not be able to take care of themselves. But the seven-year-olds were already going to lessons themselves, returning home, warming up dinner. nine0003
In the eighties there were attempts to transfer the first grade to kindergarten and take children to school a year earlier. These were zero classes at kindergartens or full-time classes at an elementary school, they were taken from the age of six, from there they immediately went, as a rule, to the second. I even got into the zero grade at the age of five - I was two months away from being six.
This program had to be closed precisely for economic reasons: it is expensive to support first graders full time, and there is no one to pick them up from school after four lessons.
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In countries where there was no monstrous humanitarian catastrophe, such as happened in Bolshevik Russia, children go to school early. In the UK, first grade is given at five, children immediately learn English, mathematics, natural history, music there, and many children already know how to read by school. In the United States, it is rare that they go to school at six - mostly children start school at five. Everyone is reading by six.
Seven years for school and for reading is too late in my opinion. Two or even three years of reading is a colossal omission. Some children will never be able to fill the gap that has been created. I know this for sure as a child who learned to read early. At the age of seven or eight, I was already reading books from the Adventure Library series: Montezuma's Daughter, Captain Fracasse, Fifteen-Year-Old Captain. My girlfriends were reading Kolobok. At twenty I was reading Proust, and my girlfriends were reading Paolo Coelho. I see such a gap in reading among everyone who learned to read early.
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Children are able and willing to learn to read at four or five years of age. The only question is whether they see good books at home.
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"You can't work for a result with a small child": teachers and psychologists about children's reading
A small child must read - this is an axiom. It is not clear when exactly it appeared, but those who were born in the 70s and 80s already fell under the “you already knew all the letters at the age of three”, and the author of this text included. nine0003
And if 30 years ago a child reading at the age of four attracted the attention of others and evoked admiring approval, then today the parent of a child who does not know the letter at the same age will surely hear that, in fact, "it's high time".
TASS spoke with leading Russian experts in children's reading about how and when to start reading with children, how to choose books for different ages, how gadgets affect reading learning, and why early development is not a guarantee of successful learning in the future.
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Start with yourself
Parents tend to be more or less ambitious about their children: each of them has their own idea of the path to success, but many will agree that reading is important. So, you need to make sure that the child loves to read. But how?
Dozens of educational methods are ready to answer this question: early development, reading on cards, reading in whole words and in syllables; parents are offered to buy a floor covering with an alphabet, to hang an alphabet over the bed for a barely born child, and as soon as he learns to hold objects in his hands, give cubes with letters. nine0003
Other adults, recalling their childhood unhappy experience of learning to read, prefer to leave the child alone until school.
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Pictures from childhood
What is the most correct way? Teacher, literature teacher Dima Zitser believes that parents who dream of seeing a child with a book should first of all take a critical look at themselves.
"A child in the first years of life learns everything by looking at his parents: he copies their behavior. Looking at them, he tries to hold a spoon, brush his own teeth and put on shoes. And read books too. Do you want the child to read? Read for yourself "If you want to swear? Swear. If you want to suppress others, suppress each other. You will get the result very soon." nine0003
According to the teacher, it is worth answering honestly to yourself the question: why do I want my child to like to read?
“First of all, you need to stop lying to yourself and your children, saying that a book makes you richer, more successful, happier,” explains Dima Zitser. “Because there are many examples of successful, rich people who saw Dostoevsky and Tolstoy in a coffin in white slippers , art, theater. Are they unhappy? No! Probably, those who live next to them are unlucky, but they feel great. The book has not been the main source of knowledge for a long time - today we have computers, gadgets, lectures, online courses And the child will very quickly feel this lie.
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To make one feel that reading is a great pleasure, that it is fun, interesting, that books help to fantasize, dream, interact with reality - yes, it is possible. The child should have a reason to be interested and ask for a book. But for this, reading must be part of the family, parental culture
It is useless to explain to a child that a book is great if the parents themselves are always on the phone or in front of the TV. Phrases like "Do something useful, read", said at the same time, lead to the opposite effect: the child feels that he is superfluous, unnecessary, that they just want to get rid of him. Yes, pictures will be viewed. Text is read. But that has nothing to do with what we call "liking to read." nine0003
Book VS gadgets?
Millions of parents, grandparents and teachers consider gadgets to be almost the main enemy of children's reading. There are even classes for the treatment of gadget addiction, a method for teaching writing with fountain pens and ink has been developed.
Gadgets are withdrawn or never bought to the child. But is this method of struggle effective and do prohibitions help in achieving the sacred goal - cultivating love for the book?
© Janine Schmitz/Photothek via Getty Images
"There is an age when it is better not to give gadgets to children, or to do it very rarely and not for long. This applies to very young children - one or two years old," says Natalia Malakhova, chief librarian of the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Pedagogy of Children's Reading of the Russian Children's Reading Library, child psychologist. later, after four or five years, gadgets can be introduced into the daily routine - for a certain, limited time. It is very important how we give the gadget: if a mother puts a tablet to the baby so that he will let her chat on the phone, there is nothing good in it" . nine0003
Too much enthusiasm for gadgets does not arise from nowhere: it is often the result of the wrong behavior of parents who ignore the child.
If a mother gave a gadget to “untie” her hands, the child reads that it is bothering her. It’s a completely different matter if she sat down nearby to choose a cartoon together or play an educational game.
“Declaring war on gadgets is a deliberately failed idea, this is the beginning of the road to hell,” says Dima Zitser. “A child under five or six years old loves to do everything with his mother. great. And then also sculpt together from plasticine, draw, cook borscht and go for a walk." nine0003
Diaper reading?
Reading to a child during pregnancy is one of the "commandments" of supporters of the early development of children. And when the child is born, you need to start introducing him to letters and books as soon as possible.
"In fact, if a mother emotionally shows pictures to a baby, he will be interested, but not because the book captivates him, but because he reads the mother's emotions, he likes the shapes in the pictures, the tactile sensations from touching the pages," — explains teacher and children's writer Marina Aromshtam.
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Books made of felt, velvet, fabrics of different textures, fur, the so-called quiet books can attract the attention of a child, they develop fine motor skills, but they are perceived by him as a toy, and not as a source of plot.
"Some mothers are zealous and read rather complex texts to their babies," says child psychologist Natalia Malakhova.
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With regular training, a child can really learn to read very early, even at two or three years old. But this skill will not affect his success in the future.
"It is impossible to teach a small child to read by force. Those who promise to do this very early are cunning," says children's writer and teacher Marina Aromshtam. "There are patterns in a child's development: it is no coincidence that for 100 years psychologists have determined the threshold when schooling can begin. literacy. He is between five and seven years old.
It is by this time that the baby develops conscious speech, he can use complex grammatical constructions and understand their meaning. We believe that if a child is already able to speak at three years old, then his speech is fully formed and he is ready to learn. But psychologists are shifting us a couple of years later. Yes, there are children who, due to their individual abilities, can learn to read earlier than others, even at three years old. But this is rather an exception to the rule." nine0003
Experts believe that it is very difficult for a child to concentrate physically at a preschool age, and reading requires not only recognition of signs, but also understanding which sound corresponds to a sign, which sign precedes in a syllable, which one will follow it. At a time when the main way of knowing reality for a small person should be a game, he is overloaded with reading, which in the future can lead to loss of motivation, isolation and neuroses. In addition, by the time a child reaches the age of seven, the variations in early school reading are likely to fade.
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There is nothing wrong with looking at pictures of letters together with the mother if the child likes it. But if he wants to look at the beetle, he must go and look at the beetle. If at the same time the beetle looks like the letter "Zh" - pay attention to this baby
"But you can’t work for a result with a small child. the child is not ready. And this destroys cognitive attitudes and the desire to learn." nine0003
Time to read
When to start reading so as not to harm the child, and what books to offer him?
"If a child is already able to keep his attention on a picture, examines books with interest, this is a sign that he is ready to perceive the text," says Marina Aromshtam. to explain in one's own words, in emotional phrases - this is the so-called ritual. Later, the child becomes very sensitive to the purity of the text. " nine0003
© Artem Geodakyan/TASS
Just a few years ago, Wimmelbuchs and picture books appeared in Russia, in which there is no text at all: a parent with a child invents a story by looking at the drawings.
This requires a lot of effort from an adult, but the child in this process is in close contact with him, he develops speech and thinking. Marina Aromshtam believes that an important rule that must be observed in order to captivate a child is self-interest.
"You need to read to your child what you yourself are interested in," the teacher says. nine0003
The child reads the emotions of the parents, he is very attuned to the parent and feels what the parent likes and what not. If a parent is bored, the child will immediately understand this and it will be passed on to him. Parental interest, on the contrary, will draw the kid into reading
The book should not contain episodes or details that are incomprehensible to the child: if the text about cars talks about the crankshaft, it should immediately be clearly explained what it is. If you offered an excellent, in your opinion, book, but the child rejects it, slams it shut, do not insist: perhaps he has not grown up to it, or now he is interested in other things.
