This video was created by the reading specialists with the help of several CFB students. Please watch our video to discover what you can do when your child struggles with some harder words in texts.
Below are links to websites with games, activities, and information specifically chosen for your children. Several of these links (Which Book to Pick?, Reading Terms, and Why Read?) are links to documents which can be printed for resources at home. These documents are also attached at the bottom of this webpage.
Picking the Right Book level
If you are looking for some "just-right" books for your child, please browse the list below.
A just-right book is at the child's instructional level. Instructional means that s/he can recognize between 90 and 94 words out of every 100 words and is able to comprehend the text. Below is a list of books that are leveled from A (the easiest) to Z (the most difficult). The list can help you in choosing books with your child at home, at the library, or at the book store.
Children in kindergarten typically read books from levels A to D. First graders generally read books from levels C to I/J. Second graders usually read books from levels I/J to M. Third graders typically read books from levels N to P. Fourth graders usually read books from level P on.
Please note that most children try to select books that are too hard for them to read. This might seem harmless but reading at too hard of a level can frustrate them and can create bad habits of skipping over errors, limiting understanding, and weakening their fluency. Reading too-hard books can also become a way to talk about how many pages were read or how advanced the books are that were read. Remember, we want to foster a love and enjoyment of reading!
LEVELS A & B
Do You Want to be my Friend? by Eric Carle
Have You Seen my Duckling? by Nancy Taturi
Have You Seen my Cat? by Eric Carle
At the Farm by Peter and Sheryl Sloan
LEVEL C
I Went Walking by Sue Williams
Rain by Donald Crews
Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? by Bill Martin
Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomi DePaola
When Itchy Witchy Sneezes... by Joy Cowley
LEVEL D
Happy Birthday Danny the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff
Flying by Donald Crews
Where's Spot? by Eric Hill
Bears on Wheels by Stan & Jan Berenstein
Dan, the Flying Man by Joy Cowley
Wake up, Mom! by Joy Cowley
Lazy Mary by June Melser
LEVEL E
Just Like Me by Barbara Neasi
Oh, Cats by Nola Buck
All By Myself by Mercer Mayer
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow
The Jigaree by Joy Cowley
Morris the Moose by B. Wiseman
LEVEL F
Shhh! by Kevin Henkes
Cookie's Week by Cindy Ward
Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins
Teeny Tiny Woman by Jane O'Connor
Soccer Game! by Grace Maccarone
Sick in Bed by Peter and Sheryl Sloan
Who Will Be My Friends? by Syd Hoff
LEVEL G
Biscuit by Alyssa Capucilli
Carrot Seed by Robert Kraus
Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
Sheep in a Jeep by N. Shaw
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin
Snail Saves the Day by John Stadler
LEVEL H
Bailey Goes Camping by Kevin Henkes
Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
Just Me and My Babysitter by Mercer Mayer (series)
Just Me and My Dad by Mercer Mayer
Just Me and My Little Brother by Mercer Mayer
Whose Mouse Are You? by Robert Kraus
LEVEL I
Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan Londan (series)
Night in the Country by Cynthia Rylant
Are You My Mother? by Philip D. Eastman
Hattie and the Fox by Mem Fox
We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
LEVEL J
Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
Curious Geoge Goes to the Hospital by Margaret Rey
Henry & Mudge: The First Book by Cynthia Rylant (series)
Little Bear by Else Minarik
Mr. Putter and Tabby Bake the Cake by Cynthia Rylant (series)
LEVEL K
Arthur Babysits by Marc Brown (series)
Bedtime for Francis by Russell Hoban
Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell (series)
If You Give a Moose a Muffin by L. Numeroff (series)
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
LEVEL L
Cam Jansen by David Adler
Horrible Harry by Suzy Kline (series)
Judy Moody by Megan McDonald
Triplet Trouble by Debbie Dadley (series)
Amelia Bedelia chapter books by Peggy Parish (series)
Miss Nelson is Missing! by James Marshall
LEVEL M
Afternoon on the Amazon by Mary Pope Osborne (series)
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
The Catcher's Mask by Matt Christopher
Dr. DeSoto by William Steig
LEVEL N
Amber Brown by Paula Daniziger (series)
The Amazing Bone by William Steig
Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
Invisible Stanley by Jeff Brown (series)
LEVEL O
Class Clown by Johanna Hurwitz
Ramona by Beverly Cleary (series)
Judy Moody Declares Independence by Megan McDonald
Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sacher
LEVEL P
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Time Warp Trio by Jon Sciszka
Magic School Bus by Joanna Cole
LEVEL Q
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingles Wilder (series)
Superfudge by Judy Blume
Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog by John R. Erickson
LEVEL R
Landry News by Andrew Clemens
Stuart Little by E. B. White
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
LEVEL S
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Matilda by Roald Dahl
LEVEL T
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Goosbumps: It Came From Beneath the Sink by R. L. Stine (series)
Reading Terms
• Decoding- Breaking a word down into sounds...A says /a/ like in 'apple'
• High Frequency words- Sight words that do not follow the rules of phonics ... was, does
• Sight vocabulary- Words that are common in most books and should be recognized instantly ... any, what, is
• Digraphs- Two letters that make one sound ... sh, th, ch, wh, ck, ph
• Phonemic Awareness- The ability to hear and identify individual sounds in spoken words
• Closed syllable- A syllable with a consonant, vowel, consonant pattern with the vowel saying it's short sound... mat, pet, hop, mag-net
• Open syllable- A syllable that ends in a vowel with the vowel saying it's own name, or it's long sound ... sta, lo, tri, hu-mid,
• Vowel consonant e syllable- A syllable with a long vowel sound and a silent (magic) 'e' ... home, safe, prize
• Vowel teams syllable- A syllable with 2 or more vowels ...ou, ai, oa, ee
• Consonant le- syllable- The last syllable in words with a consonant -le... rid dle, sta ble, un cle
• R controlled syllable- A syllable with the 'r' that changes the vowel sound ... ar, or, and er/ ir/ ur
• Fluency- How well a person reads with accuracy, speed, and expression
• Scooping- A term used to describe how to break words into syllables- every syllable must have a vowel
• Just right book- A book that is not too easy or too hard- the child can read with about 90%-94% accuracy
• Decoding- Breaking a word down into sounds...A says /a/ like in 'apple'
• High Frequency words- Sight words that do not follow the rules of phonics ... was, does
• Sight vocabulary- Words that are common in most books and should be recognized instantly ... any, what, is
• Digraphs- Two letters that make one sound ... sh, th, ch, wh, ck, ph
• Phonemic Awareness- The ability to hear and identify individual sounds in spoken words
• Closed syllable- A syllable with a consonant, vowel, consonant pattern with the vowel saying it's short sound... mat, pet, hop, mag-net
• Open syllable- A syllable that ends in a vowel with the vowel saying it's own name, or it's long sound ... sta, lo, tri, hu-mid,
• Vowel consonant e syllable- A syllable with a long vowel sound and a silent (magic) 'e' ... home, safe, prize
• Vowel teams syllable- A syllable with 2 or more vowels ...ou, ai, oa, ee
• Consonant le- syllable- The last syllable in words with a consonant -le... rid dle, sta ble, un cle
• R controlled syllable- A syllable with the 'r' that changes the vowel sound ... ar, or, and er/ ir/ ur
• Fluency- How well a person reads with accuracy, speed, and expression
• Scooping- A term used to describe how to break words into syllables- every syllable must have a vowel
• Just right book- A book that is not too easy or too hard- the child can read with about 90%-94% accuracy