Reading scheme book recommendations please

[Reastie]

For an absolute beginner reader. Dd is 4 and had started reading the pink level 1 biff chip and kipper Oxford reading tree books at nursery for the past six ish months. She's probably got through around 20 of their books. She also has word cards she can read and can now read about 50 words from her word cards and can sight read very simple words.

I want to try to keep her reading up over the summer so she doesn't forget what she's learnt, and she does really enjoy it. Her school have said not to get her to read more books in the series she has read as she will be doing these at school from September and if she does them already at home she may get bored of then if she has to read them again at school.

I've tried googling reading schemes to buy some books for a very beginner level but can't really find anything sure fire absolute beginner. We've been to the library but they are pretty much all too advanced and although we've tried with her and I've read the tricker words, she likes a book she feels confident managing on her own.

[littlesupersparks]

We have superhero 'world of reading' books I bought from Amazon. They are pretty tedious - my little boy likes them! My tip is if you find a book at the library that is ok then reserve a load more from the set. Ask a librarian too. They will be keen to sign them up for the reading challenge too.

[TheyreMadITellYouMaaaad]

Usborne's Apple Tree Farm books. They're a lovely range with good stories and a combination of texts on each page. Typically, on each page there will be a short phrase for the child to read, and a couple of longer, more complex sentences for the adult to read. Perfect for sharing. Also lovely illustrations with plenty of talking points.

[lavendersun]

We subscribed to Reading Chest www.readingchest.co.uk - really efficient and lots to choose from.

Our local library is small with poor choice and I had to pay 75p for each reservation. Added to which it is 7 miles away and I have to pay for parking!

DD read her three books the day they came, returned in the post the next day and we had another three a couple of days later ... in the holidays we used to send them back the day they arrived!

RC are really efficient. They always sent the new books out the day they got the returns back - 1st class envelopes.

[lavendersun]

Must add that DD was six when we did RC but they seem to start at 4.

[Reastie]

Ohh I like the idea if reading chest, that would work well for us and once she's read them a couple of times we probably won't want to read them again so renting is a good idea.

The apple tree farm ones she has a couple of them, and they are lovely books, but dd likes having one all to herself that she reads in her own so the combination of big and small writing doesn't appeal to her.

Will look up world of reading books now..


Thanks for the responses

[Waterandtea]

I would highly recommend the Julia Donaldson 'songbirds' series, they're completely phonics based and ds1 loved them, the stories aren't as dull as some reading schemes (in fact ds1 will still read some of them now despite the fact he usually reads Roald Dahl etc).

On amazon you can get them in 'collections' so there's 6 books in 1 or 12 in 1 for the first stage. So it doesn't work out too expensive.

Here's the first stage one:
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0192792962/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1437290768&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&keywords=julia%20donaldsons%20songbirds&dpPl=1&dpID=61BYGwi2aBL&ref=plSrch&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[lavendersun]

RC had far more choice than our school Reastie. DD was allowed to choose anything she liked to read from she school library after 9 months of RC, am sure it made a massive massive difference. Factual as well as fiction.

The school just didn't have the staff to listen to them more than once/twice a week so without something like RC the books were not changed that often, leading to boredom as they weren't allowed to swap books until they had read to someone.

DD averaged 9 books a week with RC, more if I could get them in the post quicker!

[Reastie]

Thanks lavender , I've just signed up to rc. Anyone reading this post interested in signing up I found the code SUMMER15 gives £5 off first month:)

[lavendersun]

I hope you like it Reastie - at that stage for me the hardest bit was choosing the right books at the right levels - RC had done all the work for me.

Am pretty sure that it helped DD become the voracious reader she is today. It wasn't that I didn't want to buy them, just that I couldn't keep up with her and didn't quite know how to get it right.

At 9 we spend about £40-50 a month on books , used, new, sets, individual books and keep the local charity shops going in used books.

[mrz]

For beginner readers the Dandelion ?aunchers are a great start personally I'd avoid Biff Chip and friends if possible.

[Lurkedforever1]

Dd really liked Dr Seuss, and quite a lot of the simple repetitive toddler books I'd previously read to her. ( like dear zoo, spot, Meg and mog etc) even the ones with higher density of words we just shared. I found she just had no interest in the stories in some approved schemes, biff and chip being one.

[noramum]

I wouldn't buy any books for this range. They get through them far too quickly and remember the words instead of reading them.

I would just hit your local library and see what she likes. It can be anything, even toddler books. Read together and help her with words she can't read yet. I found this far more interesting than sticking to a set where virtually each book is the same.

The library runs a Summer reading challenge, read 6 books over the time and get a medal.

[Reastie]

You see Dd absolutely loves biff books and the regularity or the characters and the repeat words they use so often in a way she doesn't enjoy so much reading a toddler book. We have a couple of higher level biff books that are way beyond her but she often wants me to read it to her as a bedtime story.

Ohh dd has taken out a fair few library books and we've read more than six so maybe when we return them I'll look into that challenge to see if she is eligible for a medal.