Good books for learning letters / phonics?

[hotCheeseBURNS]

I'd love to hear if anyone has any favourite books that worked really well for teaching letters and phonics, especially for boys. Thanks.

The following web page has brief details of all the best modern synthetic phonics programmes available today -use the coloured X's to help you narrow it down. Synthetic phonics programmes are especially effective for boys if taught properly.

www.aowm73.dsl.pipex.com/dyslexics/resources_and_further_10.htm

Jolly Stories is a good book which covers the phonic sounds in quite a fun way. You can find this book here

Letterland
Not sure if this is a little old fashioned now but both of my boys enjoyed it, and read beautifully from quite early.
There are lots of items in each picture for the children to find starting with the letter being learned.

www.amazon.co.uk/ABC-Letterland-Picture-Books-Wendon/dp/1862092222/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=12 60901752&sr=1-1

Thanks guys! Letterland was my first thought because I remember it from when I was learning to read! That was before the days of phonics though and I wondered if it would be counterproductive?

Letterland is a phonics programme but can confuse some children who get fixed on the characters rather than the sounds.

The Jolly Phonics programme has workbooks that introduce different letter (sorry, phonemes!) groups, a songbook with a CD and other things; My DD really enjoyed them and reinforced what she did at school as they use Jolly Phonics.

I used Letterland with my 3 and they loved it. I also taught them to read with Peter and Jane!! They all read well ahead of their age and love reading too. I don't think it matters which scheme you use - it's about getting them onto real books so they can love reading.

mrz, I wonder if the children who get fixated on the characters rather than sounds are the ones who are just not ready to learn to read and that the connection with sounds will come if they are given enough time. (I am aware that NC doesn't like that - we all have to do the same thing at the same time!)

Tinuviel I can't say as I have never used Letterland myself but many of the children I have inherited from other schools where they have been taught using Letterland often refer to letters as "Annie apple" or the "wicked water witch" (Walter walrus) and were unable to recall the phonemes at all even though they knew the characters.

Jolly phonics do workbooks too - £1.50 each from WH Smith and there's 7 in all (might be able to get them cheaper elsewhere). DS loves doing them and he sings the songs they learn at school while he's doing them too