I second WhatsWrong's suggestion. I have a cousin who suffered from unsuspected hearing loss and it really set her back in school and in terms of self esteem. Depending on the degree of loss, a hearing-impaired child may need some special help with reading.
Here's an idea for a pattern book you can either compile yourself or buy online. The books of Eric Carle, while simple, are also very patterned, much along the same lines. Poetry that rhymes and is repetitive, such as the poetry of A.A. Milne is appealing to older beginners, as is something like this, by Jack Prelutsky:
Be Glad Your Nose is on Your Face
Be glad your nose is on your face,
not pasted on some other place,
for if it were where it is not,
you might dislike your nose a lot.
Imagine if your precious nose
were sandwiched in between your toes,
that clearly would not be a treat,
for you'd be forced to smell your feet.
Your nose would be a source of dread
were it attached atop your head,
it soon would drive you to despair,
forever tickled by your hair.
Within your ear, your nose would be
an absolute catastrophe,
for when you were obliged to sneeze,
your brain would rattle from the breeze.
Your nose, instead, through thick and thin,
remains between your eyes and chin,
not pasted on some other place--
be glad your nose is on your face!