Pack of phonics books - any cheap ways to get them?

[drspouse]

We are struggling a bit with the school reading books sent home - school insist they are the right level but they just have way too many non-decodable-for-him words.

We have kind of been going with "sound out the ones you can and we'll read the rest" but the books also don't seem to be practicing the sounds he IS supposed to be learning (Yellow).

We have finally got him keen to read daily so I really want him to be learning from this - not waiting for them to do the sounds in class so was thinking of getting him a pack of Floppy Phonics or whatever is about the same but they are Sooo expensive in a pack.

(Added to which they seem to come in sets of 1+, 2 and 3 and we no longer need 1+ or 2!)

[drspouse]

Ricotta our library really don't. They have nothing for early readers - nothing between picture books and free readers. Maybe they have them in other branches.

dazed they only have a set of 12 now and it looks like at least half of them are 1+ or 2.

We've got a few level 3 on order anyway and then see about another pack.

[Norestformrz]

The library can order in books from other libraries if you request OP

[drspouse]

I can't see any on the whole county system, though - or at least, maybe 5 or 6 in total across the county at any one reading level. So it wouldn't get us that far.
If you order in from other counties you have to pay more (it's 60p I think from within the county) so you might as well buy them secondhand.

[Norestformrz]

They can order across counties and from the British library

[drspouse]

They can do but it costs - and from experience takes ages!

[drspouse]

OK at least it says requesting from within the county is free for children!

But they "may charge" for ILL even for children.

[Tomorrowillbeachicken]

Some of the songbirds are on oxford owl and that’s free.

[Tomorrowillbeachicken]

There’s some 6 in 1s for just under a tenner here too:
www.theworks.co.uk/c/children-s-books/oxford-reading-tree-books/?orderBy=3&page=1

[drspouse]

Oh those look good!

[Norestformrz]

When buying be careful because there’s a mix of phonic and Look and Say

[drspouse]

Yep as I am finding!

[drspouse]

Does anyone know if the non-fiction ones are available in cheaper packs?

[CappuccinoCake]

Songbirds were the best ones we used at that stage.

They are either sold individually or in whole stage books - but these are big with 6 actual stories in. They were longer stories than most of the school ones but engaged my children and stuck to phonics!

[CappuccinoCake]

I bought on eBay and some new on amazon. I wish I'd looked and bought all in one go though!

[lolalotta]

Songbirds are amazing, we bought a whole set from EBay but the Book People have an amazing deal for the whole set!

[drspouse]

Right I'm still after some of these, preferably non-fiction at around a level 3 or 4 maybe?
And I'm finding that some are mis-described (e.g. I got one book from eBay when I'd ordered a set!).