Reading levels (reception / year 1) books suggestion

[livealittlemore]

Hi all,
Just after some advice and suggestions. DS (5) just finished reception and he was on stage 4 of Oxford reading tree. He loves to read and I am keen to keep it going over the summer. He is reading the stage 4 books easily & confidently so I am thinking of getting some stage 5 books and may be a combination of different kind of books…What other books would you recommend that’s the same level as Oxford reading tree stage 5? And where to buy the books from?

Many Thanks

Look at places like Badger Learning and Hope Education, they usually do mixed scheme packs that you can pick the reading level of.

Mine really liked ‘Project X - Alien Adventures’, I got mixed up and ended up ordering ‘Project X - Hero Academy’ which are completely different, luckily they like them! There’s only 6 books per level and they’re about £30 from the places above.

Depending how much you want to spend, WHSmiths usually do £10 off £40 or £50, stick on ‘level 5’ and pick what ever takes your fancy.

Happy reading

You could try your local library. If you're lucky, they'll have a good librarian who might be able to help, or if not, there will be a selection of books to pick through, and it's not too tricky to spot which seem to be about the same level.

I got a 6 pack of rigby star books which were cheaper than the Oxford reading tree ones. Looks like green level is out of stock on Amazon but they look like this: Learn at Home:Star Reading Orange Level Pack (5 fiction and 1 non-fiction book) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/043300665X/ref=cmswwrcppapiglttfabc10KE1D2TJGWDV4F0DAYW

There's also Read with Oxford available on Amazon which works out cheaper than buying individual Oxford reading tree books. Most of the books have 4 stories in. Stage 3 is Oxford level 4 and 5.

I've also found the Reading Ladder books very good. They are 'proper' stories such as Flat Stanley, Dilly and the Dinosaurs, Anne Fine and Julia Donaldson stories etc.. so feel less like reading books. Level 1 has some green book band books:

• Flat Stanley plays ball
• Flat Stanley on Ice
• Under the sea
• Shout, Show and Tell
• Jungle School

There might be more but they are the ones we have. I got them from bookdepository but I assume they are also available elsewhere.

@Usernamenotallowed

I got a 6 pack of rigby star books which were cheaper than the Oxford reading tree ones. Looks like green level is out of stock on Amazon but they look like this: Learn at Home:Star Reading Orange Level Pack (5 fiction and 1 non-fiction book) [[https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/043300665X/ref=cm]]swwrcppapiglttfabc10KE1D2TJGWDV4F0DAYW

There's also Read with Oxford available on Amazon which works out cheaper than buying individual Oxford reading tree books. Most of the books have 4 stories in. Stage 3 is Oxford level 4 and 5.

I've also found the Reading Ladder books very good. They are 'proper' stories such as Flat Stanley, Dilly and the Dinosaurs, Anne Fine and Julia Donaldson stories etc.. so feel less like reading books. Level 1 has some green book band books:

• Flat Stanley plays ball
• Flat Stanley on Ice
• Under the sea
• Shout, Show and Tell
• Jungle School

There might be more but they are the ones we have. I got them from bookdepository but I assume they are also available elsewhere.

I got the same set from books2door.

I think you can get it through Amazon from them as a third party seller if you don’t want to go direct.

Get a Reading Chest subscription!
You pick the book band your child is on and they send you a few books, which you send back once read :) my daughter loves it and has progressed so much.
Means we don't end up with loads of books that are too easy!

Thanks so much everyone! This is really helpful. So I got a few schemes suggestions -

• Project-X series
• Rigby star- green
• Read with Oxford- stage 3
• Reading Ladder- stage 1 stories. Will check out all the stories you mentioned @Usernamenotallowed- thanks

And places to buy from-
Badger Learning, Hope Education, local library, Books2door, bookdepository, Amazon

I was about to ask about reading chest. Just came across it while searching the net! Thanks for bring it up @Heckythump1 . Might give it a try. Which option did you go for? Is it cancellable anytime?

Thanks @Marmite27 @LetItGoToRuin @

@livealittlemore
Yes cancelable anytime and can change which level of subscription you have too.
We currently have gold as she only brings home one book a week from school, this way she can read a different book every night :) will continue with that throughout the holidays.
We will go down probably to bronze in September as in Year 1 at our school they change their own book everyday (if they've read it).
She reads green and orange books currently, it's quite good as you can get a mixture of different levels if you want to try something a bit harder without commuting to fully moving up a band!

Customer service has always been brilliant too, we had a set of books never turn up and they just sent another set out, no questions asked :)

Another vote for the library. Our local one is brilliant for all reading levels and DD (also just finishing Reception) loves choosing her own books.

Stage 5 or level 5? Stage 5 is basically level 10 and virtually a free reader so you could buy anything he’s interested in that’s age appropriate l.

If it’s level 5 then the recommendations above are fairly good!

@livealittlemore

Thanks so much everyone! This is really helpful. So I got a few schemes suggestions -

• Project-X series
• Rigby star- green
• Read with Oxford- stage 3
• Reading Ladder- stage 1 stories. Will check out all the stories you mentioned *@Usernamenotallowed*- thanks

And places to buy from-
Badger Learning, Hope Education, local library, Books2door, bookdepository, Amazon

I was about to ask about reading chest. Just came across it while searching the net! Thanks for bring it up @Heckythump1 . Might give it a try. Which option did you go for? Is it cancellable anytime?

Thanks @Marmite27 @LetItGoToRuin @

Oxford stage 4 is blue, if you want stage 5, you need to look for green books.

Unfortunately I don’t have a green book to photograph for you - sorry.

I can't quote the post above but just to be confusing, Read with Oxford isn't the same as the Oxford reading tree individual books you get so Read with Oxford stage 3 is equivalent to Oxford levels 4 and 5/ noon band blue/green: home.oxfordowl.co.uk/bookshop/read-with-oxford/read-with-oxford-stage-3/

Exactly the same here with DD and I've just bought some Ladybird Read it Yourself books - they do Peppa Pig ones, Topsy and Tim and versions of all the fairy tale classics.

Level 1 is supposed to match up to ORT level 5 (green) and level 2 6 and 7. I bought a Peppa Pig mixture of levels 1 and 2. Though they do seem a bit easier than the ORT level they are supposed to be the equivalent of.

[quote Usernamenotallowed]I can't quote the post above but just to be confusing, Read with Oxford isn't the same as the Oxford reading tree individual books you get so Read with Oxford stage 3 is equivalent to Oxford levels 4 and 5/ noon band blue/green: home.oxfordowl.co.uk/bookshop/read-with-oxford/read-with-oxford-stage-3/[/quote]
I have a really old style ‘read at home’ Biff Chip and Kipper set, they’re levels 1-5 and match with Pink to Green reading bands. The titles are in the current sets at the same levels.

I’m pretty sure Oxford level 5 in both reading tree and read at home is the same.

We also have Julia Donaldson’s songbirds that are read with Oxford levels 1-5 that follow pink to green too.

I wouldn’t say the text and length in this book is any higher than a level 4/blue!

I think my daughter is at a similar level. I’ve bought the usborne first readers library and some of these books from Oxford as mine finds fiction much easier than non-fiction.

www.amazon.co.uk/Read-Oxford-Non-fiction-Incredible-Animals/dp/0192769707/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=oxford+stage+4&sprefix=oxford+atage+4&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1626118795&sr=8-8

Another vote for reading chest. We’ve just joined and I’ve been blown away by the service and quality of the books.

Sign up for the summer reading challenge at the library. He'll get a medal once he's read so many library books!

I wouldn't buy the next section of the reading scheme because he's quite likely to be asked to read it again in September.

Thanks all
@LondonGirl83 @Marmite27, he was at stage 4 / book band blue which is exactly the same as your picture marmite. So I am looking for the next stage I.e stage 5 / book band green. Oxford itself has different schemes- reading tree, owl, read with Oxford...and it’s so confusing! Thanks for the link @Usernamenotallowed, it does say that the read with Oxford stage 3 is same level as stage 4-5 of reading tree! May be will try and see
Thanks @Silversun83, I’ll check out the Ladybird Read it Yourself books as well. Will probably need a few different types to keep him excited about reading.
@Bunnycat101, I have got the usbourne phonics readers book set from a friend. Not sure what the level is but they seem to have more longer and complex words. DS is reading them fine. But takes more time. Thanks for the links to other books, I will check them out.
Thanks @Heckythump1 & @Tandyboe, reading chest does sound like a good idea… especially if they have a range of different schemes for the same level..will check it out

For usborne phonics readers, I’d you search on their site for the individual book it tells you the reading band, but they’re not grouped by band annoyingly.

I bought spine stickers for ours to differentiate

These are the only two green ones we have.

@SushiGo I didn't know about the summer reading challenge...will check out at our local
Library this weekend. Sounds great, especially with the reward at the end 😁
Because he is reading the current level books so well, I thought May be the next level will make it more interesting for him. But I get your point about reading it again at school in September...I'll get a few of the next level and see how he gets on. If he reads well then hopefully the school will move him to the next level soon! Thanks

Reading chest. I used it for all of mine from the beginning of reception. I used the gold level to ensure they had a new book each day on the early levels. In September I’ll probably drop down to bronze or silver as the books at the higher reading levels are longer and combined with a few school books will enable daily reading.

I think it’s a really good subscription service. You can choose certain books (to complement a topic at school) and you move them up levels as and when. They get sticker charts which are great in the early days when creating a habit. And certificates when they read so many books. I bought a few books but stopped after subscribing to this.

After reading this thread I am signing up to Reading Chest!

We haven't had any books home all year (Reception) because of Covid... my DC is going to struggle in Y1 I think. I suppose they are all in the same boat.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I have just signed up to reading chest and they are sending 4 books from different schemes, 2 at green book band level and 2 blue. So that'll give me an idea of which one I should continue for the next few weeks. I have also ordered Lady bird read yourself level 1 from ebay. Looking forward to receiving them all.