Books for Struggling Readers

When reading is hard, the wrong books make it harder. Many “easy” readers are full of sight words that break the rules, like “was” and “of,” and busy pictures that pull attention away from the words. For a struggling reader, that means frustration instead of progress.

Miss Wendy knows that feeling firsthand. She is dyslexic herself, and over 35+ years of teaching she has worked with many students with dyslexia and a variety of learning styles. Her books were written to remove the surprises:

  • Predictable, decodable words: short vowels and hard consonants, with only three sight words (a, the and is)
  • No interior illustrations: a clear, uncluttered page with nothing to distract or guess from
  • Short stories: readers can finish a whole book and feel a real sense of accomplishment
  • Gentle steps: Level 1 is mostly CVC words before moving on to slightly longer words

The books support dyslexic readers, beginning readers of any age, and readers with intellectual disabilities (intellectually challenged readers). Many enjoy the colorful covers and engaging stories, and caregivers get a clearer view of true reading comprehension because there are no pictures to rely on. The whisper phone helps readers hear and focus on each word.

Also see: CVC books · science of reading books · Miss Wendy’s story