When your child is just learning to read it can be a daunting task to find books that then can feel confident reading.  Follow the guidelines below to help you buy books that will give your child many hours of successful reading.

Remember this:

• Just because the book is listed for children does not mean it is a book for a child to read.  Most children's literature is written for adults to read to kids.
• Books for kids to read can be listed as Easy Readers, Learning to read or leveled readers.
• Every company who manufactures learning to read books uses a different system to number the books.
• Some use words such as Pre -School to 1st grade, others use a number such as 1 - 44, yet others will use a decimal system such as 1.0 or 2.1
• As a general rule if the company is using a decimal system such as 1.8 or 2.5 that is the grade level.  A book that says 1.8 is for a child that is in the 8th month of 1st grade.  A book that says 2.4 is for a child that is in the 4th month of 2nd grade.  Note: These numbers are listed for the average reader. So if you have a child who is reading above grade level go for books that are leveled higher.  If your child is reading below grade level go for books that are labeled lower than the month of the grade they are in.
• Other companies will use a word system that has a range such as Pre-school to 1st grade or 1st  to 2nd grade.  Children all learn to read at different paces and that is why you will find a range on most books.
• Other companies will have leveled books that start at a DRA of 1 and go to 44.  1 is a pre reader and 44 is where most kids are at the end of 4th grade. This type of leveling is usually found in the schools and not out in the commercial books.  Every state has different guidelines but they generally fall as below by the end of each grade they should be at the following DRA levels:

                     1st grade DRA 18

                     2nd grade DRA 28

                     3rd grade DRA 36

                     4th grade   DRA 44

Then there are accelerated readers which are usually chapter books.

NOte: If your child is making more than 5 mistakes per average size paragraphs, the book is probably too hard.

Helping Your Child To Read Hints:

Speak to your child's teacher and ask them about where they are at, you want to know their independent level NOT their instructional level.  Independent level will usually be a few numbers or levels below the instructional.  This is where the child feels comfortable reading and does not need a  lot of guidance.

When reading with your child do not tell him the word, he/she will always remember the word if they figure it, out not if they are told the word.

 When they don't know the word try some of the following techniques:

• before you start, take a picture walk through the book, talk about what is going on in the pictures, that lays a groundwork and gives the child clues to what the book might be about.  
• sound out the word, sometimes all a child needs is a little clue
• tell your child to look at the picture, many times a difficult word such as house or jumprope or doctor will have a picture for the child to get a clue from
• look for a little word inside the big word they already know such as:                  "it "  in visit  or "out " in shout  or "ant" in plant
• wait a few seconds, as parents many times we want to jump in and tell them the word.  I have found through my years of teaching that many times if you just wait a couple seconds they will figure it out.
• As with anything else you are trying to teach your child repitition is the key. If they are having trouble reading a sentence, have them start at the beginning of the sentence and reread it.
• Comprehension is the key, if your child cannot tell you what the book page or sentence was about then they may need some extra help.
• Always give your child praise and keep it in the positive, kids need lots of support and practice at home when learning to read.  Put it into this perspective: If you were learning a new sport would you just go to the games and never practice or if you were learning to knit would you give up after only a few rows?  Would you try a recipe once then never again because it didn't turn out?
• Practice and repitition are the keys in the early years of learning to read.

          I always liked the 3 book method as follows for students who have not reached that DRA of 18 yet It goes as follows:

       Day 1: read 1 book

       Day 2: read the book from day one and read a 2nd book

      Day 3:  read the book from day 1, then the book from day 2, then introduce a 3rd book

     Day 4: Take out the book from day 1and read the books from day 2,3 and introduce a 4th book

    Day 5: take out the book from day 2 and read the books from day 3 and 4 and add a fifth.  This method gives your child the repetition they need.  By the time your child has read the book for the 3rd day they should be reading it fluently will little or no mistakes.

Repeating books gives your child the feeling of confidence and propels them to go on.

Reading is such a developmental thing.  Some pick up on it right away and yet others struggles then things just fall into place.  Reading well is such an important tool in life because if you can't read well it will be difficult to be successful in other subject areas.

Keep practicing with your child and remember: They don't always have to read, you pick up a book and read it to them or if they are getting tired you read a page and they read a page.