Easy Books for New and Dyslexic Readers

Simple words, but intelligent stories

Photo by Johnny McClung on Unsplash

There’s a book wasteland for highly intelligent kids who struggle to read. Their brains can handle stories far above the typical vocabulary and comprehension levels, but their eyes struggle with the most basic words on the page. This means some of the brightest kids get stuck with the dumbest books, which makes reading feel both boring and insulting. It’s not fair. So this book list is for those kids, the bright kids for whom reading is hard and too often boring, the kids who aren’t ready for chapter books but need something harder than “See Spot Run.” This list is even for parents who feel like they will throw up if they have to read one more insipid children’s book with no plot. I see you.

Here are some tips:

• Search the Easy Reader section of your local library, and take a look at the graphic novels too.

• Don’t forget the non-fiction options as well as the fiction stories.

• If the Easy Readers are still too hard, try reading with your kids, and alternating you reading a sentence with your child reading a sentence or even a phrase.

• Don’t forget to fill your child’s life with wonderful audiobooks more at their academic level. These will remind your children that learning to read is actually worth it.

On to the list! These options are ranked from easiest to more challenging:

Easy Reader Picture Books

• The Piggie and Elephant series by Mo Willems. Without a doubt, these award winners combine the simplest text with thoughtful, intelligent, and funny stories by a former Sesame Street writer and illustrator. Get every last Piggie and Elephant book your library has. Note that the series inspired some knock off books written by other authors. The books written by Willems are the best.

• The Frog and Toad series, Owl at Home, Mouse Tails, and Uncle Elephant by Arnold Lobel. If it’s by Arnold Lobel, it’s probably a winner.

• Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish. America’s favorite literalist has inspired several sequels, chapter books, and an Easy Reader series if your kid can’t get enough of the charming humor.

• The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham and other beginner books by Dr. Seuss. They’re classics for a reason.

• Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire. Another old classic, still a fun read.

• The Fire Cat by Esther Averill. Pickles the cat doesn’t get along with the other cats, which leaves him in desperate need of a home and purpose.

• The Little Bear books by Else Holmelund Minarik. Gentle, sweet, and easy to read. If you like it, get the sequels.

• The Nate the Great books by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Craig Sharmat. Beginning mysteries with a strong protagonist for future Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot afficionados.

Beginner’s Chapter Books (Level 3 and 4 Readers for 1-3 grade reading levels)

• The Chalk Box Kid and The Paint Brush Kid by Clyde Robert Bulla. Bulla is probably my all-time favorite writer for this age group. He’s written a number of intelligent, historical fiction or just down right good stories for early readers. The Chalk Box Kid and The Paint Brush Kid are about a kid who struggles to fit in at home and school until he finds a place where he can express his unique art style.

• Daniel’s Duck by Clyde Robert Bulla. A story about a boy who aspires to be a skilled woodcarver.

• Greg’s Microscope by Millicent Selsam. The gift of a microscope helps young Greg see his whole world in a new way.

• The Last, Little Cat by Meindert DeJong. An endearing story about a kitten looking for a home. It’s only real fault is that it doesn’t have chapter breaks. You’ll have to encourage your child to break up the book and read just a few pages at a time, maybe from picture to picture.

• The Minstrel in the Tower by Gloria Skurzynski. A tale of two siblings on an epic adventure in Medieval Europe.

• Hill of Fire by Thomas P. Lewis. A fascinating and true story about the birth of a volcano in Mexico.

• The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto by Natalie Standiford. An epic story about the dogs who saved the lives of the children of Nome, Alaska, during an epidemic.

• Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie by Peter and Connie Roop. The true story of young Abbie Burgess who singlehandedly kept a lighthouse burning on the coast of Maine in 1856.

• Clara and the Bookwagon by Nancy Smiler Levinson. Clara wants to learn to read, but Pa says there’s too much work on the farm. An innovative librarian changes everything.

• The Big Balloon Race by Eleanor Coerr. Ariel stows away in her mother’s hot-air balloon as she lifts off for the big race of 1882. Based on a real life family.

• The Third Grade Detectives books by George E. Stanley. Fun mysteries involving the students in Mr. Merlin’s third grade classroom.

• The Calendar Mysteries by Rob Roy. An easy reader detective series about kids in a small town.

• The A to Z Mysteries by Rob Roy. Mysteries at a slightly more challenging reading level involving the big siblings of the Calendar Mysteries kids.

• The Sword in the Tree by Clyde Robert Bulla. An adventure during the legendary reign of King Arthur about young Shan who must save his castle from his usurping uncle.

• Wagon Wheels by Barbara Brenner. The Muldie boys and their father travel west to Kansas to find a community for free Black people in 1878. Based on a true story.

• The Long Way to a New Land and The Long Way Westward by Joan Sandin. In 1868, Carl Erik’s family leaves Sweden to begin a new life in America. But for Swedish immigrants, there are hosts of dangers and challenges along the way.

• Pompeii . . . Buried Alive! by Edith Kunhardt. The true story of the city, its destruction, and the archaelogical discoveries there.

• Tut’s Mummy Lost and Found by Judy Donnelly. The history of King Tut’s tomb and its disovery in 1922, told in simple and fascinating prose.

• Prairie School by Avi. Noah doesn’t want to learn to read. He’s too busy with his life on his family’s farm in Colorado. But when his Aunt Dora arrives to teach him, Noah finds that reading might just change his world.

• The Titanic Lost and Found by Jody Donnelly. The gripping true story of the famous ship’s first and only voyage.

• My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett. This was one of my first and favorite early chapter books. Young Elmer Elevator runs away from home with a stray cat his mother has thrown out. Goal: dragon rescue.

• Tippy Lemmey by Patricia C. McKissack. Leandra and her friends Paul and Jeannie hate their neighbor’s dog, Tippy Lemmey, who always barks and chases them when they ride by on their bikes. When dognappers come to town, Leandra has to decide how to stay safe from Tippy Lemmey and the criminals.

• Tornado by Betsy Byars. When a tornado sends a farming family into the storm cellar, Pete the farmhand tells stories of his childhood dog Tornado to distract the family from their fears. For those of you scared of dog stories because the dog always dies at the end, no, the story does not end with Tornado dying, although the story is clearly told decades after the dog’s long, happy life span.

• The House on Walenska Street by Charlotte Herman. Since her papa died, Leah has helped Mama get by, but it’s not easy being a Jewish family in Russia. The letters from American cousins keep them going.

• The Littles by John Peterson. This classic tale of a tiny family living in the walls of a normal-sized house is always a treat.

• The Bears on Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dalgliesh. A Newberry Honor book that tells how young Jonathan makes the mistake of believing everyone who has ever assured him that there are no bears on Hemlock Mountain. Unfortunately, when Jonathon realizes his error, he is on Hemlock Mountain at night and completely alone . . . except for the bears.

• The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh. Based on a true story, this is the story of young Sarah who travels with her father through the wilderness to start a homestead for the rest of her family.

• How to Eat a Poem edited by The American Poetry and Literacy Project and The Academy of American Poets. This is a charming collection of poems that includes some of our favorites. I defy you to read “Sick” by Shel Silverstein with getting a chuckle out of your child. The bonus is that poems are relatively short so you can break up reading sessions with your child.

• Pedro’s Journal by Pam Conrad. Young Pedro keeps a journal of his voyage with Columbus from 1492 to 1493.

• The Secret Valley by Clyde Robert Bulla. The Davis family decides to leave their hard life in Missouri to start over in the gold fields of California.

• The Viking Adventure by Clyde Robert Bulla. This was one of my first favorite chapter books. Despite the peril and tragedy in it, the adventure gripped me again and again.

If you have more advice and recommendations that serve this readership well, please leave them in the comments. May the smell of books ever fill your house.