After years of reading picture and chapter books aloud with your child, at some point, they will become independent readers who are ready for beginner readers. Selecting the best books for beginner readers can be confusing.
Publishers have different systems for attributing the ‘level’ of the book. One publisher’s ‘level’ may be more challenging than the same ‘level’ of another publisher. Regardless of the publisher, as the level numbers progress so does the complexity of the text.

What are Beginner Reader Books?
Page Contents
- What are Beginner Reader Books?
- Who are Beginner Reader Books for?
- Choosing the Best Books for Beginner Readers
- 30 Best Books for Beginner Readers
- 1. The Adventures of Otto Collector’s Set (Ready to Read Pre-Level 1) by David Milgrim
- 2. An Elephant & Piggie Biggie! by Mo Willems
- 3. The Cookie Fiasco! (Elephant and Piggie like Reading Level 1) by Mo Willems and Dan Santat
- 4. We Are Growing! (Elephant and Piggie like Reading Level 2) by Mo Willems and Laurie Keller
- 5. Shh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton
- 6. It’s not Easy being a Bunny (The Beginner Book Series) by Marilyn Sadler.
- 7. The Berenstain Bears: We Like Kites (Step into Reading Step 1) by Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain
- 8. I Love My Grandma (Step into Reading Step 1) by Frances Gilbert
- 9. A Piglet Named Mercy by Kate DiCamillo
- 10. Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings
- 11. Llama Llama Loves to Read by Anna Dewdney and Reed Duncan
- 12. Go, Dog Go (I Can Read it All by Myself, Beginner Books) by P.D. Eastman.
- 13. Ten Apples Up on Top! By Dr Seuss writing as Theo LeSieg
- 14. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr Seuss
- 15. There’s No Place Like Space: All About Our Solar System (Cat In the Hat’s Learning Library) by Tish Rabe
- 16. Cat Traps (Step into Reading, Step 1) by Molly Coxe
- 17. Penguin Problems (Animal Problems) by Jory John
- 18. First Little Readers Parent Pack: Guided Reading Level A by Deborah Schecter
- 19. Ten Timid Ghosts by Jennifer O’Connell
- 20. The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! By Mo Willems
- 21. Are You My Mother? by P.D Eastman
- 22. The Moonlight Meeting: The Nocturnals (Grow and Read Early Reader, Level 2) by Tracey Hecht and Rumur Dowling
- 23. The Best Chef in Second Grade (I Can Read Level 2) by Katherine Kenah
- 24. Uni the Unicorn Uni’s First Sleepover (Step into Reading Level 2) by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
- 25. Shampoodle (Step into Reading Level 2) by Joan Holub
- 26. Pony Scouts: The Camping Trip (I Can Read Level 2) by Catherine Hapka
- 27. Splat the Cat Gets a Job (I Can Read Level 2) by Rob Scotton
- 28. A Pig, a Fox and Stinky Socks (Penguin Young Readers, Level 2) by Jonathan Fenske
- 29. Amazing Sharks! (I Can Read Level 2) by Sarah L. Thomson
- 30. My Favorite Spooky Stories Box Set: 5 Silly, Not-Too-Scary Tales! ( I Can Read Level 2) by various authors
Who are Beginner Reader Books for?
Beginner Readers are books for children who are decoding words, figuring out sight words, consonant/vowel/consonant words, bossy r words and magic e words.
Not sure what bossy r words are? The easiest way to explain them is when the letter 'r' is after a vowel; then the vowel is forced to change its sound. Hence the bossy 'r'. For example, the word 'cat' vs 'cart', adding the letter 'r' changes the sound of the 'a'.
Not sure what magic e words are? When the letter 'e' is at the end of the word, it is typically silent, and this magic 'e' tells the preceding or first vowel to say its name (long sound) as opposed to its phonetic sound. For example: 'ape' – the 'e' is silent, and the 'a' is said like the name, not the sound.
How do I know if my Child is Ready for Beginner Readers?
If your child is:
Choosing the Best Books for Beginner Readers
Listening to your child read for the 1st time is fantastic. When your child successfully reads a book out loud on their own, they have so much pride and confidence. Unfortunately, if a book is too difficult or uninteresting, then your child will likely struggle through the book, which is frustrating for them.
It is essential when choosing the best book for beginner readers that they are at the appropriate level. The best books for beginner readers are short story formats with easy-to-read text and illustrations on every page. Designed to boost your child's reading confidence and fluency (see our 15 Tips to Improving Children's Fluency), books with humour and repetition are also ideal.
Tips for Choosing the Best Books for Beginner Readers
- 1Let your child pick a book that interests them – trains, trucks, unicorns, animals, fairies it does not matter as long as your child loves them.
- 2Let your child read the 1st page. If your child cannot read the 1st five words on their own, the book is probably not a good fit, so consider choosing a different book.
- 3After reading the 1st page ask your child, some questions about what they have read. If they cannot answer the questions, then they have not comprehended what they have read. Your child is focusing so much on reading the words that they are losing the storyline.
30 Best Books for Beginner Readers
Picking the best books for beginner readers can be tricky. One of the biggest challenges is because the stories are short and straightforward; they can often be boring. The problem is that your child may quickly become disinterested in reading and start to view reading as a chore.
The recommended books are books that the Cool Kids Hub team have read with our children. Books that their children enjoyed and kept going back to time and time again. The good thing about this is the more your child reads the same book, the better their fluency will become and the more confident they will become as readers.

It is a great thing to start life with a small number of really good books which are your very own.
-Arthur Conan Doyle