Best Book Series for Kindergarten

Most kindergartners are not able to read books on their own. What they really need at this age is to have someone who will sit with them and help them decipher the words. Once they start to have some success, then they will be motivated to try independently. Easy book series for beginning readers are great, because many of them build in difficulty allowing the child to gain their confidence. Below are some suggestions based on what our family has found to be the best book series for kindergarten!

[UPDATE: Since initially writing this article, I have learned about the importance of having kids use “decodable books” as they are learning to read. Books meant for preschool and kindergarten that have children relying on context clues like pictures or with a repeating sentence structure in the long run are NOT helpful to kids. While the goal of these books are to help them gain confidence as “readers,” they are unknowningly training them to NOT pay attention to the letters on the page. Decodeable books are books that do the opposite, providing them with lots of practice decoding each word by learning to pay attention to the letters and the groups of letters.

I experienced the importance of this firsthand with my third child who is dyslexic. While my first two children learned to read using non-decodable books, that method did not work for my dyslexic child who just learned to guess. Decodable books really helped him master strategies for reading that would benefit any child. I am only going to recommend books that our family has personally used, but if you are looking for more decodable books, I recommend checking out The Measured Mom’s Ultimate Guide to Decodable Books. If decodable books are out of your price range or you would just like to see if they will be helpful to your child, I recommend trying out Just Right Readers free online decodables.]

Note that these kindergarten books are targeted at 5 and 6 year olds. However, remember that all children are different. Whatever your child’s age, they will have the most success if you find books that are at or just above their current reading level.

Kindergarten Book Series

Half Pint Readers

The Measured Mom recommends these Half Pint Readers series and they were a great fit for us. The price has raised a bit since I purchased them, but they are still just over a little over a dollar a book. I ended up purchasing all 3 sets, but honestly, I think I could have skipped the first set as it was not enough of a challenge for him when I bought them. They are colorful, simple, and help the child feel successful while taking them through a natural progression of phonics skills.

Whole Phonics Decodables

Whole Phonics was another one of The Measured Mom’s suggestions that we enjoyed. For kindergarten, you woudl likely want to start with Level 1: Short Vowel Decodable Book. I started my dyslexic third grader with the Level 2: Digraph Decodable Book Set Level, which felt like a big jump compared to the Half Pint decodables as the books are longer. We would only read about a third to a half of them in one sitting. I probably should have started with the easier set, but at this point, I felt like I was spending a small fortune on decodable books. However, I do really that think that struggling through these made a big difference. I ended up purchasing the Level 3 set as well, but we never even finished them as in the middle of that set, my dyslexic child’s reading took off. Currently, he is going into 6th grade and reading at or above grade level.

Elephant and Piggie

If there is one book series that I think EVERY kid should read, it is Elephant and Piggie. While these books are not strictly decodable books, they are too fun to be missed. Even if your child is in second grade and reading above this level, I recommend picking these up from the library. What I especially love about Elephant and Piggie is that they MOTIVATE kids to push their limits. My kindergartner struggles to read these with me, but he is laughing before he even deciphers the words, because he knows whatever comes next is going to be funny. If buying the whole collection is too big on an investment, they have 3 volumes of smaller compilation books as well if you aren’t able to get them from your library.

Beanstalk Books Decodable Readers

Beanstalk Books Decodeable Readers has such lovely sets of decodable books. The only problem is the price! For my own kids I purchased Non-Fiction Decodables Set 2 (pictured) and Science Decodables for my last child and I love them, but they were expensive then and have only gotten more expensive since. I wish I had purchased them a little earlier in my parenting journey so that I could have gotten more use out of them! That being said, if you have the budget, they are very nice books with good grammar and enticing pictures. My youngest son enjoyed learnign to read with these and the fact that there are several different books at multiple levels allowed him to progress gradually. If you wanted to save money, rather than purchasing the book set, just purchase a set of 12 books that will be a bit of a challenge for your kiddo for about $40. Honestly, you probably do not need more than one box set, as after your child masters the complete box, they will be ready for simple chapter books.