Which books do children need to read, and where should you start?
Begin with books that match a child’s spoken language skills and interests. Choose texts with predictable, repetitive language and clear links between speech sounds and print so children can enjoy stories while developing early reading skills.

Children vary widely in how they approach books and in what draws them to reading. Some are captivated by pictures, while others like to “pretend” to read when they have role models who read aloud. Many simply want to imitate the readers they observe and are excited by the stories they hear. Recent large-scale reviews confirm that early shared reading and home literacy experiences remain strong predictors of later reading achievement (OECD, 2021; Hernando et al., 2022).

The goal is to find books that capture each child’s imagination. My role is to help them connect the speech they hear to the print in those books, not to begin with a list of graphemes and provide only texts they can decode in the hope that they will stay engaged until they can finally read what they truly want. Studies continue to show that access to engaging texts and regular story sharing are key drivers of reading motivation and attainment (Merga, 2021; OECD, 2021).

While some children are happy to start with fully decodable readers, where every grapheme has been explicitly taught, and are intrinsically motivated, many are not. Evidence indicates that boys are less likely than girls to choose voluntary reading if early experiences are not enjoyable and self-directed (Clark & Teravainen-Goff, 2020). Neurodivergent children are also less motivated to decode for its own sake when the content does not interest them (Snowling & Hulme, 2021).

If we are to help all children read early and read for pleasure—whether to enjoy stories or to explore their own interests—we must first discover what captures their attention and then map it to print. Starting with One, Two, Three and Away! is a powerful way to achieve this. Most children become absorbed in these stories, and the handbook explains why. Written by an exceptional author, the series was created for children and I have adapted it to meet the needs of the 10 to 15 per cent who did not become hooked on reading through the original books. These children often had weak speech-sound processing, and many may now identify as dyslexic. Current research confirms that phonological processing difficulties remain a primary risk factor for dyslexia (Snowling & Hulme, 2021). With this adapted approach we can address those needs early and re-route potential literacy difficulties.

Clark, C., & Teravainen-Goff, A. (2020). Children and young people’s reading in 2019: Findings from our annual literacy survey. National Literacy Trust.
Hernando, A., et al. (2022). Early shared reading and later literacy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 37, 100470. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2022.100470
Merga, M. K. (2021). Reading engagement for tweens and teens: What would make them read more? ABC-CLIO.
OECD. (2021). 21st-Century Readers: Developing literacy skills in a digital world. OECD Publishing.
Snowling, M. J., & Hulme, C. (2021). The science of reading: A handbook. Wiley.

Which readers should you use, to teach read??

Monster Mapped® Books support the Speech Sound Pics® (SSP) Approach, which provides a playful, 'speech to print' systematic way to introduce the Core Code of around 100 grapheme to phoneme correspondences (GPCs) that are assessed in the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check but with the technology and resources that enables them to read and spell ALL words, throughout the day.

Children can begin with the 10-day Speech Sound Play Plan and then either continue with SSP or use a systematic phonics programme. At the Green Code Level, children need to practise blending the GPCs from that level within readers so that the activity makes sense and has a clear purpose. This practice becomes more engaging and also allows us to add some Duck Level words, which are high-frequency words.

Monster Mapped® Words are distinctive because they are not only Code Mapped® to show the graphemes but also display Phonemies®, the family of Speech Sound Monsters®. Each Monster represents a sound of English, working like phonetic symbols designed for children. By showing the letters that map to the sounds, less cognitive effort is required and children quickly gain confidence in reading. The recommended sequence is to read the Monster Mapped® book first, then the Code Mapped® version without the sound prompts, and finally the regular version. This gradual process builds independence. Monster Mapping® makes the complexities of English orthography visible. For example, the sound /s/ can be represented by <s> in sip, <c> in cent, or <ss> in grass, and the grapheme <s> can represent different sounds in words such as sip, was, or sugar. Spelling Clouds® are used to make these patterns clear.

By 'following the Monster Sounds', children are able to work out new words. THEN they look at the graphemes, and develop orthographic knowledge without instruction. You can see this, below, when young children FIRST figure out the unfailiar word, then look at it with just the graphemes mapped, andf finally with no cues. Even those with weak phonemic awareness can succeed, since the system reduces barriers. If they struggle, they can use MyWordz® technology! With MySpeekie®, they can type the Speech Sound Monsters and hear the word spoken aloud.

Miss Emma, The Neurodivergent Reading Whisperer®, created the Speech Sound Pics® Approach to be inclusive from the very beginning. It is designed as if every child may have speech sound processing difficulties and be at risk of finding phonics hard to learn. This is why it is also the first approach created with non-speaking children in mind.

The philosophy behind the Speech Sound Pics Approach is prevention rather than remediation. It is easier to prevent reading and spelling difficulties than to wait until children fail, which also helps to avoid the dyslexia paradox. Validated synthetic phonics programmes in England are delivered through a fixed weekly plan, as per DfE reqirements, with little space for differentiation. In contrast, the SSP routine allows children to learn at their pace, and Monster Mapped® words and books support this learning. They can be used at home regardless of how phonics is taught in school. It is easy if the child is learning using the old DfE Letters and Sounds programme GPC teaching sequence! Many synthetic phonics programmes are based on this order: starting with s a t p i n etc

Some children will learn to read regardless of the method, some will benefit from systematic phonics, some will eventually learn but find the process extremely difficult, and one in four will not reach expected reading levels by age 11 without extra support. These resources are designed for all children who want to enjoy learning to read, but especially for the one in four who would otherwise be left behind.

You can see this when young children FIRST figure out the unfailiar word, then look at it with just the graphemes mapped, andf finally with no cues. Even if they have never heard of the word, or know what it means!

Children first read the book in Monster Sounds. Next, they read it with graphemes (Sound Pics®) shown, that is, Code Mapped®. Then they have a go with the regular text version.

You will know when they can move straight to the Code Mapped® book or when they can begin with the regular text. This varies with each child, but by the end of the introductory readers they no longer need Speech Sound Monsters®. If they need help, they can use the MyWordz® technology.

Please ask your local library to stock these books, as they can order them through Gardners and other distributors. The handbook explains how to use the books to get children excited about reading.

The Village with Three Corners Books