t is a proud moment for every parent when their child learns to say the complete alphabet, all 26 letters of it!! And when your child learns to read on her own, the joy is simply unparalleled. But before she achieves that important milestone, she needs to understand the sounds of letters, and how they come together in words. This is where phonics, otherwise known as phonetics, comes in.

 Most parents have likely heard of phonics and phonic sounds but aren’t sure about how important they are. Schools have woken up to the importance of phonetics for kids, but a little extra help from home can make a significant difference in a child’s desire to read for himself. To make it easy for you, here is a list of 10 books to help your child learn phonics.

How To Teach Phonics – Top 10 Books For Phonics

This is the first book in the Ladybird I’m Ready for Phonics Series. The series has a set of flashcards and books graded from levels 1 to 12, with a very gradual increase in difficult as you go up in the series. The first book starts with the first sound of a word and every book features a different story with bright and simple illustrations. The books are available in both paperback and kindle version.

If you’re a family living in India, it’s unlikely that you don’t have any books from Parragon Publishers!! The Gold Stars books have a lovely gold star sticker sheet at the end to motivate and encourage children. This book is the very first in the phonics series, and is ideal for absolute beginners. There are many activities to do and phonic worksheets as well which makes the book a must buy!

Scholastic’s Learning Express is a series of English and Math activity books for early learners. If you are thinking, how to teach phonics to kindergarten kids then this books is the best. This book is the first in the phonics sub series and is good for a beginner, though it is assumed that kids are completely comfortable with reading and writing both upper and lower case letters. The exercises are fun to do, with bright illustrations and easy instructions. The best part – reward stickers and certificates!

Anyone who hasn’t read ‘The Gruffalo’, raise your hands. I see there are no hands raised!! The Songbirds Phonics books are also by the beloved author of ‘The Gruffalo’, Julia Donaldson. The entire series comprises of 60 books, each one very well written with funny text or rhymes. Sam’s Pot is among the Level 1+ books and tells the story of a boy and his cat. All in all, a great choice for a phonics book series.

Jolly phonics workshops for learning phonics are very popular in India. If you want to know about how the jolly phonics sounds work and help kids in reading books early then this set of workbooks is the best way to start.

This book is recommended for older kids, who’ve mastered the basics of phonics. It features a hysterical story about the silent letters in words who have suddenly gone on strike because the kids don’t think they’re important! If you’ve been stumped by questions like, ‘Why is there an ‘e’ in apple?’ this is the book for you!

Clifford is back!! This is the perfect gift for little fans of the big red dog. This set is ideal for an early reader, with the first book starting with the very basics of parent letters. And these aren’t just boring instruction books; every book features a different adventure involving Clifford and his friends!

Technically speaking, this isn’t a book, but we’ll include it here all the same. This box of 86 cards is great for kids well versed with basic vowel and consonant sound. Most of the cards feature starting and ending blends. These are particularly great if you have a child with a low attention span; he’s unlikely to run from flash cards!

Yes we know L isn’t for sheep, but to understand what the author’s talking about, you’ll need to read the book! This book is perfect for teachers as well as parents and has been written based on real life research with kids. It is very useful for those who are clueless about how to start introducing phonics to their child.

This book is more geared towards teachers and educators, although parents can also benefit from it, especially if their kids are being homeschooled. This is a very detailed book about phonics, offering in depth information about its history and applicability with young kids. It goes beyond letter sounds and also touches upon fluency, activities and assessment.

With these books, you are now equipped to tackle reading head on! It is recommended to follow one series of books, since they will follow a uniform grading. Of course if you think the current book you have isn’t working for your child, do try out another. But most of all, be patient and don’t force your child; you want to grow a child who actually enjoys reading!!

Have you tried any of these books to teach your child phonics?

Which ones have worked for you?