Easy books to learn to read

[crayon]

I am looking for some simple books and workbooks to use with my 7 year old. She has no interest in learning to read so we have focused a lot of math (she loves math) but I need to get her some fun, workbooks to help her learn to read.  She seems to like workbooks and story problems a lot better than picture books.  Picture books distract her mind to the picture- not the words.

[Owen'nZoe]

Learning to use pictures to decode text is a really important part of learning to read, so I personally would not see her interest in the pictures over the text as a bad thing! Also, If she is doing math work sheets and enjoying them, remember that they also involve reading, so she is getting reading experience there.

What books have you tried? The Mouse books in the "Brand New Readers" series were a big hit with my son when he first started reading. http://www.amazon.com/Mouse-Has-Fun-Brand-Readers/dp/0763613584 They are very short, easy to read, and build the child's confidence level quickly. I know others who have had great luck with the "Bob" books. These have very simple line drawings only, and I doubt your child would be distracted by them.

[ollyoxenfree]

She may prefer non-fiction to storybooks.  Some children are more interested in fascinating facts and the world around them than make-belief tales. You might try Eye Witness books from DK or Ripley's Believe it or Not or similar books, starting with topics she likes.

There are some fun "math-y" stories that she may enjoy. Some are picture books and some have few or no illustrations. With the latter, the reading level is advanced enough that you may have to read them to her at first, but they may spark her interest to get her reading on her own. Some examples that come to mind: 

The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure by Magnus Enzensberger

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster

Grandfather Tang's Story by Ann Tompert (picture book - uses tangrams to tell the story)

I'm sure that there are a lot more, both picture books and other. Just remembered - check out Theonni Pappas' math books for children (or the adult books too). 

[domesticidyll]

The living math website has a terrific collection of mathy picture books.

Also what about reading games, treasure hunts through the house, etc. DS liked the treasure hunts. When he was first learning to read, I'd just give him a word on a piece of paper (bed, tub), and he'd go there to find the next clue. Later on we did riddle clues. Come to think, we haven't done this in a while, I should do set one up for him soon.

Heather

[LynnS6]

You might try just really easy early readers. That's how my kids learned to read.

The Young Cam Jansen might be a good one to start with. You can read the story to her, and the work through the story itself. I like them because they're cute little stories about a girl with photographic memory (there are also beginning chapter books about Cam Jansen).

Have you tried something like the Bob books? Very simple, builds up slowly.

[LuckyMommaToo]

Do you have a decent local library? I had the most luck going to the library by myself. I would check out like, 30 books. There would always be at least a few that appealed to DS, then I would try to get more like that.

-e

[A&A]

Look for the Piggie and Gerald series of books.  They are so FUN and got my son hooked on reading.