March is National Reading Month here in the United States. Read Across America Day is celebrated on March 2, the birthday of Dr. Seuss, whose books for emergent readers are still very popular more than 60 years after publication. So here’s a roundup of some of my favorite books for early readers.

Wanna Bet?

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

This was one of the first books I ever read. My dad took a home video of me reading it to my mom on my fifth birthday. As the story goes, after his editor bet him $50 he couldn’t write a children’s book with only 50 different words, Dr. Seuss wrote this book and won the bet (which, adjusted for inflation, would be over $530 today!). And it is very repetitive, which as it turns out is really helpful for people who are learning to read. And the rhyming words are helpful too – if you can read BOAT, you can quickly figure out how to read the word GOAT.

Dr. Seuss wrote many, many books for children, both for young readers and for young listeners. My favorite is actually Fox in Socks, because I like the silly rhymes and tongue twisters, but that’s for readers who have had a bit more practice than Green Eggs and Ham. He also wrote books under the pen name Theo LeSieg, which comes from his birth name Theodor Seuss Geisel – LeSieg is Geisel spelled backwards.

Want a Friend?

Biscuit Finds a Friend by Alyssa Capucilli

Biscuit is a cute little golden retriever puppy, and he likes to say, “Woof, woof!” So to start with, I would read the books to my kids and then pause and let them do the woofs (if they could stop giggling long enough to talk). Then once they started learning to read, they could read the rest of the words too, and the repetition of “Woof, woof!” helps with their confidence. The stories are cute and simple and wholesome, and in this book Biscuit befriends a cute little duckie. I love this one, but really the whole series is great for early readers.

Want a Strawberry Tart?

Amelia Bedelia and the Baby by Peggy Parish

This was my favorite Amelia Bedelia book when I was a kid, and we had several. In case you don’t know, Amelia Bedelia is a woman (or, in more recent books written for older kids by the author’s son, a kid) who takes everything literally. If she’s playing baseball with neighborhood kids, as she does in Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia!, and she is told to “run home,” she will leave the field and run to her house. (Unsure why she’s there, she bakes cookies and heads back to the game to give them to the kids.)

In this book Amelia Bedelia is baby-sitting, even though she said she doesn’t know anything about babies. I love the page spread when she reads her to do list and sees that playtime is until 5:00, so she puts baby Missy in her play pen and proceeds to play with Missy’s toys by herself. Then when she is supposed to give Missy baby food for dinner, Amelia Bedelia makes her a bunch of tiny hamburgers, tiny potatoes, and tiny slices of a baby tomato… after reading “Don’t forget to put on Missy’s bib” and the picture shows Amelia Bedelia trying the bib around her own neck. She did manage to make strawberry tarts while Missy took a nap during the day, winning over Missy’s parents despite the misunderstandings.

Wanna Learn a New Language?

Emma Every Day: Crazy for Apples by C.L. Reid

This is a unique series. It’s about a girl named Emma who is Deaf, so along with words written in English, a few words in each book also show the fingerspelling using the American Sign Language (ASL) alphabet. Since Emma doesn’t speak, she signs, I love that the text notes for quotes that “Emma signed” instead of “Emma said.” Emma has a Cochlear Implant, which is referred to as a CI in the story, and in the glossary at the end of the book is explained. There are also 8 signs at the back of the book that are related to the story, such as autumn, tree, and apple. Other books in the series include different signs. This series is amazing for children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, so they can see themselves in books. It’s also a great way to normalize Deafness and sign language with hearing kids.

Check out Miss Michelle’s Book Nook

Miss Michelle shares her book recommendations each month on the In Our Homeschool blog. Find links to all of her posts here.

Miss Michelle is the sister of Kristen, who writes this blog. She has a daughter who is 10 and a son who is 5. They are not home-schooled, but Miss Michelle is super supportive and proud of her sister for doing it. She has been a full-time Children’s Librarian for over 16 years and loves to recommend her favorite books. You can follow her on Goodreads, where she keeps track of books she has read for storytime, at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/170007385-miss-michelle.