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The easy reader category of books is written for children who are learning to read. They use simple vocabulary, large typeface and short sentences. Dr. Suess seems to have been the first to write what has been come to be known as the easy reader book. Dr. Suess, a.k.a. Theodore Geisel, approached Houghton Mifflin and acquired a limited vocabulary list from their text book division. He worked for over a year to shape 237 easy-to-read words into what we all know as "The Cat in the Hat." Another of the first easy-to-read books were published in 1957 by Harper & Row and were called the "I Can Read" Series. These were the Little Bear books by Else Holmelcind Minarik. This series set the standard for the form.
They are illustrated, but differently than a picture book. Their appearance is similar to books aimed at older children. Most easy readers are about 48 pages long. The story text takes up 38 pages. Maximum character count per line is 36. This includes all spaces and punctuation. If your sentence is longer than 36 characters, you will need to put part of it on the next line. This feature is called the "ragged right" format. This simply means that paragraphs are not indented and a printed line is a complete sentence in itself. Example: The dog looked out the window. The dog wagged his tail and barked at the children. The word count for easy readers is usually 250-1500 words. The word count is less for younger readers and only the highest level books have the longest word count. Easy readers are divided into levels. Level one books are the easiest to read. These are not divided into chapters; they are one single story. They are also be the shortest of the easy reader books — 250-500 words. Higher level books are divided into three to six chapters with four chapters being the most common length. Each chapter is a stand-alone story with a beginning, middle and end. All chapters go together to make a larger story. In chapter one, the problem is set up and the theme identified. The rest of the chapters build on the theme and the last chapter is a resolution of the overall story. Most easy readers are written using sight words most children learn in first and second grade. Most do not use a controlled vocabulary. They should be well-written stories with interesting content. Most use short words that are easy for the emerging reader to decode. The language must be rich and interesting because a good story is the most important feature. Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Easy Readers in Writing for Children is owned by Sue Reichard. Permission to republish Easy Readers in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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