5 books in 1. Each Book is 1,700-2,875 words.
The DOG ON A LOG Book series help kids, including kids with dyslexia, learn to read. They are sound-out books that start with just a few phonics rules. Each following Step of books adds a few more phonics rules and sight words. This gradual progression helps kids learn to read without feeling so overwhelmed.
New readers love reading books that look like "regular" books. They especially love that they get to read "real chapter books." Having multiple chapter books in each Step means struggling readers are more likely to master the phonics without memorizing the books.
Start anywhere in the series based on your child's reading skills. The word list below will help you decide where in the series your child should start. Information on printable activities is provided in each book.
The "Look Inside" feature will help you determine if this book is right for your reader.
The (purple) Let's GO! books have fewer words for new or less confident readers. The (red) chapter books are longer for more reading practice.
Books can be purchased individually or as collection volumes. This is a collection of five Step 8 chapter books.
Research shows the most effective way to teach reading is with explicit systematic phonics. That means you teach just a few phonics rules then the student practices reading books with just the rules they have been taught. Each DOG ON A LOG Book also has a list of the "sight words" that cannot be sounded-out with the presented phonics. Kids can learn those words before beginning each book. The listed sight words will be the only words in the book that cannot be sounded-out with the rules from the DOG ON A LOG Phonics Progression.
Many early reader books, leveled books, and even "Beginning Phonics Books" are written so they cannot be sounded-out. Kids often struggle and grow frustrated when they can't sound out the words. However, kids who have been taught the phonics in DOG ON A LOG Decodable Books can be proud when they are able to sound out and read almost every word.
DOG ON A LOG Books follow an Orton Gillingham/systematic phonics-based progression.
For additional information on using this series, see the Kindle Book: How to Use Decodable Books to Teach Reading.
Paper books are optimized for learners with dyslexia. They have cream-colored paper, black and white images, and large Verdana font. Verdana is one of the most dyslexia-friendly fonts.
Kindle books have color images.
DOG ON A LOG "What Step Should We Start With" Word List
Have your child read the following words. If they can’t read every word in a Step, that is probably the step they should start with. For some kids, you may want to start at an earlier Step so they can build confidence in their reading ability.
Step 1
fin, mash, sock, sub, cat, that, Dan’s
Step 2
less, bats, tell, mall, chips, whiff, falls
Step 3
bangs, dank, honk, pings, chunk, sink, gong, rungs
Step 4
silk, fluff, smash, krill, drop, slim, whisk
Step 5
hunch, crate, rake, tote, inch, mote, lime
Step 6
child, molts, fold, hind, jolt, post, colds
Step 7
strive, scrape, splint, twists, crunch, prints, blend
Step 8
finish, denim, within, bathtub, sunset, medic, habit
Step 9
hundred, goldfinch, tree, wheat, inhale, play, Joe
Step 10
be, remake, spry, repeat, silo, sometime, pinwheel
If your child isn't ready for Step 1 books:
DOG ON A LOG Pup Books will help you teach them the essential Pre-Reading skills then the letters and how to sound-out words.
---Before the Squiggle Code (Pre-Reading Skills)
---The Squiggle Code (Learning Letters and Words)
---Kids' Squiggles (First Stories)
My child needed an ongoing supply of systematic phonics books that use an Orton-Gillingham approach. Finding such books proved to be a nearly impossible task so I decided to write them myself. I want to share our books with new readers and their families. I also want to make them affordable. All books are available in both digital and paper editions. The most cost-effective version is a digital collection of five same-step books. The paperback version of the five book collections is a bit more, but is still a lot less expensive than buying the individual paper books. Due to production costs, the individual paperbacks are the most expensive way to buy these books. However, these books give kids a chance to hold a book and say, "I read this WHOLE book." Since every family will have different needs and different budgets, I am making the books available in multiple formats. All the paperbacks have black and white pictures to keep prices down. The digital books all have color pictures. As our reading journey progresses I will continue to write books for my daughter and to share them with other families. I was not going to include artwork because that is not my talent. However, my daughter was adamant she wanted her books to include pictures. I may not be able to draw, but I can photoshop. I thoroughly enjoy adapting public domain images to each story. I am grateful to the artists who have made their images available for public domain uses. These sweet images give my daughter a break when the reading is challenging. I hope other new readers will be entertained by these stories as they practice, and master, each step of their reading journey.
