Discover Decodable Readers at San Francisco Public Library, available at every SFPL library location.
Pick up an informational brochure or Decodable Readers Tool bookmark at any location or download one today!
What are Decodable Readers?
Decodable readers are books that help children practice letter-sound relationships. They follow a sequence, moving from simple to more advanced letter patterns.
Who Can Benefit from Decodable Readers?
Decodable readers allow children to practice and grow into confident readers. They help early readers, struggling readers and English language learners. They allow children to sound out words and recognize spelling patterns, and help build accuracy and fluency.
How to Use Decodable Readers at SFPL
Bins are color coded and numbered in the sequence they should be introduced.
- Choose the skill category that matches your child's current ability, that includes the letter patterns your child already knows. Unsure what level is best? Use a Decodable Readers Tool bookmark for quick guidance or start at the beginning with the red bin.
- Read slowly together, encouraging your child to sound out each word.
- Reread books for extra practice and confidence!
Pick up a Decodable Readers Tool bookmark at any location or download one today.
Our collection is organized into 6 skill categories. Each category is color-coded to help you find the right books easily.
Visit your local library location to find the collection or visit the links below each category to see ebook versions of the titles available in each category. Please note that not all titles are available as ebooks.
CVC Words (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant)
- Simple three-letter words following a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern.
Examples: cat, dog, cup
Booklist for CVC Words in red bins at library locations
Booklist for available ebooks for CVC Words- Simple three-letter words following a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern.
Digraphs & Blends
- Digraphs: Two letters that make one sound like ch, sh, th
Examples: chip, shop, math - Blends: Two or more consonants grouped together where each consonant sound is heard like st, sl, tr
Examples: step, slack, trip
Booklist for Digraphs & Blends in orange bins at library locations
Booklist for available ebooks for Digraphs & Blends- Digraphs: Two letters that make one sound like ch, sh, th
Complex Vowels
- Vowel-e: The "e" at the end makes the vowel say its name
Examples: cake, bike, rope - Long Vowels: Say their name like a, e, i, o, u
Examples: hi, no, be - R-Controlled: The "r" changes how the vowel sounds
Examples: car, bird, fern - Vowel Teams: Two vowels that make one sound
Examples: eat, pie, toy - Y as a Vowel: "Y" can sound like e or i
Examples: happy, cry, baby
Booklist for Complex Vowels in yellow bins at library locations
Booklist for available ebooks for Complex Vowels- Vowel-e: The "e" at the end makes the vowel say its name
Irregular Spelling
- Words that don't follow regular phonics rules.
Examples: the, back, fluff
Booklist for Irregular Spelling in green bins at library locations
Booklist for available ebooks for Irregular Spelling- Words that don't follow regular phonics rules.
Affixes (Prefixes and Suffixes)
- Prefix: Added to the beginning to change meaning
Examples: redo, preheat, unhappy - Suffix: Added to the end to change meaning or tense
Examples: jumped, running, helpful
Booklist for Affixes in blue bins at library locations
Booklist for available ebooks for Affixes- Prefix: Added to the beginning to change meaning
Multisyllable Words
- Longer words with more than one part (syllable). These may include spelling patterns like:
- open/closed syllables
- vowel-e
- compound words
Examples: sunset, baseball, hopeful, reptile9999
Booklist for Multisyllable Words in purple bins at library locations
Booklist for available ebooks for Multisyllable Words- Longer words with more than one part (syllable). These may include spelling patterns like:
Learning to read is a process. It takes time, practice, and a mix of different brain skills working together. Scarborough’s Reading Rope is a helpful visual that shows all the skills kids need to become strong, confident readers.
Imagine reading like braiding a rope.
Each strand in the rope is a different skill. When all the strands are woven together tightly, the rope gets stronger and so does your child’s reading!
The rope is made of two big skill groups:
Word Recognition
These are the skills that help kids read the words easily and automatically:
- Phonological Awareness: Playing with sounds in words (like rhyming or clapping out syllables).
- Decoding: Sounding out new words by matching letters to sounds.
- Sight Recognition: Instantly reading words they’ve seen many times (like “the” or “and”).
Language Comprehension
These are the skills that help kids understand what they read:
- Vocabulary: Knowing what words mean.
- Background Knowledge: Using what they know about the world to make sense of the story.
- Language Structure: Understanding grammar and sentence structure.
- Literacy Knowledge: Knowing how books work—like reading left to right or recognizing types of stories.
- Verbal Reasoning: Making guesses, connections, and understanding jokes or metaphors.
As these skills grow, your reader's "rope" gets stronger—and so does their reading confidence!