Read with Oxford: Stages 1-2: Julia Donaldson's Songbirds: My Phonics Story Collection

My four-year-old is currently going through what I call a "learn-hungry" phase. He is absolutely desperate to decipher the world around him, constantly asking what signs say or trying to pick out letters on cereal boxes. We wanted to capitalize on that momentum without making reading feel like a boring classroom chore, and this collection has been the absolute perfect fit for us. If you’ve ever looked at early reader books, you know they can be painfully dull. "The cat sat on the mat" is fine for mechanics, but it doesn't exactly capture a child's imagination. That is why having Julia Donaldson’s name on these was a huge selling point for me. Because she is a master storyteller, even these very simple, phonics-based stories have a bit of wit and rhythm to them. They actually feel like little adventures rather than just lists of words. The progression from Stage 1 to Stage 2 is handled really well in this set. Stage 1 is very basic, focusing on initial sounds and simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words, which gave my son a massive confidence boost right out of the gate. He could finish a whole "book" in one sitting, and the look of pride on his face was worth every penny. By the time we moved to the Stage 2 stories, he was ready for slightly longer sentences without getting frustrated or overwhelmed. I also really appreciate the "Tips for Parents" sections usually found on the inside covers. When you aren't a teacher, it’s hard to know if you are helping or hovering too much, and the guidance on how to ask questions about the story was super helpful. If you have a Reception-aged child or a preschooler who is showing signs of being ready to read, I can't recommend this enough. It turns "learning to read" into just "reading a fun story," which is exactly what we wanted.

Read with Oxford: Stages 1–2: Julia Donaldson Children’s Books is a really nice set for kids just starting to read. The stories are fun, simple, and a bit silly in a good way, which keeps children interested without making things too hard. Julia Donaldson’s writing makes it feel more like storytime than learning, and the bright pictures help a lot too. Overall, it’s a great way to build confidence and get kids enjoying reading early on.

Perfect for a child learning to read. Really happy with this set.

Lovely set of books and handy box to store. Comes with sticker sheet so you can reward after each book. Great for 4 year old who managed both stages without too much trouble, and loves being able to read for himself. Only comment was that we received 2 of the same number book instead of a full set but by the time I realised we'd used the stickers and read the other books so didn't return

Brilliant books to learn before my Granddaughter goes in to reception in September.👍

My child loves these books, and although school haven’t yet sent home any reading books, this gave him a great level of confidence that he can read stage 1 and much of stage 2. Highly recommend

Lovely stories. Work well with the schools reading systems. Great for beginner readers. Good quality books.

We are enjoying these books as my daughters school friends lost her confidence in reception to read her teacher went up to level 3 to quick and she got so frustrated with reading I decided to purchase these and go back to basics for a few weeks this helped her massively and the sticker chart was such a hit I need to now order another sticker chart to keep the reading going we are on to level 2 after 2 weeks.

Very nice stories that focus on phonics and have a fun storyline. Julia Donaldson never disappoints!

I love Julia Donaldson books so I was eager to get these early readers for my daughter. When I flipped through them though, I was surprised to find a nasty or negative tone to many of the books. One book consists of classmate after classmate telling a bully to “buzz off” before reporting him to their teacher who can’t wait for her day to end so she can go home, only to find her own kids behaving the same way. In another book, a mom “tells off” the dad because he’s singing all the time. There is a book about a bunny who closes his restaurant because all of his patrons are complaining. There’s a book where the mom is called a “fusspot” by the dad for calling the doctor when the baby is sick. And other books show evil looking characters like vain cats and toddlers being toddlers. Honestly, I was baffled. I thought the readers would be cute and funny. I don’t want to encourage these negative attitudes in my impressionable 5 year old so I’ll be returning.

Very good collection of books for kids who are starting to read.the book contains small stories which can be read by doing phonics.it was very helpful for my 6 six year old son who couldnt read at all.

Great for kids!

My child is learning to read and these were perfect for him. Super easy and not to intensive.