The ability to read easily and fluently can be taken for granted. But for students struggling with dyslexia or for English language learners, finding appropriate books for learning to read can be challenging. Additionally, the pendulum of the subject of how to teach reading has swung back and forth with competing ideologies, resulting in calls for reform. For nearly 30 years, Christie Welsby has been helping children learn to read, and has used both whole language and phonics-based approaches with her students. “While whole language teaching can help some students learn to read, in my experience, a phonics-based approach helps all students,” Welsby shares. “Even if students are already fluent readers, phonics-based instruction will help them understand how our language works, and can also improve their spelling.”

Throughout her career as an elementary school reading specialist, she has struggled to find material that was both decodable (able to be sounded out) and engaging.  “The books on the market that are decodable are often not engaging to read, with limited story structure and basic illustrations,” Welsby says. “And the books that are engaging to read are only partially decodable, containing phonics and language patterns well above an early reading level.”

In Forward Motion Readers, Welsby takes a scaffolded approach to the goal of independent reading. “A ‘reader’ is a book that is used to learn to read. In that way, my book is similar to the familiar Dick and Jane books of old, but written with a clear phonics progression,” Welsby says. “The end of my (planned) fifth book will be written at approximately the end of second grade/beginning of third grade reading level. Forward Motion Readers are my contribution to literacy and justice for all,” Welsby says.

Forward Motion Readers are now available for purchase on Bookshop.org, Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com, as well as other places where books are sold.