Phonics-aligned books that help readers practice new skills through complete
stories, lovable characters, and confidence-building reading moments.
Express Readers Decodables give students meaningful literacy practice
through complete stories, humor, and Recurring characters help the series feel familiar, fun, and memorable for young readers. The series
was created to help readers build skill and confidence while still feeling
like they are reading real books.
Every title is carefully sequenced so each step builds on the last, students
revisit characters they love while practicing new sounds, patterns, and
skills. The result is a collection that grows with the reader and turns daily
phonics work into something kids actually look forward to.
See how the Express Readers Decodables collection supports readers as they practice new skills through complete stories and familiar characters.
This supplemental set is a continuation of our I Am Ready Book Set, for further practice, variation, and increasing a decodable library.
This supplemental set is a continuation of our I Am Ready Book Set, for further practice, variation, and increasing a decodable library.
In Step 1, students are introduced to Bug, Dog, Cat, Cub, and Pig, (all characters with cvc names).
This supplemental set is a continuation of our main Step 1 Book Set, for further practice, variation, and increasing a decodable library.
In Step 2, we continue to meet other characters as they overcome obstacles and learn to solve problems.
This supplemental set is a continuation of our main Step 2 Book Set, for further practice, variation, and increasing a decodable library.
In Step 3, we hear from both new and old characters as they continue to overcome obstacles with a positive attitude.
This supplemental set is a continuation of our main Step 3 Book Set, for further practice, variation, and increasing a decodable library.
In Step 4, we learn more about the snakes and dive into longer, deeper stories.
This supplemental set is a continuation of our main Step 4 Book Set, for further practice, variation, and increasing a decodable library.
In Step 5, the Express Readers’ pals go on more adventures and learn more lessons.
Coming Soon
In Step 6, each book focuses on a higher-level phonics structure, building on all phonics structures learned in Steps 1-5.
Coming Soon
Preview the Express Reader Decodables Scope & Sequence to see how each step introduces new skills, supports review, and helps readers grow with confidence.
Real moments from teachers, students, and families using Express Readers Decodables.
Recurring characters help the series feel familiar, fun, and memorable for young readers
Character
Small, funny, and always part of the adventure.
Character
Friendly, silly, and ready to help readers keep going.
Character
Loud, cheerful, and full of personality.
Character
Playful, expressive, and easy for readers to remember.
Character
Curious, kind, and always part of the story.
Character
Bright, fun and full of movement.
Character
A memorable character pair that brings humor into the series.
“These decodable books are fantastic! Students love reading at their level, and they follow a strong learning progression. We even ordered more for other grades.”
“The large, clear font and well-spaced words make reading easier for young learners and also model great writing habits.”
“Great stories with beautiful illustrations! I really like these books and have already recommended them to other teachers.”
“Express Readers truly puts students first. My students love the books, and the impact on their learning has been amazing.”
“These books fill a key gap in our curriculum and have been a great fit for both emergent and struggling readers.”
“Express Readers have transformed my literacy instruction — effective, research-based, and adaptable to our curriculum.”
“We adopted Benchmark Advance and are supplementing the phonics lessons with UFLI instruction. The Express Readers are a great next step after the UFLI decodable passage.”
“Our students enjoy reading Express Readers books, which feature high-quality decodables with loveable characters, funny illustrations, and real stories with a problem and solution.”
“My emergent readers love these books — large print, engaging stories, an easy-to-follow structure, and hilarious pictures.”
“Perfect for aligning with the science of reading—well-structured, engaging, and designed for early learners.”
“Well-organized, engaging, and exciting—my students are always eager to read these books!”
“My students are becoming stronger readers and are truly starting to enjoy and look forward to reading.”
Elise Lovejoy founded Express Readers after more than 15 years teaching K-2 students
and seeing a need for better phonics-based books and materials that worked in real
classrooms. Express Readers Decodables were created to combine research, humor,
complete stories, and practical support for teachers and readers.
“I wanted students to have books that gave them real practice, but still felt like real stories.”
Take a closer look inside an Express Readers’ decodable book and see how the stories, characters, and skill-focused practice come together.
Express Readers Village gives teachers one place to find helpful resources that support the Express Reader Decodables collection.
Use the Village to access tools and materials that help you plan instruction, guide practice, and reinforce the skills readers are building across the series all in one resource hub.
Decodable books are specially written readers designed for early readers that focus on specific letter-sound patterns children have explicitly been taught. Unlike leveled readers—which often rely on predictable sentence patterns or illustrations that encourage children to guess unknown words decodable books strictly control the sound structures. A child only or mostly encounters words containing phonic patterns (and select high-frequency sight words) they already know how to sound out.
There are different ways to start, but all ways begin with understanding what a child has ALREADY learned in their foundationl skills, specifically phonics. If you are an educator, begin with the scope and sequence from your reading program and aligning the decodable books to the phonics that have been taught in class. In Express Readers, we can provide a direct alignment to the scope and sequence your students follow. Please contact us at contact@expressreaders.org to get the alignment that correlates to your program. You can also use the Decodable Book Assessment to help place children within the scope and sequence for our books.
Yes! We hope you do, as finding a decodable book that fits your needs is incredibly important. For an individual teacher, fill out our sample form and we will send you a couple of books and information so you can see the stories and the quality of our books. If you are an administrator and need to see more samples, please contact us at contact@expressreaders.org so we can accomodate with a larger sample. If you would just like to preview a book, please look here.
Yes! Our classroom sets come with 6 copies of each title, perfect for small groups and partner practice. We also have intervention sets that contains 4 copies of each title. We offer curriculum aligned sets, and we can build custom sets upon request to further fit the needs of your class, school, or district. Yes! Our classroom sets come with 6 copies of each title, perfect for small groups and partner practice. We also have intervention sets that contains 4 copies of each title. We offer curriculum aligned sets, and we can build custom sets upon request to further fit the needs of your class, school, or district.
Yes! All of our supporting lessons and resources pertaining to the books can be found in the Express Readers Village. Every class set also comes with our printed Quick Keys.
The Express Readers decodable books are perfect practice for home support and practice. The back cover of our books explains the skill covered within the book and the first page displays all the words that are not yet decodable for children, allowing an easy source for home practice.
Request a free sample and see how the books support confident,
skill-focused reading practice.
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