If I learned one thing as a young writer, it was that kids can read a book as long as it uses short words. It’s what I was taught by more seasoned editors and what I have applied to the hundreds of early reader books I’ve written and edited over the years. And it made sense … until I started teaching my own child how to read.
When the pandemic hit, I found myself locked in with a rising kindergartner. I didn’t know what he’d need to know when (and if!) school started, so I pulled all the early readers from my shelves and got to work … only to find that he couldn’t read them. The books I expected to be easy enough for him were too hard. So, I started doing some digging to find out why.
