Find out what Read Write Inc. Phonics is and find eBooks, videos, and kits to help your child as they learn to read with Read Write Inc. Phonics at home.
Blog posts for: Age 3
Learn to read with phonics
What is phonics? Find out in our phonics guide for parents. Learn about Letters and Sounds, the phonics screening test, and how to practice phonics at home.
Free eBook library: 100s of eBooks to practise reading
Help your young child learn to read, and love to read, with our eBook library, containing hundreds of free eBooks. Developed for children aged 3–11.
Read with Oxford Stage 1
Read with Oxford is an exciting range of levelled books to build reading confidence at home. Use Stage 1 to start your child on their reading journey.
Books to inspire young scientists
Science and engineering provide fantastic career opportunities, but science is not just for scientists – it’s a huge part of everyday life. A good grounding in science will help every child to navigate their world and make good decisions. Isabel Thomas recommends books for ages 3–11 to inspire your young scientist.
How Numicon can help develop maths skills at home
Early Years teacher and mother Sheila O’Reilly shows us how the 1st Steps with Numicon at Home kit can support your child’s early maths development.
Top 8 books about starting school
Starting school is a big milestone in a child’s life – not to mention a parent/carer’s too! Here are eight engaging stories and picture books about starting school to share with your child, to gently prepare them for their first day.
WIN a Christmas book bundle!
It’s the season of giving, so we’re celebrating with not just one book of the month, but a whole bundle of festive treats!
Brilliant picture books: 22 beautiful books for children under 5
Wendy Cooling MBE has selected her favourite illustrated books to help you introduce your child to the wonders of stories and storytelling.
How to choose a book for ages 3–7
Children’s librarian Greta Paterson shares her 5 top tips for choosing books for 3–7 year olds.
Cerrie Burnell’s top tips for reading bedtime stories
Sharing a book at bedtime helps develop your child’s vocabulary, gets them used to the idea of regular reading, and gives you both a great opportunity to bond. Children’s author Cerrie Burnell gives us her top tips for getting the most out of bedtime reading.
Ordering and counting with Numicon
Early Years teacher and mother Sheila O’Reilly shows us how to use Numicon shapes to help your child learn to count and order numbers.
Book of the Month: Big Words for Little People
To celebrate the publication of the brand-new Big Words for Little People series, we’ve got three pairs of books to give away! (November 2020)
Reading: Age 3–4 (Early years)
Find out how your child’s reading skills will develop in nursery. Discover fun activities, ideas, and books to support your 3–4-year-old at home.
8 fun ways to learn about shapes
Shapes are all around us and there are many ways you can start exploring them with your child. Get ideas on how to help familiarise your child with different shapes in all sorts of contexts.
Maths: Age 3–4 (Early Years)
It’s never too early to explore numbers with your child. These ideas will help your child to explore numbers, giving them a great start to developing early maths skills and concepts.
Biff, Chip and Kipper: Rhyming Games Flashcards
These exciting rhyming games encourage children to practise their letters and sounds. They will help your child link groups of letters with their sounds, recognise rhyming words, develop memory and concentration skills and develop early reading and spelling skills.
Progress with Oxford Age 3–4
Fun activity books to develop early numeracy and literacy skills. Try some free activities and help your child get ready for primary school.
Book of the Month: All Aboard …
To celebrate the publication of the brand-new All Aboard series, we’ve got three pairs of books to give away! (January 2020)
Storyteller videos: Julia Donaldson’s Songbirds
Watch Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo, read phonically decodable stories from her Read with Oxford Songbirds collections.
Boosting early maths skills with number facts
Louise Pennington shows us her top five maths games, including ‘Bunny rabbit ears’ and ‘What’s in the bag?’, to help your child practise their number facts.
Julia Donaldson’s Songbirds: Phonics Games Flashcards
These exciting phonics games encourage children to practise their letters and sounds and have an awareness of rhyme. They will help children to link groups of letters with their sounds, recognise rhyming words, develop memory and concentration skills and develop early reading and spelling skills.
Julia Donaldson’s Songbirds: Alphabet Games Flashcards
These exciting alphabet games encourage children to practise their letters and sounds and have an awareness of rhyme. They will help children to link groups of letters with their sounds, to recognise individual letter shapes and sounds, and read and spell simple words.
Biff, Chip and Kipper: Alphabet Games Flashcards
Four different alphabet games help children to develop recognition of letter shapes and sounds, develop memory and concentration skills and read and spell simple words.
Big Words for Little People
A series of picture books created by the language experts at Oxford University Press to introduce young children to the words they need to make sense of their feelings.
Fun Christmas activities for 0–4 year olds
From hand-print Christmas wreaths to games to develop shape recognition skills, discover lots of toddler-friendly crafts and activity ideas to try with your little ones this Christmas!
Phonics: The Town Mouse and Country Mouse and Other Tales
This beautifully illustrated Stage 1 book is filled with the traditional stories of The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse; The Gingerbread Man; The Enormous Turnip; and Get the Rat. The tales have been re-written so that children can read for themselves and develop their phonics skills.
Julia Donaldson’s Songbirds: My Phonics Story Collection
With a focus on building phonics skills, this collection contains 12 fun phonics stories to provide perfect practice for beginner readers. The kit also contains colourful stickers, and an alphabet chart to reward, motivate and build confidence.
Biff, Chip and Kipper: I Can Read Kit
Packed full of fun activities, engaging stories and useful tips, this kit provides you with everything you need to celebrate your child’s progress and keep their interest in reading alive. Biff, Chip, Kipper and Floppy the dog are all at hand to guide your child’s learning, while stickers help build your child’s confidence.
Spooky books for children to read this Halloween
From seriously spine-tingling stories to tales about the silliest of spooks, our collection of Halloween reading recommendations is packed full of books to entertain 2–12 year-olds on long, dark autumn nights.
Julia Donaldson’s Songbirds: Bob Bug and Other Stories
This collection of twelve fun stories by Julia Donaldson helps your child build phonics skills at home. Discover what life would be like being small with Bob Bug, find out if Top Cat becomes king of the garden and learn how to make some tasty buns!
Biff, Chip and Kipper: Picnic Fun and Other Stories
Play hide-and-seek with Kipper, make music with the family and find out what happens when a picnic in the country doesn’t go to plan! This collection contains two phonics books and three stories. Tips for parents and fun activities help you and your child to enjoy reading together.
Biff, Chip and Kipper: Mum’s New Hat and Other Stories
Enjoy funny rhymes with Kipper, watch Biff and Chip’s magic show and find out happens to Mum’s new hat on a windy day! This collection of two phonics books and three stories is a fabulous introduction to phonics, and includes top tips and exciting activities to enjoy together.
Biff, Chip and Kipper: Silly Races and Other Stories
This collection contains two phonics books and three stories for wider reading. There are tips for parents and fun activities throughout the book for you and your child to enjoy together. Play a game of ‘I Spy’ with Kipper, join in with the family’s silly races and find out what happens on a trip to the seaside!
Biff, Chip and Kipper: Stories and Activities Stage 1, Book B
This Stories and Activities book contains two Biff, Chip and Kipper stories in an appealing comic-strip format, along with a wealth of fun activities that will help your child to practise sounds, letters and early reading skills at home.
Biff, Chip and Kipper: Dad’s Birthday and Other Stories
This collection contains two phonics books and three stories for wider reading. Tips for parents and fun activities throughout the book help you and your child enjoy reading together. Play a game of ‘I Spy’ with Biff, celebrate Dad’s birthday and join the children as they dress up in funny costumes!
Summer games and activities
Find activity ideas and book recommendations to keep the kids busy this summer.
Phonics Story Games Flashcards
Children learn best when reading is fun and these story games are a great way to practise reading and storytelling skills. Carefully created to practise phonic sounds and letters, each game has concise, easy-to-follow instructions which require no preparation – just sit down with your child and have fun!
Big Words for Little People: Calmness
This little hardback book creates a moment to focus on Calmness. Using carefully chosen words and phrases, such as ‘breathe’ or ‘balance’, it creates a special moment for grown-ups and young children to focus on what it means to be calm and how to cope with worries.
Help your 3–4-year-old child learn
Tips and activities to help your 3- or 4-year-old develop maths and literacy skills at home.
Non-fiction: Weather and Seasons
Find out more about the different seasons, how to be ready for all types of weather, and how the world around us changes from daytime to night-time!
This Book Just Stole My Cat!
When Ben is tempting his cat across the page with a fluffy mouse, his cat . . . disappears! Then his best friend Bella disappears, too. Sniffer dogs and rescue teams can’t help . . . When Ben also vanishes, it’s up to the reader to sort the situation in this playful and funny story.
Winnie and Wilbur: The Dinosaur Day
Winnie and Wilbur love their local museum, especially the dinosaur gallery. When an exciting competition is announced to draw or make a model of a dinosaur Winnie and Wilbur can’t wait to take part. But what did dinosaurs look like?
Winnie and Wilbur: The Bug Safari
Winnie and Wilbur are fascinated by the creepy-crawlies in the garden and decide it could be fun to shrink right down to their size. But when you’re knee-high to a caterpillar, there can be some very hairy moments.
Super Happy Magic Forest
Tolkien for toddlers! When the Mystical Crystals of Life are stolen, five brave heroes must go on an epic quest to get them back and save the Super Happy Magic Forest from the root of all evil.
Non-fiction: Animals and Us
Find out more about the animals of the world, how they adapt to survive and how they use tools just like us! From dogs and lions to kingfishers and atlas moths, this collection is packed full of fascinating facts about both familiar and more unusual animals.
Storyteller videos
Let our professional storytellers take you on an adventure! Traditional tales, Winnie the witch stories, and more for children aged 3–8.
Starting to Write Age 3–4
This activity book will help your child to develop pencil control and form letters correctly. Picture clues show young children how to complete activities with minimal support, and a progress chart, colourful stickers, and a lively character all help make their first steps in learning to write fun and exciting.
Shape and Size Age 3–4
This fun activity book will help your child to develop their knowledge of shapes and size. They will quickly learn the names of shapes, recognise their features and learn the vocabulary of measurement and dimension.
Numicon: 1st Steps with Numicon at Home Kit
The First Steps with Numicon at Home Kit has been designed for parents and carers of pre-school children (aged 3–5) and uses a multi-sensory approach to help develop essential maths skills during the Foundation Stage and early Key Stage 1.
Colours and Patterns Age 3–4
This activity book will develop your child’s understanding of colours and patterns. With the help of engaging activities and a lively character, your child with quickly learn the names of colours, be able to identify colours in pictures and learn simple patterns.
Winnie and Wilbur in Space
Winnie and Wilbur are going into space! Winnie conjures a rocket and they blast into orbit. It’s quite tricky dealing with all the rocket’s controls but it’s even trickier knowing what to do with hungry space rabbits . . . will Winnie have enough magic up her sleeve to save the day?
Winnie and Wilbur Around the World
Winnie and Wilbur are visiting the wild animals from their library book in real life. It’s exciting to journey by magic all around the world, but there’s trouble ahead!
Boris Starts School
Even a big bear can feel small when starting school!
Lula and the Sea Monster
Lula lives in a house next to the beach with her family. When they must leave their home to make way for a highway, Lula is desperate to protect the beach and its wildlife, but how will a small girl like her be able to do it? A beautiful picture book about the relationship between humans and nature, celebrating the power that children have and how they can make a difference.
Winnie and Wilbur Meet Santa
It’s Christmas Eve and Winnie and Wilbur are super excited. They’ve posted their letters to the North Pole and made everything festive. But then disaster strikes…
Biff, Chip and Kipper: Stories and Activities Stage 1, Book A
This Stories and Activities book contains two Biff, Chip and Kipper stories in an appealing comic-strip format, along with a wealth of fun activities that will help your child to practise sounds, letters and early reading skills at home.
Numbers up to 10 Age 3–4
This activity book will help our child to progress with numbers with minimal support while having fun. Picture clues, a progress chart and a lively character help young children to recognise numbers, their names and their digits, as well as understanding how to write them.
Phonics Age 3–4
This Progress with Oxford activity book will help your child learn the sounds of each letter and understand how those sounds make words. Picture clues show young children how to complete activities with minimal support, and a progress chart, stickers, and a lively character all help make learning phonics fun.
abc Age 3–4
This activity workbook will help to build and develop your child’s alphabetical skills. With the help of picture clues, lively characters and a progress chart, young children will quickly learn to recognise the 26 letters of the alphabet, the sounds they make and the sequence of the letters.
Counting up to 10 Age 3–4
This fun activity book will aid in your child’s counting progress. Picture clues and colourful activities make learning how to count from 1 to 10 both fun and exciting. A lively character accompanies your child through the book as they develop independent learning skills.
Phonics: Sam’s Backpack and Other Stories
Join Sam on a camping trip with his special backpack and help Pip catch her dragon balloon! Contains six captivating Read with Oxford stories with clear phonics progression.
Numicon: Box of 80 Numicon Shapes
This box of 80 Numicon Shapes provides essential apparatus to parents of children throughout the primary years.
Beautiful Bananas
Beatrice is taking a bunch of beautiful bananas to her grandad, but on the way a giraffe flicks them into the stream – Splash! How will Beatrice get the bananas back? Find out and, on the way, meet hungry bees, playful monkeys, and even a sneezing elephant!
The Christmas Unicorn
Christmas is only days away when Milly meets a unicorn. He patters softly into Grandpa’s house on a snowy night and suddenly Milly’s world is filled with magic, friendship, and the happiness she has been hoping for.
Jazz Dog
In a divided world of cats and dogs – where dogs only play dog music and cats only play cat music – one little dog chooses to follow the music in his heart, and that means jamming with the cats!
Oxford Very First Dictionary
The Oxford Very First Dictionary, with its colourful clear layout and familiar first words, each with a simple definition and illustration, is a fun and easy way for young children to learn how to use a dictionary. Helps support early litearcy skills.
Numicon: Printable baseboard and shapes
Don’t have Numicon shapes at home? Print out this paper version of the Numicon baseboard. It includes Numicon Shapes, in colour, which you can cut out and use on the board.
Big Words for Little People: Kindness
This little hardback picture book creates a moment to focus on Kindness. It introduces words to talk about feelings with confidence and in a way that feels good.
Big Words for Little People: Bravery
This little hardback picture book creates a moment to focus on Bravery. It introduces words to talk about feelings with confidence and in a way that feels good.
Winnie the Witch
Whoops! Winnie the Witch has just sat on Wilbur . . . again! But that’s what happens if you share your black house with a black cat. Can Winnie find a magical way to put a stop to the accidents?
My Reading and Writing Kit: Early sounds and blending
This comprehensive kit is packed full of resources to help your child learn to read and write. It is a perfect way to prepare your child for school and support them as they begin to learn phonics in Nursery and Reception. Includes flashcards, a handwriting book, wipe-clean sheet and pen, and parent handbook
Numicon: 100 Square Baseboard
A plastic square with 10 x 10 raised circles on which Numicon Shapes and overlays can be placed. This can be used in lots of maths games and activities.
All Aboard the Shapes Train
Hop on board our amazing train for a fun-filled learning journey! We’re off to explore shapes, playtime and so much more. All aboard everyone!

Copyright Oxford University Press 2020