The Measured Mom decodable books: what they are and how to use them

Last updated 2026-07-10

What are The Measured Mom decodable books?

The Measured Mom is a literacy education website run by Anna Geiger, a certified reading specialist and former classroom teacher. Her decodable book collection is one of the largest free printable libraries on the internet, with more than 200 individual titles as of 2024 ^[1]. Each book is a short illustrated story written so almost every word a child meets uses only the phonics patterns she has already been explicitly taught.

That word "decodable" has a specific meaning in reading science. A decodable text is one where at least 75 to 80 percent of the words follow phonics rules the student already knows, and sight words stay in a small, controlled set ^[2]. When a child reads a truly decodable book, she can sound out almost every word using her current phonics knowledge instead of guessing from pictures or memorizing whole shapes. That practice builds the word-reading automaticity that eventually frees up mental bandwidth for comprehension.

Geiger's books sit inside a broader phonics scope and sequence, organized by skill level. You find books for short-vowel CVC words, consonant blends, digraphs, long-vowel patterns, r-controlled vowels, diphthongs, and multisyllabic words. The site also offers a free scope-and-sequence chart so parents and teachers can match books to whatever phonics program they're already running ^[1].

One caveat matters more than any other: these are practice readers, not a standalone reading program. They don't include lesson plans, word-sorting activities, or decodable word lists for explicit instruction. Think of them as the application layer that sits on top of whatever systematic phonics teaching you or your child's school provides.

Who created The Measured Mom books and what is the research behind them?

Anna Geiger holds a master's degree in reading education and built The Measured Mom as a free resource for parents and teachers after years of classroom and tutoring work. She cites the science of reading directly across her site, pointing readers toward the National Reading Panel report, the Simple View of Reading, and structured literacy research ^[1].

The underlying science is solid. The National Reading Panel's 2000 report to Congress found that systematic phonics instruction "significantly improves children's word reading" compared to less systematic instruction, and that effect held across grade levels and for children at risk of reading failure ^[3]. More recent large-scale reviews, including a 2019 meta-analysis in Psychological Science in the Public Interest, confirm that phonics instruction should be explicit and systematic, and that decodable texts give beginners the right kind of practice to cement phonics knowledge ^[4].

The Simple View of Reading, proposed by Gough and Tunmer in 1986 and replicated many times since, expresses reading comprehension as the product of decoding ability and language comprehension ^[5]. Decodable books build the decoding side of that equation. They don't build vocabulary or background knowledge on their own, which is why Geiger is clear that they work next to, not instead of, rich read-alouds and conversation.

For children with signs of dyslexia or confirmed phonological dyslexia, decodable texts earn their keep because they remove the pressure to guess and let the child practice the exact phoneme-grapheme connections she's working to automate.

How many free decodable books does The Measured Mom offer and how are they organized?

As of mid-2024, the library holds more than 200 printable titles ^[1]. They're grouped into sets that track a typical kindergarten-through-second-grade phonics progression.

Here's a rough map of the major skill categories and approximate book counts in each:

Phonics skill category	Approximate number of titles
Short vowels (CVC, CCVC, CVCC)	40+
Consonant blends and digraphs	30+
Long vowel patterns (silent-e, vowel teams)	50+
R-controlled vowels	20+
Diphthongs and other vowel sounds	20+
Multisyllabic words	15+
Seasonal / themed mixed sets	30+

Note: Geiger updates the library regularly. The counts above come from the publicly accessible book index as of early 2024 ^[1]. Check the site for the current total.

Each book comes as a printable PDF. Most are built for a single sheet of paper folded into an 8-page mini-book. That format matters practically: one sheet, a single fold and cut, no special supplies. A child can make her own book and feel ownership of it.

The site also tags books by decodable word family and lists the sight words used in each title. That transparency is genuinely useful. If your child knows only the sight words "the," "I," and "a," you can filter for books that use only those three and skip the ones that demand "said" or "was" before she's ready.

Are The Measured Mom decodable books really free?

The core decodable book library is free to download without a subscription. You go to the book index on the site, click a set, and download the PDF directly ^[1].

Geiger also runs a paid membership and a Teachers Pay Teachers store where some supplementary packs are sold. But the main decodable readers, the ones most parents and teachers mean when they say "Measured Mom decodable books," cost nothing.

Your real cost is printing. A typical mini-book is one double-sided page. At a home printer cost of roughly 5 to 10 cents per page (ink plus paper), printing 20 books runs you $1 to $2. At a print shop like Staples, double-sided black-and-white prints cost around 10 to 20 cents per page, so the math stays friendly next to commercial decodable book sets, which often run $6 to $15 per reader ^[6].

For families who can't cover even basic printing, many public libraries have printers patrons can use for a small per-page fee, and some school copy rooms will print these free if a teacher or reading specialist asks. It's worth asking.

How do The Measured Mom books compare to other decodable book programs?

Decodable books have multiplied since the science of reading movement went mainstream around 2020. Here's an honest comparison of the main options parents run into:

Program	Cost	Phonics scope/sequence included	Physical books available	Skill alignment transparency
The Measured Mom	Free PDFs	Partial (scope chart available separately)	No	High (tags each book by skill)
Bob Books	$15-20 per set	Minimal documentation	Yes	Low
Flyleaf Publishing	Free online reading + school licenses	Full scope and sequence	No (digital)	High
UFLI Foundations readers	Free PDFs (via university)	Yes, tied to UFLI curriculum	No	High
Decodable Readers by Spelfabet	Free PDFs (Australian site)	Yes	No	High
Little Learners Love Literacy	~$300+ for full set	Yes	Yes	High

Sources: publisher websites and UFLI ^[7].

My honest take: The Measured Mom books beat Bob Books on phonics transparency. Bob Books are cute, but they mix phonics patterns in ways that aren't always systematic. The Measured Mom beats most paid options on cost. They lose to Flyleaf and UFLI for a fully integrated curriculum, because those programs have lesson plans baked in. If your child is getting explicit phonics instruction somewhere (school, tutoring, or a parent using a good scope and sequence at home), the Measured Mom books are probably the best free practice reader you'll find.

For a child who has been assessed and is working specifically on phoneme awareness, seeing what a dyslexia test found can tell you exactly which skill levels to target first.

What phonics skills do the books cover, and in what order should I use them?

The order Geiger uses matches widely accepted structured literacy scope-and-sequence recommendations, including those from the International Dyslexia Association ^[8]. The general path runs:

1. Single consonants and short vowels (CVC words like "cat," "sit," "hop") 2. Consonant blends ("fl-," "br-," "-nd") and digraphs ("sh," "ch," "th," "wh") 3. Long vowel patterns: CVCe ("make," "bike"), then common vowel teams ("ai/ay," "ee/ea," "oa/ow") 4. R-controlled vowels ("ar," "or," "er/ir/ur") 5. Diphthongs and other vowel sounds ("oi/oy," "ou/ow," "oo") 6. Multisyllabic words using all of the above

The key rule: don't jump to long vowels until short vowels are solid. Research on phonics instruction consistently finds that students who move too fast, before early patterns are automatic, struggle more later ^[3]. If your child guesses or hesitates on CVC words, that's where the books should stay.

The site includes a free phonics scope-and-sequence guide that lists which book sets match each stage ^[1]. Print that before you download anything else. It saves a lot of confusion.

One thing these books don't do well on their own: they don't separate decodable word practice from the story in a systematic word-drill format. You'll still want word-level practice, whether that's sight word flashcards for the high-frequency exception words or a sound-spelling card routine, before you sit down to read the book together.

Are these books appropriate for kids with dyslexia?

Yes, with a few caveats that matter.

Decodable texts are recommended for children with dyslexia by every major reading science organization, including the International Dyslexia Association and the National Center on Improving Literacy ^[8][9]. Children with dyslexia have deficits in phonological processing, so the brain's job of mapping sounds to symbols is harder. That's exactly the skill decodable books drill. Handing a child with dyslexia a leveled reader full of multi-pattern words she has to guess from context works against her. Handing her a decodable book where she can succeed with the phonics tools she's building works for her.

The caveats: children with dyslexia usually need more repetitions to automate a phonics pattern than other children, often three to five times as many practice exposures ^[4]. So you'll read a lot of short-vowel books before moving on, and that's fine. The library has enough short-vowel titles to supply that repetition without getting stuck on one book.

The books also use standard print fonts and modest illustrations. They're not designed with any special font, letter size, or spacing for dyslexia. Research on so-called dyslexia fonts like OpenDyslexic shows no consistent benefit over standard fonts, so the plain print here costs you nothing.

If your child has an IEP or 504 plan and the school is providing reading services, the decodable books should match whatever phonics sequence the school's specialist uses. Ask the reading specialist which skill level your child is on right now, then pick home practice books at that exact level. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), your child's IEP must describe how she accesses the general curriculum, and supplementary decodable reading at home is a completely appropriate parent contribution to that plan ^[10].

How do I actually use The Measured Mom decodable books at home?

Print the book first. Fold the sheet, cut where the PDF marks it, and let the child staple or tape the spine if she can. That small act of ownership increases buy-in.

Before the first read, do a quick word check. Pull three to five words from the book, write them on index cards, and have your child sound them out using the pattern you've been practicing. If she can't decode the isolated words, the book is too hard for today. Set it aside and go back a level.

During reading, sit beside her, not across from her, so you both see the page the same way. When she hits a hard word, give her five seconds of silence before you prompt. If she needs a prompt, say "what sound does that letter make?" and never "what word would make sense there?" The context-guessing prompt trains the wrong habit.

Read the book again after the first pass. Then a third time, this round asking simple comprehension questions: "What did the cat do?" "Where was the dog?" Repeated reading of decodable texts measurably improves both fluency and comprehension ^[3].

Keep sessions short. Fifteen minutes of focused decodable reading beats 45 minutes of tired guessing. Research on fluency development consistently shows that short, daily practice outperforms longer, irregular sessions ^[9].

Parents who want a structured home reading toolkit, including tracking sheets and phonics guides organized by skill level, can use ReadFlare's free reading tools, built to pair with exactly this kind of decodable book practice.

What sight words appear in the books and how should I handle them?

In decodable book contexts, "sight words" means high-frequency words introduced ahead of their phonics pattern because they show up so often in written English. The most common ones in early Measured Mom books are "the," "a," "I," "is," "he," "she," "was," "of," and "to."

Geiger lists the specific sight words used in each book in the PDF description ^[1]. That matters because some of those words, like "was" and "said," don't follow standard phonics patterns and genuinely have to be memorized. Others, like "he" and "she," actually do follow a rule (open-syllable long e) and can be decoded once a child reaches that level.

The International Dyslexia Association recommends teaching high-frequency words through phonemic analysis rather than pure memorization wherever possible ^[8]. So even for a word like "was," you'd point out that w-a-s is an irregular but explainable historical spelling, not a random pile of letters.

The practical home approach: before you read a new book, pre-teach any sight words the child doesn't know yet with a brief review. Dolch sight words are a reasonable reference list for which words to prioritize, since they cover the highest-frequency words in children's texts. First grade sight words are typically what you'll meet in the mid-level Measured Mom books.

Do schools use The Measured Mom decodable books, and can I request them in an IEP?

Some teachers download and use Geiger's books as supplementary classroom materials. They're not a commercially published, research-validated curriculum with fidelity data, so most schools won't name them as the primary reading program in an IEP. But they can absolutely appear in an IEP or 504 plan as a home practice resource.

More to the point: if your child's IEP calls for phonics-based reading instruction and you're doing home practice, the books need to match whatever phonics sequence the school's specialist uses. Using level-appropriate decodable texts at home is a legitimate, research-supported way to support IEP goals.

Under IDEA, parents are entitled to participate meaningfully in IEP meetings and to request information about the instructional approach being used ^[10]. The U.S. Department of Education's guidance describes parents as equal partners in the IEP process. You can ask: "What phonics level is my child on right now, and what decodable book series matches your sequence?" If the school says they're using no decodable texts at all for a child who's struggling with decoding, that's worth pushing back on, because the research base for systematic phonics and decodable practice is extensive and documented ^[3][4].

For families working through this advocacy, understanding the learning disabilities evaluation process and knowing what an appropriate learning disability test includes can help you have a sharper conversation at the IEP table.

What are the limitations of The Measured Mom decodable books?

These books are excellent practice readers. They're not a complete reading program. That distinction matters, and it deserves plain language.

They don't provide phonics lesson plans. Sit down with a stack of Measured Mom books and no phonics teaching at all, and you won't see the same progress as you would with explicit, systematic instruction followed by decodable practice. The books are the application layer. They need a teaching layer underneath.

The illustrations are simple. For kids who are motivated by rich art, these books can feel sparse next to commercial readers. That's the aesthetic tradeoff for a price of zero dollars.

They're print-only PDFs. No audio support, no digital read-along, no built-in progress tracking. Families who need assistive technology or audio scaffolding will have to supplement.

The scope and sequence on the site is a guide, not a full curriculum map with assessment checkpoints. You have to know where your child currently is in her phonics development to pick the right level. If you don't know it, a simple informal phonics screener, which a reading specialist or your child's school can provide, will tell you.

And these books have not been formally evaluated in a randomized controlled trial as a standalone intervention. The research support is for decodable texts in general ^[3][4][8], not for this specific collection. That's not a knock on Geiger's work. Almost no free teacher-created resource goes through RCT validation. It just means you're relying on the broader research base, which is strong, rather than a product-specific study.

ReadFlare's parent advocacy kit covers how to judge decodable book programs, what to ask a reading specialist, and how to track progress at home, which is exactly the tracking infrastructure these books don't provide on their own.

How does decodable book reading compare to leveled readers for struggling readers?

This is genuinely contested ground in reading education, but the research evidence has moved clearly toward decodable texts for beginning and struggling readers.

Leveled readers (think Fountas and Pinnell levels, or Reading Recovery) organize books by overall text difficulty and do not control for phonics pattern. A level D book might mix CVC words with long-vowel patterns and multisyllabic words, expecting the child to lean on pictures, sentence context, and initial-letter cues to figure out unknown words. That approach is called the three-cueing system, and reading scientists have criticized it heavily ^[4]. The 2019 Psychological Science in the Public Interest review stated that "the dominant approach to reading instruction in many countries continues to lag behind findings from the science of reading" and that systematic phonics produces significantly better outcomes for at-risk readers ^[4].

Decodable books do the opposite. They give the child words she can actually decode at her current skill level. Research on students with reading difficulties consistently shows that controlled-vocabulary decodable practice produces better word-reading gains than leveled reader practice ^[3].

The honest caveat: leveled readers often carry richer vocabulary, more complex sentences, and more interesting content than early decodable books. Comprehension, vocabulary, and background knowledge all matter for reading development too. The practical fix most reading scientists recommend is to use decodable texts for decoding practice and read-alouds for vocabulary and comprehension, rather than asking one book type to do both jobs.

Frequently asked questions

Are The Measured Mom decodable books aligned to any specific phonics program?

They're not tied to a single commercial program. Geiger designed them to fit a general structured literacy scope and sequence that matches commonly used programs like Orton-Gillingham, Wilson Reading, and UFLI Foundations. She provides a free scope-and-sequence matching chart on her site so you can find the books that fit wherever your child is in any of those programs.

What reading level are The Measured Mom decodable books?

They range from pre-reading (letter-sound introduction) through roughly second-grade reading level, covering the full phonics scope from single short vowels through multisyllabic patterns. They're not labeled with Lexile or Fountas-Pinnell levels because decodable books are organized by phonics skill, not overall text difficulty. A child at a typical kindergarten phonics level starts with CVC sets; a first-grader working on long vowels uses mid-level sets.

Can I use these books with a child who is in kindergarten but not yet reading?

Yes, but only after she has learned the specific phonics patterns those books require. A kindergartner who knows the sounds for s, a, t, p, i, n and can blend three phonemes orally is ready for the simplest CVC books. If she can't yet blend sounds orally, she needs phoneme awareness work first. The books won't help before that foundation exists.

Do The Measured Mom decodable books work for English language learners?

They can work well, with caveats. The phonics patterns are the same regardless of a child's home language. But the vocabulary in the books assumes some oral English familiarity, and ELL students may not know the meaning of words they successfully decode. Pre-teaching vocabulary before reading, and using pictures to build meaning after decoding, helps bridge that gap.

How many books should my child read per day or per week?

Most reading specialists recommend re-reading the same book two to three times before moving on, rather than a new book every day. Three readings of one book over three days builds fluency better than one reading each of three different books. Once your child can read a book smoothly with 95 percent accuracy and good rate, move to the next level. Aim for 10 to 15 minutes of decodable reading daily.

Are there colored or illustrated versions of these books, or are they all black and white?

Most of the free printable books are black-and-white line drawings designed for cheap printing. Some sets include a color version. The black-and-white format is intentional: it keeps printing costs low and reduces visual distraction for some struggling readers. Children can color the illustrations themselves after reading, which increases engagement and gives the books a personal touch.

What's the difference between decodable books and phonics readers?

The terms are often used interchangeably. Technically, all decodable books are phonics readers, but not all phonics readers are truly decodable. A phonics reader built around one pattern (like short-a) might still include many words the child hasn't been taught. A genuinely decodable book controls for both the target pattern and every other word in the text. The Measured Mom books aim for the stricter decodable standard.

My child's school uses Reading Recovery. Can I use Measured Mom books at home alongside that?

You can, but know that Reading Recovery and decodable text practice reflect different theories of reading instruction. Reading Recovery uses the three-cueing system; decodable texts reject it. Running both at once can send mixed signals about how to attack unknown words. If your child's school-provided approach isn't producing results after several months, raise it at an IEP or school meeting and ask whether a structured literacy approach would fit better.

Do The Measured Mom books include sentences or just word lists?

They're complete little stories with sentences, characters, and simple plots, not word lists. That's part of their value: children get decoding practice inside a real reading context, which matters for motivation and for building the habit of attending to meaning while decoding. The sentences are short and simple at early levels and grow more complex as the phonics patterns advance.

Can these books help a second- or third-grader who is behind in reading?

Yes, and this is one of the most common use cases. An older child who missed systematic phonics in kindergarten and first grade may be reading at a first-grade decoding level even in second or third grade. The content of early Measured Mom books looks young, which can feel embarrassing. Some parents print without the pictures or frame it as a puzzle challenge instead of a baby book. The phonics practice itself is the same regardless of age.

Is there an app version of The Measured Mom decodable books?

As of early 2024, there is no dedicated app. The books are PDF downloads for printing. Geiger's site does have digital activities and games for phonics skills, but the decodable books themselves are print resources. If you need a digital decodable platform, Flyleaf Publishing and Amplify's CKLA program both offer digital decodable reading, though most are subscription- or school-license-based.

How do I know if a book is too hard or too easy for my child right now?

The 95 percent accuracy rule is the standard benchmark reading researchers use: if your child reads 95 percent or more of the words correctly without help, the book is at her instructional or independent level. Below 90 percent accuracy means the book is frustrational and you should go back a level. Count errors quickly: in a 100-word book, more than 5 errors means it's too hard, and more than 10 means it's too hard by a lot.

Sources

1. The Measured Mom – Decodable Books index: Anna Geiger's site hosts 200+ free printable decodable books organized by phonics skill with a scope-and-sequence matching chart
2. Florida Center for Reading Research – Decodable text guidance: A decodable text has at least 75-80% of words following phonics patterns already taught, with a controlled sight word set
3. National Reading Panel – Teaching Children to Read (NICHD, 2000): Systematic phonics instruction significantly improves children's word reading compared to less systematic instruction across grade levels and for at-risk readers; repeated reading improves fluency and comprehension
4. Seidenberg et al., Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 2019 – Reading science vs. educational practice: Systematic phonics instruction produces significantly better outcomes for at-risk readers than the three-cueing system; the dominant approach in many countries lags behind reading science findings
5. Gough & Tunmer (1986), Remedial and Special Education – Simple View of Reading: The Simple View of Reading defines reading comprehension as the product of decoding ability and language comprehension
6. Bob Books – retail pricing, Scholastic and Amazon listings: Commercial decodable book sets such as Bob Books retail for approximately $6 to $15 per reader set
7. University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI) – UFLI Foundations decodable readers: UFLI offers free printable decodable PDFs aligned to the UFLI Foundations curriculum scope and sequence
8. International Dyslexia Association – Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading: IDA recommends explicit, systematic phonics instruction and decodable texts for children with dyslexia; recommends phonemic analysis rather than pure memorization for high-frequency words
9. National Center on Improving Literacy – Decodable text fact sheet: Decodable texts are widely recommended for children with dyslexia; short daily practice outperforms longer irregular sessions for reading fluency development
10. U.S. Department of Education – IDEA, 20 U.S.C. § 1414 (IEP requirements): Under IDEA, parents are equal partners in the IEP process and the IEP must describe how the child accesses the general curriculum; parents are entitled to information about instructional approaches used