Like nearly 40% of children*, Melinda Thompson’s child found learning to read challenging. Later diagnosed with dyslexia, a common learning disability, her child struggled to read even the easiest phonics readers. Unable to find truly simple learn to read books, Melinda set out on a mission to create them. She pulled together an amazing team: a literacy consultant with Harvard credentials, a co-author who previously worked at Walt Disney Television, and an illustrator who earned one Emmy and five Emmy nominations for his art and graphic design work.

Together, they created the Budding Reader eBook series, award winning researched based eBooks designed to be the very first books for a child to read. Used at the right time in a child’s development, these extra easy learn to read books are useful for all emergent readers, and especially valuable for struggling readers. By gradually introducing simple vocabulary, these eBooks were designed to provide even a young child with a successful first introduction to reading. Learning is reinforced with free companion writing worksheets (available at buddingreader.com) which provide a multisensory experience and enable children to practice both reading and writing. A free parent guide with tips for working with new readers is also available on the website.

Melinda is happy that each of the five Budding Reader eBook sets (Set 1: Cat and Rat; Set 2: Wit and Kit; Set 3: Bugs; Set 4: Hop! and Set 5: Hens) has won Gold in the Mom’s Choice Awards. Even more important to her are the five star reviews these simple learn to read books have received from teachers, reading specialists, homeschoolers, and parents of children with learning disabilities. Now preschoolers, kindergarteners, and even reluctant readers are easily learning the short vowel sounds and dozens of common sight words. A former Madison Avenue advertising executive, Melinda holds a master’s degree from Northwestern University.


*Learning to read is often a challenge for the 15-20% of children with dyslexia (International Dyslexia Association), the 11% with attention disorders (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the 5-16% of children with sensory processing disorder (Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation) as well as children with hearing loss and/or other metal/learning disabilities.