Children's Books for 3rd Graders

Fig Pig is setting sail on the grandest cruise of his life! With a boat packed full of fruit and juice, he’s ready to explore faraway lands and find a brave crew to join him. But will polar bears chase him off the ice? Will golden deserts or squelchy swamps hide the perfect recruit? And who on earth would suit life aboard a tiny raft with one very bold pig? This decodable reader practises the ‘ui’ sound in words like ‘cruise,’ ‘fruit,’ ‘suit,’ and ‘recruit.’

Skel the skeleton hasn’t picked up a paintbrush in years, but when a village art show opens its doors to ANYONE, his bony fingers start to tingle. Off he goes in pursuit of a muse - and finds something sparkling in the lake! What if this strange, shimmering squid holds the secret to art no villager has ever seen before? Will Skel be brave enough to share it? This decodable reader practises the ‘ui’ sound in words like ‘cruise,’ ‘fruit,’ ‘juicy,’ and ‘pursuit.’

Brat Cat loves her farm - nobody gets in, nobody gets out! But when a storm rolls in and she spots a huge horse standing alone at the edge of the trees, she thinks she’s found her newest guest. What could possibly go wrong? And why does this strange horse look like it’s made of rattling bones? This decodable reader practises soft g words such as ‘cage,’ ‘huge,’ ‘charge,’ ‘danger,’ and ‘gentle.’

Ina won’t eat, and a boy who notices what everyone else walks past has just spent his shoe money to set her free. What happens when Kola sings the song he has kept only for the open air? As his shadow flickers with wings, will he make the choice his grandmother leaves entirely to him? This Bookbot book practises the ’s’ /ʒ/ sound in words like ‘casually’, ‘decision’, ‘unusual’, and ‘measured’.

High on the ridge where three rivers meet, Chief Mwangi believes no child could ever be cleverer than his own daughter. But when Wambũi falls gravely ill and no elder can name the cause, one quiet farm girl remembers something she saw days ago near the stream. Can she find the courage to prove it, and will the proud chief listen? This Bookbot level practises the soft ‘g’ sound with words like ‘ridge’, ‘village’, ‘courage’, ‘danger’, and ‘imagine’.

A dry season grips the enkang, and the river has turned to dust. When a girl named Entito finds a lost hornbill chick on the ridge, will one small act of care be enough to make the sky listen? As the cattle grow thirsty and a strange still cloud caps the great mountain, Entito must face the fierce red Enkai and a hard choice. Will the rain ever come? This Bookbot level practises the /ʒ/ sound in ’treasure’, ‘occasion’, ‘decision’, ‘measures’, and ‘pleasure’.

Fire is Old Tortoise’s alone, buried in a pot beneath a flat rock, and no one else in the cold Karoo has ever felt its warmth. When Kato’s baby sister falls ill with cold, what can one boy with two small stones possibly do against a creature who guards his treasure so fiercely? Could a spark, a nest of grass, and a clever idea change everything? This Bookbot level practises the ’ei’ phonogram with words like ’their’, ‘being’, ‘height’, ’neither’, and ‘receive’.

On a red Kalahari night, when the pans have dried up and the water bottles grow light, Naru remembers her grandmother’s tales of a hidden star that points to water. But can one girl, awake in the dark while the elders sleep, trust old star lore enough to lead her people the right way? A brave, hopeful story with a heart as wide as the sky. This Bookbot book practises the ‘ough’ sound in words like ‘drought’, ’though’, ’thought’, ’through’, and ’tough’.

The river has stopped flowing, the crops are wilting, and no one will speak the name of what sleeps in the deepest pool. When nine-year-old Nomsa discovers that something ancient was taken from the water, can she find a way to make right what was done, even when a broken thing cannot simply be mended? Will the river ever run again? A gentle tale of courage and respect. This Bookbot level practises the ‘wr’ sound in words like ‘wrong’, ‘wrinkled’, ‘wriggles’, and ‘wrists’.

Deep in an old forest lives Oro Igbo, a serious spirit who keeps careful accounts of all that hunters take and promise. When young Ayo wanders into the sacred grove by accident, will he remember the rule his father taught him? And when he later meets a greedy hunter who does the forest ‘wrong’, what will the watchful trees decide? This Bookbot level practises the ‘wr’ phonogram in words like ‘wrapped’, ‘wrinkled’, ‘wrens’, and ‘wry’.