At Monster Phonics, we publish our own reading scheme of 250 engaging fiction and non-fiction books and comics. You may have already heard lots about Monster Phonics from your children as our books and phonics scheme are used in many schools.
The books in Monster Phonics are organised in ability stages to support your child, from first exploring language and sounds in Nursery to becoming a fluent reader in Year 2. You’ll find that our book stages align with the Book Band colours.
A colourful dot on the back cover of each book indicates the Book Band reading level.
Read on to find out which Stage is best suited to your child, and how the Stages relate to Book Bands.
If your child attends a Monster Phonics school, the school will find the correct book for your child. If your child doesn’t go to a Monster Phonics school, we have a quick and easy automatic Placement test which will find the right level books for your child to start reading. You can also use the information below to help
guide you to the right level books.
Approximate age: 3–4 years old
Year Group: Nursery
Equivalent to: Book Band Lilac
For children who are just beginning to learn about books and reading. These sharing books help your child expand their vocabulary of words and develop speaking and listening skills. Actions are provided to help children learn the meaning of new words. Speaking and listening activities are provided at the end of each book. This Foundation range includes nursery rhymes, songs, traditional tales and non-fiction.
Nursery Rhymes
Non-Fiction
Approximate age: 4–5 years old
Letter Sounds: s a t p i n m d m g o c k ck e
Year Group: Reception
Equivalent to: Book Band Pink
Stage 1 books are for children who are learning letter sounds s, a, t, p, i, n, m, d, m, g, and are using phonics to read words like ‘tap’ and ’sit’. They will also be learning common words like ‘the’, ‘go’ and ‘to’. There are 10 fiction and 4 non-fiction books at the Stage 1 level. Optional text is provided for an adult to further bring each story to life or add extra non-fiction facts.
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Approximate age: 4–5 years old
Letters: h b u r f ff l ll ss j v w
Year Group: Reception
Equivalent to: Book Band Pink/Red
By this stage, children are more able to use their knowledge of letter sounds to read new words. The books are for children who are learning letter sounds h b u r f ff l ll ss j v w, and are using phonics to read words like ‘vet’ and ’bell’. They will also be learning some common words like ‘has’, ‘he’ and ‘she’. There are 10 Fiction and 3 Non-Fiction books at the Stage 2 level. Optional text is provided for an adult to further bring each story to life or add extra non-fiction facts.
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Approximate age: 4–5 years old
Letters: x y z zz qu ch sh th ng
Year Group: Reception
Equivalent to: Book Band Red
This stage is for children who are learning letter sounds x y z zz qu ch sh th ng. By Stage 3 your child will be using phonics to help them read slightly more complicated words than in Stage 2, including words with common digraphs ‘sh’, ‘ch’, and ‘th’, such as ‘shop’ and ‘thick’.
They will also be learning some common words like ‘with’ and ‘was’. Compared to Stage 1, story lines become more complex and children are encouraged to work out what will happen next. There are 10 fiction and 2 non-fiction books at the Stage 3 level. Optional text is provided for an adult to further bring each story to life or add extra non-fiction facts.
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Approximate age: 4–5 years old
Letters: oo (long) oo (short) ar ow ee ur ai or oa er igh air oi ear
Year Group: Reception
Equivalent to: Book Band Red
Stage 3.1 books are for children who are learning letter sounds oo (long) oo (short) ar ow ee ur ai or oa er igh air oi ear. At this level, your child will be using phonics to help them read slightly more complicated words than in Stage 2, including words with common vowel digraphs ‘ee’, ‘igh, and ‘ow’. They will use phonics knowledge to read words like ‘feet’, ‘down’ and ‘light’. They will also be learning common words like ‘the’, ‘go’ and ‘to’. Children continue to grow in confidence, reading longer sentences. There are 15 fiction and 4 non-fiction books at the Stage 3.1 level. Optional text is provided for an adult to further bring each story to life or add extra non-fiction facts.
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Approximate age: 4–5 years old
Letters: Consonant – Vowel – Consonant combinations
Year Group: Reception
Equivalent to: Book Band Yellow
Stage 3.2 books are for children who are practising blending letter sounds together to read. The stage starts with simple combinations of consonants and vowels to read words such as ‘bump’ and ‘spin’. As the stage progresses, child read longer words and slightly more complex combinations, such as ‘giftbox’, ‘swinging’ and ‘printer’. Sentences are also longer, and the stories are more complex. They will also read common words such as ‘your’, ‘here’ and ‘their’. There are 15 fiction and 1 non-fiction books at the Stage 3.1 level. Optional text is provided for an adult to further bring each story to life or add extra non-fiction facts.
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Approximate age: 4–6 years old
Letters: ff ll ss zz ck nk tch ve ai oi ay oy a-e
Year Group: Reception and Year 1
Equivalent to: Book Band Yellow/Light Blue
Stage 4 books are for children who are learning letter sounds ff ll ss zz ck nk tch ve ai oi ay oy a-e. At this stage, your child will be introduced to alternative spellings for sounds in words. For example, the long A can be spelt as ai, ay or a-e. This helps them to read words like ‘play’, ‘train’ and ‘wave’. They will also be reading a range of common words like ‘school’, ‘some’ and ‘were’ and are becoming a more confident reader. You will notice that the number of words increases and there is more variation in sentence beginnings. There are 10 fiction and 5 non-fiction books at the Stage 4 level. Optional adult text in the non-fiction range supplements reading with amazing facts.
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Approximate age: 5–6 years old
Letters: e-e i-e o-e u-e ar ee ea ea (short e) er
Year Group: Year 1
Equivalent to: Book Band Green
Stage 5 books are for children who are learning letter sounds e-e i-e o-e u-e ar ee ea ea (short e) er. At this stage, your child will be introduced to alternative pronunciations. For example, ea can be pronounced as the long E in ‘tea’ or as the short e sound in ‘head’. They will also be reading a range of common words like ‘could’ and ‘people’. The number of words increases and adverbs are used more commonly to start sentences. Children will begin to infer and predict from more complex storylines. There are 10 fiction and 5 non-fiction books at the Stage 5 level. Optional adult text in the non-fiction range supplements reading with amazing facts.
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Approximate age: 5–6 years old
Letters: ir ur oa oo (short) oo (long) oe ou ow (long O) ow ue
Year Group: Year 1
Equivalent to: Book Band Orange
In Stage 6 books, children are learning the letter sounds ir ur oa oo (short) oo (long) oe ou ow (long O) ow ue. Building on from Stage 5, this includes further alternative pronunciations, such as the long and short ’oo’ in ‘room’ and ‘foot’. You will find that the colour-coding in Monster Phonics will help your child to acquire this learning faster. They will also be reading a range of common words. By this stage, children will be able to work out many words automatically without sounding them out. Stories in Stage 6 are longer than in Stage 5. Exciting phonetic wow words are introduced such as ‘terrific’. There are 10 fiction and 6 non-fiction books at the Stage 6 level. Optional adult text in the non-fiction range supplements reading with amazing facts.
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Approximate age: 5–6 years old
Letters: ue (long U) ew (long oo) ew (long oo) ie (long I) ie (long E) igh or ore aw au
Year Group: Year 1
Equivalent to: Book Band Orange
In Stage 7 books, children are learning the letter sounds ue ew (long oo) ew (long oo) ie (long I) ie (long E) igh or ore aw au. The reading includes further alternative spellings, such as different spellings for the ‘or’ sound. You will find that the colour-coding in Monster Phonics will help your child to acquire this learning faster. Children will also be reading a range of common words fluently.
Your child will be beginning to read with more independence. They should be feeling more confident and will rarely need to sound out words. Stories in Stage 6 are longer than in Stage 5 and include more exciting wow words to enrich vocabulary, such as ‘massive’, ‘thrilled’ and ‘elegant’. There are 10 fiction and 5 non-fiction books at the Stage 7 level. Optional adult text in the non-fiction range supplements reading with amazing facts.
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Approximate age: 5-6 years old
Letters: air ear (E-r) ear (air) are y (long E) ph wh e (long E) o (long O)
Year Group: Year 1
Equivalent to: Book Band Turquoise
In Stage 8 books, children are learning the letter sounds air ear (E-r) ear (air) are y (long E) ph wh e (long E) o (long O). The reading includes more alternative spellings and pronunciations. You will find that the colour-coding in Monster Phonics will help your child to acquire this learning faster. Children will also be fluently reading a wide range of common words. Stage 8 books include an increasing range of descriptive adjectives and verbs to replace ‘said’. More challenging vocabulary includes more exciting wow words, such as ‘awesome’ and ‘delight’. There are 10 fiction and 5 non-fiction books at the Stage 8 level. Optional adult text in the non-fiction range supplements reading with amazing facts.
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Approximate age: 6–8 years old
Letters: dge g c kn gn wr le il el al
Year Group: Year 2
Equivalent to: Book Band Purple
In Stage 9 books, children are learning the letter sounds dge g c kn gn wr le il el al. This includes more silent letters and alternative pronunciations. You will find that the colour-coding in Monster Phonics will help your child to acquire this learning faster. Children will also be fluently reading a wide range of common words. You will notice sentences become longer and more complex with the inclusion of connectives such as ‘when’ and ‘suddenly’. Vocabulary is extended with more exciting wow words, such as ‘spectacular’ and ‘incredibly’. There are 10 fiction and 5 non-fiction books at the Stage 9 level.
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Approximate age: 6–8 years old
Letters: y (long I) al o (u) ey w-a w-or w-ar s (zsh) ti I (long I)
Year Group: Year 2
Equivalent to: Book Band Gold
In Stage 10 books, children continue to learn more alternative pronunciations and spellings, covering y (long I), al, o (u), ey, w-a, w-or, w-ar, s (zsh), ti, I (long I). Children reading at this level are confident independent readers. They are able to read and understand complex language and story structures. They will be able to read most words fluently and automatically, either silently or out loud. With non-fiction texts, they will be able to use features like heading and captions to find information.
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Approximate age: 6–8 years old
Year Group: Years 2 and 3
Equivalent to:Book Band White
Our Flying Ahead (Stage 11) series is expertly crafted for children nearing the end of their phonics journey. These books are perfect for both individual enjoyment and group reading sessions, designed to enhance reading stamina and boost confidence.
Fiction Books: Dive into a diverse collection of 10 captivating fiction books. From tales spanning the globe, to thrilling adventures with dynamic superheroes, our selection caters to every young reader’s taste. Explore traditional stories, exciting new genres, and various writing styles that keep young minds engaged and entertained.
Non-Fiction Books: Join Phileas Dog and his smart robot buddy, P2, in our ‘Around The World in 80 Books’ series. This set of 10 non-fiction books takes readers on an educational journey, exploring global themes and fascinating facts. Discover ancient secrets, marvel at modern technology, and learn about diverse cultures from around the world. Each book is thoughtfully designed to complement phonics learning, making reading practice both fun and effective.
Approximate age: 7–9 years old
Year Group: Year 3
Equivalent to: Book Band Lime
Our ‘Flying Ahead’ series continues into Stage 12, which will be published in Autumn 2024. This stage will consist of longer texts designed to build up reading stamina and further develop vocabulary and inference skills.
Fiction Books: Dive into a diverse collection of 10 captivating fiction books. From tales spanning the globe, to thrilling adventures with dynamic superheroes, our selection caters to every young reader’s taste. Explore traditional stories, exciting new genres, and various writing styles that keep young minds engaged and entertained.
Non-Fiction Books: Phileas Dog and his smart robot buddy, P2, in our ‘Around The World in 80 Books’ series. This set of 10 non-fiction books takes readers on an educational journey, exploring global themes and fascinating facts. Discover ancient secrets, marvel at modern technology, and learn about diverse cultures from around the world. Each book is thoughtfully designed to complement phonics learning, making reading practice both fun and effective.
Features include:
Coming Soon!
Approximate age: 6–8 years old
Year Group: Year 2 – 3
Equivalent to: Book Band White and Brown
Our intervention comics are designed for children in Key Stage 2 who need an extra boost to help acquire core phonics skills. They can be used in Key Stage 1 too. This superhero intervention accelerates the learning of high-frequency graphemes and high-frequency words to maximise progress.
Structure of the Comics
The comics can be read as a set from start to finish or you can dip into them as you wish.
There are 20 comics that focus on single common graphemes – a_e, ay, ee, ea, y (long vowel E sound), i_e, igh, y (long vowel I sound), o_e, oo, ou and ow, and tricky letters soft g, soft c and le.
A further 6 comics are in a format called ‘phonics families’ to practise alternative spellings for long vowel sounds.
Approximate age: all ages
No Book Band
For children who are just beginning to learn about books and reading. These sharing books help your child expand their vocabulary of words and develop speaking and listening skills. Actions are provided to help children learn the meaning of new words. Speaking and listening activities are provided at the end of each book. This Foundation range includes nursery rhymes, songs, traditional tales and non-fiction.
Our Foundations in Phonics books are aligned to our Foundations Programme which follows the Phase 1 phonics curriculum (see the Foundations Manual online for further information about the programme). The Foundations in Phonics resources teach children the key skills needed to ensure they are ready to learn letter-sound correspondence and blending in Reception. The series includes nursery rhymes, songs, traditional stories and non-fiction books.
Stories are matched to the curriculum. Using colours to help children learn the link between sounds and spellings, Monster Phonics significantly improves progress. The phonics focus words and high-frequency word practice boxes at the start of each book, along with the questions at the end of each story, help aid children’s development and comprehension skills.
Our non-fiction titles cover a range of interesting topics and are matched precisely to the Monster Phonics scheme with books spanning the Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 ability range. Each Reception and Year 1 book has an optional section for an adult to read. This text is not critical for understanding but adds interesting factual information and provides opportunities to extend topic vocabulary. There are 14 non-fiction books in Reception, 26 non-fiction books in Year 1 and 10 in Year 2.
Our intervention comics accelerate the learning of the high-frequency graphemes and high-frequency words to maximise progress. Our phonics comics are designed for children in Key Stage 2 / at the end of Key Stage 1 who need an extra boost to help acquire core phonics skills. They can be used in Key Stage 1 as well and as a new type of group reading resource.
To help introduce the monster characters, we have created 10 Meet the Monster books.
These are teacher read-aloud books which describe the monster sound and action and each character.
