Children's Books

The smell of a rich man’s lamb stew drifts over a stone wall, and poor Habtamu breathes it in with pure joy on his face. But can a smell really be stolen? When his greedy neighbor drags him to court, all Habtamu has is three coins and the plain truth. What clever verdict will the quiet old judge deliver, and who will find real justice at last? This Bookbot level practices the soft ‘c’ /s/ sound with words like ‘face’, ’nice’, ‘once’, ‘grace’ and ‘justice’.

Amina is the best pearl-diver on the reef, and she can hold her breath longer than anyone. But when she dives deeper than ever before, what is the green glowing thing waiting in the dark water? And when a voice as deep as the sea asks her to be careful, will she do what is right, even though it means giving up something precious? Dive into a tale of courage and old ocean wisdom. This Bookbot story practices the tricky ‘ough’ sounds in ’though’, ’enough’, ‘brought’, ‘sought’, and ’thought’.

Miss B walks with a cane and taps her way around the dance studio, calling out to her three giggling girls. But what if their sweet old teacher used to leap past gnarled bridges and float under starlight? What if she once danced on every stage in the world, from Paris to Rio? Could Miss B be hiding a dazzling secret behind that quiet tap, tap, tap? This decodable reader practices the gn phonogram in words like ‘gnarled,’ ‘reigned,’ ‘foreign,’ and ‘sign.’

High on a rocky ridge sits a cave that echoes back whatever you shout. Karĩuki knows its tricks better than anyone, but when a leopard slips between him and his family’s goats, will a clever echo be enough to save the herd? Can a boy really outsmart a hungry hunter using only sound? This warm, quick-witted tale keeps young readers guessing to the very last page. This book practices the /uː/ sound with lesson words like ‘fluid’, ‘juicy’, ’nuisance’, ‘suit’, and ‘bruise’.

The town’s talking drum speaks across distances, but what happens when eleven year old Temi, its greatest young master, overhears a secret plot against the palace one quiet morning? With danger closing in and a traitor at the gate, can she send a warning without giving herself away, using nothing but the beats beneath her fingers? Will anyone across town truly be listening? This Bookbot story practices words of three or more syllables like ‘afternoon’, ‘suddenly’, ‘difficult’, ‘important’, and ‘remarkable’.

The Talking Skull draws you into a village where fast-legged Obiora is famous for spreading every story he hears. So what happens when he stumbles on a skull in the red dust that actually speaks? Will anyone believe him, and can he prove it before the king runs out of patience? This tale carries a lesson as old as the iroko tree. Practice the many sounds of ‘ough’ with lesson words like ‘brought’, ’though’, ’through’, ’enough’ and ‘rough’.

High in the sky, the sky folk are holding the greatest feast of the year, and every bird in the forest is invited. But when a clever tortoise longs to taste sky food, how will a creature with no wings ever get there? And once he arrives, what mischief might a hungry trickster stir up among his feathered friends? Read to find out how he lands in the end! This Bookbot book practices the ‘gn’ sound with words like ‘design’, ‘gnash’, ‘gnarled’, and ‘benign’.

Lekimani has dreamed of becoming a moran, a Maasai warrior, his whole life. But tonight a lion is circling the cattle camp, the real warriors are a day away, and every face is full of fear. When Lekimani volunteers to keep watch alone, armed only with a staff and his voice, can one boy really stand between a hungry lion and his herd? And what happens when he hears a second cough in the dark? This Bookbot level practices the ‘wr’ sound in words like ‘wrestle’, ‘wrath’, ‘wriggles’ and ‘wrist’.

A young shepherd named Girma has never set foot inside a stone building, yet he can read the weather in the clouds and find water where the birds gather. So when the Emperor summons the wisest men in the land to answer three impossible questions, could a boy in one spare shirt possibly have the answers the scholars miss? What makes a person truly wise? This Bookbot level practices the ’ei’ phonogram with lesson words such as ‘ceiling’, ’neither’, ‘weird’, ’eighty’, and ‘reign’.

Where does pee and poop actually GO? Pat the rat has a question nobody wants to answer, so he takes a deep breath and dives straight into the toilet! Down in the dark sewer, a cheerful rat offers to show him everything. Can Pat follow the water through tanks, filters, and pipes all the way to the sea? This decodable reader practices 2-syllable open words such as ‘maybe,’ ‘only,’ ‘open,’ and ‘over.’