The PhoNoNonsense Books

Ginger Wich

Phonetic readers for beginning readers of any age. Each story is built around one sound and the many ways English spells it, so children learn to hear the sound, see its spellings, and meet new words through the pictures.

The series

Book 1ee sound

Neil the Eel

A whimsical story featuring the vowel sound in “Neil,” “eel” and many other words that describe Neil’s antics. Readers build phonemic awareness and learn that one sound can be spelled many ways.

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Book 2oh sound

Joe the Crow

What Does Joe Know?

A playful story featuring the vowel sound in “Joe,” “crow” and many more. Clever illustrations show the objects and actions behind each word, helping readers grow their vocabularies.

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Book 3air sound

Claire the Hare

Goes to the Fair

The fun and exciting “tale” of Claire and her friends, focusing on the vowel sound in “Claire,” “hare” and many other words.

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Book 4a + k sounds

Jack the Yak

Something’s Out of Whack!

The playful adventures of Jack and his twin brother Zach, featuring the vowel sound in “Jack” and “yak,” plus the many spellings of the (k) sound.

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Book 5eye sound

Micah the Pika

Micah’s adventures with his new friends, with a surprise ending! Whimsical illustrations draw children in while reinforcing the sounds. Great for readers and listeners.

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The method behind the books

The PhoNoNonsense books are based on Phono-Graphix, a research-based reading method created by Carmen and Geoffrey McGuinness. Traditional phonics starts with letters and rules. Phono-Graphix starts with the sounds children already know and shows them the “sound pictures,” the different spellings that stand for each sound in print. That is why every book follows one sound through many spellings.

Phono-Graphix builds three skills. Here they are with Ginger’s characters:

Segmenting

Neil→Neil

Breaking a word into its sounds. Neil has three sounds, and the middle one is spelled with two letters.

Blending

crow→crow

Pushing sounds together to read a word. Three sounds blend into the word that tells us what Joe is.

Changing sounds

hare→fair

Swapping one sound for another. Change the first sound in hare and Claire is off to the fair. Same sound, new spelling.

The method is used with beginning readers, struggling readers, students with dyslexia, English language learners and adults learning to read.

To learn more, visit phono-graphix.com, or read Reading Reflex, the McGuinnesses’ step-by-step guide for parents.