Bix the Fox

Your child can read these stories to you. Bix the fox fixes things, but never on the first try: a gap in his hut, a cat in his bed, a van deep in mud. All three stories are in this one 76-page book: Bix and the Big Fix, Bix and the Cat Bed, and Bix and the Van. In each one, you and your child get to shout "Fix it, Bix!" together.

Each story runs 20 pages and takes about ten minutes, with short pages for you before and after it. The stories are written for children ages 5 to 7, in kindergarten and first grade, who know a sound for most letters and can already sound out short-vowel (CVC) words such as sit and mud. Every story page has a full-color picture and one or two short lines in type large enough to run a finger under.

The three stories

• Bix and the Big Fix. A bug gets in through a gap in Bix's hut, and Bix tries a rag and then a peg to block it.
• Bix and the Cat Bed. A big gray cat takes over Bix's bed, so Bix offers it a box, then a tub.
• Bix and the Van. Bix's van sinks in the mud outside his hut, and tugging won't budge it.

For the grown-up

• A page before each story that shows its new sound and gives your child some warm-up words
• A short practice page after each story for you to lead (after Story 3, a hand-on-throat game that shows how v differs from f)
• Three word games, with your child's words set in large print
• A how-to page with a readiness check, a point-and-blend routine, and a heart trick for the and a, the two words your child can't sound out yet

How the words are chosen

At Level 1 every vowel is short, and each story adds one new sound: x in the first, qu in the second, and v in the third. Under the pictures, only two words break those rules, the heart words the and a. All the others can be sounded out with the letters your child has learned.

Page 4 starts with a short check to see whether your child is ready to begin.

Nell Ivers writes the Bix the Fox stories for Red Box Books.