Reading levels and needs
Dyslexia-friendly formats, audio and publishers
Format can matter more than the title. Audio, a dyslexia-friendly typeface, and publishers that design for struggling readers let a child get the story without losing it to decoding.
Each service or publisher was checked at its own site in October 2026; descriptions follow what the sites say. Checked 2026-10-25. Nobody paid to be here. The buy links are plain search links, not affiliate links, so Peabody earns nothing from them.
Bookshare
Benetech · Ages all
A free-to-qualify digital library for people with print disabilities, including dyslexia. Books can be read with highlighted text and speech, in dyslexia-friendly fonts.
Watch for: Qualifying through a school or diagnosis is required.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
Learning Ally
Learning Ally · Ages all
Human-narrated audiobooks for students with dyslexia and other reading barriers, with a school or family membership.
Watch for: Paid membership or school license.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
National Library Service talking books (BARD)
Library of Congress, National Library Service · Ages all
The free talking-book service for people who cannot read standard print, including those with a reading disability certified by a doctor or another authority.
Watch for: Needs a certification of eligibility.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
OpenDyslexic
Abelardo Gonzalez · Ages all
A free typeface with weighted bottoms to cut letter flipping. Research has not shown clear benefit for everyone, so test it with the child.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
Barrington Stoke
Barrington Stoke · Ages 6-16
A publisher whose books are designed for dyslexic and reluctant readers, with tinted paper, a custom font and tight editing.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
Libby
OverDrive · Ages all
The free library app. Borrows audiobooks and ebooks with a library card, and lets you change the font and spacing.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
International Dyslexia Association
IDA · Ages parents
The main parent information site on dyslexia, including a fact sheet on structured literacy and how to find a certified specialist.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
Reading Rockets: Dyslexia
WETA · Ages parents
Free articles and videos for parents and teachers about reading difficulties and how to teach around them.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
Understood: Reading issues
Understood.org · Ages parents
Practical guides for parents on dyslexia, tools and school accommodations.
Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon
More lists
Books that work well for kids with dyslexia
No book is dyslexia-friendly on its own, but some features help: short chapters, plenty of white space, pictures and predictable plots.
Top 20 books for an advanced 3rd grader
An advanced reader can decode long books but is still eight or nine.
Top 20 books for a 3rd grader who is behind or reluctant
These books use short chapters, big pictures or comic panels, and jokes to give a child a reason to turn the page.
Top 20 books for an advanced 4th grader
For a fourth grader reading at a middle-school level, the risk is not the words but the themes.
Top 20 books for a 4th grader who is behind or reluctant
Fourth graders who read below grade level often hate that the books they can read look babyish.
Top 20 books for an advanced 5th grader
A strong fifth-grade reader can handle the Victorian classics and long fantasy.
Top 20 books for a 5th grader who is behind or reluctant
These are fifth-grade-friendly in subject but lighter in text: graphic memoirs, school comics and a verse novel.
Top 20 graphic novels for grades 3 to 5
Graphic novels are real reading: panels teach inference, vocabulary and pacing.