Don't Wait
Don’t wait for “mastery” to deliver pleasure.
There is a common belief that once children have mastered all the core grapheme to phoneme correspondences in a systematic phonics programme, fluent reading and reading for pleasure will naturally follow. This linear model, often aligned with the assumptions behind the Simple View of Reading, suggests that decoding competence automatically leads to comprehension and engagement.
But mastery of correspondences, as seen with the Phonics Screening Check data, does not guarantee ease. And effortful reading rarely becomes pleasurable. We don’t wait for every GPC to be explicitly taught before children experience real books, with the One, Two, Three and Away! series. After one term of systematic synthetic phonics, or once children can confidently chant the Green and Purple Code Levels, they begin reading the pre-readers alongside continued code learning. They experience carefully scaffolded texts, with beautiful illustrations offering predictable and repetitive texts but they are also orthographically mapped, and build a love of reading because of the characters who live in the Village With Three Corners.
Early access matters. Early success matters. Early pleasure matters.
Because reading for pleasure should not be the reward at the end. It should be part of the journey from the beginning.
We Don't Wait, Because Early, Easy Reading for Pleasure Matters
Early, easy reading for pleasure changes lives.
England has declared 2026 the National Year of Reading, recognising an urgent need to reverse declining reading engagement and rebuild a culture of reading for enjoyment (Department for Education, 2025). The focus is not simply on decoding, but on children choosing to read.
Recent data from the National Literacy Trust shows that reading enjoyment among children and young people has fallen to some of the lowest levels recorded since reporting began. Fewer children say they enjoy reading in their free time, and daily reading rates remain low (National Literacy Trust, 2023; 2024). At the same time, reading enjoyment continues to be strongly associated with attainment, vocabulary growth and wider academic success (OECD, 2019; Sullivan & Brown, 2015).
If we want children to read for pleasure, reading must feel manageable early on.
The assumption that delays pleasure
In England, systematic synthetic phonics programmes typically teach around 100 core grapheme to phoneme correspondences. The prevailing assumption is that once children have mastered this body of knowledge, fluent reading will follow, and pleasure will naturally emerge.
Yet national Phonics Screening Check data shows that a significant minority of children do not meet the expected standard by the end of Year 1, and some continue to struggle in Year 2 (Department for Education, 2023; 2024). Even among those who meet the standard, passing a check does not guarantee that reading feels easy, automatic or enjoyable.
English orthography is complex. Children encounter alternative spellings, unfamiliar combinations and multi syllabic words that extend beyond the initial taught correspondences. When reading remains effortful, motivation declines. As Stanovich (1986) explained in describing the Matthew effect, early success accelerates progress, while early difficulty widens gaps.
Waiting until the end of a phonics sequence to prioritise real reading for pleasure risks waiting too long.
We don’t wait.
Start early. Build while learning.
Children begin with us after one term of systematic synthetic phonics, or once they can confidently do the Green and Purple Code Level chants, whichever comes first.
They continue working through the four SSP Code Levels, covering the grapheme to phoneme correspondences assessed in the Phonics Screening Check (Department for Education, 2023).
At the same time, they begin the 36 pre readers.
We Show the Code
We add the Code Overlay.
We show which letters are graphemes and their sound value. Every word is fully decodable because its structure is visible. Graphemes are identified and linked clearly to their corresponding speech sounds.
Children do not have to wait until a particular correspondence appears in a teaching sequence. They can see how the word works now.
Research on orthographic mapping shows that secure connections between letters and sounds support automatic word recognition (Ehri, 2014). When word recognition becomes more automatic, cognitive load reduces and attention can shift to meaning. When meaning is accessible, reading becomes rewarding.
Pleasure grows when effort decreases.
Earlier access to real books
With the Code Overlay in place, children begin reading The Village With Three Corners series earlier.
They are not finishing phonics and then starting reading.
They are learning the code while experiencing success.
By Book 52, children are reading without needing the Code Overlay. The visible support fades because the internal connections have strengthened.
Early success builds confidence.
Confidence shapes identity.
Identity influences habit.
Early, easy reading for pleasure is not the reward at the end of instruction. It is the foundation that makes progress possible.
References
Department for Education. (2023). Phonics screening check: 2023 key stage 1 results.
Department for Education. (2024). Phonics screening check: 2024 key stage 1 results.
Department for Education. (2025). National Year of Reading 2026 announcement.
Ehri, L. C. (2014). Orthographic mapping in the acquisition of sight word reading, spelling memory, and vocabulary learning. Scientific Studies of Reading, 18(1), 5–21.
National Literacy Trust. (2023). Children and young people’s reading report.
National Literacy Trust. (2024). Annual literacy survey.
OECD. (2019). PISA 2018 results: What students know and can do.
Stanovich, K. E. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21(4), 360–407.
Sullivan, A., & Brown, M. (2015). Reading for pleasure and progress in vocabulary and mathematics. British Educational Research Journal, 41(6), 971–991.*
Ask Your Local Library to Get The Village With Three Corners Series
Get ready for the day your child is ready to read the Blue Books without the Code Overlay.
After completing the earlier stages, children read the 20 Blue Books and begin the 20 Main Readers. Red, Green and Yellow Platform books are used alongside them to support progress at every step.
By the Blue stage, children are reading the standard text editions with no Code Overlay. The support has done its job. The mapping is internalised. They are reading independently.
Ask your local library to order The Village With Three Corners series through any retailer, eg Gardners, so your child can continue building confidence and reading for pleasure.
Here are the ISBNs:
Pre-Readers
Individual ISBNS
978-1-916941-00-7 Pre-Reader 1 Red
978-1-916941-01-4 Pre-Reader 2 Blue
978-1-916941-02-1 Pre-Reader 3 Yellow
978-1-916941-03-8 Pre-Reader 4 Brown
978-1-916941-04-5 Pre-Reader 5 One, Two, Three
978-1-916941-05-2 Pre-Reader 6 Roger, Billy, Jennifer and Johnny
978-1-916941-06-9 Pre-Reader 7 Big and Little
978-1-916941-07-6 Pre-Reader 8 Houses
978-1-916941-08-3 Pre-Reader 9 The Little Yellow Cat and the Little Brown Mouse
978-1-916941-09-0 Pre-Reader 10 The Cat and the Mouse, the Dog and the Frog
978-1-916941-10-6 Pre-Reader 11 Billy Went to School
978-1-916941-11-3 Pre-Reader 12 Jennifer Went to School
978-1-916941-12-0 Pre-Reader 1A Green
978-1-916941-13-7 Pre-Reader 2A Red, Green, Blue, Yellow and Brown
978-1-916941-14-4 Pre-Reader 3A Roger and the Ball
978-1-916941-15-1 Pre-Reader 4A Roger and the Bus
978-1-916941-16-8 Pre-Reader 5A I see green!
978-1-916941-17-5 Pre-Reader 6A “No, Percy Green!”
978-1-916941-18-2 Pre-Reader 7A The yellow cat and the brown dog
978-1-916941-19-9 Pre-Reader 8A Jennifer and the yellow cat
978-1-916941-20-5 Pre-Reader 9A “Stop it, Percy Green!”
978-1-916941-21-2 Pre-Reader 10A Alex at the fair
978-1-916941-22-9 Pre-Reader 11A Billy’s Picture
978-1-916941-23-6 Pre-Reader 12A The donkey went to school
978-1-916941-24-3 Pre-Reader 1B Roger Red-hat and Mrs. Green’s hat
978-1-916941-25-0 Pre-Reader 2B Billy Blue-hat and the Snowman
978-1-916941-26-7 Pre-Reader 3B Jennifer Yellow-hat and the white cat
978-1-916941-27-4 Pre-Reader 4B Jennifer Yellow-hat and Mr. Brown’s goat
978-1-916941-28-1 Pre-Reader 5B Four, Five, Six
978-1-916941-29-8 Pre-Reader 6B Seven Geese
978-1-916941-30-4 Pre-Reader 7B The big man and the little mouse
978-1-916941-31-1 Pre-Reader 8B Eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve
978-1-916941-32-8 Pre-Reader 9B “Stop!” cried Alex
978-1-916941-33-5 Pre-Reader 10B Roger at the Fair
978-1-916941-34-2 Pre-Reader 11B Billy Blue-hat and the Red Mask
978-1-916941-35-9 Pre-Reader 12B Roger and the Frog
Courtesy of Surrey Libraries
Introductory Readers
Individual ISBNS
978-1-8381211-3-6 Introductory Reader A – Roger Red-hat
978-1-8381211-4-3 Introductory Reader B – Billy Blue-hat
978-1-8381211-5-0 Introductory Reader C – Johnny and Jennifer Yellow-hat
978-1-8381211-6-7 Introductory Reader D – The Old Man
978-1-7398898-0-7 Introductory Reader E – Jennifer Yellow-hat went out in the Sunshine
978-1-7398898-1-4 Introductory Reader F – Jennifer Yellow-hat went out in the Dark
978-1-7398898-2-1 Introductory Reader G – Roger and Rip
978-1-7398898-3-8 Introductory Reader H – Roger and the Pond
978-1-7398898-4-5 Introductory Reader I - Roger and Mrs. Blue-hat
978-1-7398898-5-2 Introductory Reader J – Roger and the Little Mouse
978-1-7398898-6-9 Introductory Reader K – Sita and Ramu
978-1-7398898-7-6 Introductory Reader L – Jennifer Yellow-hat went to the Town
978-1-7398898-8-3 Introductory Reader M – The Donkey Went to Town
978-1-7398898-9-0 Introductory Reader N – Percy Green
978-1-916941-60-1 Introductory Reader O - The Little Brown Mouse went out in the Dark
978-1-916941-59-5 Introductory Reader P - Mrs. Blue-hat and the Little Brown Mouse
Blue Books
Individual ISBNS
978-1-916941-61-8 – Blue Platform Reader 1 The Dog and the Ball
978-1-916941-62-5 – Blue Platform Reader 2 The Little Old Woman
978-1-916941-63-2 – Blue Platform Reader 3 The Big Dog and the Little White Cat
978-1-916941-64-9 – Blue Platform Reader 4 The Little Old Man and the Donkey
978-1-916941-65-6 – Blue Platform Reader 5 Rip's Bath
978-1-916941-66-3 – Blue Platform Reader 6 The Old Blue Bus
978-1-916941-67-0 – Blue Platform Reader 7 Sita and the Little Old Woman
978-1-916941-68-7 – Blue Platform Reader 8 Billy Blue Hat and the Frog
978-1-916941-69-4 – Blue Platform Reader 9 The Magic Wood
978-1-916941-71-7 – Blue Platform Reader 10 The Witch and the Donkey
978-1-916941-72-4 – Blue Platform Reader 11 The Little Brown Mouse and the Apples
978-1-916941-73-1 – Blue Platform Reader 12 Jennifer in Dark Woods
978-1-916941-74-8 – Blue Platform Reader 13 Percy Green and Mrs Blue-hat
978-1-916941-75-5 – Blue Platform Reader 14 Benjamin, the Witch, and the Donkey
978-1-916941-76-2 – Blue Platform Reader 15 The Little Old Man and the Little Brown Mouse
978-1-916941-77-9 – Blue Platform Reader 16 Jennifer and the Little Dog
978-1-916941-78-6 – Blue Platform Reader 17 The Old Man and the Seven Mice
978-1-916941-79-3 – Blue Platform Reader 18 Roger Has a Ride
978-1-916941-80-9 – Blue Platform Reader 19 Miranda and the Magic Stones
978-1-916941-81-6 – Blue Platform Reader 20 Miranda and the Flying Broomstick
Main Readers
Individual ISBNS
978-1-916941-70-0 Main Reader 1 The Village with Three Corners
978-1-916941-39-7 Main Reader 1a The Old Man and the Wind
978-1-916941-40-3 Main Reader 1b Gopal and the Little White Cat
978-1-916941-41-0 Main Reader 2 Billy Blue-Hat and the Duck Pond
978-1-916941-42-7 Main Reader 2a The Cat and the Feather
978-1-916941-43-4 Main Reader 2b Roger and the Ghost
978-1-916941-44-1 Main Reader 3 The Haystack
978-1-916941-45-8 Main Reader 3a The Donkey
978-1-916941-46-5 Main Reader 3b The Empty House
978-1-916941-47-2 Main Reader 4 The Island in Deep River
978-1-916941-48-9 Main Reader 4a The Two Giants
978-1-916941-49-6 Main Reader 4b The House in the Corner of the Wood
978-1-916941-50-2 Main Reader 5 The Cat's Dance
978-1-916941-51-9 Main Reader 6 The Stepping Stones
978-1-916941-52-6 Main Reader 7 Billy Blue-Hat's Day
978-1-916941-53-3 Main Reader 8 The White Owls
978-1-916941-54-0 Main Reader 9 The Lost Dog
978-1-916941-55-7 Main Reader 10 The Three Robbers
978-1-916941-56-4 Main Reader 11 A Boat on Deep River
978-1-916941-57-1 Main Reader 12 The House in Dark Woods
