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The Little Red Bus
Reading level 2 · Short vowelsAges 3–5

The Little Red Bus

by ReadRead · 5 min read

Get on the bus, hen! Get on the bus, dog! A funny first book a child can read all by themself: short sounds-out words, one pattern, and a tiny bug with a big BAM.

5pop-up spreads
29things to tap
2new words
Words in this book
busbughelpherelittlelooksaid
Peek inside

Free to read

This book is free for every family.

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Inside the book

Here is a little red bus. A hen gets on, then a pig, then a cat, all riding on the roof. Then a big, big dog jumps on, and SQUASH! Oh no, the bus can not go up the hill. Along comes a little red bug (it is not a bus!). “I can help!” says the bug. “A bug? You?” says the dog. The bug runs at the bus, BAM, and up the hill it goes. The tiniest one made the difference.

At sunset the little red bus is at the top of the hill, and a ladybug flies over its cheering friends.
At sunset the little red bus is at the top of the hill, and a ladybug flies over its cheering friends.
A big, big dog sits on the roof of the little red bus, and the bus is squashed flat.
A big, big dog sits on the roof of the little red bus, and the bus is squashed flat.
Look! A little red bug. It is not a bus!
Look! A little red bug. It is not a bus!
The tiny ladybug pushes the heavy bus up the hill: bam!
The tiny ladybug pushes the heavy bus up the hill: bam!

The new words in this book

bus

A big car that many can ride in. It comes up 9 times, and the little red bus is on the page every time: it honks, stops for each friend, gets squashed flat by the dog and climbs the hill.

bug

A tiny animal with six legs, like a ladybug. It comes up 5 times, and the little red ladybug is there every time: it pops up by the daisies, shouts “I can help!”, runs, pushes, and flies over the hill at the end.

This is a Level 2 decodable reader: every word is either a short-vowel word a child can sound out (bus, bug, hen, pig, dog, get, run, yes) or one of the very first sight words (here, look, said, help, little, you, we). 100% of the words are at that level, so a child who is just starting to read can read the whole book alone. The two new words, bus and bug, differ only in the last letter, so the child has to really look at the end of the word, and the page makes the joke: “Look! A little red bug. It is not a bus!”

Questions to ask while you read

Pause after each spread and ask one question. There are no right answers; the point is to get your child talking.

  1. 1What colour is the bus? Can you say “Beep beep!”?
  2. 2Who gets on the bus? Count the friends on the roof. Is the dog big or little? What happens to the bus?
  3. 3Why can the bus not go up the hill? Is it a bus or a bug? Can a little bug help?
  4. 4Tap the bug. Bam! How many bams to get to the top?
  5. 5Who waves from the top of the hill? Who was the biggest help?

How hard is this book?

2
Reading level · Pre-K–KShort vowels

Every short vowel (bed, sun) and the first sight words. A decodable book: 9 words in 10 can be sounded out at this phonics step.

88words in all
32different words
4.9words per sentence
7longest sentence
More books at this level
Words a child can sound out, by phonics step
Step 1 · short a, i, o55%
Step 2 · all short vowels100%
Step 3 · blends100%
Step 4 · magic e, ee/ai100%
Step 5 · ar/or, oo/ou100%
Step 6 · longer words100%
Grammar in this book
  • Dialogue × 2“I can help!” said the bug.
  • Questions × 1“A bug? You?” said the dog.
  • Commands × 4Go, bus, go!
  • Not / no × 2It is not a bus!
  • Past tense × 3Yes! We did it, bug!
All 32 words, most used first

bus 9 · a 8 · the 8 · is 6 · bug 5 · get 4 · here 4 · on 4 · dog 3 · go 3 · big 2 · can 2 · cat 2 · hen 2 · it 2 · little 2 · look 2 · not 2 · pig 2 · red 2 · run 2 · said 2 · bam · did · help · i · no · oh · up · we · yes · you

Names don’t count: the picture shows who it is.

Tips for parents

  • First time: use Read to me and enjoy the jokes together. Then switch to I can read and let your child read it to you.
  • Point to the last letter of bus and bug. Say the words slowly, b-u-s, b-u-g, and let your child hear the difference.
  • Let your child read “Get on the bus, …!” and fill in the animal from the picture.
  • On the bump page, say “Bam!” together with every tap until the bus is at the top.
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