Short a (a_t, a_p, a_g)
Sam and the Bat Map
- “Sam has a map.”
- “A bat sat on the map.”
- “Tap, tap, tap.”
Weird fact teaser: Bats can “see” in the dark by sending out tiny sound clicks and listening for the echoes.
CVC Cliffhanger Readers
CVC readers, but make them weird.
Free printable decodable mini-stories for beginning readers — with short words, tiny science mysteries, and cliffhanger endings that make kids ask, “What happens next?”
Printable PDF · No login · Parents, homeschoolers, K-1 teachers, tutors.
Practice shouldn’t feel like a fight.
Many beginning readers can decode short-vowel words. They just don’t want to — because the story is, well, “Sam sat. The cat sat. The end.”
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Boring stories
When the story has no reason to keep going, practice turns into negotiation.
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Cliffhangers fix that
We keep the words controlled, but add mystery, weird animal facts, and cliffhanger endings.
What’s inside the free sampler
Three controlled CVC stories, just enough sight words, and prompts for the grown-up reading along.
Included
3 free sampler stories
Short, decodable, with a weird-animal twist.
Included
Controlled CVC words
Short-vowel focus, by-story.
Included
A few sight / heart words
Just enough glue for a real story.
Included
Parent / teacher notes
What to praise, what to gently nudge.
Included
Weird animal facts
Bats, foxes, sand lizards, sunfish, fireflies…
Included
Cliffhanger endings
Followed by drawing & comprehension prompts.
Free printable sampler
Download the current 35-page CVC sampler.
One tested PDF with three short-vowel stories, parent/teacher notes, and kid-friendly science mystery hooks — no login required.
Download Current Sampler PDFTry before Pack 1
Preview the decoding level, story tone, and adult-read notes before buying the full Red Web Mystery bundle.
Safe public download
This is a free sampler only. Paid Pack 1 files stay out of public downloads and are fulfilled through checkout.
Preview the free stories
Read them online, then download the printable.
Short i (i_g, i_t, i_n, i_p)
Pip in the Pit
- “Pip is a pig.”
- “Pip is in a pit.”
- “Pip can dig.”
Weird fact teaser: Scientists learn about the past by digging for fossils: old bones and shells hidden under the ground for a very long time.
Short o (o_x, o_p, o_t)
The Fox in the Box
- “A fox is in a box.”
- “The box can hop.”
- “Hop, hop, hop!”
Weird fact teaser: A fox’s hearing is so sharp it can hear a mouse moving under thick snow.
Pack 1 — Weird Animal Mysteries
10 cliffhanger readers. One weird animal at a time.
Pack 1 expands the sampler to 10 connected short-vowel readers, plus printable word/clue cards, adult-read notes, and prompts for every story. The founding bundle is live as a $9.99 Gumroad digital download.
- ▸Sam and the Bat Map (Short a)
- ▸Max and the Jam Bag (Short a)
- ▸The Cat and the Rat Cap (Short a)
- ▸Pip in the Pit (Short i)
- ▸Kim and the Big Fin (Short i)
- ▸The Tin Pin (Short i)
- ▸The Fox in the Box (Short o)
- ▸The Hot Pot (Short o)
- ▸The Bug in the Mud (Short u)
- ▸The Red Web (Short e)
View Pack 1 sales pageBuy Pack 1 — $9.99Teacher / Tutor License — $29 — coming soon+ Word Warm-Up Cards — coming soon
Pack 1 checkout is live through Gumroad. Teacher/tutor license and add-on card links remain disabled until separate product URLs are ready.
Downloads
Working printable PDFs. Anything labeled “Draft” is a non-final fallback version we’re still iterating on.
Send me the free sampler
We’ll email you both art styles so you can see which one your child actually wants to keep reading.
Common questions
Are these fully decodable?
Each story is built around a single short-vowel CVC focus, with a small set of high-frequency sight / heart words. We aim for as close to fully decodable as we can get while keeping the story itself fun.
Is this a complete reading curriculum?
No. These are supplemental decodable readers. They are designed to add to whatever phonics program or structured literacy approach you’re already using.
Is this for dyslexia?
No — we do not make any clinical claims about dyslexia or learning differences. Many families using structured literacy do find decodable readers helpful, but we are not a diagnosis or treatment.
What grade or age are these for?
The CVC focus typically aligns with late preschool, kindergarten, and early first grade — basically, the moment a child can blend short-vowel words but isn’t yet reading chapter books.
Can teachers and tutors use these with multiple students?
Yes — that’s what the teacher / tutor license covers. The personal-use license covers a single household.
How were these made?
With AI help, and we want to be upfront about it. The illustrations in the free sampler were generated with AI image tools from our prompts, then selected and laid out by us. The Pack 1 stories and activities were drafted with AI writing tools, then edited, checked word by word against a controlled CVC word list, and assembled by us. Pack 1 has no illustrations: your reader draws each scene.
Can I print these?
Yes. Every download is a print-friendly PDF sized for US Letter paper. On A4, choose “fit to page” when printing.
How do I pick Simple Clean vs Pretty Storybook?
If your child gets distracted by busy art, start with Simple Clean. If your child wants to be hooked by the pictures, start with Pretty Storybook. The words are identical either way.