One Syllable Books

While doing a little research on an upcoming blog topic (translation:  “when looking for something about which to write”), I discovered a form of literature that until now had escaped my notice: the one syllable book.

In the early 1800’s and then again towards the end of that century and into the 20th, various classics and not-so-classics were re-written using only one syllable words, making them more accessible to beginning readers.  A lady named Elizabeth Semple was the author of the earliest I found, its title so lively and exciting  that I’m sure it must have kept a generation of youngsters up late burning a candle: Dialogues Consisting of Words of One Syllable Only; Intended as a Proper Book to Follow The Imperial Primer, and Other Approved Incitements to Learning, published in 1813.

In the latter part of the century other writers such as Mary Godolphin and J.C. Gorham began taking on the heavyweight classics of the literary world with their publishing of such titles as Robinson Crusoe, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Pilgrim’s Progress, Gulliver’s Travels,  Aesop’s Fables, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, The Life of Christ, Lives of the Presidents, Pilgrim’s Progress,  and Swiss Family Robinson.

Try writing your next blog post or even a letter using only one syllable words. And try hard to make them interesting to boot.  As difficult as it may be, some writers did passingly well.  Here’s a sample from Alice in Wonderland:

“This time she found a small bot-tle on it (“which I am sure was not here just now,” said Al-ice), and tied round the neck of the bot-tle was a tag with the words “DRINK ME” printed on it. It was all right to say “Drink me,” but Al-ice was too wise to do that in haste: “No, I’ll look first,” she said, “and see if it’s marked ‘poi-son’ or not,” for she had been taught if you drink much from a bot-tle marked ‘poi-son,’ it is sure to make you sick “

I’m sure the first thing you noticed was the presence of a couple of hyphenated two syllable words.  Cheating?  Maybe, if you’re a strict constructionist when it comes to this kind of thing.  Breaking down multi-syllabic words into their parts makes a lot of sense from an educator’s point of view.  By seeing how these words break down into their single syllables, the beginning reader can more easily learn to pronounce and recognize them, catching on readily that the challenge of long, complicated words can be met when using such a tactic.  After all, these noteworthy efforts were to increase a reader’s skills, not just a challenging word game for the author.

Let’s Get Modern

All of the books mentioned above are now very collectible and may even be considered antiquarian, so don’t expect to find them easily or pick them up cheaply.  If your goal is not just to add something unique to your bookshelf but to help a fledgling reader, nowadays we have what are called ‘decodable books”.

If you are at all familiar with phonics, you’ll understand why they are called “decodable”.  When a beginning reader is taught using phonics, they begin by learning the “code”, or the alphabet, and then how to decode combinations of the symbols comprising the alphabet.  Any child who has learned the five short vowels and the consonants can pick up one of these books and after a short while duly impress grandma and grandpa with such impressive lines as:  “I am Sam and I am an ant. I live in an ant hill. There are lots of us in the hill.” (From Sam the Ant, by Eleanor McDavid).

(My first thought is that there sure seems to be a rather vast discrepancy between what we expected of our kids in the late 19th century and what we expect of them today!  I have yet to find any modern one syllable versions of the classics like our grandparents might have had available.)

The Little Companion Readers Series

Those of you who have wisely chosen Alpha-Phonics as your reading instruction system will have noticed that two-syllable words are introduced in Lesson 38, which could easily be reached by many students in as little as a month.  Once your little reader learns to decode these multi-syllable words, you won’t be able to control their appetite for more!  When they have worked through Alpha-Phonics, single syllable books will probably be irrelevant, but you can certainly introduce them early on in the learning process.  If you didn’t get a set of them with your initial purchase of Alpha-Phonics, and your student is moving right along through the lessons, consider getting them a set of “Little Companion Readers” soon.  They deserve to have their very own books for their new bookshelf!

Nothing is more important to us at the Paradigm Company than teaching youngsters to read. We know that if we (and you) set about that goal correctly, we won’t be able to hold them back.  They’ll soon be graduating from their simple “decodable” books to Little Golden Books (I wish I still had my collection), and then on to the real multi-syllabic classics. I remember having my own edition of the Swiss Family Robinson when I was six – I loved that book! How about you?  Do you remember the pride and excitement you felt with your first big, real book?