14 reading comprehension workbooks for kids

NELSON and Disney Learning, $15, nelson.com

With sections on comprehension and word knowledge, this workbook filled with beloved Disney characters will help your little learner build the skills they need to become a great reader. These workbooks come in levels from Pre-K to Grade 2 and also feature sections on writing and math.

DK Publishing (AGES 4-6), $11, indigo.ca

All it takes is 10 minutes a day for your kid to better her reading skills. Compiled by a team of language-arts specialists, this workbook will help your kid build words and identify sounds alongside colourful graphics. The back of the book provides answers for parents to reference. The 10-minute series comes in various versions for different grades/age groups. 

Flash Kids (AGES 8-9), $5, indigo.ca

Have your kids read through short passages and answer questions about the story they’ve just read. What better way to challenge their reading comprehension? This series is available for grades 2 to 6.

Teacher Created Resources (AGES 4-6), $15, scholarschoice.ca

Introduce your kids to reading with very short stories—perfect for beginners. Words in the same family are used within a singular story underlined to give your reader clues. After each story, there are a few multiple-choice questions and a short-answer section that reinforces what they’ve read.

Teacher Created Resources (AGES 5-6), $6, scholarschoice.ca

With more than 180 stickers inside, this workbook takes the work out of homework. After your kids complete the activities, reward them with the included ribbon sticker.

Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company Inc. (AGES 7-8), scholarschoice.ca

This workbook contains 64 pages of activities, puzzles, and games that are aimed at improving your child’s reading comprehension. Kids will learn beginning and ending consonants, blends and digraphs (a combination of two letters representing one sound), long and short vowel sounds and word families. The best part is the 140 stickers included to help you track your little one’s progress. This book is available for kids in pre-KG up to Grade 3.

Teacher Created Resources (AGES 7-8), $16, scholarschoice.ca

These short stories will keep your kid entertained while reinforcing skills in vocabulary, fluency and comprehension.

Kumon Publishing North America Inc. (AGES 5-7), $13, amazon.ca

This workbook covers consonant combinations, long vowels, vocabulary and reading comprehension. Bonus: it comes with a recommended reading list, poster, stickers, a calendar and a certificate of achievement. Kumon’s Summer Review and Prep series comes in workbooks ranging from kindergarten to Grade 5. 

Flash Kids (AGES 8-9), $10, indigo.ca

Your older kid will love reading nonfiction passages on various topics such as science, history and geography. Each passage is followed by different types of questions: fill-in-the-blank, short answer, true/false, multiple choice and matching.

Scholastic (AGES 5-7), $12, indigo.ca

Get your little ones a workbook they can use indefinitely (or pass along to a sibling). This wire-bound workbook comes with a marker and glossy pages that make it easy to wipe clean after they’ve completed the page or made a mistake. They’ll be able to practice tracing, copying words, letter sounds and sounding letters together.

DK Publishing (AGES 8-9), $17, indigo.ca

If you want a book that includes reading comprehension but also has a bit of everything else, opt for the Made Easy series. Exercises in this book include reading passages and spotting spelling mistakes, answering short questions based on what your kid has read, and fun activities such as filling out character profiles based on a short story. 

Flash Kids (AGE 8), $7, indigo.ca

Designed specifically for summer studying, this book has 90 pages, which means your kid can do one page per day during her school break. This series comes in different versions, ranging from kindergarten to Grade 5. 

DK Publishing (AGE 8-12), $17, indigo.ca

While this workbook is not specifically about boosting reading comprehension, older kids will have fun applying the skills they’ve learned to their own tales. The book prompts kids to think creatively and engage in exercises that will benefit them in other areas of language arts.  

Flash Kids (AGES 5-8), $24, indigo.ca 

English can be a tricky language: sometimes words aren’t spelled the way they sound and sometimes the way to spell a word doesn’t seem to make any sense. This book teaches 220 of these words through fun games and puzzles. Tests at the end of each unit reinforce what kids have learned.

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