Literacy support for struggling readers
The ultimate literacy support. Story Seekers are chapter books that engage struggling readers and fill in the gaps in their literacy knowledge.
Captivate and intrigue your students with compelling plots, high-interest non-fiction topics and appealing images, while taking an integrated approach to literacy support. Our Story Seekers books support struggling and reluctant readers by developing both their decoding and their comprehension skills.
These multi-use literacy learning resources can be used for:
- guided reading
- independent reading
- to support students learning English as an additional language.
Learn more about which series is right for your classroom
Literacy support for struggling readers
The ultimate literacy support. Story Seekers are chapter books that engage struggling readers and fill in the gaps in their literacy knowledge.
Captivate and intrigue your students with compelling plots, high-interest non-fiction topics and appealing images, while taking an integrated approach to literacy support. Our Story Seekers books support struggling and reluctant readers by developing both their decoding and their comprehension skills.
These multi-use literacy learning resources can be used for:
- guided reading
- independent reading
- to support students learning English as an additional language.
Learn more about which series is right for your classroom
Ready to embark on an exciting journey with Story Seekers? Choose your adventure below!
Why Story Seekers works: Insights from Dr Christine Braid
Discover the research foundations behind Story Seekers in a new white paper by Dr Christine Braid.
Drawing on 40 years of experience as an educator and literacy researcher, Dr Braid explores why so many students – especially those reading below year level or learning English – need specifically designed texts to build confidence and capability.
This paper explains how carefully controlled, age-appropriate texts can help bridge the gap between frustration and success. It highlights how the Story Seekers series offers a crucial pathway to bring all learners closer to independent reading.
Whether you’re supporting struggling readers, ESOL students, or learners who’ve lost confidence, this evidence-based perspective will help you understand how Story Seekers can make a difference.
Addressing the complexity of reading
Reading is a complex task and the literacy research is clear – accurate reading comprehension cannot happen unless both decoding skills and linguistic comprehension are strong in students (Gough and Tunmer 1986).
The difficulties for students struggling by Year 4 and above are often in both areas. Not only do many struggling students have problems decoding and working out the words. But often, the same students also have difficulty with linguistic comprehension: understanding the vocabulary and sentences.
Story Seekers addresses both issues for literacy support. These chapter books:
- supporting the connection between phonological awareness and orthographic knowledge
- build strong linguistic comprehension.
The challenges of decoding
Decoding = applying knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns, to correctly sound out words.
To increase reading accuracy, students require a good understanding of the English alphabetic code. Many develop this through direct instruction and self-made connections in their early years of learning to read. But for some, making these connections is difficult, unless direct intervention makes the alphabetic code explicit.
The importance of linguistic comprehension
Linguistic comprehension = making meaning which includes receptive vocabulary, grammatical understanding, and discourse comprehension.
A student can have strong linguistic comprehension and perceive meaning in what they hear, but still be a struggling reader due to weak decoding skills. Comprehension comes from a combination of content knowledge of a topic and higher-order thinking skills like reasoning, imagining and synthesising. These enable students to make meaning from words, sentences and ideas.
“I use Story Seekers with my Years 4–8 for reading and comprehension. They love it!”
Primary teacher – New Zealand
What makes Story Seekers different for literacy support?
Two years of research and development is behind Story Seekers. The books reinforce the alphabetic code as an integral part of improving the comprehension skills of struggling readers. They are the ultimate literacy support.
The books features:
- a phonics scope and sequence
- a connection between phonological awareness and orthographic knowledge, reinforced by questions throughout the text and a language task at the end to build higher-order thinking and vocabulary.
Student comprehension is addressed in multiple ways:
- High-interest text – each book connects to a recognised area of interest in students aged 8 to 12, so students can begin reading with knowledge of, and interest in, the text.
- Level-specific vocabulary – language is selected for a 7 to 8-year-old reading level to promote comprehension, while topics are selected for ages 8 to 12 to promote interest.
- Integrated literacy approach – the books focus on phonemic and phonological awareness and strong linguistic comprehension.
- Visual cues – illustrations, photographs, diagrams and maps provide cues for interpreting text.
- Independent literacy activity – each book includes an independent, low-level literacy activity to establish students’ level of basic understanding of the text.
- Activity book – teachers are able to extend literacy skills and make the most of each student chapter book, and reduce preparation time.
The three approaches of literacy support in Story Seekers
Engage
A collection designed to encourage reluctant readers to want to read!
Shorter length builds confidence
At 32 pages, each Story Seekers book is shorter than a normal chapter book, which contributes to a positive reading experience and boosts reader confidence.
High-interest fiction and non-fiction titles
- Compelling characters.
- High-interest storylines and topics with strong appeal for 8 to 12-year-olds.
- Image variety – photographs, maps, graphs, diagrams and infographics – engage and support visual comprehension.
Empower
A collection which develops student skills and empowers reading. The books use:
- a broad range of text structures to familiarise students with different types of text
- design to promote reading speed and accuracy. Dark text on a light, single-coloured background contributes to readability
- dyslexia-friendly layout
- sequential illustrations and engaging images to offer multiple opportunities to make meaning from the text
- carefully selected vocabulary to match the text level
- repetition of less familiar vocabulary or phrases to reinforce comprehension.
Reinforce
Each text provides a selection of end-of-book literacy activities to reinforce learning:
- Say it – an oral language activity for developing literacy skills
- Create it – a writing activity which helps students to ‘write like a reader’
- Get it – a comprehension activity aimed at developing skills and vocabulary
- Nail it! – a decoding activity to build phonics skills.
Activity books for literacy support
Teacher Activity Books are available for each series. These activity books:
- feature teaching ideas that build on concepts in the student books
- support teachers to extend student learning while reducing preparation time
- include phonemic and phonological knowledge reinforcement, supplementary comprehension tasks, and text structure activities
- support students to ‘read like a writer’ and ‘write like a reader’.
Click on the covers below to preview the Story Seekers Activity Books
“I like how every book [Series 2] includes a specific phonics focus, based on a programme-wide scope and sequence!”
Literacy teacher – New Zealand
Story Seekers Series 3 (reading level 7.5 to 8 years)
Written specifically for students aged 9 to 12 years with a reading level of 7.5 to 8 years, this series includes:
- 12 high-interest non-fiction and 9 engaging fiction chapter books
- language activities at the back of each chapter book improve comprehension and reading skills
- an activity book with teaching ideas and activities to extend the learning experience.
To support guided reading sessions, teacher editions of the student chapter books are available. The teacher books feature:
- a 10–15-minute phonics lesson plan
- text-based, HOT comprehension questions
- vocabulary questions to reinforce morphological links
- decoding questions to apply phonological knowledge in context.
CLICK ANY OF THESE COVERS TO VIEW SAMPLE PAGES
Series 3 covers the spelling forms in bold but not the toned spelling forms.
Student books: $13.50 each or $12.50 each for 6 or more
Teacher books: $13.50 each
Activity books: $49.95 each
Series 3 title set: 6 copies of a student book + 1 copy of the corresponding teacher edition: $87.50
CLASS SET SPECIAL OFFER: Series 3 (reading level 7.5 to 8 years)
6 copies of each of the 21 student books + 1 copy of each of the 21 teacher edition + 1 copy of both Activity Books: $1690.00 (RRP $2059.40)
Story Seekers Series 2 (reading level 7 to 7.5 years)
Written specifically for students aged 8 to 11 years with a reading level of 7 to 7.5 years, this collection includes:
- student chapter books
- corresponding teacher edition for each student title
- an activity book for teachers.
To support guided reading sessions, teacher editions of the student chapter books are available. The teacher books feature:
- a 10–15-minute phonics lesson plan
- text-based, HOT comprehension questions
- vocabulary questions to reinforce morphological links
- decoding questions to apply phonological knowledge in context.
CLICK ANY OF THESE COVERS TO VIEW SAMPLE PAGES
Series 2 covers the spelling forms in bold but not the toned spelling forms.
Student books: $13.50 each or $12.50 each for 6 or more
Teacher books: $13.50 each
Activity books: $49.95 each
Series 2 title set: 6 copies of a student book + 1 copy of the corresponding teacher edition: $87.50
CLASS SET SPECIAL OFFER: Series 2 (reading level 7 to 7.5 years)
6 copies of each of the 21 student books + 1 copy of each of the 21 teacher edition + 1 copy of both Activity Books: $1690.00 (RRP $2059.40)
Story Seekers Series 1 (reading level 6.5 to 7 years)
Written specifically for students aged 8 to 10 years with a reading level of 6.5 to 7 years, this collection includes:
- student chapter books
- corresponding teacher edition for each student title
- an activity book for teachers.
To support guided reading sessions, teacher editions of the student chapter books are available. The teacher books feature:
- a 10–15-minute phonics lesson plan
- text-based, HOT comprehension questions
- vocabulary questions to reinforce morphological links
- decoding questions to apply phonological knowledge in context.
CLICK ANY OF THESE COVERS TO VIEW SAMPLE PAGES
Series 1 covers the spelling forms in bold but not the toned spelling forms.
Student books: $13.50 each or $12.50 each for 6 or more
Teacher books: $13.50 each
Activity book: $29.95 each
Series 1 title set:6 copies of a student book + 1 copy of the corresponding teacher edition: $87.50
CLASS SET SPECIAL OFFER: Series 1 (reading level 6.5 to 7 years)
6 copies of each of the 8 student books + 1 copy of each of the 8 teacher edition + 1 copy of the Activity Book: $644.00 (RRP $795.95)
Story Seekers FAQ
About Story Seekers
What is Story Seekers?
Story Seekers helps you support older students who are developing their foundational reading skills. Published by Essential Resources, the range combines high-interest decodable readers with matching teacher editions and activity books for structured reading intervention.
Designed for students aged 8–12 who are reading below their expected level, the books offer engaging fiction and non-fiction topics that reflect their interests, including mysteries, robots, extreme weather and lost cities. Dyslexia-friendly layouts and supportive images help make the texts accessible.
Who is Story Seekers designed for?
Story Seekers is designed for students aged 8–12 with a reading age of approximately 6.5–8 years. The resources can support students who need additional reading practice, students with dyslexia or diverse learning needs, and learners using English as an additional language.
You can use the range in various classroom and learning support settings, including:
- primary, intermediate and lower secondary classrooms
- ESOL and EAL/D programmes
- one-to-one or small-group sessions led by teacher aides or teaching assistants
- literacy intervention programmes coordinated by literacy leaders and special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs).
What makes Story Seekers different?
Story Seekers brings together accessible reading levels and topics suited to older students. Students can practise decoding with texts that match their current reading skills while exploring content that reflects their age and interests.
Why are age-appropriate texts important for older students who need reading support?
Students need opportunities to practise with texts they can read successfully and want to explore. When the reading level is achievable and the content is relevant, students can stay engaged while developing their decoding and comprehension skills.
Story Seekers is designed to support this balance, giving you practical resources for targeted reading practice.
Who writes Story Seekers?
Story Seekers is written by children’s authors, literacy specialists and educators from Australia and New Zealand, including award-winning writers. Many have classroom teaching experience or continue to teach.
Authors include Bronwen Wall, Paul Mason, Marie Langley, Dawn McMillan, Heather Haylock and Philippa Werry.
Using the resources
How do the Story Seekers student books, teacher editions and activity books work together?
The three resources support a connected teaching and practice cycle.
- Student book: provides the text students read.
- Teacher edition: guides explicit teaching, discussion and assessment.
- Activity book: offers follow-up practice to reinforce learning.
A typical session sequence for one title might look like this.
- Teach: Introduce the target sounds and words using the phonics lesson plan and phonological awareness tasks in the teacher edition.
- Read: Use the student book for guided reading or independent reading, as appropriate for your students.
- Discuss: Explore the text using the comprehension and vocabulary questions in the teacher edition.
- Practise: Use the matching activity book tasks to reinforce the skills covered.
- Check: Use the assessment material and answers in the teacher edition to review progress and plan your next session.
Designed for students aged 8–12 who are reading below their expected level, the books offer engaging fiction and non-fiction topics that reflect their interests, including mysteries, robots, extreme weather and lost cities. Dyslexia-friendly layouts and supportive images help make the texts accessible.
Do I need all three resources?
No. You can use the student books on their own, although the resources are designed to work together to maximise the students learning experience.
The teacher edition adds explicit phonics teaching, discussion questions and assessment support. The activity books provide follow-up practice and reinforcement. Choose the combination that suits your teaching approach and students’ needs.
You can use the range in various classroom and learning support settings, including:
- primary, intermediate and lower secondary classrooms
- ESOL and EAL/D programmes
- one-to-one or small-group sessions led by teacher aides or teaching assistants
- literacy intervention programmes coordinated by literacy leaders and special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs).
What is included in a student book?
Each student book contains a short, levelled fiction or non-fiction text with vocabulary matched to its reading level. High-quality images and a dyslexia-friendly layout support access to the text.
The books provide opportunities to practise decoding and develop comprehension through topics suited to older students.
What is included in a teacher edition?
Every student title has a matching teacher edition with a ready-to-use lesson for that book. It includes:
- a concise phonics lesson plan based on the programme’s scope and sequence
- comprehension questions that support higher-order thinking
- vocabulary and morphology prompts
- phonological awareness tasks and phonological knowledge assessment
- answers to the independent activities.
These resources help you connect explicit teaching, reading practice and assessment without starting your lesson planning from scratch.
What is included in an activity book?
The activity books provide follow-up practice through reading comprehension texts and photocopiable, differentiated activities. Tasks cover comprehension, vocabulary, decoding and multisensory learning.
Each student title has corresponding exercises in the relevant activity book.
- Series 1 – Release 1 Activity Book
- Series 2 – Release 1 Activity Book, and Release 2 Activity Book
- Series 3 – Release 1 Activity Book, and Release 2 Activity Book
Can I use Story Seekers for guided and independent reading?
Yes. You can use Story Seekers for small group guided reading, independent reading or ESOL support. Select the approach that suits your students’ reading skills and the level of support they need.
Can teacher aides and teaching assistants use Story Seekers?
Yes. Each teacher edition provides a concise lesson plan, questions and answers to guide one-to-one or small-group sessions. This gives support staff a clear structure for delivering reading practice.
How can literacy leaders use Story Seekers in an intervention programme?
The three series provide a progression for students aged 8–12 who need additional reading support. Place students according to their reading age, then use the teacher edition assessments to monitor progress and help determine when to move to the next series.
The matching teaching and practice resources can support a shared approach across classroom teachers and learning support staff.
Supporting diverse learners
Is Story Seekers suitable for ESOL and EAL/D learners?
Yes. Story Seekers offers achievable, high-interest texts with images that support meaning. Vocabulary questions help you clarify unfamiliar words, while the texts provide opportunities to develop comprehension alongside decoding practice.
Is Story Seekers suitable for students with dyslexia?
Yes. The range uses dyslexia-friendly layouts, carefully levelled decodable texts and supportive images. The activity books also include multisensory activities.
You can use these features alongside your existing teaching approach to support each student’s learning needs.
Can Story Seekers support students who are reluctant to read?
Yes. Topics such as mysteries, robots, extreme weather and lost cities are chosen with older students’ interests in mind. Pairing these topics with achievable reading levels can help students engage with reading and practise their skills.
Choosing a series
Which series should I start with?
Choose a series based on the student’s current reading age rather than their year level. Use your assessment information and professional judgement to select an appropriate starting point.
- Series 1 – Reading level 6.5–7 years
- Series 2 – Reading level 7–7.5 years
- Series 3 – Reading level 7.5–8 years
As students develop their decoding skills, use the teacher edition assessments to help decide when they are ready for the next series.
What student ages and reading levels does each series cover?
The three series offer a progression for older students developing their reading skills.
- Series 1 – Student age 8–10 years old / reading level 6.5–7 years
- Series 2 – Student age 8–11 years old / reading level 7–7.5 years
- Series 3 – Student age 9–12 years old / reading level 7.5–8 years
The student age ranges provide a guide to the intended audience. Reading age is the starting point for choosing a series.
Buying Story Seekers
How can I buy Story Seekers?
Story Seekers is available from Essential Resources as individual books, Title Sets and Class Sets. Choose individual titles for targeted use, a Title Set for a reading group, or a Class Set to resource a series more broadly.
What does Story Seekers cost?
Note: All prices include GST.
Single student book (One title): $13.50 each
Single teacher edition (One title): $13.50 each
Series 1 activity book (1 copiable copy) – Release 1: $29.95 each
Series 2 activity book (1 copiable copy) – Release 1: $44.95 each, Release 2: $29.95 each
Series 3 activity book (1 copiable copy) – Release 1: $49.95 each, Release 2: $29.95 each
Title Set (6 student copies + 1 teacher edition of one title): $87.50
Series 1 Class Set (All 8 titles, each with 6 student copies + 1 teacher edition, plus the Activity Book): $644.00
Series 2 Class Set (All 21 titles, each with 6 student copies + 1 teacher edition, plus both Activity Book): $1690.00
Series 3 Class Set (All 21 titles, each with 6 student copies + 1 teacher edition, plus both Activity Book): $1690.00
Other packages are available, contact us to discuss the right package for your class.