Jolly Phonics Core Purple Readers have been written with a carefully controlled vocabulary, and are specifically designed for children who are learning to read and write with Jolly Phonics.

The text in these Purple Level Books (fifth level) uses only decodable regular words that use the letter-sound knowledge taught so far: the 42 main letter sounds and the main alternative letter-sound spellings (‹y› as in happy, the “hop-over ‹e›” spellings of the long vowel sounds, ‹ay› as in day, ‹ea› as in seat, ‹y› and ‹igh› as in fl y and high, ‹ow› as in low and now, ‹ew› as in dew, ‹oy› as in joy, ‹ir› and ‹ur› as in bird and turn, ‹al›, ‹au› and ‹aw› as in talk, pause and saw), soft ‹c› and soft ‹g› as in cent and gene, ‹ph› as in phonics, and ‹air›, ‹ear› and ‹are› as in hair, pear and care), and a small number of tricky words (frequently used words that are not fully decodable at this stage). In this level, children are also expected to know and use the rule, ‘If the short vowel doesn’t work, try the long vowel.’

All new tricky words and alternative vowel spellings used are shown on the front inside cover. These can be used as a quick practice activity before
starting the book.

Faint type is used for silent letters, like the ‹b› in lamb.

Comprehension questions and discussion topics are included at the end of the book. These ensure that children are able to read the text and also get meaning from it.