Story Time: Easy Home Articulation Practice

Natalie Iverson, CCC-SLP

Sometimes it can be intimidating to attempt speech therapy practice at home, especially if a child is still needing lots of support to make the sounds they’re working on in speech. One way to help a child progress is through a technique called auditory bombardment. Auditory bombardment is when there is a high frequency of a specific sound in a period of time, adding at least a little bit of emphasis each time that target sound appears (whether at the beginning, middle, or end of words.) 

One of my favorite ways to use auditory bombardment is through reading a story to a kid. Below is a list of books grouped by sounds your child may be working on in speech therapy. The books listed include a high frequency of the sound, making it easy to model the correct way to produce the sound in a natural way. With auditory bombardment, there is no expectation the child imitates the way you say words while you read; the reader just gets to be a good example. This technique helps increase a child’s awareness to how the sound is made in different words. Check out the book recommendations grouped by sound below: 

If your child is working on the C/K sound: 

Colin the Chameleon (Colin the Chameleon) by Sue Samuels and Gavin Scott. This book may be discontinued, though there are thrifted book options. I have also included a link to a read aloud video on YouTube –  Colin Chameleon Read Along Video. 

Counting Crocodiles (Counting Crocodiles) by Judy Sierra. This book can also be used for sounds such as L, SH, and S.

If your child is working on the G sound: 

Chick ‘n’ Pug (Chick 'n' Pug) by Jennifer Sattler. This book also works for CH. 

Grumpy Goat (Grumpy Goat) by Brett Helquist

If your child is working on the F sound: 

Four Famished Foxes and Fosdyke (Four Famished Foxes and Fosdyke) by Pamela Duncan Edwards

Big Frank’s Fire Truck (Big Frank's Fire Truck) by Leslie McGuire. This book is also good for working on V.

If your child is working on the V sound: 

Big Frank’s Fire Truck (Big Frank's Fire Truck) by Leslie McGuire. Notice that the V sound appears in words like ‘of,’ while also shown by the V in ‘very,’ ‘over,’ and ‘eleven.’ This book is also good for working on F.

A Violin for Elva (A Violin for Elva) by Mary Lyn Ray. In this book, V is present in words such as Elva, violin, have, and conversation. A Violin for Elva is also good for working on TH. 

If your child is working on the S sound (by itself or in blends): 

Some Smug Slug (Some Smug Slug Paperback) by Pamela Duncan Edwards. Watch out for those tricky ‘SH’ beginnings! This is a different sound than the S sound, and therefore shouldn’t be emphasized while targeting S. 

Silly Sally (Silly Sally) by Audrey Wood. In this book, there are some sneaky middle S sounds like in ‘dancing’ and ‘upside down.’ 

Counting Crocodiles (Counting Crocodiles) by Judy Sierra. Notice this book can be used for a few other sounds, as well, such as C/K, L, and SH.

If your child is working on the Z sound: 

If Anything Ever Goes Wrong at the Zoo (If Anything Ever Goes Wrong at the Zoo) by Mary Jean Hendrick. The not so easy Z sounds to recognize include some plural ‘s’ words. Some plural Ss make the Z sound rather than an S sound. Try monkeys. Now try cups. Which one had the snake (S) sound, and which one had the buzzing (Z) sound? It may be worth practicing ahead of time to get used to which words have which sound. 

If your child is working on the SH sound: 

Counting Crocodiles (Counting Crocodiles) by Judy Sierra. There are lots of different spellings to make the Sh sound (e.g., delicious, ___). Because of this, it may be a good idea to a practice reading through the book by yourself first. This book can also be used for sounds such as C/K, L, and S.

Sheep on a Ship (Sheep on a Ship)  by Nancy Shaw

If your child is working on the CH sound: 

Chick ‘n’ Pug (Chick 'n' Pug) by Jennifer Sattler. Watch for words like “adventure” where the CH sound is hidden as a T! This book also works for G.

Ah-Choo (Ah-Choo) by Lana Wayne Koehler. Depending on your dialect, your “tr-“ like in ‘tried’ may sound like the CH sound, too. Try it out and see if that applies to you with a word such as “try” or “train.” Vulture has that sneaky T playing the CH sound again, too.

If your child is working on the J sound: 

The Jellyfish Jiggle (The Jellyfish Jiggle) by Kayla Diamond. Watch out for all the different ways to make this sound like the G in ‘energetic’ or ‘magical’ vs the J in ‘jellyfish’ or ‘Jules.’ 

Jabari Jumps (Jabari Jumps) by Gaia Cornwall. This one also includes the J sound with the letters ‘dg’ as in ‘edge.’

If your child is working on the L sound: 

Lloyd Llama (Lloyd Llama) by Sarah Jones. This one even highlights the Ls for you! 

Counting Crocodiles (Counting Crocodiles) by Judy Sierra. Notice this book can be used for a few different sounds such as C/K, SH, and S.

If your child is working on the R sound: 

Robert the Rose Horse (Robert the Rose Horse) by Joan Heilbroner. This book is also good for TH.

The Rock that Couldn’t Roll (The Rock That Couldn't Roll) by Mr. Jay

If your child is working on the TH sound: 

Robert the Rose Horse (Robert the Rose Horse) by Joan Heilbroner. This book is also good for working on R.

A Violin for Elva (A Violin for Elva) by Mary Lyn Ray. This book is also good for working on V.