Learning to Read with Jax and Ren

CEHD alumna publishes a new book series for beginning readers

As an elementary school teacher, Lina Miller, EHD03, fell in love with teaching children how to read. But she noticed that her students were having trouble finding trade books that were appropriate for beginning readers. Drawing on 20 years of experience in the classroom, Miller published her own series, Decode by Heart, featuring two lovable characters, a bear cub named Jax and a red fox named Ren. 

“Decode by Heart came as a result of teaching students the foundations of reading, but then noticing a lack of general trade books appropriate for these students,” Miller said. “My students would make great progress with school-based materials, but then could not apply their reading skills to books in the classroom library because they were not written for new readers learning how to decode. This was very disheartening to both me and my students.”

In reading, “decoding” refers to the process of translating printed words into speech. Readers develop this skill by “sounding out” words—associating letters with sounds and blending the sounds together in order to identify the printed word. 

Miller’s series helps children between the ages of four and seven build their decoding skills through short sentences with words with consonant and short vowel sounds, along with common words like “a,” “are,” “is” and “the.” Whimsical illustrations also support the written story.

“I decided I could help more children be successful readers by publishing a series of books that focus on what new and struggling readers need: simple, decodable sentences paired with a few story words that build with each story,” Miller said. “I wanted to do this, but also give the young readers lovable characters that they could follow on various adventures.”

The Decode By Heart series includes three books, first published between July and September 2023: Jax and Ren Are Pals, Jax and Ren Go to the Vet and Jax and Ren Find a Box. The next book in the series, Jax and Ren Are Jets, is expected to be published in May 2024.

“As an avid reader myself, it is my passion to instill the love of reading in as many children as I can,” Miller said.

Miller graduated from UD’s College of Education and Human Development with a degree in elementary teacher education. Over the course of her career, she has taught general education, special education and multilingual learner students in kindergarten through third grade. She currently works as an academic interventionist, serving students who are struggling in math and reading.

To learn more about the series, visit the Decode by Heart website.

Article by Jessica Henderson. Image courtesy of Lina Miller.