Unlocking literacy: The power of hi-lo books for striving readers

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) paints an alarming picture of student reading, with just 31 percent of fourth graders and 30 percent of eighth graders performing at or above NAEP proficiency. The data highlights the urgent need for innovative literacy solutions in US schools.

Enter hi-lo books: high-interest, low-reading-level texts designed to engage struggling readers without compromising on age-appropriate content. The rise of hi-lo books aligns with the Science of Reading, which emphasizes structured literacy, phonemic awareness, and the importance of engagement in reading development. Research shows that:

1. Motivation is a key driver of reading success. When students are interested in what they’re reading, they’re more likely to persist and improve.
2. Visual supports and formatting can significantly aid comprehension, especially for students with learning differences.
3. Repeated exposure to structured, decodable text builds fluency and confidence.

In this blog, we’ll provide a detailed overview of hi-lo books, including key features and differences from leveled readers. We’ll also explore how Renaissance’s Accelerated Reader and myON programs support educators in bringing hi-lo books into the classroom.

What are hi-lo books in education?

Hi-lo books are written with two key goals in mind:

1. High interest, focusing on topics, characters, and plots that appeal to older children and teens.
2. Low readability levels, with simplified vocabulary and sentence structure, straightforward plot development, and supportive formatting.

Hi-lo books are especially effective for:

• Students reading below grade level;
• Students who are beginning to learn English; and
• Reluctant readers who may be capable but disinterested.

Hi-lo books are often used in middle and high school, where students may be embarrassed by reading materials that are designed for younger children and appear juvenile. The best hi-lo books avoid this stigma by offering mature themes, realistic characters, and engaging formats that feel more age-appropriate.

Hi-lo books vs. leveled readers: Key differences

While both hi-lo books and leveled readers are designed to support developing readers, they serve different educational purposes and audiences.

Hi-lo books are primarily intended for older students who struggle with reading but still crave age-appropriate, engaging content. They are often used to build confidence, fluency, and motivation in readers who may feel alienated by traditional reading materials.

In contrast, leveled readers are typically used with younger children who are learning to read for the first time. These books are carefully structured to match specific reading levels, with controlled vocabulary, sentence patterns, and story complexity. They’re often used in guided reading programs to support systematic literacy development.

Major features of hi-lo books

One of the most important features of hi-lo fiction is clarity in storytelling. Struggling readers can easily become overwhelmed by:

• Nonlinear timelines, including flashbacks or time jumps
• Multiple points of view
• Subplots that distract from the main narrative

Hi-lo books avoid these by sticking to linear, straightforward plots with a clear beginning, middle, and end. This helps readers to stay focused and build confidence as they follow the narrative.

Typical features of hi-lo fiction include:

• Fast-paced, action-driven plots
• Short chapters and low word counts
• Minimal description; the focus is on dialogue and conflict
• Themes relevant to teens (e.g., identity, relationships, survival)
• Humor and suspense to maintain engagement
• Simple sentence structure and vocabulary
• Plenty of white space and supportive illustrations

Typical features of hi-lo nonfiction include:

• High-interest topics (e.g., survival stories, sports, celebrities)
• Eye-catching covers and titles
• Short paragraphs and accessible language
• Use of quotes, sidebars, and visuals to break up text
• Focus on surprising or dramatic facts
• Emphasis on real-world relevance and curiosity

Writing Accelerated Reader book quizzes for hi-lo titles

Accelerated Reader (AR) is a powerful tool that supports the use of hi-lo books in the classroom. AR is a reading management and monitoring program that helps teachers track students’ reading progress and provides personalized reading recommendations. Accelerated Reader has nearly 9,000 quizzes for hi-lo books.

Accelerated Reader Content Designers take special care when creating quizzes for hi-lo books. We recently spoke with a Content Designer, Lynn W., about this process. Her responses appear below.

Q: What is your approach when writing AR quizzes for hi-lo books?

Lynn: These Accelerated Reader quizzes align with the simple sentence structure and basic vocabulary that’s typical of hi-lo books. For this reason, the quizzes often avoid compound sentences and vocabulary exceeding the book’s ATOS level, which is a measure of readability based on word difficulty, average word length, and average sentence length.

We check the ATOS level of vocabulary in the quiz by referring to a graded list of common English words. We also generally match the tense of the quiz to the book, and we avoid using NOT/EXCEPT questions.

This approach helps striving readers to understand the questions and identify the correct answers without struggling or guessing. Quizzes for hi-lo books can require additional editorial work, because initial drafts of questions may be too complex and need simplification.

Q: Can you give us an example of an Accelerated Reader quiz question?

Lynn: Absolutely. Compare the two quiz questions below, one written at a six-grade level (ATOS 6.0) and the other at a second-grade level (ATOS 2.0):

Quiz question for a middle-grade book with an ATOS Book Level of 6.0:

Jerry shook his head and went back inside after he noticed that ____________.

Correct response: a storm was brewing

Distractor (incorrect response option): protestors were waving signs

Quiz question for a middle-grade book with an ATOS Book Level of 2.0:

Jerry shook his head. Why did he go back inside?

Correct response: A storm was brewing.

Distractor: People were waving signs.

The first question is a complex sentence with a dependent clause. For the second question, I split the complex sentence into two simple sentences. This format is often used in hi-lo quizzes to enhance readability and comprehension.

We use vocabulary from the book regardless of its ATOS level, but we try not to exceed the book’s ATOS level when adding new words. In my original distractor, the word “protestors” has an ATOS level of 6.0. Because this word does not appear in the hi-lo book, I changed the word to “people” in the second example. “People” has an ATOS level of 1.0.

Q. What’s the biggest challenge when writing AR quizzes for hi-lo books?

Lynn: I often find it challenging to use simple language and vocabulary to convey the book’s major plot points, without reading between the lines or “overstating” what’s in the text. AR quizzes measure basic comprehension of a text, so it’s essential that we do not include inference in our questions or correct responses. This is especially true for hi-lo quizzes.

Let me give you an example.

Here is a made-up excerpt from a hi-lo book. It features simple sentences and leaves out some of the nuance found in books with a higher reading level: “The kids were tired. They thought about what to do next. Sarah noticed a pile of driftwood. It was dry. She found a match in her pocket. The flame was hot. It burned.”

For my quiz question, I would include phrases from the book that convey the most meaning. Sarah’s discovery of the match is a major plot point, as opposed to the kids being tired. However, I would not say anything about Sarah lighting the match because the text doesn’t explicitly say that she lit it. Instead, I would write the question and response like this:

Question: Sarah noticed a pile of driftwood. Then she ____________.

Correct response: found a match in her pocket

This question provides context (Sarah noticing the driftwood) and leads into the response of what she does next. While readers may infer that she lit the match, the correct response must adhere strictly to the book’s wording to avoid confusing hi-lo readers.

Q: What are some memorable hi-lo books you’ve written Accelerated Reader quizzes for?

Lynn: The following books engage striving middle- and upper-grades readers by exploring complex, age-appropriate themes and topics at a lower reading level:

The Scare (ATOS Book Level 2.5, Middle Grades interest). This book follows a boy and his brother as they struggle to survive a smallpox outbreak. When they hear about a new vaccine, it gives them hope for the future. Middle schoolers will draw parallels between themselves and kids from the past who took on more responsibilities during a pandemic.

That’s Strange! series (ATOS Book Levels 1.8‒2.3, Middle Grades interest). Each book details a different unexplained mystery, such as D.B. Cooper’s disappearance or Amelia Earhart’s last flight. Unsolved mysteries are often left out of history books, and middle schoolers will enjoy coming up with alternate theories as they read these true stories.

It’s All Art (ATOS Book Level 2.5, Upper Grades interest). This title introduces exhibits from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, from paintings to suits of armor to musical instruments. High schoolers will enjoy learning about different types of art and historical eras and can delve deeper into exhibits that interest them.

Expanding access to hi-lo books with the myON platform

Another powerful tool supporting the classroom use of hi-lo books is the myON digital reading platform. myON offers 15 hi-lo third-party collections, for a total of 1,255 titles. myON also includes 259 hi-lo titles in its Core collection. This adds up to more than 1,500 hi-lo books that students can access anytime, anywhere.

myON provides personalized reading recommendations based on students’ interests and reading level, making it easier for educators to find the right books for their students. By integrating hi-lo books into myON, educators can provide students with a diverse range of reading materials that cater to their individual needs.

Accelerated Reader and myON work with publishers such as Saddleback Educational Publishing and Orca Book Publishers. These two companies have become leaders in this space, each bringing a unique approach to the development of hi-lo content.

Hi-lo books from Saddleback Educational Publishing

Tim McHugh, co-owner of Saddleback, says that “if you want a child to read a book, give them a book they want to read.” To engage striving readers, Saddleback has developed multiple specialized hi-lo book series, including Red Rhino.

Red Rhino offers fiction such as Fish Boy, the story of a superhero with amazing water talents—who just happens to live in the desert. Red Rhino also offers hi-lo nonfiction titles like Zombie Creatures, about animals that can take over the minds of others.

Additionally, Saddleback offers the Newcomer series, designed to help immigrant students acquire essential English vocabulary and navigate their new environments. The series includes:

• Hi-lo fiction, with titles like New American, about a woman whose life changes when she moves to the US and takes the first steps to become a US citizen
• Hi-lo nonfiction, with titles such as Managing Money, which teaches readers how to keep their money safe and make it grow

Hi-lo books from Orca Book Publishers

Laura Bowman, Educational Sales Manager at Orca, explains that the company’s hi-lo books feature highly legible fonts, extra spacing, and cream-colored paper to support all readers, including those with dyslexia. She and her colleagues are inspired when they hear about students who—thanks to Orca’s hi-lo titles—read a book from start to finish for the first time.

Orca’s hi-lo books include thrillers, horror, fantasy, coming-of-age stories, and more. Some of Orca’s most popular hi-lo fiction titles are:

• Haunted Hospital, about four teenagers who find themselves in danger during a role-playing game in an abandoned hospital
• Fish Out of Water, about a 12-year-old who hates sports and prefers to read or do crafts
• He Who Dreams, about a boy embracing both his Irish and Native American heritage

Educator feedback led Orca to create the Orca Anchor hi-lo series for teens, which includes the title Dropped! The book tells the story of a teen who must survive on a deserted island as part of a reality show competition.

Inspiring struggling readers with hi-lo books

The key takeaway for educators, leaders, and families is that hi-lo books are more than just a tool; they are a bridge. A bridge to greater confidence, comprehension, and a lifelong love of reading and discovery.

As the literacy landscape evolves, hi-lo books offer a powerful, research-backed way to ensure that every student has a story they can read successfully as they build literacy skills.

Both Accelerated Reader and myON play a crucial role in supporting the use of hi-lo books in the classroom. By leveraging these digital tools, educators can create a more inclusive and engaging reading environment—and motivate their striving readers to learn and achieve.