Letter Tracing Workbooks for Ages 3 to 6

What a page looks like

A page of star shapes, one solid model with a start dot, then dotted copies that get fainter, then empty boxes to draw in. — Book 1. A shape, with the start dot and the fade across the row.

A lowercase letter page with a large model letter, a start dot and numbered arrows, above rows of dotted letters. — Book 2. A letter page, with the numbered strokes on the model.

A word page with a picture and the word written on a handwriting rule, first as a model and then as dotted copies. — Book 3. A sentence to copy, on the same rule the letters were learned on.

Ready, Set, Write! · Choosing

Which book for a 4 year old?

Most children trace lines and shapes from about 3, write capital letters between 4 and 5, and small letters and first words between 5 and 6. But the age bands on the covers overlap on purpose: the useful question is not how old the child is but what their hand can already do.

They can hold a pencil, but a letter is still a shape to them, or they have never traced a line.
Book 1, Ready! Lines & Letters: pre-writing strokes, shapes, then the capital letters A to Z.
They write most capital letters and ask about the small ones, or they count aloud past ten.
Book 2, Set! Letters & Numbers: the small letters a to z, then the numbers 0 to 20.
They can form every letter, but a word comes out as a string of letters with no spaces.
Book 3, Write! Words & Silly Sentences: first words to trace, then silly sentences to copy and write.

In doubt

Most four year olds are in Book 1 or Book 2. In doubt, start with Book 1: a book finished quickly does more than a book that is too hard. The letters are print, not cursive, in the same stroke order in all three.

Every volume

Books 1 and 2 come in two editions. They teach exactly the same thing; only the child in the pictures changes. Book 3 has one edition with both children in it.

Weighing this series against other workbooks? We compared eight letter tracing books on the same seven criteria, ours among them.

Compare letter tracing books

Guides for parents of 3 to 6 year olds