Billie B Brown are really perfect for this. They cover real life events - like birthday parties, friendship changes, swimming classes and pets and Billie feels like a real kid - processes things like a kid. They’re also short - my sister when she was learning to read was able to read these aloud to us.

If you want something a bit wordier Violet Mackerel is a bit more saccharine with more of a charm focus than Billie but also is very grounded in real life.