Books to progressively develop kanji reading skills

upper intermediate

intermediate

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[in progress] Do you want to read a book that isn't full furigana, but doesn't expect adult-level kanji reading abilities? There are many enjoyable children's and young adult books that show kanji up to a certain grade and put furigana just on the upper grades of kanji shown (meaning you have to practice reading the lower graded kanji without help).

This list is a collection of books and series where I have determined the cutoffs for the kana/kanji/furigana rendering strategy. Because as far as I know, this isn't easily identified, e.g., when browsing for books, and wouldn't it be nice to browse some of the most popular books and series based on that information?

Here is an acronym system this list uses so that you can browse quickly once you get the hang of it:

For example, R2K4 means you will have to Read kanji through grade 2 (no furigana), and Kanji are printed through grade 4.

Full details follow the acronym. I also add a note on approximately how many kanji are included within the relevant grade levels, as even if you're not learning kanji by Japanese school grade, there is a useful overlap across strategies in the first 200, 500 etc kanji learned.

ふしぎ駄菓子屋銭天堂

Book Series

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R2K4. Feels like: "not kana soup" (if you came from books for 2nd graders) OR "not enough kanji" (if you came from full kanji + full furigana books/manga).
~N4 level.

Kanji shown: grades 1-4 (~640 kanji, above that it's in kana).
No furigana: grades 1-2 (~240 kanji).
Furigana shown: grades 3-4 (on first appearance per page).

A series of 20 books. The chapters are episodic stories (6 per book), although there is an overarching story and world building that develops from book to book.

R2K4. Feels like: "not kana soup" (if you came from books for 2nd graders) OR "not enough kanji" (if you came from full kanji + full furigana books/manga).
~N4 level.

Kanji shown: grades 1-4 (~640 kanji, above that it's in kana).
No furigana: grades 1-2 (~240 kanji).
Furigana shown: grades 3-4 (on first appearance per page).

A series of 20 books. The chapters are episodic stories (6 per book), although there is an overarching story and world building that develops from book to book.

ものだま探偵団

Book Series

R4K6. Feels like: "just enough kanji" for a smooth reading experience.
~N3 level.

Kanji shown: grades 1-6, and a few grade 7-9 (>1026 kanji, above that generally kana).
No furigana: grades 1-4 (~640 kanji).
Furigana shown: grades 5-6 (always).