Fonts for children and early readers
Schoolbook sans-serifs, print handwriting and rounded display faces for worksheets, picture books and classroom materials.
A big red apple
Children who are learning to read recognize letters by the shapes they have been taught to write. That is why materials for early readers use what are sometimes called infant or schoolbook characters: a single-story a, like a circle with a stick, and a single-story g with an open tail, in place of the two-story forms found in most text faces. The first thing to check in a font for young readers is therefore those two letters.
The second is how well similar letters are kept apart. The pairs b and d, p and q, and the trio I, l and 1 are classic sources of confusion, and fonts designed for literacy work give each a distinguishing feature. Generous spacing between letters and words helps too, as does a tall x-height.
This collection covers three needs. Schoolbook sans-serifs are for the text children actually read. Print and cursive handwriting faces, several of them built on the models taught in particular school systems, are for tracing sheets and labels. Rounded display families are for headings, posters and covers, where friendliness matters more than strict letter models.
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Andika
Made for literacy work, with letterforms kept distinct for beginning readers; Regular and Bold with italics.
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ABeeZee
Made for children learning to read and write, with an italic that hints at handwriting.
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Didact Gothic
A geometric sans with schoolbook letter shapes, covering Latin, Cyrillic and Greek.
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Teachers
Schoolbook letter shapes, variable from Regular to ExtraBold with italics, made for grades K–6.
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Mooli
A one-style sans for young readers with single-story a and g.
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Playpen Sans
Variable handwriting from research into handwriting education, with shuffled alternates for each character.
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Borel
A French school cursive developed with teachers and speech therapists.
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Edu QLD Hand
The letterforms taught in Queensland schools, as a variable font from Regular to Bold.
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Edu NSW ACT Cursive
The joined, sloped handwriting taught in New South Wales and the ACT, as a variable font from Regular to Bold.
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Edu SA Beginner
The sloped print alphabet taught to South Australian beginners, as a variable font in four weights; unaccented English letters only.
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Mali
Modeled on a schoolchild's print, with single-story a and g, in six weights with italics, for Thai and Latin.
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Short Stack
Round, wide print handwriting modeled on a child's careful letters, with the single-story a taught to beginners.
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Comic Neue
Tidy comic lettering with single-story a and g in round-ended monoline strokes; three weights with italics.
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Quicksand
Rounded geometric letters with a single-story a for headings and covers; a weight axis from Light to Bold and no italic.
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Fredoka
Round stroke caps and single-story a and g for headings and posters; five weights and a width axis from 75 to 125.
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Baloo 2
Soft, rounded letters with a slightly bouncy rhythm for headings and covers; five weights, covering Devanagari and Latin.
Samples load a basic Latin subset of each family. Every family here carries an open license; its page states the terms and offers the original files.
Questions about fonts for children and early readers
What is a single-story a and why does it matter?
It is the form of a that children are taught to write: a round bowl with a short stem. Early readers recognize it more readily than the two-story a of most book faces.
Can teachers use these fonts in materials they sell?
Yes. Open licenses permit commercial use, so worksheets and books made with these fonts can be sold. The font files may not be sold on their own.
Is there one handwriting style that fits every school?
No. Handwriting models differ between countries and even regions. Several fonts here follow a named school model; the note on each says which.