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This is an exploratory study to identify and understand changes in the easy reader genre since its inception 52 years ago. Thirty-five easy reader books were analyzed for their content: five from the 1960s, ten from the 1980s, and twenty from the 2000s. Eight Geisel Award medal and honor books were among the books from the 2000s. The books were evaluated for reading level characteristics, aspects of illustrations unique to easy readers, quality of storytelling, topics reflected, and teaching aids included. The study found that newer easy readers have a higher proportion of illustration to text and are shorter than earlier easy readers, meaning they provide less reading material per book. Several minor modifications to easy reader formulas were noted, most notably at the lowest reading level where books to be read with an adult while learning to read have been introduced. Some topics shown to interest young children, such as transportation, were found to be used relatively rarely in easy readers