Books in Collins Big Cat series

Do you look forward to the annual cheese-rolling? Or have you taken part in a dragonboat race? Perhaps you have danced in the street as part of a big street carnival. All around the world people take part in traditions that might seem unusual, but are great fun for everyone who joins in! Find out about all these and more in this information book.•Purple/ Band 8 books offer developing readers literary language, with some challenging vocabulary.• Text type - Non-chronological report.• An index is shown on page 21, and a labelled map of the world on pages 22 and 23 showing where the traditions featured in the book originate, an ideal cue for further discussion.• Curriculum links - Citizenship: Developing good relationships and respecting the differences between people; Geography: Where in the world is Barnaby bear?, Passport to the world.• This book has been levelled for Reading Recovery.

Imagine you were a child in Victorian times. What was your day like? What did you wear, eat and play with? Did you go to school, or out to work? Find out what life was like for children in this enthralling non-fiction book.• Diamond/Band 17 books offer more complex, underlying themes to give opportunities for children to understand causes and points of view.• A timeline on pages 54 and 55 help children to recap the main events of the Victorian era.• Text type: A non-chronological report• This book is paired with Moving Out a fiction story set in the past about a family in post-World-War-Two London deciding whether to move out to a New Town.• Curriculum links: History: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain.• This book has been quizzed for Accelerated Reader

Remind yourself of the enchanting story of Pinocchio, by Pinocchio, retold here by the multi-award winning author Michael Morpurgo and beautifully illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark. A truly beautiful edition that brings this classic tale back to life. Emerald/Band 15 books provide a widening range of genres including science fiction and biography, prompting more ways to respond to texts.

In this delightful retelling of Aesop’s well-known fable, children’s-book-award winner Melanie Williamson captures the story of the slow and steady tortoise and the overly-confident hare.• In this delightful retelling of Aesop’s well-known fable, children’s-book-award winner Melanie Williamson captures the story of the slow and steady tortoise and the overly-confident hare.• Yellow/Band 3 books offer varied sentence structure and natural language• Children can recap the stages of the race between the hare and the tortoise on pages 14–15.• Text type: A traditional tale• Curriculum links: Citizenship: Animals and us, Literacy