Books in Reading Ladder series

Chack the blackbird and Apollo the swallow are fledgling friends. Apollo explains that he is practicing flying to Africa—but Chack doesn't believe him. Chack tells Apollo that the blossom on his favorite tree will eventually turn into orange berries—Apollo doesn't believe him. But, with the inevitable turning of the seasons, both birds learn to believe the other—and cement their friendship forever.

Flora the fairy loves going to visit Nana and Grandpop. But she is scared of their cat Rufus. He stares at her and silently follows her around. When Rufus has to stay outside because of her, Flora feels bad. What is she going to do? Luckily Nana and Grandpop have a plan to show Flora that Rufus only wants to be friends—with the help of a little fairy magic! Perfect for kids who are overcoming early fears.

Thomas the Tank Engine is here to help engage children and inspire them to read with confidence. This book includes two stories about Thomas' friends. In one we meet the twins Bill and Ben and in the other, Jack, the front loader. With colourful pictures, short sentences and simple, phonetic-based vocabulary, children will love learning to read with Thomas. Level 1 Reading Ladder titles are perfect for new readers who are beginning to read simple stories with help. Thomas has been teaching children lessons about life and friendship for over 70 years. He ranks alongside other beloved character such as Paddington Bear, Winnie-the-Pooh and Peter Rabbit as an essential part of our literary heritage.

Arthur and his Space Knights of the Round Planet are sick of the ice dragons playing tricks on them all the time. But when baby ice dragon Flurry gets stranded on the Round Planet, Arthur has a fun new friend, even though they are supposed to be enemies! So Arthur and Flurry come up with a plan that will solve the problem once and for all—but will it work?

A fun and quirky story against anything but your average team from Malachy Doyle. When Seamus and his scaredy-ba Granda go for a night-time walk, they don't expect to find a group of ghosts in an old barn. Greg the Ghoul, Phantom Pete, and friends are too scared to go up into heaven, in case they are sent back down to hell, so they are just waiting around in the barn, getting bored. Seamus has an idea to relieve their boredom—they should form a soccer team and play other ghosts! The ghosts are nervous, but Seamus and his Granda help them get fit and improve their game. Soon they are champion players, powering their way through teams on earth, heaven, and even hell!

A third wonderfully warm story about the irresistible Tilly, from bestselling author Hilary McKay. Tilly is keeping a dragon in her bedroom. Tilly’s family are very worried about it, even though the dragon is very nice and can help make wonderfully crunchy toast. So the dragon has to go. It’s up to Tilly to find a place that a very polite, very hot, and very smoky dragon can call home.