Collins International Primary English is a six-level, multi-component course for the international market which has been carefully developed to meet the needs of teachers and students. This title is endorsed by Cambridge Assessment International Education.

Collins International Primary English is a self-contained, cohesive course which develops reading, writing, speaking and listening skills at primary level. The course follows a clear structure and progression through the levels, with carefully selected texts covering both fiction and non-fiction genres, including extracts from the highly successful Collins Big Cat series. The Workbooks support the Student’s Books by providing additional material for practice and reinforcement. Exercises and activities are linked to each unit of the corresponding Student’s Book, offering further practice in the key skills.

Build your child’s reading confidence at home with books at the right level
‘What Happened to the Dinosaurs’ investigates why these huge creatures disappeared. The important question, ‘How do we know they existed?’ is answered with a clear timeline of images. Various theories are suggested, which support knowledge and understanding of climate change, volcanoes, asteroids and evolution of the animals which did survive.


*Topaz/Band 13 books offer longer and more demanding reads for children to investigate and evaluate.

What different objects can children use during play? Find out in this photographic non-fiction book.


* Pink/1A – A simple non-fiction book.


* Text type: Non-fiction.

Collins Big Cat is a guided reading series for ages 4-11 edited by Cliff Moon. Top children’s authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that your children will love to read, banded to help you choose the right book for every child. Practical ideas for guided reading are included at the back of each book.


* Orange/ Band 6 books offer varied text and characters, with action sustained over several pages.


* Text type – An information text.

Bert’s Band like to play as they march down the street. When they win the cup, they arrive back at their home town at midnight, and very carefully remove their shoes and socks so as not to disturb the townsfolk as they march down the street – playing at full belt! This lively text is ideal to read aloud, with lots of opportunities to join in.


* Blue/Band 4 books offer longer, repeated patterns with
sequential events and integrated literary and natural language.

Join the countdown as one boy describes the events in his life in the past month, from moving house a month ago to preparing for school and making friends today. Accompanied by snapshots of each event, this illustrated non-fiction recount is written by Monica Hughes.


* Red B/Band 2B books offer simple but varied text with familiar objects and actions, combined with simple story development and a satisfying conclusion.


* Children can re-cap the events of the book on pages 14-15.

What’s the difference between a frog and a toad? This highly photographic non-fiction book explains the similarities and differences between these two amphibians, including their appearance, diet and behaviour.


* Yellow/Band 3 books offer varied sentence structure and natural language.


* Text type: A simple non-fiction book.


* Children can compare the similarities and differences of frogs and toad in the comparison pages on pages 14-15, providing plenty of discussion opportunities.


* Curriculum links: Science: Plants and animals.

This story with a familiar setting is about Lenny’s family who go to the local park to fly his new kite. Lenny takes great care to hold on to his kite, but then Mum has a turn. She holds on tightly too, but trips over the dog, and falls into the pond. The other children try to help, so they all arrive home soaking wet and muddy!


* Yellow/Band 3 books offer varied sentence structure and natural language.


* Text Type – A story with a familiar setting.

Have you ever wondered what happens when you drop your letter in the postbox? How does a letter get from your home town to the other side of the world in just a few days? In this book you will see what happens at every stage of a letter’s journey from Jack in England to his penpal, Tama, in New Zealand.

The Dancing Dog can do lots of dances – but can he do all of them? Follow the Dancing Dog as he dances his way through a selection of dance styles, and shows that he doesn’t always get the moves right. Beautifully illustrated by Pat Murray, this poem was written by ten-year-old Collins Big Cat Competition winner Jasmin Glynne.

The Pet Detective faces a special challenge when Kara’s pet tortoise, Rocket, goes missing. Has the tortoise been squashed on a motorway? Eaten by a hungry goat? Chewed up by a dog? The Pet Detective follows the clues to find out what’s happened.


* Purple/ Band 8 books offer developing readers literary language, with some challenging vocabulary.

Build your child’s reading confidence at home with books at the right level
Explore the extraordinary world of fossils! Find out how they’re formed, where to find them and how to identify them in this information book. Written by palaeontology expert Dr Andrew Ross, in conjunction with the National Museum of Scotland, this book will help children discover all the fascinating details of different species for themselves.


This is a Band 10/White book in the Collins Big Cat reading programme which has more complex sentences and figurative language. This is an information book and has an illustrated archaeological dig of the fossils mentioned in the book on pages 30 and 31, which helps children to recap what they’ve learnt and provides a wealth of speaking and listening opportunities. This book supports learning about geography near the seaside, as well as sparking discussions about history and what it was like to live in the past. This book has been quizzed for Accelerated Reader. For another story in this Collins Big Cat book band for guided reading, try Cinderella (9780007336180) written by David Wood and illustrated by Shahab Shamshirsaz.

Every child’s dream; a robot that tidies your room! But in this wordless picture book, the advantage-taking boy discovers his wised-up robot messing everything up again! Hiding the mess, the boy goes out to play… before all is revealed and Mum turns to the robot herself.

What things are thick? What things are thin? Find out in this non-fiction book.

Poor Ladybird is lost and flies around the garden looking for somewhere she can call home. Her early efforts are rebuffed by the other animals, until finally she finds somewhere she can be happy: a ladybird-patterned T-shirt, where other ladybird friends soon come to join her.

A fun story that follows a boy through a fantastical land of weird and wonderful creatures. Imaginative illustrations complement the text, which invites children to envisage using each of their five senses, by asking f they have ever seen, heard, touched, smelt or tasted any of these creatures

Red and yellow make orange, blue and yellow make green, but what do three polar bears, lots of fun, and three pots of paint make? A mess! This is a delightful book on colour, illustrated by Smarties Book Award winner Liz Pichon.

• Pink B/ Band 1B books offer emergent readers simple, predictable text with familiar objects and actions.

Join Moana, Maui and all of your favourite characters from Disney Moana for some fun in this Heroic Colouring book.

Build your child’s reading confidence at home with books at the right level
This hilarious set of poems by award-winning and much-loved poet Roger McGough explores the weird and the wonderful. Filled with brand new poems and accompanied by wonderful illustrations from Natalie Kilany, this book will resonate with young readers everywhere.


* Copper/Band 12 books provide more complex plots and longer chapters that develop reading stamina.

Poppy the beetle sings all day, but her singing isn’t very popular with the rest of the beetles and they refuse to play with her. When she bumps into Harry the mouse and Jake the snake, though, she finds her singing can be useful after all.


* Yellow/Band 3 books offer varied sentence structure and natural language.