Develop confidence, stamina and a love of reading 20
Little Wandle Fluency is for children who have completed Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised or another systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) programme and are secure at reading the final level of books.
“Looking at the children's reading skills and how they are using expression, rhythm and pace has been really useful. Amazing.”
Burley and Woodhead Primary School, West Yorkshire
Pages from Women who Ruled the Seas, Fluency 8
Logbook: Sayyida al Hurra
Little Wandle Fluency teaches all aspects of reading using vibrant, diverse and engaging chapter books created by contemporary authors and illustrators. Each book has been carefully devised to support children as they progress in reading fluency through Years 2, 3 and beyond; making sure every child can become a confident, fluent and motivated reader.
How did Zheng Yi Sao become How did Yi Sao become so powerful? so powerful?
That’s a good question, because she started life as an outcast. She was born as Shi Yang to a family of “boat people” known as Tankas around 1775 in Guangdong, China. The Tankas lived on their boats at sea and survived by selling fish. In 1801 she married the pirate lord Zheng Yi and her name changed to Zheng Yi Sao, meaning “Wife of Zheng Yi”. As his wife, she demanded equal control of his pirate fleet and half the loot.
The DfE Reading framework identifies the importance of teaching fluency specifically to ensure that children are reading with accuracy, automaticity and understanding. Children should practise reading in a wide range of books.
Together they built a powerful pirate empire. They plundered their way across Southeast Asia. They attacked Chinese ships carrying silk and spices. They also targeted foreign ships and held the sailors to ransom. Any boat passing through their waters had to pay a fee. And they even raided the coastal towns – no one was safe from them. Then in 1807 her husband died, and Zheng Yi Sao took over.
The Little Wandle Fluency area of the Little Wandle website supports your teaching through:
Training and ‘How to’ videos to model teaching
Easy-to-use fluency and prosody assessments to measure progress and match children to the correct level book
If your school is not already a Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised member you can sign up for a free Little Wandle Fluency account here
Big Cat books for Little Wandle Fluency
60 chapter books by leading authors and illustrators that support pupils to become fluent readers
The vibrant, diverse and engaging Collins Big Cat chapter books that support the Little Wandle Fluency programme have been created by leading contemporary authors and illustrators from a range of backgrounds, including Joseph Coelho, Poppy O’Neill and Bali Rai.
The books are designed to develop a reading for pleasure culture and to foster a love of reading in pupils. With an equal mix of fiction and nonfiction, and a range of genres including poetry, narrative non-fiction and gripping stories, every reader can find something that interests them, ensuring that all children are exposed to a broad and rich reading diet.
The carefully designed progression through the fluency levels, combined with the wide range of engaging themes and topics, all contribute to an enjoyable reading experience. This means that children develop positive associations with reading, which encourages them to read for pleasure.
There are also books in a series, books with similar settings and characters, as well as books by the same authors/illustrators. This provides familiarity which can put readers at ease and encourage them to continue reading.
The Kingdom of Mirthia
About the books
• The length of the chapter books changes from 80 pages (Fluency levels 1 to 5) to 96 pages (Fluency levels 6 to 10)
• Each book has six chapters of equal length
• The language in the books becomes increasingly sophisticated as the word count increases
• Each book has been created so that every chapter takes 10 minutes to read aloud. The reading speed needed to read the books gradually increases from 60 to 120 words per minute
Every Big Cat for Little Wandle Fluency book has bonus material, which offers a chance to go deeper into different aspects of the book. The bonus material may support the children’s background knowledge by providing maps, family trees, character guides or information about the setting, or it may deepen children’s knowledge through providing additional information or by making links to other subjects.
Book chat
conversation with one character from the book, who would you pick? What would you say to them?
If you could ask the author one question, what would it be? Did this book make you want to try writing your own poems?
Do you think Damon changed between the start of the story and the end?
challenge:
BONUS
Toys
Children played with homemade wooden toys, like toy dolls, animals and model boats.
Grown-ups played a board game that is sometimes called “Viking chess”. Viking free time
Left: pages from Poetry is not for me! Fluency 1
Above: page from Astrid’s Adventure, Fluency
We work with a diverse range of authors, illustrators, charity partners and experts to ensure that our stories and illustrations give authentic representations, and our readers feel accepted and can see themselves in our books. Visit collins.co.uk/BooksLikeMe to find out more.
Explore the books
Fiction books
introduce children to exciting characters and stories
Pages from Hakari and the Great Secret, Fluency 3
Looking after a pet hamster
Hamsters can be a good first pet – they’re small and quite easy to care for. Because they are nocturnal, they sleep in the day when you’re at school, and they’re active at night.
A hamster home
Choose a cage with plenty of space and a lockable door. A cage with different levels is good.
You could add a wheel for the hamster to run on.
Put in some toys like wooden blocks and old toilet roll tubes for it to play with.
Keeping your hamster cosy
Put a thick layer of bedding material in the bottom of the cage. A box with shredded paper or cardboard makes a nice spot to nest in!
Give children exclusive insight into the authors and illustrators behind the books with Q&A style interviews
About the author
Why did you want to be an author?
At primary school, my teacher
Mr Smith read our class
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien and that got me hooked on reading.
It wasn’t long before I decided I wanted to write stories myself.
Why did you decide to write this book?
Years ago on a school visit I met a boy whose hamster had died that morning! He said his parents were taking him to buy a new hamster that evening, and that he was going to call it
Henry the Eighth. That stuck in my mind, and this story is the result …
Unlock discussion and reflection opportunities with bonus material throughout every book
What do you hope readers will get out of the book?
Simple – an insight into the world of hamsters, some idea of what having a pet involves – and lots of fun!
Tony Bradman
Immerse children more deeply into the books with linked activities
Can you work out this message in Morse code?
Can you spell out a secret message in Morse code by tapping out the code with your fingers on a table? You could type one of the following words:
Discover 20 new books out now!
New chapter books offering more choice and opportunities for children to practise reading at each fluency level
Contemporary fiction
Finding Home
by Kareen Getten
Kacey and her mum have finally found a place they really like. But when things don’t work out as they hoped, they embark on a high-stakes trip. Will this adventure lead them to their forever home?
Fascinating non-fiction
A Body Owner’s Guide
by Anita Ganeri
We are all body-owners but how much do we really know about them? From bones to brains, learn about the incredible things going on inside our bodies every minute.
Breathing lungs
Sitting on either side of your heart, you’ve got two lungs. They’re like two big spongy bags, and they breathe in oxygen from the air. Humans and all living things need oxygen to be able to survive. Your blood carries the oxygen around your body to your cells to make them work. Your cells make waste carbon dioxide gas which can be harmful. Your blood picks this up and carries it to your lungs to breathe out.
The Worst Day of Our Lives by
Narinder Dhami
Ollie’s mum and Deepa’s dad are getting married. Ollie and Deepa hate each other, so this wedding is set to be the worst day of their lives. But when disaster strikes, can they work together to put things right?
Gothic Grange and the Ghoul’s Gold
by Timothy Knapman
Liam and Suzy are on a school trip to Gothic Grange, famous for its lost treasure guarded by a scary ghost. Can this unlikely pair face danger together, solve the mysterious clues and find the treasure before it’s too late?
Time-travel stories
Mondo and the Magic Horn
by Shiko Nguru
When Mondo finds an old horn, he has no idea of the power it contains. Where will the horn take him and will he ever be the same again?
But the book wouldn’t come off the shelf. Instead, it tilted like a lever. There was a rumbling noise and the bookcase swung slowly open with a loud creak. Beyond it, a shadowy corridor stretched off into the darkness.
Hughie and the Hole Through Time
by Ali Sparkes
Hughie has holes everywhere, from his bedroom wall to his favourite T-shirt. But when he finds a swirling silvery hole in the woods behind his house, he is transported back in time!
“Oh, wow, a secret passage!” said Suzy. “Well, that’s a start…”
Missing in Time
by Liz Miles
Maria’s uncle is missing and in his empty house she’s discovered a time machine! Maria must piece together the clues and see if she can find him. But where and when is he?
Plus popular non-fiction topics to engage all readers
Pages from A Gothic Grange and the Ghoul’s Gold, Fluency 5
Fluency
1
(80 pages, 60 words per minute)
Blaise and Flint
Abie Longstaff
978-0-00-862456-9
Poetry is NOT for me!
Joshua Seigal
978-0-00-862458-3
It Could Be Worse
Anne Fine
978-0-00-862460-6
Whodunnit? Narinder Dhami
978-0-00-862462-0
Hakari and the Great Secret
Tony Bradman
978-0-00-862464-4
Phantom Castle Charlotte Middleton
978-0-00-862466-8
The Worst Day of Our Lives
Narinder Dhami
978-0-00-868106-7
Talk to the Tail
Jeanne Willis
978-0-00-862457-6
Fluency
2
(80 pages, 70 words per minute)
Mondo and the Magic Horn Shiko Nguru
978-0-00-868121-0
Ash’s Garden Joseph Coelho
978-0-00-862459-0
Fluency
3
(80 pages, 80 words per minute)
Professor Snagglewit’s Diary of Magical Creatures
Lindsay Galvin
978-0-00-868122-7
Bed Races and Cheese Chases
Teresa Heapy
978-0-00-862465-1
Fluency 4
Cycling in Summer
Joseph Coelho
978-0-00-862461-3
A Day in the Life –Ancient Greece
Joanna Nadin
978-0-00-868113-5
The Friendship Handbook Poppy O’Neill
978-0-00-862463-7
Inspector Morph and the Frog Investigation
Jeanne Willis
978-0-00-868124-1
Born in Fire
Liz Miles
978-0-00-862467-5
Deadly Defenders
Samantha Montgomerie
978-0-00-868114-2
Fluency
6
(96 pages, 95 words per minute)
Yasuke Chris Bradford
978-0-00-862476-7
The Wolf Who Cried Boy Bali Rai
978-0-00-862478-1
The Fairy of Gossamer River
Zohra Nabi
978-0-00-862480-4
The Lost Bark Poppy O’Neill
978-0-00-862482-8
Taj Tremble and the Evil Eyes Ayesha Braganza
978-0-00-868108-1
Secrets Unearthed Rob Alcraft
978-0-00-862477-4
Fluency
7
(96 pages, 100 words per minute)
Hughie and the Hole Through Time Ali Sparkes
978-0-00-868109-8
Moonbows and Alligator Rain Isabel Thomas 978-0-00-862481-1
Fluency
8
(96 pages, 110 words per minute)
Lily Parr Scores! Lindsay Galvin
978-0-00-862479-8
Eggs Everywhere
Isabel Thomas 978-0-00-868116-6
Spectacular Space Inbali Iserles
978-0-00-862483-5
A Sloth’s Life Anita Ganeri
978-0-00-868117-3
978-0-00-862484-2 The Big Five Shiko Nguru
978-0-00-862486-6
Taliya and the Rewilders Zohra Nabi
978-0-00-868110-4
Fluency
9
Fluency
10
Order form
For additional information, or to place your order:
Contact your local rep. Find them at findarep.collins.co.uk
Call Customer Services on 01484 668 148
Email this order form to us at education@harpercollins.co.uk
Fax this order form to us at 01484 665 736
NEW Big Cat for Little Wandle Fluency
Little Wandle Fluency set: Levels 1–5
Little Wandle Fluency set: Levels 6–10
Fluency 1 (80 pages, 60 words per minute)
Blaise and Flint
Poetry Is Not For Me!
NEW The Worst Day of Our Lives
Talk to the Tail
Cycling in Summer
NEW A Day in the Life – Ancient Greece
978-0-00-862456-9 £6.99
978-0-00-862458-3 £6.99
978-0-00-868106-7 £6.99
978-0-00-862457-6 £6.99
978-0-00-862461-3 £6.99
978-0-00-868113-5 £6.99 Fluency 2 (80 pages, 70 words per minute)
It Could Be Worse
Whodunnit?
NEW Mondo and the Magic Horn
Ash’s Garden
The Friendship Handbook
NEW Inspector Morph and the Frog Investigation
Fluency 3 (80 pages, 80 words per minute)
Hakari and the Great Secret
Phantom Castle
NEW Professor Snagglewit’s Diary of Magical Creatures
