Ciaran Murtagh

Follow cabin boy Bill on his journey to becoming a pirate as he and Blackbeard battle a terrifying sea monster. This adventure story is wonderfully written by Ciaran Murtagh and illustrated by Nathan Aardvark. Collins Big Cat Progress books are specifically designed for children at Key Stage 2 who have a Key Stage 1 reading level, giving them age-appropriate texts that they can read, building their confidence and fostering positive attitudes towards reading.Text type: An adventure storyCurriculum links:

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available. It’s Lucas’s birthday party and the whole family are looking forward to the lunchtime piñata. But when the piñata is opened, it’s found to be empty! Who had the opportunity to steal the sweets and who has an alibi? There are plenty of clues and some red herrings too. Follow Lucas as he embarks on an investigation into who stole the sweets and why. Can he get to the bottom of the mystery or will his birthday be ruined? This exciting and humorous mystery story is written by Ciaran Murtagh. Lime Plus/Band 11+ books provide challenging plots and vocabulary as well as opportunities to practise inference, prediction and reading stamina. Pages 46 and 47 allow children to re-visit the content of the book, supporting comprehension skills, vocabulary development and recall. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.

What’s a duck’s favourite snack? How do you make a cheese roll? Children will laugh out loud with this book packed with jokes and fun facts! Laugh Out Loud and Other Fun Facts is part of the Galaxy range of books from Rising Stars Reading Planet. Galaxy provides captivating fiction and non-fiction for Pink A to White band. The rich collection of highly decodable books immerses children in a range of cross-curricular topics and genres. Reading Planet books have been carefully levelled to support children in becoming fluent and confident readers. Each book features useful notes and activities to support reading at home as well as comprehension questions to check understanding. Reading age: 5-6 years

Simon is a legend in his own lifetime. There's nothing he won't do. Parachuting into the Amazon and finding his way home - no problem. Scaling mountains - all in a day's work. But reading between the lines, it becomes very clear that Simon's self-confidence far outstrips his survivial skills, and that spending the night in a local garden centre isn't sufficient preparation for being parachuted into the Amazon... The book is made up of three short stories about the heroic, hapless Simon, all of which he survives in spite of himself. Chucklers is a series of funny novels, short stories, anthologies and comics that make reading a pleasure for 7-11 year olds. There is something for everyone in this varied collection which is packed with fantastic illustrations. Books contain inside cover notes to support children in their reading. Help with children's reading development also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk. The series is written by top children's authors and edited by award-winning author Jeremy Strong. The books are finely levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book.

The Wild Water collection of texts provides children with the perfect foundation for practising the 10 comprehension strategies in Project X Comprehension Express. There are 9 texts in the collection covering highly-engaging fiction and non-fiction. Each text is carefully levelled to be accessible to every child - including those just behind age-related expectations. This collection of texts is part of Project X Comprehension Express. It is a whole-class teaching programme specially built to help children in Years 4-6 (P5-P7) master comprehension and excel in the new National Reading Test. It includes Handbooks, Workbooks, Expert Tip flashcards and an Expert Tip poster. Online teaching resources and best practice films are available on www.oxfordowl.co.uk to ensure its easy implementation.

The King of Sprinkle Tops loves his precious doughnuts but then a fierce dragon begins to steal them. Can the King's daughter, Rose, face the dragon and bring back the doughnuts? Oxford Reading Tree All Stars is an engaging chapter fiction series which combines age-appropriate content with imaginative stories, perfect for inspiring and stretching able infants. The series develops comprehension skills and provides a wide variety of fiction topics and styles, alongside illustrations that aid understanding. All the books in this series are carefully levelled, so it's easy to match every child to the right book - one which will develop their reading skills and fuel their love of reading. Help with children's reading development is also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk.

Project X Origins is a ground-breaking guided reading programme for the whole school. This exciting Graphic Texts pack includes action-packed stories, fascinating non-fiction, carefully selected poetry and comprehensive guided reading support to meet the needs of children at every stage of their reading development. Each book contains inside cover notes with advice on supporting older children with their reading, ideas for follow-up activities and higher-level comprehension questions. Project X Origins guided reading notes offer step-by-step teaching support for each book with guidance about comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, spelling, punctuation, grammar and writing. Each set of notes has in-built assessment and is fully correlated to all UK curricula. This pack contains 1 set of guided reading notes and 4 reading books, 1 each of: Antarctic Ambush, The Call of the Wild, The Raven and other poems, Great Engineers.

This pack contains six of each of the following titles: Awesome Skies, Story of our Lives, Great Animal Gallery, Extreme Fashion, Food Fuel, Behind the Camera. TreeTops inFact is a non-fiction series that aims to engage children in reading for pleasure as powerfully as fiction does. The variety of topics means there are books to interest every child in this compelling series. The series is written by top children's authors and subject experts. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.

This pack contains one of each of the following titles: Awesome Skies, Story of our Lives, Great Animal Gallery, Extreme Fashion, Food Fuel, Behind the Camera. TreeTops inFact is a non-fiction series that aims to engage children in reading for pleasure as powerfully as fiction does. The variety of topics means there are books to interest every child in this compelling series. The series is written by top children's authors and subject experts. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Oxford Reading Tree inFact is a non-fiction series that aims to engage children in reading for pleasure as powerfully as fiction does. The variety of topics means there are books to interest every child in this compelling series. The series is written by top children's authors and subject experts. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. This pack contains 36 books, six of each of Scratch's Bad Reputations, Our Siberian Journey, Tasty Travels, Top Ten Worst Jobs in History, Outdoor Art, and Real Heroes.

Oxford Reading Tree inFact is a non-fiction series that aims to engage children in reading for pleasure as powerfully as fiction does. The variety of topics means there are books to interest every child in this compelling series. The series is written by top children's authors and subject experts. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. This pack contains 36 books, six of each of Rabbits, Hats and Secrets, Your Body, Inside Out, Big Ears and Sticky Fingers, Flight or Fright?, Flying Kicks, and Spread the Word.

Unlike superheroes, real heroes don't have special powers! Real Heroes is a biography of three people who became heroes by standing up for their beliefs Emily Davison, Rosa Parks and Nelson Mandela. Oxford Reading Tree inFact is a non-fiction series that aims to engage children in reading for pleasure as powerfully as fiction does. The variety of topics means there are books to interest every child in this compelling series. The series is written by top children's authors and subject experts. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book.

History's Marvellous Mistakes is a biography of Christopher Columbus, the Kellogg brothers and Alexander Fleming the people behind three amazing discoveries that were made by mistake! Oxford Reading Tree inFact is a non-fiction series that aims to engage children in reading for pleasure as powerfully as fiction does. The variety of topics means there are books to interest every child in this compelling series. The series is written by top children's authors and subject experts. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book.

Oxford Reading Tree inFact is a non-fiction series that aims to engage children in reading for pleasure as powerfully as fiction does. The variety of topics means there are books to interest every child in this compelling series. The series is written by top children's authors and subject experts. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. This pack contains six books, one of each of Scratch's Bad Reputations, Our Siberian Journey, Tasty Travels, Top Ten Worst Jobs in History, Outdoor Art, and Real Heroes.

Oxford Reading Tree inFact is a non-fiction series that aims to engage children in reading for pleasure as powerfully as fiction does. The variety of topics means there are books to interest every child in this compelling series. The series is written by top children's authors and subject experts. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. This pack contains six books, one of each of Rabbits, Hats and Secrets, Your Body, Inside Out, Big Ears and Sticky Fingers, Flight or Fright?, Flying Kicks, and Spread the Word.

In The Adventures of Captain Fearbeard, Fearbeard is a gentleman explorer who ventures into the unknown with his long-suffering sidekick, Sam. Hop on board the Albatross with them as they encounter an ancient mummy, an arctic yeti and even a killer kangaroo! Chucklers is a series of funny novels, short stories, anthologies and comics that make reading a pleasure for 7-11 year olds. There is something for everyone in this varied collection which is packed with fantastic illustrations. Books contain inside cover notes to support children in their reading. Help with children's reading development also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk. The series is written by top children's authors and edited by award-winning author Jeremy Strong. The books are finely levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book.

Do you love to watch movies? Have you ever stopped to think how they are made? Who makes them? What skills do they need? In this book, you'll find out about: the very first films to be made, and what they were like, the teams of talented people that make the movies you love today, the different types of movies on offer now, and where you can watch them, and how you can make your very own mini movie! Are you ready to read on? Lights... camera... and action! Lights, Camera, Action: How Movies Are Made is part of the Astro range from Rising Stars Reading Planet. Astro books are ideal for struggling and reluctant readers aged 7-11. Each book is dual-banded so that children can improve their fluency whilst enjoying exciting fiction and non-fiction relevant to their age. Reading Planet books have been carefully levelled to support children in becoming fluent and confident readers. Each book features useful notes and questions to support reading at home and develop comprehension skills. Interest age: 9-10 Reading age: 7-8 years

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available. The Gunpowder Plot changed the course of English history for centuries. Why did a group of men want to blow up parliament in the first place, and what went so wrong that they all ended up dead? White Plus/Band 10+ books provide challenging plots and vocabulary as well as opportunities to practise inference, prediction and reading stamina. Pages 46 and 47 allow children to re-visit the content of the book, supporting comprehension skills, vocabulary development and recall. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities. Ciaran wanted to write a book on The Gunpowder Plot for a number of reasons.He grew up in Warwickshire, in and around a lot of the locations mentioned in this book. He went to school near Dunchurch, visited Warwick Castle and Coombe Abbey on school trips and has always been fascinated by the area's close links to such a famous moment in history.

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Levelled for guided and independent reading, each book includes ideas to support reading. Teaching and assessment support and eBooks are also available. Brian Claxon is blasting off to Moon Base Beta. Armed only with an intergalactic space mop, it’s his job to keep the space station tidy while the real astronauts do the important work. However, when there’s an emergency with the oxygen supply and all the astronauts are left unconscious, it’s time for Brian to prove his worth. Ruby/Band 14 books give increasing opportunities for children to develop their skills of inference and deduction. A reader response page provides lots of opportunities for speaking and listening and scaffolding writing. Text type: A science fiction story Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities

This pack contains 6 copies of: Ishi on the Waves, Odi's Day, Danger in the Mine, The Important-to-Me Tree, It's Never Too Late, The Pack, Here to Stay and The Kindness Boomerang. Prompt thoughtful discussions and develop higher-level comprehension skills with Reflect - emotionally powerful fiction and non-fiction with realistic settings.