Collins Arabic Big Cat is a guided reading series for ages 3 to 11. The series is structured with reference to the learning progression of Arabic at nursery and primary schools researched especially for Collins. This carefully graded approach allows children to build up their reading knowledge of Arabic step by step. Level 11 books provide more literary language, more complex sentence structures and less support from illustrations. Characters are more varied, with action sustained over several pages. Non-fiction titles include glossaries where necessary. Sentences are still short for better understanding. However, grammatical vowel endings are more evident to encourage fluent reading and to provide familiarity with some higher-level features of written Arabic. When Dizzy the Bear loses his sense of smell he cannot find food. Wilt the Wolf is too old to hunt for food. Can the two find a way of working together to help each other? Pages 22 and 23 show two “wanted” posters from Dizzy the Bear and Wilt the Wolf, allowing children to compare and match the characters’ traits and personalities.
