Barbara Catchpole

Meet Jim - who is 'all goo' - in this quirky low-level phonics reader. Part of Reading Stars Phonics - our structured programme of 133 fully decodable phonics readers to support the teaching of phonics using the UK Government's Letters and Sounds programme - Meet Jim! is a Phase 3 'Focus' book. It covers everything met in Phase 3 of Letters and Sounds, but provides extra focus on the following letters, sounds and high frequency words introduced in this Phase: j As well as being available to buy individually, this title appears in the following discounted Reading Stars Phonics (RSP) Packs: Phase 3 Focus - one of every Phase 3 Focus title Phase 3 Focus 6-Pack - six of every Phase 3 Focus title Complete Phase 3 Pack - one of every Phase 3 title Complete Phase 3 6-Pack - six of every Phase 3 title Complete RSP Pack (Phases 2-5) - one of every RSP title (Phases 2-5) Complete RSP 6-Pack (Phases 2-5) - six of every RSP title (Phases 2-5) Complete RSP Pack (Phases 1-5) - one of every RSP title (Phases 1-5) Complete RSP 6-Pack (Phases 1-5) - six of every RSP title (Phases 1-5) For more information on how our Reading Stars Phonics packs work, head here. For more information on the programme itself, head to our dedicated Reading Stars Phonics section.

This brand-new series puts readers in the shoes of famous historical figures during their childhoods, with an emphasis on the gruesome and ghastly bits. A lively and varied mix of types of information – including thrilling prose, stunning comic strips, fact boxes and timelines – bring their stories to life in a way that feels fresh and fun for reluctant readers. Kids in History: Helen Keller gives a fast-paced and fascinating account of the early life of the famous American author and political activist, detailing her inspiring journey towards being able to communicate with those around her and spread a message of tolerance and understanding.

The Microwave Shakespeare Pack is a collection of nine books providing introductions to key Shakespeare plays. The plays covered include all the key plays studied in schools for GCSE and together form a great introduction and revision aid when studying Shakespeare's plays. These books are perfect as an introduction before studying the play, for revision purposes and for reluctant and struggling readers. Each play is retold as a straightforward, pacey narrative in chapter-book format. The books use the present tense and lots of dialogue (in present-day English) to recreate the experience of actually watching the play. The texts follow the original plays faithfully so students can acquire an accurate understanding of the action and plot. Memorable quotations from the original text (in italics) make these books perfect for exam crammers! Plus each book includes visual information to help pupils get to grips with the plot, the key characters and their important relationships in the play. The stories are all presented in the period of the play but with modern day language. Written by three award winning writers Barbara Catchpole, Stephen Rickard and Jill Atkins, these are really accessible books. They are perfect for getting all pupils, whatever their ability, comfortable with each play before they go on to study it in its original form and a great all round introduction to Shakespeare. This pack contains one copy of each of the following books from the Microwave Shakespeare Series: Romeo and Juliet Macbeth A Midsummer Night's Dream The Merchant of Venice Twelfth Night Much Ado About Nothing The Tempest Julius Caesar Hamlet

Currently Ransom's hottest seller, PIG is a 52 page, full colour, diary-style text perfect for young, reluctant readers.

Romeo and Juliet: Microwave Shakespeare is the perfect introduction to the play for all pupils now having to study the full play in its original language.

Macbeth: Microwave Shakespeare is the perfect introduction to the play for all pupils now having to study the full play in its original language.

Much Ado about Nothing is one of a series of introductions to Shakespeare's key plays. It is perfect as an introduction before studying the play, for revision purposes and for reluctant and struggling readers. The play is retold as a straightforward, pacey narrative in chapter-book format. The book use the present tense and lots of dialogue (in present-day English) to recreate the experience of actually watching the play. The text follow the original plays faithfully so students can acquire an accurate understanding of the action and plot. Memorable quotations from the original text (in italics) make this book perfect for exam crammers! Plus each book includes visual information to help pupils get to grips with the plot, the key characters and their important relationships in the play. The stories are all presented in the period of the play but with modern day language. Written by award winning writer Barbara Catchpole and Stephen Rickard these are really accessible books. They are perfect for getting all pupils, whatever their ability, comfortable with each play before they go on to study it in its original form and a great all round introduction to Shakespeare.

Hamlet: Microwave Shakespeare is the perfect introduction to the play for all pupils now having to study the full play in its original language.

PIG decides his mum needs a boyfriend, so he sets her up on the Kissy Kissy Online Dating Site ('Meet your hero - hundreds of hunky men free for the online single lady.') When PIG invites two of them to meet his mum (at the same time) things go from bad to even worse than that. Do people on online dating sites always tell lies? Boys love PIG! Peter Ian Green has another hilarious adventure in this book, one of the bestselling series 'PIG' by Barbara Catchpole. Coupled with fantastic black-and-white illustrations and an easy-to-read diary format, the laugh-out-loud humour and tale of friendship will appeal to all readers.

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Microwave Shakespeare is the perfect introduction to the play for all pupils now having to study the full play in its original language.

Reading Stars Plus Pack contains all thirty books from the structured reading programme. These titles make up four Phonics levels that cover Phases Two to Five of the Letters and Sounds programme and six Book Band levels (Pink, Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Orange). Reading Stars Plus is designed to support slighty older children who have fallen behind, following the same structure as Reading Stars, but focussing on the ten lowest levels where the need for books of this type is greatest. Though maintaining a low reading level, this fresh and modern series has an interest age of 9-13 years, featuring strong illustrations as well as age appropriate topics and stories which are multicultural and inclusive. Appealing to both boys and girls, Reading Stars Plus is fantastic for engaging children who continue to struggle with reading, while systematically guiding their literacy skills. This pack contains one copy of each of the following books from Reading Stars Plus. The Mad Pug Run, Meg, Run! Pat the Pets The Night Ship No Fun in the Woods The Buzz Stan is Rubbish! Hot Rods Ring-tails The Best Holiday Never! The Ping Pong Gang Raptors Fangs Play the Game Tops and Caps Lots of Goals Cricket Jump! Super Slashers Football Friends On Safari An Easy Job Helicopters I'm Coming To Get You Awake Keeping Warm in Winter The North Wind and Sun The Snow Wolf Vampire Animals Germs

PIG agrees to make a speech at the school assembly, but a long fart creeps out.

A hilarious and unexpectedly moving story of Todd and his dead friend Ed, who now lives in his head.

Ben's dog Biff is not a bad dog. Biff loves mud. He is a Mad Pug. The Mad Pug is a low level phonics reading book. Beautifully illustrated throughout, this 83-word fiction story features a fully decodable text, suitable for ages 9 - 13. The Mad Pug covers the first set of basic letters and sounds that students meet in Phase 2 of Letters and Sounds, the UK Government's synthetic phonics reading programme. The Mad Pug is part of Ransom Reading Stars Plus, a structured reading programme for students learning to read. The series has ten levels: four phonics levels (covering Letters and Sounds Phases 2 to 5) and six book bands (Pink through to Orange).

PIG is late for school and he can't find his pants - so he borrows his sister's sparkly pink Drama Diva panties.

London detective Matt Blake remembers his last case. Little did he know the horrors he would find under the light of the blood moon.