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‘So am I converted? I have to say I am.’ Early Years teacher Cathy at Chez L’Abeille reviews purple band Early Readers

Early Years teacher Cathy has just posted a wonderful review of some purple banded Early Readers on her blog Chez L’Abeille. We sent her three of the books in the band, A Right Royal Mess, The Jelly that Wouldn’t Wobble and The Great Grizzly Race and here’s some of what she had to say:

‘The idea behind this series is simple: to create reading books that support the transition from being a listener to being a reader. The resulting books have also been “banded” according to the Institute of Education’s book bands for guided reading, which provides clear guidance on the level of difficulty and reading skills needed. This is a big plus for me, as I frequently use the book bands in my advisory work with schools.

Working with their roster of established authors (including several SCBWI friends across the whole series), the purple band books are based on existing stories or characters, with which children may already be familiar. The established pairings of author and illustrator are also replicated, which again provides a sense of familiarity and high quality.

For me, each book works well as a complete story, bringing the sense of satisfaction that comes from active engagement in a well written picture book. For a transitional reader the overall reading experience would be supportive, yet one of moving on to something more challenging. In Don Holdaway’s words, they are definitely purposeful and meaningful.

So am I converted? I have to say I am.’

Thanks, Cathy! It’s so important when teacher and librarian reviewers value the Early Readers.

Read the full review here

View all 40 books in the Early Readers scheme here