Happy Birthday, Sausage! A Bloomsbury Young Reader: White Book Band

Bloomsbury Young Readers have released a new set of 24 banded books for children working at phase 6 phonics or above. They are brilliant for those children who like a challenge as they are broken into small chapters which makes them easily accessible. The stories selected have a real range of stories from around the world like 'A Tiger for Breakfast' (Turquoise Band) and traditional stories like 'The Ugly Little Swan' (Turquoise Band). Like the earlier sets in this series, the books have 'Tips for Grown Ups' which has great starting point activities before reading the book as well as providing questions to push children further with their knowledge and understanding. There is also a fun time section at the back with extra activities to provide deeper understanding. The stories themselves are fun and entertaining to read and the higher leveled books provide more meaning through the illustrations and hidden jokes. The language used in each book is carefully thought through and provide appropriate challenges for children on their reading journey. When I read these with children, they were engaged and enjoyed the stories chosen, especially Happy Birthday Sausage (White Band). The extra activities and talking point questions allowed them to talk about what they read and focus their attention on certain parts of the story, checking their understanding, not just seeing if they can read the words in front of them. As a teacher I thoroughly recommend these books for both school and home! 48 pages / Ages 5+ / Reviewed by Lauren Maidman, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 5+