The Real Test (Sharp Shades)

by Jill Atkins

Published 1 January 2019
Jaz has split up with Kris and he is upset. But tonight Jack is playing at the Rock Show. It is the biggest gig in town. The Rock Show is a low level phonics reading book. Beautifully illustrated throughout, this fiction story features a fully decodable text, suitable for struggling teen and adult readers.

The Rock Show uses a carefully limited set of letters and sounds to make up all the words. (For UK schools this relates to Phase 5 of Letters and Sounds, the UK Government's synthetic phonics reading programme.)

The Rock Show is part of Ransom's Neutron Stars, a structured reading programme for teens and adults learning the basics of reading. The series offers progression through ten levels of reading, four phonics and six coloured book bands.

More information on the structure of the scheme can be found here.

Aftershock (Sharp Shades)

by Jill Atkins

Published 1 January 2019
Maddy survives a dealdy tsunami, but she can't find her family. Are they alive? And will she ever get the chance to say sorry?

Aftershock is part of the Sharp Shades 2.0 series. This is a shorter version of the original book published as a Shade 2.0. The Sharp Shades stories are illustrated and have simpler language and a larger font thatn the original book. They are perfect for older readers who may find longer books too daunting, but who still want the excitement of a great story told with pace and style. Sharp Shades 2.0 is ideal for reluctant readers aged 12+ with a reading age of 9 - 10.