Big Cat BH title 1

by Nadine Cowan

Published 22 September 2022

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available.

"Roll double six or double three, let's learn about your history."

Join Aniyah, EJ and Olivia as they play their Ludi board game and are transported to another action-packed adventure back in time, helping real people from history and solving exciting mysteries along the way.

Aniyah, EJ and Olivia find themselves in Tudor England in 1511. Racing through the streets of London, will they be able to help John Blanke to find his stolen trumpet and make it back in time before the start of the tournament?

This exciting book in the Blue Mahoes mini-series is written and illustrated by Nadine Cowan.

Copper/Band 12 books provide more complex plots and longer chapters that develop reading stamina.

Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.


Big Cat BH title 4

by Nadine Cowan

Published 22 September 2022

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available.

"Roll double six or double three, let's learn about your history."

Join Aniyah, EJ and Olivia as they play their Ludi board game and are transported to another action-packed adventure back in time, helping real people from history and solving exciting mysteries along the way.

This exciting book in the Blue Mahoes mini-series is written and illustrated by Nadine Cowan.

Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.


Big Cat BH title 3

by Nadine Cowan

Published 22 September 2022

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available.

"Roll double six or double three, let's learn about your history."

Join Aniyah, EJ and Olivia as they play their Ludi board game and are transported to another action-packed adventure back in time, helping real people from history and solving exciting mysteries along the way.

It's Notting Hill Carnival time! Olivia, EJ and Aniyah have been transported to 1950s London, and they're about to meet Claudia Jones, who organised the first carnival in Britain. Will the children be able to put their skills to use and help get the carnival up and running?

This exciting book in the Blue Mahoes mini-series is written and illustrated by Nadine Cowan.

Sapphire/Band 16 books offer longer reads to develop children's sustained engagement with texts and are more complex syntactically.

Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.


Big Cat BH title 2

by Nadine Cowan

Published 22 September 2022

Wangari's Trees

by Nadine Cowan

Published 8 June 2023

“Roll double six or double three, let’s learn about your history.”

Join Aniyah, EJ and Olivia as they play their Ludi board game and are transported to another action-packed adventure back in time, helping real people from history and solving exciting mysteries along the way.

EJ, Aniyah and Olivia have been transported back in time! It’s 1978 and they’ve joined Professor Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt Movement in Kenya. Can the trio track down who might be sabotaging the Movement and save the trees?

This exciting book in the Blue Mahoes mini-series is written and illustrated by Nadine Cowan.

Topaz/Band 13 books offer longer and more demanding reads for children to investigate and evaluate.

Pages 30 and 31 allow children to re-visit the content of the book, supporting comprehension skills, vocabulary development and recall.

Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.


Presenting Miss La la

by Nadine Cowan

Published 8 June 2023

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available.

“Roll double six or double three, let’s learn about your history.”

Join Aniyah, EJ and Olivia, the time-travelling trio, as they play their Ludi board game and are transported to another action-packed adventure back in time, helping real people from history and solving exciting mysteries along the way.

Aniyah, EJ and Olivia have gone back in time! It’s London, 1879, and the circus is in town. The Royal Aquarium Theatre is the place to be to see tightrope walkers, acrobats and the amazing Miss La La. But can the children solve the mystery of the missing macaques before they return to their own time?

This exciting book is one of several action-packed adventure stories from Black history, written and illustrated by Nadine Cowan.

Emerald/Band 15 books provide a widening range of genres including science fiction and biography, prompting more ways to respond to texts.

Pages 46 and 47 allow children to re-visit the content of the book, supporting comprehension skills, vocabulary development and recall.

Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.


The King of Arcabuco

by Nadine Cowan

Published 8 June 2023

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available.

“Roll double six or double three, let’s learn about your history.”

Join Aniyah, EJ and Olivia, the time-travelling trio, as they play their Ludi board game and are transported to another action-packed adventure back in time, helping real people from history and solving exciting mysteries along the way.

EJ, Aniyah and Olivia have been transported back in time! It’s 1601 and they’re lost in a dense South American jungle, where they meet a group of escaped Maroons, and their leader, Benkos. Will the trio be able to use secret call signs and hidden maps to help their new friends find freedom?

This exciting book is one of several action-packed adventure stories from Black history, written and illustrated by Nadine Cowan.

Sapphire/Band 16 books offer longer reads to develop children's sustained engagement with texts and are more complex syntactically.

Pages 54 and 55 allow children to re-visit the content of the book, supporting comprehension skills, vocabulary development and recall.

Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.


Deep Sea Diver

by Nadine Cowan

Published 8 June 2023

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available.

“Roll double six or double three, let’s learn about your history.”

Join Aniyah, EJ and Olivia, the time-travelling trio, as they play their Ludi board game and are transported to another action-packed adventure back in time, helping real people from history and solving exciting mysteries along the way.

Aniyah, EJ and Olivia have been transported back in time! They meet Jacques Francis, a diver, who’s leading a team to salvage goods from King Henry VIII’s favourite ship the Mary Rose, which lies on the seabed 12 metres below. Can the trio survive the revolting Tudor cooking, save a girl accused of witchcraft, and solve a mystery?

This exciting book is one of several action-packed adventure stories from Black history, written and illustrated by Nadine Cowan.

Diamond/Band 17 books offer more complex, underlying themes to give opportunities for children to understand causes and points of view.

Pages 54 and 55 allow children to re-visit the content of the book, supporting comprehension skills, vocabulary development and recall.

Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.


Sarah's Secret Cipher

by Nadine Cowan

Published 25 January 2024

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available.

“Roll double six or double three, let’s learn about your history.”

Join Aniyah, EJ and Olivia as they play their Ludi board game and are transported to another action-packed adventure back in time, helping real people from history and solving exciting mysteries along the way.

Aniyah, EJ and Olivia have been transported back in time! It’s 1859, and the trio are stuck working in a cotton mill. They learn about Sarah Parker Remond, an American woman fighting for the rights of enslaved cotton pickers. Can they deliver an important letter and help Sarah’s cause?

This exciting book is one of several action-packed adventure stories from Black history, written and illustrated by Nadine Cowan.

Ruby/Band 14 books give increasing opportunities for children to develop their skills of inference and deduction.

Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.


The Musical Marvel

by Nadine Cowan

Published 25 January 2024

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available.

“Roll double six or double three, let’s learn about your history.”

Join Aniyah, EJ and Olivia as they play their Ludi board game and are transported to another action-packed adventure back in time, helping real people from history and solving exciting mysteries along the way.

Aniyah, EJ and Olivia have gone back in time! It’s 1776
and the trio are in Paris, France, where they meet a musical maestro in need of help. Joseph Bologne must put on a concert impressive enough to please Queen Marie Antoinette, but musicians have gone missing, and instruments have
been sabotaged. Can they save the day?

This exciting book is one of several action-packed adventure stories from Black history, written and illustrated by Nadine Cowan.

Emerald/Band 15 books provide a widening range of genres including science fiction and biography, prompting more ways to respond to texts.

Pages 46 and 47 allow children to re-visit the content of the book, supporting comprehension skills, vocabulary development and recall.

Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.


Brave Bus Driver

by Nadine Cowan

Published 25 January 2024

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available.

“Roll double six or double three, let’s learn about your history.”

Join Aniyah, EJ and Olivia as they play their Ludi board game and are transported to another action-packed adventure back in time, helping real people from history and solving exciting mysteries along the way.

Aniyah, EJ and Olivia have been transported back in time! It’s all aboard a 1910 London bus for a trip around the city, but then the fog descends, and a horse appears out of the darkness. Can the trio help bus driver Joe Clough save the day?

This exciting book is one of several action-packed adventure stories from Black history, written and illustrated by Nadine Cowan.

Topaz/Band 13 books offer longer and more demanding reads for children to investigate and evaluate.

Pages 30 and 31 allow children to re-visit the content of the book, supporting comprehension skills, vocabulary development and recall.

Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.


The Warrior Queen

by Nadine Cowan

Published 25 January 2024

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available.

“Roll double six or double three, let’s learn about your history.”

Join Aniyah, EJ and Olivia as they play their Ludi board game and are transported to another action-packed adventure back in time, helping real people from history and solving exciting mysteries along the way.

Aniyah, EJ and Olivia have been transported back
in time! It’s 1511 and they’re in the royal palace of
the Kingdom of Edo. A warrior queen needs help,
and the trio must go on a secret mission to restore
an important artefact that might save the kingdom.

This exciting book is one of several action-packed adventure stories from Black history, written and illustrated by Nadine Cowan.

Copper/Band 12 books provide more complex plots and longer chapters that develop reading stamina.

Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.