Book review: Learning to read is fun with Maverick books

The word is out… independent publisher Maverick has been busy transferring its creative and colourful children’s picture books into an exciting new format.

An enchanting series of five Early Reader books has been adapted from the original picture books so that young children, who may recognise and already love the stories, can make the important transition from listener to reader.

The books, suitable for children in the age five to seven Key Stage 1 group, have been carefully edited by the authors who worked closely with an educational specialist so that the text fits into the standard book bands.

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And to help teachers and parents who want to use the early readers in lessons or at home, Maverick has created some free learning resource packs for each book, including suggested learning objectives, lesson plans, language and linguistic features and some fun colouring-in sheets and other activities.

Young children just starting to get the hang of sentences and sounds will love reading these funny, engaging stories.

Get stuck into Preposterous Rhinoceros by Tracy Gunaratnam and Marta Costa, featuring an adorable little rhino who creates a sticky stir when he opens up a pot of honey, enjoy meeting all the amazing animals at Heavenly Hippos Wildlife Park in Alice Hemming and Kimberley Scott’s The Black and White Club, and share in the fun of a playful tale about an overly long scarf which gets short shrift from its young owner in Amanda Brandon and Catalina Echeverri’s A Scarf and a Half.

And if that wasn’t enough, big is definitely beastly in Yuck! Said the Yak, a wonderfully wacky and imaginative story about picky eater Alfie from Alex English and Emma Levey, or watch your little ones laugh out loud at the madcap adventures of a magical dinosaur in Steve Howson and Kate Daubney’s Hocus Pocus Diplodocus.

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These beautifully produced and entertainingly educational books are priced at £5.99 each and the free learning resource packs can be downloaded on the Maverick website at www.maverickbooks.co.uk/activities/learning-resources.

The perfect start to a lifetime of reading…