This story is part of Reading Champion, a series carefully linked to book bands to encourage independent reading skills, developed with Dr Sue Bodman and Glen Franklin of UCL Institute of Education (IOE)

Reading Champion offers independent reading books for children to practise and reinforce their developing reading skills.

Fantastic stories are accompanied by engaging artwork and a reading activity. Each book has been carefully graded so that it can be matched to a child’s reading ability, encouraging reading for pleasure.

Jackie Walter

Jackie Walter has written and edited many books for children. She never gets tired of listening to and telling a good story. Jackie lives in Cornwall with her husband and young daughters.

Maxine Lee-Mackie

Maxine Lee-Mackie has been drawing for as long as she can remember. Starting on walls, she explored different surfaces with her felt-tipped pens, including her sleeping grandad’s head, before moving on to paper and screens. Working with lots of worldwide publishers, she brings characters and stories to life with her own unique view of the world. Maxine lives in England with her husband, children, and Benny the sausage dog.