The Rumour Av Jillian Powell, Alison Hawes, Melanie Joyce

Three short exciting stories with questions at the back of the book. This hi-lo series is comprised of 12 books, each containing 2-3 stories. The short length and varied nature of the stories make them perfect for reluctant readers. Each story has illustrations, a vocabulary page at the front and questions at the back to ensure that the text has been understood. Stories vary from familiar settings such as schools and museums to more fantastical locations like haunted houses and space ships. This hi-lo series for struggling and reluctant readers has been written for children aged between 7 and 13 years, whose current reading age is between 6 and 7 years. These age-appropriate short reads have 32 pages and are written by gifted authors writing stories with relatable characters. They incorporate a large font size and text separated into bite-sized chunks, along with carefully considered letter and paragraph spacing that can reduce visual stress. The series has plenty of practice at one level, allowing consolidation of learning before moving on to more challenging reads. The vocabulary list of tricky words can aid comprehension before reading the book.