Tag: reading

  • Bluebeard’s Cat – A Horror Story for Halloween!

    Bluebeard’s Cat – A Horror Story for Halloween!

    As the full moon calls, each cat slinks through the shadows to where the storyteller waits. Will you stay in your cosy bed? Or dare you go and join the Scaredy Cats and hear the tale of Bluebeard’s Cat and her master’s nasty, creepy secret! Watch and listen as Shoo reads this gruesome story. Are…

  • The Shocking Truth About Literacy Testing

    The Shocking Truth About Literacy Testing

    Authors, travelling around schools, see stuff – stuff that inspectors would never see or even bother to look for, because inspectors are looking for what they want to see. I keep seeing the Green, Amber and Red colours of testing software printouts. This software works out where to put the most resources to achieve the…

  • Forget writing and arithmetic – Reading is the one and only core skill

    Reading is the the most difficult skill most of us will ever set out to master. I used to worry about repeating myself but, when writing stories for very young readers, I love repeating words and phrases, twisting them gently to create new, surprising meanings with the same jumble of words and letters. It helps…