Andy Catling – illustratör

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.Spike used to be a cat-burglar, but he’s given up his life of crime to live with retired police officer, Police Nan. Now he’s a baddie-turned-goodie, and enjoys his comfy life of cream, cuddles and cat naps. One problem: if Police Nan hears about a crime, she just can’t help herself. On goes her old police helmet, and off she bustles to solve the case. Only Police Nan’s a bit rusty these days … she needs Spike and his sharp, ex-cat-burglar brain to dig her out of trouble and help solve the crimes. Join Police Nan and Spike as they travel to Paris to solve the mystery of the toyshop robber in this hilarious story by Dawn McNiff.White Plus/Band 10+ books provide challenging plots and vocabulary as well as opportunities to practise inference, prediction and reading stamina.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.

Read Write Inc. Phonics Book Bag Books are engaging texts to support children with additional reading practice outside the classroom. They have been specifically designed for children to take home after school, in order to share their reading journey and celebrate their achievements with parents and carers. The books are closely matched to the existing Read Write Inc. Phonics Storybooks to reinforce children's classroom learning of phonics at the appropriate level, helping them to make even faster progress in reading.

In the first book of the Young Joseph series, we find Joseph living in Canaan with his dad, stepmothers, eleven brothers - and lots of scene-stealing cows!Joseph is his father's favourite, which makes his brothers very cross, especially when he tells them about the dream he has had in which the sun, moon and eleven stars bow down to him.To cheer him up, Joseph's dad gives him a beautiful coat of many colours - a 'rainbow robe' to remind him that God loves everyone - even his brothers.

In the second book in the Young Joseph series, Joseph's brothers grow more and more jealous of their favoured brother.They come up with a cunning plan to take Joseph down a peg or two by throwing him in a well to give him a fright. Eventually they sell him to passing slave traders but that's not the end of his story

In the third book in the series, Joseph finds himself in Egypt and is sold to a very important man called Potiphar.Potiphar is very busy and his servants are very lazy - as a result his house is a mess! With the help of his ever-helpful cow companions, Joseph soon takes charge and has things spick-and-span in no time.There's only one problem - and that is Mrs Potiphar, who is jealous of Joseph. What scrapes will Joseph get into next?

'Lively, fresh and innovative retellings, these fabulous tales of the young Joseph are an absolute delight.'Alexa Tewkesbury, children's authorJoseph used to live on a farm in the land of Canaan with his dad, stepmothers, eleven brothers and lots and lots of cows! His jealous brothers sold him as a slave and now he lives in Egypt.After Mrs Potiphar lied about him, Joseph has been thrown into prison, with only his imaginary cows to keep him company. Soon he's joined by a butler and a baker, who used to work for Pharoah. The butler and the baker have strange dreams. Can Joseph work out what they mean?

Joseph is still in prison in Egypt, with only his imaginary cows for company. Pharaoh’s butler, who promised to help him, has forgotten all about him. Meanwhile, Pharaoh is having some very strange dreams. Pharoah’s butler remembers that Joseph helped him to understand his dreams. Can Joseph do the same for Pharaoh and finally be free?‘Fiona Veitch Smith and Andy Catling have done an excellent job . . . The text is fun and accessible and imaginative, yet still faithful to the biblical story. And, best of all, there are cows!’ Bob Hartman, storyteller and author

A delightful re-telling of the popular biblical story of Joseph. Having helped Pharoah make sense of his strange dreams, Joseph is now the second most important person in Egypt. Pharoah puts him charge of making sure everyone has enough food. When famine stirkes, Joseph's long-lost brothers come to ask Joseph for food - but they don't recognise the brother they thought was dead. Will Joseph choose to help them or take his revenge?Hilarious illustrations by Andy Catling featuring scene-stealing cows! Covers issues of concern to contemporary children such as sibling rivalry, helping others and making good choices.

Joseph waits for his brothers to return to Egypt with his younger brother, Benjamin. Will they finally recognise the brother they had left for dead? And will Joseph ever be reconciled with his long-lost family?

Joe and his pirate dad along with Cannon the ship guinea pig are miserably stuck on their boat missing the pirate Christmas party across the water on their friends' ship. Worst of all the party games and the treasure hunt are happening without them! Joe and his dad discover a dusty old picture book of the story of the first Christmas and settle down to read together and discover a different kind of treasure.This Pirate Christmas is a ship-shape nativity story for kids.

This Christmas book is full of fun activities!Join the pirate Christmas party with these fun activities, including make your own pet guinea pig, draw your own treasure map and cook some party treats. Use stickers to retell the Christmas story.Children will love learning more about the Christmas story as they get stuck into activates.

Sarah receives a package in the mail from her recently deceased grandfather: a life-size robotic version of him! Sarah enjoys spending time with robo-grandpa, but her mum thinks the invention is creepy. One night while Sarah sleeps, her mum sends the robot to the scrap heap – leaving only one hand behind. Sarah holds on to it as a memento of her beloved grandfather – but like Sarah, the hand has problems letting go . . .

Amari has been baking cookies with his grandmother, but every time he leaves them to cool, they disappear! Who is the mysterious cookie thief? Amari is about to make a surprising discovery!Reading Champion offers independent reading books for children to practise and reinforce their developing reading skills.Fantastic, original 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.Independent Reading 11 stories are the perfect introduction to first chapter books for children aged 6+ who are reading at book band 11 in classroom reading lessons.

Diego and Martin decide to skip school. They head to a nearby beach for a day filled with sun, fun and fishing. When clouds begin to dot the sky, the two boys worry they won’t be able to work on their tans. When purple lightning strikes, they worry about getting rained on. And when tendrils emerge from a weird boater’s mouth, they worry about their lives . . .

Sarah receives a package in the mail from her recently deceased grandfather: a life-size robotic version of him! Sarah enjoys spending time with robo-grandpa, but her mum thinks the invention is creepy. One night while Sarah sleeps, her mum sends the robot to the scrap heap – leaving only one hand behind. Sarah holds on to it as a memento of her beloved grandfather – but like Sarah, the hand has problems letting go . . .

Two friends decide to sneak into an abandoned science laboratory to explore, only to find that the lab isn’t empty after all. Strange security guards patrol the grounds. Even stranger, almost all of the doors inside are locked. And they keep hearing an eerie, chattering sound around every corner. When they try to leave, they realize that the place is more like a labyrinth than a laboratory – and like most labyrinths, this maze has a monster waiting at the finish line . . .

This exciting story brings the tale of the great fire of London to life for young readers. When Will Farriner wakes to the sound of crackling flames and the smell of smoke, he knows something is terribly wrong! As his family escape the flames engulfing their bakery, Will realises he must stop the fire from spreading. But what can be done before all of London goes up in smoke?Full of adventure and danger, this short text is suitable for struggling readers but engaging enough to give confident readers a quick, fun read.Suitable for use in schools as guided reading texts or for reading independently.