Mark Sweeney – 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. Levelled for guided and independent reading, each book includes ideas to support reading. Teaching and assessment support and eBooks are also available.When Harry’s mum gets ill, he worries about her. But even after she gets better, Harry still feels like something awful is about to happen. Anxiety has taken over his life. How can he get back to normal?Sapphire/Band 16 books offer longer reads to develop children's sustained engagement with texts and are more complex syntactically.Pages 54 and 55 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.In November 2021, Jo Cotterill caught covid-19 and was extremely ill for several weeks, unable to perform even ordinary everyday tasks like walking her daughter to school. Her daughter, who had had anxiety in the past, found this very difficult to deal with, and her anxiety increased to the point at which she could not attend school. Since the pandemic, teachers and parents have noticed a dramatic increase in anxiety in children, and Jo is keen to help show young people that there is a way through it. Although her daughter is now back at school, she still struggles daily with anxiety. Thankfully Jo is now fully recovered.