The Steam Train

Collins Big Cat is a guided reading series for ages 4-11 edited by Cliff Moon. Top children's authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that your children will love to read, banded to help you choose the right book for every child. Practical ideas for guided reading are included at the back of each book. The steam train is pulling out of the station, it heads to the hills, into a rainstorm, through a tunnel and out the other side into the sunshine and to the seaside. Follow the rhythm and the rhyme of this simple poem and travel with the train on its wonderful adventure, beautifully illustrated by Rosalind Hudson. A map of the journey the steam train takes on pages 14-15 helps children to recap the poem and provides a wealth of speaking and listening opportunities. Blue (Band 4) books contain sentences of approximately eight to ten words, grouped into short paragraphs. Longer, repeated patterns are used in the story with sequential events and integrated literary and natural language.