Key stage 1

Ladybird’s range of books for children aged 5+ are designed to build on preschool experience, support work done at school, and to prepare children for work they will meet at Key Stage 2.

To find out how Ladybird books support children who are just starting school, click here.

To find out how Ladybird books support children who are learning to read, click here.

Series title	Recommended age range	How these books help children	Click for more in this series
Start School	4+ years	Starting school can raise mixed emotions in children. This series has an emphasis on the emotional and practical needs of children, as well as developing educational skills of phonic awareness, early maths and reading and writing simple words.
Sounds and pictures	4–7 years	One book for each vowel sound + an alphabet book Look at the picture, say the word, isolate the sound
Phonics	4–7 years	Twelve story compilations that introduce phonemes in the order recommended by the National Literacy Strategy Four activity books accompany the readers Flashcards Readers available as boxed sets Commonly used as ‘reward’ texts for pupils who have secured their knowledge of a particular phoneme
Read it yourself	4–7 years	Traditional stories organised in four levels that progress in difficulty. Excellent supplementary classroom readers or books to take home.
Read it yourself non-fiction	4–7 years	Series of carefully graded non-fiction texts to be read alongside the equivalent fiction books. Children learn exciting facts whilst understanding non-fiction book conventions.
Ladybird Key Words	3–8 years	Successful with generations of children the world over Particularly useful for children who are less successful with other school reading schemes Also available: activity books, picture dictionary and flashcards Introduces new vocabulary at a steady rate and uses thorough repetition
Read With Me	4–7 years	Helps children to recognise important words on sight. Based on the same word list as the Ladybird Key Words Reading Scheme, it moves the child along more quickly through the vocabulary.
Read With Ladybird	4–7 years	Mixed method story collections that supplement school reading schemes. Emphasis on authentic language patterns Structured, controlled sight vocabulary Texts are varied: non-fiction, original stories, rhymes, and myths Ideal to take home in the book bag
Ladybird Classics	7+ years	Simple retellings of children’s classic adventure stories, broken down by chapters Enable newly fluent readers to build confidence Exciting class readers
Ladybird Tales	7+ years	Classic fairytales that make full use of magical language and traditional art styles Engaging, rewarding texts for pupils to read for themselves or as a class reading text
Help for Homework	7+ years	Mini-hardback series that offers tips, advice and examples for key areas of learning: computers, French, Spanish, spelling, grammar, punctuation, times tables, writing and maths.
Ladybird Reference	7+ years	Dictionary, thesaurus and Kings & Queens Ideal for children who are learning independently Clearly illustrated with age-appropriate explanations and definitions.

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