Books in the Collins Big Cat series

This simple picture book with a familiar theme, looks at the different thigns that a family take on a picnic; the rug, the basket, the sandwiches, the cakes and the drinks. The scene is set for a perfect picnic, until the wasps arrive!

What's inside a nut? What's inside a pod? What's inside you and me? The clear photos in this book will show children what's inside all sorts of things, from a pea inside a peapod to the skeletons inside us.

It's a lovely day for walking in the park. Before long the dog is chasing a duck through the mud, and dragging its owner into mud and a pond. The dog is taken home, shakes water all over the car and Dad, and at home gets hosed down in the garden - along with poor Dad!

Who ate the cake? Tec the detective follows the crumbs to find out. Children follow Tec as he trails his suspects, until he finds the vital clue that leads him to the guilty party! Martin Chatterton's colourful illustrations bring the characters of Tec and his faithful hound vividly to life, and provide lots of talking points throughout the story.

This captivating non-fiction book compares pet cats and wild cats, pointing out the features common to both. Each spread consists of a beautifully illustrated and labelled feature of a domestic cat on the left, and a high quality photograph of the corresponding feature in a wild cat on the right.

In this simple non-fiction report we are introduced to the various creatures in a typical pond: frogs, snails, dragonflies, pond-skaters, fish and birds. Each spread features a high quality photograph of the creature on the left, and artwork of pupils and their teacher studying the animals in their natural habitat on the right.

'It is dark in the park. It is dark in the street.' This superb patterned non-fiction text uses atmospheric illustrations to show what happens in the neighbourhood when it is dark. Who can be found in the city streets when children are tucked up in bed? Which animals prowl in the wood by the light of the moon?

Hippo wants to play on the see-saw. But who will play with him? In this humorous story a hippo wants to go on a see-saw, but no other animal is heavy enough to get hippo off the ground. It takes a group of animals to do it - and in the end, it is a tiny mouse that makes the difference.

Bill went for a walk. He went over a river, up a hill and into a wood and behind a waterfall. A few steps behing Bill, however, is a hungry bear with an eye on Bill's sandwiches. The bear's attempts to grab the sandwiches are foiled be a variety of minor disasters.

Gran has sent an exciting birthday present but how long will Woody have to wait for his gift, a model house, to be built? The new flatpack toy presents Woody's family with a challenge but as the days go by, Woody has an idea of his own. Who needs a kit to build a house when the gift comes in a box large enough to design a house of your own?

In this non-fiction recount of a family trip to the dump, simple text combined with Ley Honor Roberts lively and inimitable cartoon-photo collage style brings environmental issues to life. The family's journey around the dump shows how different materials are sorted into different containers, ready for recycling.

A simple non-fiction book that shows where people shop for shoes, food and other things. Photographs show children role-playing in different types of shops while illustrations show typical examples of such shops.

It's midnight, and the guinea pigs are not in their cage! In this humorous story, two guinea pigs stray from their cage to a park before returning home again in time for breakfast. Their night-time adventure is told through a series of illustrations with very simple repetitive text.

Bill longs for someone to talk to. Then one day the door to his room opens and...a giant bottom comes in! Legs, arms, chest follow as bit by bit, Bill's new giant friend appears. When his friend's last bit finally arrives and he is in one piece, they have plenty to talk about!

Collins Big Cat is a guided reading series for ages 4-7 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.

Collins' celebrity gardening author demonstrates with her son, Harry, how to make a garden, step-by-step, in an old wheelbarrow. The book has instructions and wonderful photographs demonstrating the steps involved in making a garden.

Mona the goat's brother is good at jumping. Mona's sister is good at leaping. Mona is good at growing sunflowers. But when she meets a big, fierce lion, Mona finds out she's good at something else too! A humorous fantasy story by renowned childrens' author Vivian French.

Can you imagine a world with whales that could walk and giant earth moles? They both lived on Earth long ago and their relatives still live here today. Explore the terrifying, giant, strange ancestors of everyday creatures, in this captivating information text, illustrated with realistic imagery from Jon Stuart.

This story with a familiar setting is about Lenny's family who go to the local park to fly his new kite. Lenny takes great care to hold on to his kite, but then Mum has a turn. She holds on tightly too, but trips over the dog, and falls into the pond. The other children try to help, so they all arrive home soaking wet and muddy!

A rhyming text about three funny fish and scary-looking big fish with very sharp teeth. Two of the funny fish are brightly coloured but vane, while the third funny fish is brown. The big fish comes along and eats the two brightly coloured fish, but the dull brown one is able to hide safely among the stones on the sea bed!

'I want a pet! I want a pet! I hope I like the pet I get!'When a boy goes to the Strange Pet Shop to find a pet, there's no knowing what he'll find there. He is very particular, and nothing at the Strange Pet Shop suits him until, at last the perfect pet comes bounding through the door!

This non-fiction book is a report on the different types of fruit the children like to eat. Labelled mouth-watering photographs of melons, oranges, strawberries growing in their natural environment are accompanied by simple captions.

Find out what happens to the little egg in this patterned story, filled with colourful illustrations by Shoo Rayner.

This simple non-fiction book introduces and explores the circles, squares, rectangles, triangles, stars and hexagons which can be found in everyday objects. Each labelled shape is accompanied by a photograph showing the shape in an environmental context, for example a rectangular brick in a wall or a hexagon in a honeycomb.

Chewy Hughie chews anything and everything he can get his paws on, driving his owners to distraction! But what happens when Chewy Hughie discovers a packet of bubblegum... This is a lively rhyming story by Jane Clarke, illustrated with stunning artwork from Sarah McConnell.

What can the wind blow? A collection of colourful photographs show how the wind can blow a kite, boats, leaves, seeds, windmills,sand, snow and sea. The report also shows how strong wind can be destructive blowing trees and even houses down.

This wordless instruction text by celebrity gardener Kim Wilde combines photographs and illustrations to show how a scarecrow is made using recycled materials. Each step of the construction process is clearly depicted, in sequence, concluding with a photograph of the finished model.

A picture story about three hungry ants. The ants want to know what is for breakfast but they are not keen on dad's sweet offerings. Finally he suggests an apple; an offer that everyone is happy with. The book includes several discussion features, such as speech bubbles and a clock that shows the passing of time.

Read this humorous fantasy story about Rex the dinosaur who wants to give animals super haircuts and make them happy.

People have run Marathons for more than 100 years, but how long is a marathon? Where are they run? Who can enter? Find out all about one of the most toughest and popular running events, in this non-chronological report.