All you need to know about

levelled reading books

Once your child has mastered the basics of phonics,
a whole world of reading starts to open up to them!
They benefit hugely from books which gradually
introduce new words and sentence structures, helping
them to progress steadily and surely. Thats where
levelled reading books come in.
The Star reading books are levelled according to a system used in most UK
Primary schools, called book bands. There are eleven book bands, and the
chart below shows which book bands are appropriate for children of different ages,
and also how they match Oxford Reading Tree, a reading scheme used in many
Primary schools:

Book band

Age

School year
England / Scotland

ORT level

Pink

45

Reception / Primary 1

1 / 1+

Red

45

Reception / Primary 1

Yellow

56

Year 1 / Primary 2

Blue

56

Year 1 / Primary 2

Green

56

Year 1 / Primary 2

Orange

67

Year 2 / Primary 3

Turquoise

67

Year 2 / Primary 3

Purple

67

Year 2 / Primary 3

Gold

67

Year 2 / Primary 3

White

67

Year 2 / Primary 3

10

Lime

67

Year 2 / Primary 3

11

Obviously this chart can only give a rough idea of the right level for your child. There will be a wide
range of reading abilities in any school year. To help you choose the right level for your child, talk to their
teacher, or have a look at these sample pages of books at different levels. As a rough guide, children
should be able to read at least 90% of the words on the page without any problem. If the book is too
easy, they can become bored. If its too difficult, they can become frustrated, and may have to concentrate
so hard on reading the words that they lose the enjoyment of understanding the story.

Abracadabra sample page from

Pink Level Pack

Bedtime for Bear sample page from

Red Level Pack

Furball to the Rescue sample page from

Yellow Level Pack

Brother Love sample page from

Blue Level Pack

How Moon Tricked Sun sample page from

Green Level Pack

Why Islands Dont Swim sample page from

Orange Level Pack

Scruff sample page from

Turquoise Level Pack

The Nutcracker sample page from

Purple Level Pack

Sharks sample page from

Gold Level Pack

Hairem Scarem sample page from

White Level Pack

Your Body Up Close sample page from

Lime Level Pack

Read the adventures from Clinker Castle

and Pirate Cove Reception to Year 2
The Reading section of our store also includes some sets of Clinker
Castle and Pirate Cove books. These are fun books set in a medieval
castle and on a pirate ship, and are sold in year packs, rather than
by book bands, so that your child can follow the adventures of the
characters as their reading improves.

Pirate Cove: Treasure Island sample page from

Reception Level Pack

Treasure Island
9780433166238

Clinker
Castle: Catch a Dragon
Pirate Cove: Catch a Dragon sample page from
sample
Year 1 page
Pack from Year 1 Pack

Pirate Cove: Bones the Sea Dog sample page from

Pirate
Year Cove:
2 PackBones the Sea Dog
sample page from Year 2 Pack

Clinker Castle: Catch a Dragon

See which
reading
level
sample
page from
Year 1 Pack

Scruff
9780433034568

is best for your

child Year 3 to Year 6

Once your child is in Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6, or Primary 4 to 7 in
Scotland), their reading level may be beyond the book band levels.
For this reason, the books for older children Pocket Reads are
levelled more loosely by school year, rather than by book bands.
Again, have a look at these sample pages to help decide which pack
is right for your child:

Gurgle sample page from

Year 3 Pack

Gurgle sample page

from Year 3 Pack

Clinker
Castle: Catch a Dragon
The Wailing Rock sample page from
sample
Year 4page
Packfrom Year 1 Pack

Cyclops and the Green Beans sample page from

Year 5 Pack

Clinker
Castle: Catch a Dragon
Mobile Fear sample page from
sample
Year 6page
Packfrom Year 1 Pack

Mobile Fear
sample page from Year 6 Pack