Start Book

Little Wandle Code provides effective reading intervention for students in early Key Stage 3. This proven program―featuring ten age-appropriate, leveled, fully decodable anthologies and three workbooks―supports learners who are not meeting age-related expectations as they enter secondary school.

The Colossal Squid and Other Stories is the anthology for the Start the Code pathway. It is designed for students who are new to English or who have SEND needs, with little or no prior phonics knowledge.

This fully decodable anthology contains eighteen texts for Units 4–9 in Start the Code. Each text includes an introduction page that outlines the focus graphemes, tricky words, a short blurb, and a discussion question to prepare and engage students before reading.

The anthologies give students structured opportunities to practice phonics, broaden vocabulary, build comprehension, improve fluency, and develop confidence as independent readers.

Designed to look like the books their peers are reading, each anthology features:

• A variety of content: both fiction and nonfiction, including a wide range of text types, genres, and well-known authors
• Leveled practice: stories with varied word counts, lengths, and complexity levels to offer practice, flexibility, and choice
• Appealing visuals: illustration and photographic styles that motivate and engage KS3 readers

The anthologies are fully integrated into the Little Wandle Code program and are supported by teacher and text notes available through the Little Wandle Code subscription.

Catherine Baker is an editor, consultant, and writer specializing in children’s reading development throughout the primary years. She has worked in educational publishing for more than 30 years and has written over 50 books for children and teachers.

Jacqueline Harris lives in London with her husband and two children, all enthusiastic readers. She has loved reading and writing for pleasure since childhood; at age seven she wrote her first “novel,” a story about a snowman, which her teacher liked so much she took it with her when she left the school―a fact Jacqueline has never forgotten or forgiven. A former deputy head teacher, Jacqueline now works as an education consultant, helping teachers support children in learning to read. She has also written a range of nonfiction books and phonically decodable readers.

Emily Hooton graduated with a degree in English in the early 90s and went to work for her family’s graphic design business. There she dabbled in graphic design, photo research, illustration and copyediting for educational books. After years of watching other people write books she decided she wanted to try to write her own, and has recently written several children’s fiction and non-fiction readers. Emily lives in a small village in the Cambridgeshire fens with her husband and their beloved dog, Rory.

Abbie Rushton holds a degree in English Literature with Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. She has worked in publishing for more than ten years as both an editor and an author, and has written over 40 early reading books. She lives near the Norfolk coast with her son and a very lazy dog named Nia.

Jonny Walker spends his time writing children’s books about mythology, trees, and geese. When he isn’t doing that, he can usually be found in a school, enthusiastically talking about mythology, trees, and geese. If he isn’t doing that, he is probably wandering around London drinking coffee―or at home eating an unreasonable number of cookies and singing ’80s songs loud enough to test the patience of his neighbors.