Collins Big Cat

Books Like Us

I remember visiting the library in Doncaster when I was nine. One time, I spotted something surprising peeping out from a low shelf. ‘Johnny and the Bomb’ by Terry Pratchett. There it was – Johnny! My name! What stuck with me more than the story itself was the euphoria of… Read More

Helping children with non-fiction writing

Collins Big Cat author Emily Dodd shares ideas on how to get children excited about writing non-fiction. Although the ideas are aimed at teachers, they can easily be adapted for parents to support their children’s writing at home. Imagination and Memory When I’m starting children off on a… Read More

Helping children with writing fiction

Collins Big Cat author Brandon Robshaw shares his own experiences of writing, plus tips on how to get children excited about writing fiction. Human beings are natural storytellers. Almost as soon as we can talk we find ourselves telling stories – little accounts or reports of things that have… Read More

Letters and Sounds and Challenging the More Able Child

Teachers often get training on how to support struggling children. They spend time planning and creating resources to support those children. However, teacher training can sometimes miss showing teachers how to challenge the most able children, and challenge (particularly in phonics teaching) is regularly a focus of attention in Ofsted… Read More

Collins Big Cat Writing Competition

Entry for the 2018 competition is now closed, but you can now enter the Collins Big Cat Writing Competition 2019! To read more about the winning stories for 2018 click here. Here at Collins we’re celebrating International Literacy Day by gearing up for our global… Read More