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Oxford University Press Children's Books is to re-release stories written by children's laureate Julia Donaldson to help children who are learning to read grasp the subject of phonics.
The stories were originally published individually in 2006 as staple-bound tales for use in schools. The new OUP editions package the stories into groups, bound up together, as the Songbirds series. The new series is designed to appeal to parents wanting to practise phonics with their children.
The first collections—Top Cat and Other Stories; The Odd Pet and Other Stories; The Ox and the Yak and Other Stories; and Scrap Rocket and Other Stories—will be published in January (all £8.99), with further collections set to come in March and June. The volumes are gradated in levels from one to six so that children can progress through all the stages of phonics learning.
OUP head of marketing and publicity Elaine McQuade said the publisher had rushed out the titles to enable it to publish in the new year, ahead of the official start of screening checks on phonics for all Year One children scheduled for June 2012. "Parents are going to be concerned about phonics, and it is nice to practice with full, rich stories from Julia," she said.