Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available.


Matt and Alex and their little sister Lizzie have returned to England from their fun-filled holiday in India. Accompanying them is their young ayah, Jamila. The day after they return home, the children wake to find Jamila gone. Who made her leave? Where did she go?


She is alone and penniless in a new country and the children know they must find her.


And so, the search for the ayah begins.


Pearl/Band 18 books offer fluent readers a complex, substantial text with challenging themes to facilitate sustained comprehension, bridging the gap between a reading programme and longer chapter books.


Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.

Illustrated by: Lia Visirin
Prepared for publication by: