Folk tales are stories full of adventure, courage, daring, fighting dragons, trolls, and giants, and overcoming challenges. How many of them have girls as the main heroic characters though? These twelve folk tales from all over the world have been specially selected as they feature strong, adventurous heroines. Some are funny, some make you think, and some - like the story of Fearless Mary - keep you on the edge of your seat with scares and surprises. Meet Louisa Freya, the brave dragon slayer, funny and clever Sigrun, and honest and humble Scarface as well as other heroines from Serbia, Norway, China, Japan, South Africa, and Indonesia. Amy Scott Robinson's distinctive voice, expertise and experience as a performance storyteller makes this a unique and fascinating collection, aimed at readers aged 7-9 years. At the end of each story, Amy shares a bit about where the story comes from, how she has retold it, and what the tale makes her think about when she is hearing or telling it, including Bible verses. These folk tales deserve to be told as often as the more famous and well-known ones. After all, why should boys defeat all the dragons? Enjoy the adventure!

This story is part of Reading Champion, a series carefully linked to book bands to encourage independent reading skills, developed with Dr Sue Bodman and Glen Franklin of UCL Institute of Education (IOE) Reading Champion offers independent reading books for children to practise and reinforce their developing reading skills. Fantastic, original stories are accompanied by engaging artwork and a reading activity. Each book has been carefully graded so that it can be matched to a child's reading ability, encouraging reading for pleasure.

Bible stories are full of adventure and courageous characters. However many that feature women and girls are not told so often. These twelve Bible stories have been specially selected as they feature strong, inspiring girls. Some are funny, some make you think, and some - like the story of Queen Esther - keep you on the edge of your seat with scares and surprises. Meet quick-thinking Miriam, unflappable Abigail, and determined Lydia as well as other stories from the books of Numbers, Judges, Ruth, 2 Kings, and the Gospels of Luke and John. Amy Scott Robinson's distinctive voice, expertise and experience as a performance storyteller makes this a unique and fascinating collection, aimed at readers aged 7-9 years. At the end of each story, Amy shares a bit about where the story is found in the Bible, how she has retold it, and what the story makes her think about when she is hearing or telling it. These Bible stories deserve to be told as often as the more well-known ones. Enjoy the adventure!

This non-fiction text is part of Reading Champion, a series carefully linked to book bands to encourage independent reading skills, developed with Dr Sue Bodman and Glen Franklin of UCL Institute of Education (IOE) Reading Champion offers independent reading books for children to practise and reinforce their developing reading skills. Fantastic, original stories and non-fiction texts are accompanied by engaging artwork and a reading activity. Each book has been carefully graded so that it can be matched to a child's reading ability, encouraging reading for pleasure.