Barrington Stoke specialise in publishing books for reluctant readers – both the “can do but won’t” brigade and those who have real problems reading. All their titles are made available for review by children prior to publication at www.barringtonstoke.co.uk and this feedback informs the edit process.
The books are specially commissioned from successful children’s authors, and have fast-moving plots designed to hook the reader quickly and keep the pages turning. Clear language structures and short chapters help weak readers, while the unique font, increased character and line spacing and heavy cream-coloured paper help tackle dyslexia and visual stress.
There are plenty of titles to choose from in a number of ranges. See their website for the full list.
Acorn Readers – for second-chance readers in the primary school. The Acorns are eight stories with big ideas from big-name authors including Michael Morpurgo and Sophie McKenzie – with only 250 words apiece. Illustrated in colour.
Little Gems – for new readers aged 5-8. The Little Gems bring together big-name authors including Julia Donaldson and Cornelia Funke with top class illustrators, a host of accessibility features and fun activities in a small format ideal for children starting out on the road to reading independence.
Solos – for serious strugglers in primary and secondary. The Solos are very easy chapter books designed to look and feel like ‘real’ reads for newly emergent readers of 10 to teen.
4u2reads – building confidence in upper primary. 4u2reads are accessible novels by favourite authors including Michael Morpurgo, Malorie Blackman and Anne Fine and are ideally suited for paired, guided and personal reading.
8-12s – great classroom titles. Barrington Stoke’s 8-12s clock in at around 5,000 words and are very achievable as a fast fiction fix for able readers and as a confidence booster for strugglers. Authors include Tom Palmer, Darren Shan and Andy Stanton.
Teen fiction at reading age 7 and 8 – an easier ‘way in’. Barrington Stoke’s teen fiction offers word-lengths of 3,000 to 15,000 and offers less keen or confident readers nonthreatening and appealing content to build reading stamina, confidence and awareness of a number of genres and authors.
Reading age 6 teens – specialist books for literacy. A set of ten books of under 500 words for young people who missed out on reading the first time round. Written by a literacy specialist and illustrated in black and white to ensure there’s no babyish feel