Sausage and the Little Visitor; Sausage in Trouble; School for Sausage; Sausage and the Spooks

I have found previous series of 'Rockets' both useful and popular with young novice readers of 7 to 10, and these are no exception. They manage to provide an entertaining story, in straightforward language, clearly set out with text, speech-bubbles and illustrations well-integrated, told in an unpatronising way - perfect for beginners, and useful for any child struggling with reading.

The 'Silly Sausage' series, for younger readers, features an endearing sausage dog and two snooty cats who provide a commentary on his activities and is told in short sentences with a fair bit of repetition. Despite this a good range of vocabulary and some useful spelling patterns are introduced. Situations of the 'everyone's scared sometimes' type are addressed, and the books all give a gently affirming message, not least to the young learner.