Penguin Readers & Pearson English Readers (200 headwords)

Joanna Jimbuku is a nurse in Australia. She works with a Flying Doctor. One day a baby is very ill. Joanna takes the baby to Sydney. It’s her first visit to a big city, and she loves it. Does she stay in the city or go home?

Sarah and Jessica arrive in New Zealand for a holiday. They find a mobile phone in the taxi from the airport. It is Michael’s mobile, but they can’t find him? He has messages from home – are they important? Go with the girls on a New Zealand adventure.

Ricardo and Gisela are going home to Rio. Gisela likes reading and quiet people. Ricardo likes noise … and he likes Gisela. In Rio, a thief takes Gisela’s bag. What can Ricardo do?

Felix is not a happy bird. He comes from Brazil but he doesn’t live there. He lives in New York in a cage. Then one day his cage opens and Felix says goodbye to New York. Can he find his family in Brazil again?

Tommy Grant is a taxi driver. One morning his boss telephones him. ‘Can you be at the Ritz hotel at 9 o’clock?’ he asks. The 12-year-old son of a film star is in London. His name is Dino. ‘Be very nice to the boy,’ Tommy’s boss says.

Tom breaks his leg in a football game — it’s not his lucky day! A week later, Tom sees his favorite movie star. But Tom falls again—and suddenly the movie star is falling too! Reporters are taking pictures of Tom. Is this his lucky break?

Abdullah knows a lot about oryx, the rare and gentle creatures of the desert. But there are cruel and ignorant people in the desert too - and someone needs to stop them.

Marcel is a French mouse, and a detective. One evening, at the Louvre museum, he sees a man steal a famous painting – the Mona Lisa. Marcel follows the thief to Venice and risks his life to get the painting back again.

Maisie King lives in the Bahamas. Her mother and father work at an Animal Hospital. Maisie has a new friend. His name is Ben and he’s a dolphin. Ben is very ill. Maisie helps him. Then Maisie has a big problem. Can Ben help her?

Rip Van Winkle walks into the mountains one day and meets some strange old men. He comes home twenty years later. One dark night, Ichabod Crane is riding home and sees a man on a black horse behind him. The man has no head. Are there ghosts in these stories? What do you think?

Norma is always right. But has she got the right train tickets? What happens when Mrs Roberts has coffee with Mrs Price? And is David ready for his wedding? The answers are in these six sketches.

Kim is running through the streets of the old town. She is frightened. A man with dark eyes and a knife is looking for her. He is going to catch her. This holiday in beautiful Barcelona is suddenly very dangerous. Where is Kim’s friend Dave? What can she do?