Collins Big Cat - Blitz Kids: Band 17/Diamond

Britain, 1940. The Blitz. For 12-year-old Ellie and her brothers, it’s not just about surviving the bombing, it’s trying to solve the mystery of the enemy within. Who’s attacking local people, and why?

Diamond/Band 17 books offer more complex, underlying themes to give opportunities for children to understand causes and points of view.

Text type: A story with a historical setting

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

Jim Elridge was born in Camden Town in central London in 1944 during the Second World War. When he was a baby his pram was snatched from his elder sister's hands by a blast from an exploding V2 rocket, and he ended up unharmed (and still asleep) on a pile of rubble. He grew up in this area amid scenes of bomb-damage and devastation, and his memories and the tales of what his parents and elder sister went through during the Blitz have inspired this book, Blitz Kids.

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.

Collins Big Cat is a whole-school reading programme that provides complete support for primary reading. Children will become fluent readers through hundreds of high-quality fiction and non-fiction banded books by award-winning authors and illustrators. In-depth teaching resources support you in developing and assessing key reading skills at all stages from early reading through to phonics, to guided, whole-class and independent reading for more confident readers.