From Patter-Paws the Fox and Sharp-Claws the Lobster to Lusty-Lion and Trusty Mouse, young children will find the animated animal characters in these stories enjoyable and inspiring. Together with the lively detailed and expressive illustrations of Brian Gold, the narrative content offers stimulus to the young child’s imagination and an encouragement to read. For the early reader in particular, great care has been taken in crafting the structure and style of the stories. The language, letter-patterns, progressions of word structures and sound sequences have all been moulded with the intention of building up the child’s confidence - leading to the more disciplined work further on in the book. The stories have been graded according to these principles, together with others such as repetition, rhyming devices, and the use of common words that form the foundation of ‘sight vocabulary’. The visual element has also been considered in the layout, with larger typeface and smaller paragraphs moving to more condensed print as the child’s reading ability gains strength.