Mirabelle and the Midnight Feast

By Harriet Muncaster

Age 5+

If you’ve got an Isadora Moon fan who’s looking for their next read that’s full of magic, adventure and a little bit of mischief, meet Mirabelle! Isadora Moon’s naughty half-witch, half-fairy cousin has a whole chapter book series of her own for emerging readers to enjoy.

Like the Isadora Moon books, Mirabelle’s adventures are engaging and accessible stories to build reading confidence.

Mirabelle and the Midnight FeastÌýis a magical tale about friendship, siblings, and the importance of owning up to your mistakes. Will they be able to overcome their differences and come together for a midnight feast? Find out in this hilarious and heart-warming story.

Win Mirabelle and the Midnight Feast

For your chance to win one of three copies of Mirabelle and the Midnight Feast, we want to know who you and your child would invite to your own magical midnight feast. Comment on the pinned competition post on the Oxford Owl Facebook page with your answer to enter. Feel free to tag your feast friends so that they can join in the fun!

UK residents only. Entry closes at 11.59pm on Sunday 25th February 2024.

About the book

About the Author

Harriet Muncaster is the author and illustrator of the internationally bestselling Isadora Moon, Mirabelle and Emerald series of young reader books and the middle-grade Victoria Stitch series. So far Isadora Moon is available in thirty-seven different languages, including Spanish, Italian, Romanian and Korean, and is available as audio books. TheÌýIsadora Moon series won the El Corte Inglés Children’s Book of the Year in 2019 and has sold over 4 million copies worldwide.

More from Oxford Owl

• with Mirabelle (PDF)
• (PDF)
• Isadora Moon activities, videos and more on Oxford Owl

Hello! I’m Catherine Baker, and I’m an editor and consultant. For over twenty years I’ve been thinking about how to make books that will really help children learn how to read.

In this video and blog post, I’ll talk about how using levelled reading books all the way through Primary school can help your child. You’ll find some recommended levelled readers, ideal for 7–11-year-olds at the end of the blog post.

Why use levelled reading books?

Levelled reading books are specially designed to increase children’s reading skills and experience in gradual, supportive steps. At the very beginning of learning to read, it’s pretty clear how levelled reading books help. But what about when children have learnt the basics? They can read – but do they really have the full range of reading skills they need, for all the learning they’ll be doing throughout Primary and Secondary school and beyond?

Older children need to be able to think, talk about and learn from what they read. Carefully levelled books – using a system like Oxford Levels – can help coax these skills out.

Challenging and supporting young readers

The challenge is there, because levelled reading books are written to gently stretch children’s reading skills. The team at Oxford thinks hard about language choices, so that both vocabulary and sentence structures gradually become more complex. It also means focusing on the conceptual challenge – as children develop as readers, they can cope with increasingly complex plots, ideas and story structures.

The gradual increase in complexity is very supportive too, because it gives children the chance to think about what they’re learning as they read – so their comprehension skills and enjoyment of reading both improve. They’re less likely to get stuck and end up feeling frustrated. It also helps that, compared with children’s novels you might get from the library or bookshop, levelled reading books tend to be shorter and more manageable. They pack a lot of reading value into quite a small space – which is really rewarding for children who might not have huge reading stamina yet.

How to help at home

Of course, any reading that children choose to do is valuable, but sometimes children get stuck on a really long, hard book that’s just too difficult – or they lose confidence and get equally stuck on a series or author that’s not really challenging them at all. When children get stuck in either of those ways, it’s harder for them to learn from their reading – or enjoy it. If your child seems a bit stuck with their reading, have a look at the Oxford Levels guidance on Oxford Owl to pinpoint the right level for them. You can then find a selection of books at that level in the free eBook library.

When your child’s reading books at the right level – books that can both challenge and support them – they will learn more. They’re not just reading, but understanding – and ultimately that means they’re more likely to enjoy reading, and get better at it!

More from Oxford Owl

• Reading: What your child will learn at school, and how to help at home Age 7–8 | Age 8–9 | Age 9–10 | Age 10–11
• Reading schemes, Levels and Stages A guide to Oxford Levels 1–20
• Comprehension: What’s taught at school and how to help at home
• The Key Stage 2 SATs reading test How to help your child prepare

Levelled readers for Key Stage 2 (age 7–11)

Each of these books have inside cover notes to help children explore the content, further supporting their reading development. All book links go to Amazon.co.uk.

When your child has mastered decoding they normally become ‘free readers’, meaning they choose books freely without the structure of reading levels. Children should always be encouraged to read whatever appeals to them – but sometimes structure can help as well.

During the Covid-19 crisis, you may well feel the need to see how your child’s reading is progressing more clearly.ÌýOxford LevelsÌýcan help with this.

‘Oxford Levels’ is a finely graded levelling system that levels books from learning first words all the way up to the end of Year 6 and beyond. It ensures that every book your child reads has just the right balance of challenge and support to keep them progressing while still feeling confident.

Find out more about what each level means and how each level progresses from one to another:

For each of the 21 Oxford Levels you will find:

• A description of the suggested skill level divided into word reading and comprehension.
• A description of the features of books at this level.
• Two annotated spreads from real books at each level, highlighting important features.

If you don’t know what reading level your child is on, you could use the example texts in the guidance to help you and your child decide.

Once you’ve decided what level is appropriate for your child, they should read several books at that level until they are reading confidently with good comprehension before they move to the next one. You can use the notes inside the book covers to test your child’s comprehension skills.

For advice on keeping reading in KS2 fun while still following a reading scheme, read our Developing reading skills as your child gets olderÌýblog post.

Junior reading series from 51ºÚÁÏÍø

In our free , you will find examples of Oxford’s leading junior reading series. All books are expertly levelled to provide steady progression, and content is always carefully handled to ensure age-appropriateness.

The series is a continuation of Oxford Reading Tree for older readers. It contains several series within it:

• TreeTops Greatest Stories: Retellings of classic stories to introduce children to our literary heritage, hand-picked by series editor Michael Morpurgo. Browse on Amazon >
• TreeTops InFact: Lively non-fiction which links to school curriculum subjects, series-edited by TV science presenter Greg Foot.
• TreeTops Chucklers: Books to make your children laugh, edited by author of The 100-mile-an-Hour Dog and My Brother’s Famous Bottom, Jeremy Strong.Ìý
• TreeTops Reflect: Thought-provoking books to help your child reflect on the world around them and empathise with others.

Ìýalso continues for older readers and contains series that can grab your junior child’s attention:

• Alien Adventures:ÌýWill appeal to children who like adventure stories and science fiction.Ìý
• Graphic Texts: Perfect for those who like to read comics and contains comic strip versions of classic literature.Ìý

More from Oxford Owl

• Web page:Ìý
• Web page:ÌýReading schemes and Levels
• Blog: Developing reading skills as your child gets older
• Blog:Ìý
• Blog:Ìý
• Blog:Ìý

When your child has successfully mastered phonics and word-reading, it can be a time of pride – and even relief! It’s a big and important milestone in a child’s learning journey but, in terms of their reading career, it’s just the beginning.

Children still need to develop their comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary to take them through their junior years and become ready for secondary school. When they reach secondary school, lots of the information they need to access will be presented in a written form. If they can read quickly and efficiently with good understanding, it will help them in all their secondary school subjects.

How you can help your junior reader

Luckily, there’s lots you can do to support your child’s reading in the junior years. Here are some ideas.

1. Read regularly

Encourage your child to read as much as possible, and try to keep reading regular and consistent if you can. Twenty to thirty minutes a day is a good target to aim for.

2. Talk about books

Talking to your child about what they are reading helps to build reading motivation. Your interest will spark their interest, and conversation with you will help them articulate their thoughts, extend their vocabulary, and strengthen their understanding of what they’ve read.

3. Choose interesting books

In general, letting your child choose their own books is a great way to keep them engaged with reading, but don’t be afraid to point them in the right direction every now and then. Be sure to suggest options to them based on their interests, including texts beyond their favourite authors. You can find lots more advice on how to do this on ourÌýHow to choose a book for ages 7–11 blog post.

The Ìýis a great place to find free eBooks for junior readers (Books at Oxford Level 10 and above are likely to be most suitable). We’ve recently added lots more free eBooks to support junior readers during Covid-19 school closures.

4. Choose interesting non-books

Remember that reading doesn’t just have to involve books: magazines, instruction manuals, recipes, and so on all help to build up stamina, understanding, and fluency.

5. Read to your child

As well as asking your child to read to you, it can be really useful to take some time out to read to them too. Research shows that parents often stop reading to their children in the junior years, but there are great benefits to keeping your reading time going. Learn more in our blog post,Ìý.

6. Ask your child questions

When your child is reading to you or with you, you could help them to develop their comprehension skills by asking questions. Below are examples of good questions to ask. Remember to prompt them to justify their answers by referring to the text as well:

• What do you think the book will be about?
• Can you tell me what’s happened so far?
• What do you think will happen next?
• Why do you think the character did…?
• What do you think the author wants us to think?
• How did you feel when…?
• Can you think of a similar experience that you’ve had?
• Who do you know who is like…?
• How did the character change in this story?
• What do you think are the most important things in this chapter/section?

7. Consider levelled books

Many children will benefit from adding more structure into their reading experience. Find out more about book levelling for older children in our blog post: How reading programmes can help junior readers.

If you are looking for more guidance on what kinds of questions to ask your child, the books in the have parent notes on the inside covers to help you further.

More from Oxford Owl

• Web page:Ìý
• Web page: Common reading issues
• Blog: How reading programmes can help junior readers
• Blog:ÌýHow to choose a book for ages 7–11
• Blog: Not your typical books for boys
• Blog: How to build a girl

Understanding times tables is key to improving maths skills at primary school.

Mastering the times tables (or ‘multiplication tables’) up to 12 can be tricky, but getting to know them inside out is very worthwhile. A good knowledge of times tables will give your child a strong foundation for later maths development, improving their mental maths and boosting their confidence.

Luckily, there are lots of active and fun ways we can support our children. Here are some activities that I have found useful in helping my two primary-aged children learn times tables facts.

1. Ice cube and egg box arrays

AnÌýÌýis a group of shapes or objects arranged in rows and columns. Arrays are great for helping to visualise times tables and can be used for fun activities.Ìý You can use objects from around the house like egg boxes, ice cube trays, muffin tins, together with items like buttons or counters to help explore arrays.

For example, an egg box for a dozen eggs can be used to explore these facts:

• 2 × 6 = 12
• 6 × 2 = 12
• 12 ÷ 6 = 2
• 12 ÷ 2 = 6

Try asking questions like, ‘How many 2s are there in 12?’ or ‘How many groups of 6 can we make if we have 12 eggs?’. You could also useÌýarrays by:

• placing small items (such as raisins or pasta shapes) into even-numbered
• building arrays on paper with bingo dabbers
• finger painting or using corks dipped in paint.

2. Coin counting

Sanitise some 1p, 2p, 5p, and 10p coins (no more than 12 of each) and ask your child to separate them into piles.

Take it in turns to pick up a small number of the same coin. Estimate how much money you think you have and then count in groups to find the answer.ÌýHow close were you?

3. Playing card products

A bit of healthy competition between siblings or friends can be a great motivator for learning some of the trickier times tables! This game is most suitable for children aged 7–11, but can be adapted for younger children.

1. Take a pack of cards and remove the Kings and Jokers. In this game, Aces = 1, Jacks = 11, and Queens = 12.
2. Deal 6 cards to each player.
3. Each player places 1 card down at the same time, and then both players must multiply the cards together.
4. The winner of the hand is the player who says the correct product first (the ‘product’ is the name we give to the result when two numbers are multiplied together). The winner picks up the played cards.
5. When a player runs out of cards, they pick up 2 more from the spare pile.
6. The winner is the one with the most cards when the spare pile is empty.

If you want to adapt the game for children aged 5–7, take one of the 2s, 5s, or 10s and place it face up in the middle of the table. This is the times table you are practising.

Each player should work out the product of the card they put down and the card in the middle of the table, with the winner of each hand the player who gets their answer first.

4. Recipe scaling

To show older children how times tables help in a real-life context, look at recipes and scale up or down the quantities for more or fewer people.ÌýFor example:

A recipe makes 4 portions. Ask your child to work out what quantities would be needed for 2 people, or 8 people, or 20 people. They will need to multiply each quantity in the recipe by the same amount.

5. Multiplication bingo

Each player makes a 3 × 3 grid by drawing squares on a piece of paper. Within each of the 9 squares, each player writes answers from whichever times table you are focusing on in a random order. For example, if looking at the 8 times tables, each player would choose 9 answers from: 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 72, 80, 88, 96.

The caller thinks of a random calculation from the times table – for example, 7 × 8.ÌýIf the answer is on the player’s card, they cross it out.ÌýThe winner is the first person to cross out all their answers and shout ‘Bingo!’

There are lots of other games to explore which help with the learning of times tables, so remember to always keep an eye out for new ideas. Opportunities to practise maths skills are everywhere!

More from Oxford Owl

• Web page: Help with times tables
• Web page: The Year 4 multiplication tables check
• Blog: Times tables tips
• PDF:
• PDF:

We all want to teach our kids that money isn’t everything, but there’s no doubt that being ‘good with money’ will make their future lives a whole lot easier.

Handling coins and calculating with money in real-life situations outside the classroom can really help children see how important it is in daily life… and talking about money is the first step to great skills!

Read on to find out what your child will learn about money at school, and discover our top tips and activities to support their learning at home.

Please note: This advice was written before the lockdowns caused by coronavirus. Please take into account local government guidance on social distancing when trying these activities.

What do children learn at school?

In Reception, your child will use everyday language to talk about money.

During Years 1 and 2, your child will learn the different coins and notes, the symbols for pounds (£) and pence (p), and how to combine coins to make given amounts. They will solve money problems practically, adding and subtracting to give change.

In Years 3 to 6, your child will progress from making change by adding/subtracting pounds and pence separately to recording money using decimals (for example, ‘£1.52’ instead of ‘£1 and 52p’). This ‘£.p’ format is usually introduced in Year 4. Your childÌý will also solve money problems, including multiplying/dividing decimal amounts of money by whole numbers.

Activities to try at home

Here are some ideas for fun, practical activities to help develop your child’s understanding of money and boost their confidence using money in real life.

1. Set up shop

Playing shops at home is a wonderful way of introducing children to the idea of using money through creative play.

Together, decide what to sell – raid kitchen cupboards, toy boxes, or wardrobes to create different types of shop – and price up all the items with sticky notes. For younger children, set prices with penny amounts or whole pounds using numbers they can cope with. Use real or toy coins (or make coin rubbings with paper and crayons to create your own) and take turns to be shopper and shopkeeper.

Have younger children start by just buying one item and counting out the right coins to pay for it. Encourage older children to choose several items and work out totals and change.

Top Tip 1: More online shopping and contactless card or phone payments mean children often don’t see cash being used. Playing with real money can help them recognise different coins and their values.

2. Be super shoppers

How do you turn a supermarket shop with kids from frazzling to fun-filled? Playing money games that challenge them to be super shoppers might help!

Start by asking younger children to spot and read different prices. (Printing labels when weighing out fruit and veg is a great of providing non-round-number amounts.) As they learn to add amounts, ask your child to find, say, three items that total £5.

Encourage older children to calculate with money by finding the total of your shopping as you add new items to your basket/trolley. In larger supermarkets, handheld scanners offer a fun way to check, but a calculator on your phone works just as well for keeping track on the go. Or you could just challenge your child to see if their total matches the final amount at the checkout!

Top Tip 2: Decimal points in money amounts can be confusing, especially for younger children. Explain that the decimal point separates the pounds and pence, so £2.99 can be read as ‘Two pounds and ninety-nine pence’.

3. Manage a budget

‘Can I have an ice-cream? Will you buy me a new doll/car/dinosaur/hot-air balloon? Can we go to Disneyland, pleeeeease?!’

Even after children have learnt to calculate using money, they often have little sense of affordability! Involving your child in planning family celebrations, days out, or holidays (real or imaginary) can help them to understand the cost of items and activities. It might even encourage them to save for something they want!

Set a budget and research prices together. How much will it cost to get there? Is there a choice of ticket prices? What will lunch/drinks/snacks cost? How shall we divide the budget between party food, decorations, and presents? Don’t forget to talk about the difference between what they need and what they want!

Top Tip 3: When calculating with money, it can be helpful to convert amounts into pence first, before changing back to pounds and pence after the calculation. This helps your child keep track of where the decimal point should go. For example, to add £4.50 + £2.73, you could change the sum to 450p + 273p = 723p, which can then be turned into £7.23.

I hope these ideas have given you some inspiration for exploring money in a memorable way! Have fun!

More useful links

• :Ìýa national activity week in June for primary and secondary schools that provides young people the opportunity to gain skills, knowledge, and confidence in money matters.
• : resources for anyone teaching young people money management skills.
• :Ìýfun activities, games, and videos to help your child ‘get money savvy’.