Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary. Ballet Shoes, a Level 2 Reader, is A1+ in the CEFR framework. Sentences contain a maximum of two clauses, introducing the future tenses will and going to, present continuous for future meaning, and comparatives and superlatives. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear on most pages. Sisters Pauline, Petrova and Posy Fossil do not have parents, but they have a very kind uncle. The sisters learn to dance, act and sing at a dancing school. But soon they have no money. What will happen to them? Visit the Penguin Readers website Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys.

High kicks and low blows all round in this fantastic story about life at stage school, by the author of Ballet Shoes - perfect for young fans of TV shows like The Next Step and Stage School It's 1957 and Rachel and Hilary are sent to live with their ambitious aunt who runs a stage school, training a troupe of dancing girls. It's heaven for Hilary who loves to perform, but quite the opposite for quiet Rachel. The last thing Rachel wants is to become one of her aunt's Little Wonders - particularly if it means behaving like their irritating show-off of a cousin . . . A mischievous, fun and moving story about young performers, from the acclaimed author of the classic Ballet Shoes.

Margaret Thursday, the unforgettable heroine of Thursday's Child stars in this classic children's adventure from Noel Streatfeild, the beloved author of Ballet Shoes. When Margaret Thursday lands a role as a child actress at a well-known London theatre, becoming famous almost overnight, news of her success reaches her bitter enemy, the matron of her old orphanage. Margaret knows that Matron is set on revenge, but she keeps her head held high, focusing on the play. But Matron's evil plans are well prepared, and Margaret is going to need her wits about her - and the help of her friends - if she is to escape unharmed . . .

A thrilling, classic children's adventure with a courageous heroine, from the beloved author of Ballet Shoes. Margaret Thursday was named after the day she was found on the church steps as a baby. But she isn't really an orphan - each year a bag of gold coins is left at the church for her keep. However, when Margaret is eleven years old, the money suddenly stops and her guardians have no choice but to send her away to an orphanage. The orphanage is worse than they could have imagined. The children are poorly treated and barely fed, and fearless Margaret soon makes herself the enemy of the evil matron who runs it. Vowing to protect her new friends, Peter and Horatio, Margaret plans their daring escape . . . but she'll have to outwit Matron at every turn. Margaret's action-packed adventure, set in turn-of-the-century England, takes her from orphanage to canal boat to the world of the theatre. Through it all, Margaret is propelled by her unwavering sense of self and determination.

A thrilling and moving adventure story about evacuees in World War Two, perfect for readers of Goodnight Mister Tom 'A compelling heart-warming story about three children in the Second World War - I loved it.' Jacqueline Wilson When war breaks out in September 1939, Laura, Andy and Tim Clark are evacuated to the countryside. The Colonel's comfortable home in Dorset is a huge contrast to their cramped terraced house in London, where their loving parents struggle to put the next meal on the table. Though unused to having children around, the Colonel proves to be a kind and generous, if gruff, guardian until a terrible turn of events means the kids must move on. When they discover they are to live with Miss Justworthy, who is rumoured to feed her evacuees on cat food, Andy insists they can't risk staying. He persuades his sensible older sister and their little brother that they must run away, back to London and their mum. The children are shocked to see London now pitted with craters and ruined buildings. And no sooner have they stepped off the train than the skies are lit by searchlights and filled with the crack of bombs and the glow of fires. How will they be able to find their mum in the middle of an air raid? A brilliantly page-turning read from the author of Ballet Shoes, based on her own real-life experience in the Second World War. Perfect for any child interested in wartime and classic adventure stories.