A superb adaptation of Dorothy's adventures for newly independent readers. Frank L. Baum's classic has been specially adapted for this wonderful, fully illustrated edition at the highest level of the Reading Programme. Enjoy Dorothy's journey in Oz, as she travels along the yellow brick road with the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion, before coming safely home again.
Mary Sebag-Montefiore Book order (chronological)






'I had sent my heroine straight down a rabbit-hole without the least idea what was to happen afterwards,' wrote Dodgson, describing how Alice was conjured up one 'golden afternoon' in 1862 to entertain his child-friend Alice Liddell. In the nonsensical Wonderland and the back-to-front Looking-Glass kingdom, order is turned upside-down: a baby turns into a pig; time is abandoned at a tea-party; and a chaotic game of chess makes a 7-year-old a Queen.
Complete Jane Austen
- 400 pages
- 14 hours of reading
This beautifully illustrated collection contains all of Jane Austen's novels retold for young readers, including Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park, with notes on the characters and quotations from the original text. With links to websites to find out more about Jane Austen's life and times.
As soon as Anne Shirley arrived at the snug, white farmhouse called Green Gables, she knew she wanted to stay forever...but would the Cuthberts send her back to the orphanage? Anne knows she's not what they expected--a skinny girl with decidedly red hair and a temper to match. If only she could convince them to let her stay, she'd try very hard not to keep rushing headlong into scrapes or blurt out the very first thing she had to say. Anne was not like anybody else, everyone at Green Gables agreed; she was special--a girl with an enormous imagination. This orphan girl dreamed of the day when she could call herself Anne of Green Gables.
Fairy Tale Library 1-5
- 48 pages
- 2 hours of reading
Five well-known fairy tales retold for young children and presented in a boxed 'Little Red Riding Hood', 'The Elves and the Shoemaker', 'Puss in Boots', 'Jack and the Beanstalk' and 'Cinderella'. Each book is designed and illustrated in a traditional style, bound as a cloth-covered hardback and finished with a ribbon page marker.
War and Peace
- 64 pages
- 3 hours of reading
Leo Tolstoy's epic Russian classic, retold in just 64 pages. First published in 1869, this novel is one of the most famous books in the world, and this simple but atmospheric retelling now makes it accessible for young readers. Set in Russia following the French invasion of Russia in 1812, as the Tsarist regime is succeeded by the Napoleonic era. A concise introduction to what is widely regarded as one of the greatest works of literature ever written. The Usborne Reading Programme is a collection of over 300 reading books, graded in seven levels. Developed with reading experts. Series Three books are for fully confident readers who still need to gain the stamina needed for standard length books. They use advanced sentence structure and vocabulary and have more complex plots with subplots than the level below.
The Magic Wishbone
- 48 pages
- 2 hours of reading
A king and queen have fallen on hard times - but then their eldest daughter is given a magic wishbone. Can this improve their fortunes? A magical retelling of a Charles Dickens' fairytale, specially written for children who have just started reading alone and developed in conjunction with a reading expert from Roehampton University.
A Victorian governess's love for her mysterious employer is threatened by the tragic secret of his mansion.
Don Quixote
- 64 pages
- 3 hours of reading
A new title in Young Reading Series Three, which is aimed at children whose reading ability and confidence allows them to tackle longer and more complex stories. The classic story of misadventure by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra retold for children ready to tackle longer and more complex stories. Don Quixote thinks he's a knight, just like in the days of old - he even has a squire. Of course, these days, there are no dragons to fight, but a thing like that doesn't stop him, as he drags his squire on one madcap adventure after another… Part of the Usborne Reading Programme developed with reading experts at the University of Roehampton.
The Story of Heidi
- 24 pages
- 1 hour of reading
When Heidi's Aunt Dete gets a new job in Frankfurt she takes Heidi up the mountains and leaves her with her grandfather who is not at all thrilled about having Heidi live with him. Just as Heidi and her Grandfather have become happy living together, Aunt Dete returns, wanting to take Heidi back to Frankfurt to be company for a rich little girl who is sick.
Black Beauty
- 208 pages
- 8 hours of reading
A horse in nineteenth-century England recounts his experiences with both good and bad masters.
When their father is taken away by strangers, the lives of three children are altered forever. They move with their mother to a cottage by a railway. The railway becomes their playground, and they befriend the rail workers and passengers who eventually help to reunite them with their father.
Oliver Twist
- 416 pages
- 15 hours of reading
Oliver Twist's famous cry of the heart — "Please, sir, I want some more" — has resounded with generations of readers of all ages. The author poured his own youthful experience of Victorian London's unspeakable squalor into this realistic depiction of a spirited young innocent's unwilling but inevitable recruitment into a scabrous gang of thieves. Masterminded by the loathsome Fagin, the underworld crew features some of Dickens's most memorable characters, including the vicious Bill Sikes, gentle Nancy, and the juvenile pickpocket known as the Artful Dodger.






