Collins Arabic Big Cat is a guided reading series for ages 3 to 11. The series is structured with reference to the learning progression of Arabic at nursery and primary schools researched especially for Collins. This carefully graded approach allows children to build up their reading knowledge of Arabic step by step.

Level 8 books are becoming more complex, although still strongly patterned but to a lesser extent than level 7. Although the focus remains on vowelling to aid the flow of reading with verbal sentences of up to 8-10 words, level 8 books have more events and episodes, fewer repeated patterns, and more complex vocabulary. Non-fiction titles use non-fiction tools – including signs, labels, captions and diagrams – where necessary. Double spacing is used between words to ensure children see where each new word in a sentence begins and ends. Books contain between 90 and 170 words.

Jabir bin Hayyan lived in Kufa and Damascus about a hundred years after the birth of Islam. Find out about his life and work and why he is called ‘the father of chemistry’.