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We appreciate that you will probably have much better things to do than read this right now. You'll be focussing on the immediate needs of your pupils and their families, as well as reeling from the changing situation as we all are.

Badger Learning have been supporting teachers and inspiring children for 30 years, and we truly hope to continue supporting you for many more. We whole-heartedly believe that reading is a vital life skill, and we know children that read for pleasure do better in life, have better mental health and bigger aspirations. The ability to escape into a different world full of magic and wonder is certainly one of the coping mechanisms we’re using right now, as well as reminding us that we are not alone.

When things do settle down a bit, and they will, we wanted to let you know we are still here. Our office staff are moving to home working and this will help to allow our warehouse team more space to spread out and use social distancing strategies. We

 “We need to live in a culture that values, respects, looks up to and idolizes women as much as men.” Emma Watson

Happy International Women’s Day! March the 8^th is a day for celebrating the many achievements of women across the globe. It is also a day to highlight issues that still need to be solved in order to accomplish equality. The #IWD2020 theme is #EachforEqual, calling for each of us to take control of our actions and be held accountable in a world where “we can actively choose to challenge stereotypes, fight bias, broaden perceptions, improve situations and celebrate women's achievements.”

2019 felt like a mixture of achievements and failures for women’s rights. Whilst Saudi Arabia granted women the right to drive without a male chaperone, Turkey announced the ‘marry-your-rapist’ law. In Finland women dominated the top political spots, including the youngest Prime Minister ever elected, yet the 2020 Sex and Power Index from the Fawcett

Climate conversations are never simple, with many people finding it hard to visualise a world of climate chaos or simply refusing to do so. That is why discussions through literature are so important – they bring the pandemonium to life and aid in envisaging a ravaged world, unlike anything we have seen before.

It feels like we are approaching the Golden Age of Young Adult ‘cli-fi’ (climate change fiction). Our worldwide news is constantly awash with ecological disasters and the beginning of 2020 has been no different with the devastating bush fires in Australia horrifying people all over the world. Although gaining popularity, very few ‘cli-fi’ novels actually deal directly with climate change but rather discuss the after-effects. Our No Planet B collection strives to raise awareness of the irreversible damage we are causing, a collection to shock but also to inspire – books that act as literary catalysts.

No Planet B contains various ecological dystopias,

FREE PHOTOCOPIABLE GUIDED READING NOTES, one for each year group from Year 1 to Year 6.

If you are looking for resources to send home with pupils these FREE guided reading teacher notes may be a great help. Although originally designed for teachers and teaching assistants, these photocopiable lesson plans are easy to follow and can be used by parents and pupils as a home-learning resource. Available to download now, the Enjoy Guided Reading range of teacher books has earned its reputation for providing quality lessons and positive learning outcomes. These free resources are just a few of our extensive range of individual guided reading lesson plans available to download for just £7.50 per resource. Children will need the original book, which is why our huge range of pick and mix resources is ideal to complement well-known books in home or school libraries.

Each resource includes:

• Chapter-by-chapter

Appearances can be deceiving. In a judgemental world, can your students see Two Sides?

"The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organisation but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights."
Gloria Steinem

I want to start this blog post by celebrating all that women have achieved over the past year. 2017 was a big year for activism and speaking out against sexism which has led to powerful movements fuelling change, such as #TimesUp and #MeToo. This has given many women the courage to speak out against sexual misconduct across various industries. 2017 also saw a big push in promoting women in STEM, more female politicians on the world's stage than ever before, as well as F1's banishment of grid girls.
Despite all of this progress, we are still a long way from accomplishing the original aim of IWD, which is to achieve gender equality. Current statistics show that the gender gap will not close until 2186, women are five times more likely to be sexually assaulted than a man, and

Roll up, roll up! Boys and girls… take your seats… come and see what the Big Top of Horrors has in store…

This April we publish a new horror series specifically for struggling and reluctant readers of secondary school age. The six titles have been written by accomplished and well-respected authors, who, under the guidance of children’s literacy consultant, Dee Reid, have ensured that the vocabulary and sentence structure are accessible for very low level readers — without compromising the exciting plot lines and complex characters that classically appeal to teenagers.

With an interest age of 12+ and a word count of 400–600, these gruesome quick reads are perfect to inject fresh, new titles into your resources for struggling teenage readers. Each 32-page title has eye-catching illustrations by talented illustrators Abby Ryder and Szabolcs Pal, helping to keep the attention of the reader.

Here’s a sneaky peek at the titles

What could possibly be causing the green glow from the new purple bins in Strange Town?

Logan, Eva and Otis are used to bizarre and unusual things happening in their town, but this is new!

Logan is woken by his Mum and told to take out the rubbish. A new bin has appeared at the end of their driveway. New bins have been given to everyone on the street. Has the council left yet another bin for recycling or has it come from elsewhere?

This entertaining new series has been carefully written to appeal to children aged 9-12 with a reading age of 7-8. Rubbish Invasion is one of eight titles in Danny Pearson's new series, Strange Town, and features a general introduction to ensure each title can be read as a standalone novel, a map to help the reader picture the world of Strange Town, and a page highlighting any difficult vocabulary.

Danny Pearson's imaginative and humorous new series, Strange Town, is now available!

This fantastic series consisting of eight titles, written specifically for reluctant readers, will captivate and engage 9-12 year olds who have a lower reading age of 7-8. With no more than 1,600 words and the look and feel of a real book, these colourful titles will have your pupils asking for the next one before they have finished the last one!

Best friends Logan and Eva along with Otis the dog, otherwise known as the Strange Town crew, are running late on Match Day. It had taken Eva ages to find her Strange Town F.C. scarf!

As they approach the stadium, they can see a beautiful rainbow that seems rather curiously to be coming from inside the venue itself.