It's lunchtime and the farmer's hungry, but his lunch box is empty! He turns to all the animals on his farm for help, the sheep, cows, horses and geese, but they are all being very secretive. Are they hiding his lunch, or a much bigger and better surprise? The delightful illustrations develop the text, providing lots of points for discussion.

This is a Band 01A/Pink A book in the Collins Big Cat reading programme which offers emergent readers very simple text supported by illustrations. This is a story with predictable structure and patterned language. A map of the farm showing all the animals on pages 14 and 15 helps children recap the main events of the story, and provides a wealth of speaking and listening opportunities. This story supports learning around personal, social and emotional development. For more guided reading books in this Collins Big Cat band, try Minibeasts (9780007185375) written by Siobhan Hardy and illustrated by Steve Lumb.

Paul Shipton is an award-winning children’s author. He published his first children’s book in 1991, (Zargon Zoo). He lives and works in Wisconsin, USA.