• Meg and her mum go to the market with their donkey, but find that listening to everyone else’s advice along the way doesn’t always make for a smooth journey. This humorous fiction story is based on Aesop’s fable The Farmer, His Son and the Donkey and is written by Simon Puttock.
• Red B/Band 2B books offer simple but varied text with familiar objects and actions, combined with simple story development and a satisfying conclusion.
• Children can recap the journey of Meg, Mum and the donkey at the market on pages 14–15.
• Text type: A retelling of a traditional tale
• Curriculum links: Citizenship: Animals and us

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available.

Collins Big Cat is a whole-school reading programme that provides complete support for primary reading. Children will become fluent readers through hundreds of high-quality fiction and non-fiction banded books by award-winning authors and illustrators. In-depth teaching resources support you in developing and assessing key reading skills at all stages from early reading through to phonics, to guided, whole-class and independent reading for more confident readers.