' 'That afternoon Tom and Lulu ate 127 chocolate raisins'. His first impressions are slightly favourable because she brings him sweets and a game and a stone 'shaped like a horse's head. Tom doesn't want anything to do with her and refuses to believe that she could be nice and kind and beautiful like dad says. He twigs that dad may make her his stepmother, and he knows all about stepmothers from the stories he's been told - they are horrid and mean and cruel - stepmonsters, in fact. Into this unusual menage, there comes Lulu, Tom's dad's new girlfriend, and Tom is horrified and seriously frightened. Book band: Gold.This brilliant little beginner reading book (a Blue Banana) is about Tom, an unusual lad with a liking for moles, manatees, and woodlice! He also has one blue eye and one green and a birthmark that looks like a bee on his bottom! He and his lovely dad live together, and he doesn't miss his mum much as she has run off to the circus. * Varied sentences * Detailed illustrations to enjoy * Chapters * Interesting characters and themes * A rich range of vocabulary * More complex storylines to stretch confident readers All Reading Ladder titles are developed with a leading literacy consultant, making them perfect for use in schools and for parents keen to support their children's reading. Level 3 Reading Ladder titles are perfect for fluent readers who are beginning to read exciting, challenging stories independently. It's the first step towards a lasting love of reading. It features well-loved authors, classic characters and favourite topics, so that children will find something to excite and engage them in every title they pick up. The Reading Ladder series helps children to enjoy learning to read. (She likes all of the same things that Tom does - manatees and moles and woodlice and playing Snap for hours.) But maybe that's just a clever disguise. (Her hair looks like it's been spun from gold.) And she might not act like a stepmonster.

They are StepMONSTERS! So when his dad's new friend Lulu comes to tea, Tom is convinced she will turn out to be a stepmonster. In fact, they aren't really stepmothers at all.

Tom knows all about stepmothers from the books he's read. A funny, poignant family story by bestselling author Joanna Nadin, perfect for children learning to read.

The Stepmonster by Joanna Nadin