At the Market by Alison Hawes is a Cambridge Reading Adventures reader for Nursery at Lahore Grammar School (LGS). On the cover, drawn by Ley Honor Roberts, a boy in a yellow T-shirt and blue shorts walks hand in hand with a woman through a crowded market. Piles of bananas and oranges, baskets of vegetables and bright umbrellas fill the picture.
Every Pakistani child knows the sound and smell of a bazaar, so the scene is instantly familiar. For the 2027-28 session, this is a book your child can read with their eyes on the pictures and their finger on the words, and then talk about for days afterwards.
What we know about the book
According to the publisher’s listing, At the Market (ISBN 9781107549937) is a 16-page book from Cambridge University Press, published in 2016, with full teaching support included. The cover of this copy carries the Cambridge Education Press logo and a Blue band label; the publisher’s listing for the earlier edition shows it as Pink B band, so you may see it described either way.
We have not photographed the teaching-notes page for this title, so we will not guess the exact words on each page. What the cover and title tell us is the theme: a market visit with a parent, which is a perfect Nursery topic because it connects reading to food words, colours, counting and shopping.
What your child learns from it
The publisher’s teaching notes list these learning outcomes. A child who reads this book can:
- see that print carries a message and is read from left to right (the first lesson of every Cambridge Reading Adventures book);
- link words to pictures, in this case the foods and objects of a market;
- build market and food vocabulary: fruit, vegetables, stalls, bags and baskets;
- practise talking about a familiar outing in full sentences, with a parent asking questions.
How to read it together at home
The guided reading lesson printed in the book gives a simple routine you can follow:
- Look at the cover first. Ask: where are they? What do you see? Which fruit do you like?
- Read the title aloud and point to each word.
- Turn the pages slowly; let your child point to what they know before you read the words.
- After the book, visit a real shop or market and name the fruits together.
- Ask your child to ‘be the shopkeeper’ and sell you three things.
Fun learning links beyond the book
A market is a ready-made maths lesson: count the oranges, compare big and small, sort fruit by colour. It is also a language lesson, so a trip to the sabzi mandi with a bag and a list is one of the best follow-up activities.
About the Blue band
Blue band sits in the middle of the Cambridge Reading Adventures ladder. At this level the teaching notes expect a child to follow longer lines of text, handle speech punctuation and recognise more words by sight.
Who, when, where and why
Whom: Nursery children (about four years old) and the adults who read with them. When: during the 2027-28 session, at school and at bedtime. Where: on the sofa, in the car and in the market itself. Why: to turn a familiar outing into reading practice. Lahore Grammar School campuses follow almost the same book list, but a few campuses use their own list for some subjects. Send us your child’s campus on WhatsApp and we confirm the title before we dispatch.
Frequently asked questions
Is it Pink B or Blue band?
The publisher’s earlier listing shows Pink B band; the cover of our copy is labelled Blue band.
Who wrote it?
Alison Hawes, with illustrations credited on the cover to Ley Honor Roberts.
How long is it?
16 pages, according to the publisher.
Buy At the Market from us online and pay when it reaches your door (Cash on Delivery, all over Pakistan). We also ship prepaid orders to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.
