Oh Bella! by Lauri Kubuitsile (illustrated by Steve Brown, as credited on the cover) is a Yellow band reader in Cambridge Reading Adventures, used for Class 1 at Lahore Grammar School (LGS). The cover shows a small brown bear in yellow dungarees, drenched by a bucket of water tipping over her head, beside a flowerpot and a table with a red polka-dot cloth.
Bella wants to help. The trouble is that every time she helps, something goes wrong. In the 2027-28 session, this is a book that children laugh at and parents recognise, and it gives Class 1 readers plenty to practise with: a repeated question, an exclamation, and a change of mood from page to page.
What happens in the book
According to the teaching notes, Bella really wants to help but her efforts cause more trouble. Building over a series of events, Bella finally finds something she can do to help. Some repetition supports reading for expression, and the sentence structures change as the story builds, which encourages careful attention to print detail. Punctuation aids expression and reading for meaning.
On pages 2 and 3, Bella is watching her sister Tessa carry the water; Bella wants to carry water too. She likes helping, but look what happens! On page 4, the clothes line is too high and she cannot reach it. The words ‘let’, ‘help’ and ‘drop’ are good phonically decodable practice, ‘asked’ is introduced in the repeated question ‘Can I help you?’, and verbs ending in ‘ing’ such as ‘hanging’ and ‘helping’ are spelled with the same ending.
What your child learns from it
The publisher’s teaching notes list these learning outcomes. A child who reads this book can:
- read more challenging texts using phonic knowledge along with automatic recognition of high-frequency words;
- take more note of punctuation to support the use of grammar and oral language rhythms;
- comment on events, characters and ideas, making imaginative links to their own experience.
How to read it together at home
The guided reading lesson printed in the book gives a simple routine you can follow:
- Give your child the book and read the title. Ask why the book might be called ‘Oh Bella!’, and point out the exclamation mark.
- Explain: when someone says ‘Oh!’ it could mean something has gone wrong.
- Say: in this book Bella really wants to help but things keep going wrong. Everybody gets fed up with her. But in the end she finds something she can do to help.
- Ask your child to turn to the title page and read ‘Oh Bella!’ again, with expression.
- On pages 2 and 3, point to the word ‘Tessa’, and ask your child to read what Mama said, just as Mama would say it.
Fun learning links beyond the book
For PSHE, link the book to people who help us, and talk about family relationships: why didn’t Bella’s family want her to help? For science, Bella waters her plant every day. What would happen if she forgot to water it, or watered it too much? Plant a bean in a cup and try both ways.
About the Yellow band
Yellow band books ask a young reader to track print mostly with their eyes, to use punctuation and to meet short non-fiction and fiction texts with a little more variety in sentence structure.
Who, when, where and why
Whom: Class 1 children (about six years old). When: during the 2027-28 session. Where: at school and at home. Why: to practise expressive reading and to talk about helping, patience and family. Most LGS campuses use the same books, though a few follow their own list in some subjects. Tell us your child’s campus on WhatsApp and we will check before the parcel leaves.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Bella?
A little bear who wants to help but keeps causing trouble.
Who illustrated it?
Steve Brown is credited on the cover.
What band is it?
Yellow band.
Buy Oh Bella! 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.
