Oxford Reading Tree Level 5 is the Pre 1 (Prep) reader of the Army Public Schools & Colleges System. It is a ‘4 Books in 1’ volume (four stories bound together), written by Roderick Hunt and illustrated by Alex Brychta, and marked ‘Supplementary Reading Material for Pre-Primary’. The cover shows a boy in a green shirt running across a yellow field. Available to order now for the 2027-28 session.
Level 5 is a step up from the Nursery reader (Level 3). The sentences are a little longer, the stories a little more adventurous, and the word list expects a child to sound out more unfamiliar words. This edition carries an Oxford University Press copyright of 2025.
What is inside (from the photographed first pages)
Like every reader, this book has a short guide for parents and teachers before the first story. Ours showed three sections:
- Before reading, ‘Talk together’: look at the title and cover, talk about what Biff is holding and ask why the key might be glowing, turn to page 3 and sound out the word ‘glowing’ (g-l-ow-i-ng), and look through the pictures.
- About the words in this book: words a child should be able to sound out and blend (by, house, magic, inside, glowing, smaller, bigger, slippers, mouse) and trickier words to read aloud with help (oh, looked, called, couldn’t, opened).
- During reading: remind the child to sound out and blend unfamiliar words from left to right, look for compound words such as ‘moonlight’, say the whole word if it is too tricky, and re-read sentences to focus on meaning.
The word list and the questions about a glowing key, together with the words smaller, bigger and mouse, point to a magic-key adventure.
Why Level 5 suits Pre 1
At around five years old, children are ready to move from ‘sounding out’ to reading short stories with confidence. Level 5 gives them four stories to practise this with, and compound words (moonlight, slippers) and word families teach them to spot parts of words, which also helps their spelling. The adult’s role is small but important: ask a question before reading, and celebrate when the child reads a long word.
Questions to ask after each story
Level 5 asks a little more of the reader, and a little more of the conversation. After each story, try these:
- What did Biff find, and why was it glowing? (The first guide page asks exactly this.)
- What was the strangest thing that happened in the story? Draw a picture of the best part.
- Find a long word made from two small words, like ‘moonlight’. What are the two words?
- Which words were bigger or smaller in the story, and why?
- What would you do if you found a magic key?
- Read your favourite page aloud to me, slowly, like a storyteller.
What changes from Nursery (Level 3) to Pre 1 (Level 5)
The Level 3 guide listed short, sound-out words such as ‘hat’ and ‘top’. At Level 5 the word list in this book has words like ‘house’, ‘magic’, ‘inside’, ‘slippers’ and ‘mouse’, and the guide introduces compound words (two words joined into one), which helps a child decode and spell. The child is expected to blend more words independently, and the adult steps in only when a word is truly tricky, saying the whole word rather than letting the child struggle.
Who, when and where
Whom: Pre 1 children at Army Public Schools. When: along with the English and Urdu books, and as bedtime reading. Where: in class, at home, on a journey. How: take turns reading a page each.
Frequently asked questions
What does ‘4 Books in 1’ mean?
It means four separate Level 5 stories are bound in one volume, which is cheaper and easier to carry than four small books.
Is it part of the school’s required list?
It is marked ‘Supplementary Reading Material’ for Army Public Schools. Check your school’s list and message us if you want to confirm the class.
Who wrote it?
Roderick Hunt wrote the stories and Alex Brychta illustrated them.
You can order Oxford Reading Tree Level 5 online today. We ship across Pakistan on Cash on Delivery, and families in Lahore can also pick it up from our shop. For overseas delivery (Gulf countries), message us on WhatsApp.
