Release Notes: 18th September - New Library Titles

This incredible collection features four captivating folktales, each hailing from a distinct corner of the globe. Learners can immerse themselves in the rich tapestry of storytelling traditions as they delve into these riveting fiction narratives, skilfully crafted to honour the essence of their cultural origins.

As with all of our Library books, this new cluster of topics, 'So the Story Goes', doesn't shy away from intellectual challenges. It introduces challenging academic vocabulary whilst also using words encountered in other Bedrock Vocabulary blocks. Moreover, these tales offer a unique opportunity for learners to expand their cultural capital, opening doors to diverse perspectives from around the world.

To make the learning experience even more enriching, we've seamlessly woven in the essential grammar features found in the Bedrock Grammar curriculum throughout the topic prose. This way, learners will encounter these crucial language elements in their natural context, enhancing their grasp of grammar organically.

Prepare for learners to be captivated, challenged, and inspired by 'So the Story Goes.' Their learning adventure awaits!

This book tells the story of a poor man whose gift of a single lemon (as all that he can afford) to a King changes his life. His example is then followed by a rich merchant who is punished for attempting to copy him without consideration of his own privilege. Our version of the tale plays with an unreliable narrator - it is told by the second man who has realised the error of his ways.

Featured vocabulary includes:

• Quell
• Adequate
• Percolate
• Hardship (from Bedrock Vocabulary Block 5)
• Debacle (from Bedrock Vocabulary Block 11)

This book tells the story of Ivan, a Russian teenage boy who learns to speak and understand the language of the birds, and uses this knowledge to overcome challenges and eventually rise to royalty. He is abandoned by his parents due to a prophecy from a crow, which is then fulfilled at the end of the story where he takes in his poor father.

Featured vocabulary includes:

• Forthcoming
• Devastation
• Rescind
• Trepidation (from Bedrock Vocabulary Block 9)
• Ambition (from Bedrock Vocabulary Block 4)

This book narrates the story of Goorialla, which is an Australian Aboriginal Dreaming creation story. The story follows a giant snake-like creature who changed the earth from a desert, creating mountains, lakes and rivers, and animals. When a storm comes, some people shelter in his mouth, and he accidentally eats them. To make amends, he creates the first rainbow as a gift. Our version of the story has a frame narrative of a woman telling the story to her nephew - this is a tribute to the original being an oral tradition.

Featured vocabulary includes:

• Didactic
• Evocative
• Representative
• Abhor (from Bedrock Vocabulary Block 10)
• Envision (from Bedrock Vocabulary Block 7)

This book retells an Argentinian legend set in the 1500s, during the Spanish colonisation of parts of South America. In search of food, a Spanish girl leaves her camp, which is under siege from the Indigenous people. She befriends a puma, joins the Indigenous camp, and is then brought back to her home settlement, where she is punished for leaving. She is sentenced to death by starving, but saved by the puma who has been feeding her.

Featured vocabulary includes:

• Opine
• Cower
• Policy
• Demonise (from Bedrock Vocabulary Block 5)
• Subversive (from Bedrock Vocabulary Block 12)