"Oxford Reds" is our first major superseries for newly confident readers.

Each book is on a real-life subject, with a simple lively text and richly coloured, realistic illustrations.

Many are written by well- known children's writers. Each one is written by an author who communicates enthusiasm, passion and understanding for the subject.

Approved by educational experts, "Oxford Reds" contain clear type, simple sentence structures, information boxes, contents pages, alphabetical glossaries, and parents' and teacher's notes.

These books will appeal particularly to the beginner reader who prefers factual information to a story.

The series is planned to launch with 12 titles in 2000 followed by 8 per year.

Other subjects include: Sharks; Snakes; Frogs and Toads; Dogs; Rockets; Wolves; Dinosaurs; Spiders; Whales.

About the author: K. M. Peyton was brought up in the suburbs of London and now lives in a cottage on the Essex marshes with her husband.

They have two grown-up daughters. Kathleen began writing at school and was obsessed with horses from an early age.

She has had over thirty novels published, mainly for the teenage market, the most well-known of which is the "Flambards" series.The second volume of this series, "The Edge of the Cloud", won the Carnegie Medal and by 1969 the series was recognized as one of the major achievements in British fiction for young readers.

K. M. Peyton is an expert at plot construction and at holding her readers' attention.