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Find out moreLisa Rajan writes children’s books that raise aspiration, promote ambition and challenge gender stereotypes. She is the author of the Collins Big Cat Tara Binns titles, which introduce a range of STEM careers to a primary school audience through exciting adventure stories.
A scientist herself, Lisa has a BSc in Biotechnology and an MSc in Science Communication from Imperial College, London. She has worked in scientific research, scientific publishing and medical copywriting. She was an elected member on Southwark Council from 2002 to 2016, and was political lead for Environment and for Children’s Services between 2006 and 2010.
She is married with three children and lives in south London. In her spare time, she runs marathons dressed as Wonder Woman.
This exciting title in the Tara Binns mini- series is written by Lisa Rajan. Emerald/Band 15 books provide a widening range of genres including science fiction and biography, prompting more ways to respond to texts. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.
This exciting title in the Tara Binns mini-series is written by Lisa Rajan. Diamond/Band 17 books offer more complex, underlying themes to give opportunities for children to understand causes and points of view. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.
This exciting title in the Tara Binns mini series is written by Lisa Rajan. Sapphire/Band 16 books offer longer reads to develop children's sustained engagement with texts and are more complex syntactically. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.
Tara Binns never knows what will happen when she opens her old dressing up box in the attic. In this first of her anti-stereotypical adventures she suddenly finds herself the pilot of a jet plane flying high above the ocean and scarily responsible for the lives of passengers and crew. Luckily she is always accompanied on these adventures by Ayesha and Ortez who encourage her to have faith in her abilities and work through the problems ahead. Even a tropical storm and an emergency landing can be tackled by this quick witted heroine. Aimed at readers ready for longer chapters with more complex ideas and with a diverse and representative cast of characters this colourfully illustrated and engaging series is an excellent choice for the classroom or library. I can see that Tara Binns is all set to be the Mr Ben of this generation and this time we have a female role model! David McKee’s book and TV series no doubt inspired many boys in the 1980’s to reach for their dreams- whatever they may be. But as the WISE campaign for gender balance in STEM professions, which endorses this series from Collins Big Cat, tells us: only 8% of girls go on to study STEM subjects and only 22% of women are employed in STEM careers. Tara Binns could help to change that and inspire girls to open their eyes to their full potential! Each story in this book banded series has a reading guide at the back providing practical support and stimulating activity ideas. There is a full teaching guide and lesson plan available on the website https://collins.co.uk/pages/tara-binns and WISE are providing real life case studies for each of the careers featured. Double-quick Doctor and Big Idea Engineer are available now and 3 more STEM career titles will follow later in the year.
Tara Binns never knows what job her old dressing up box in the attic will chose for her. In this series of inspirational fast-paced adventures, she finds herself magically transported to a different setting and facing some tough responsibilities. In the A&E department she will need to think and act quickly to save lives. Luckily she is always accompanied on these adventures by Ayesha and Ortez who encourage her to have faith in her abilities and work alongside her. Even a deadly allergy can be averted by our problem solving heroine. Each title in this colourfully illustrated and engaging series progresses to another levelled book band offering more depth and detail to the story to keep young readers hooked and making this an excellent choice for the classroom or library. I can see that Tara Binns is all set to be the Mr Ben of this generation and this time we have a female role model! David McKee’s book and TV series no doubt inspired many boys in the 1980’s to reach for their dreams- whatever they may be. But as the WISE campaign for gender balance in STEM professions, which endorses this series from Collins Big Cat, tells us: only 8% of girls go on to study STEM subjects and only 22% of women are employed in STEM careers. Tara Binns could help to change that and inspire girls to open their eyes to their full potential! Each story in this book banded series has a reading guide at the back providing practical support and stimulating activity ideas. There is a full teaching guide and lesson plan available on the website https://collins.co.uk/pages/tara-binns and WISE are providing real life case studies for each of the careers featured. High-Flying Pilot and Big Idea Engineer are available now and 3 more STEM career titles will follow later in the year.
Tara comes up with a big safety idea, but can it save her own skin and can she prevent a fatal crash? The old dressing up box in the attic propels Tara Binns into a new job each time she lifts the lid. She never knows what challenges she will face and we can all enjoy finding out with her. Luckily she is always accompanied on these pacy adventures by Ayesha and Ortez who work alongside her and encourage faith in her own abilities. Her powers of deduction are really tested here by problems on the factory floor and inspire her to think like an engineer. She comes up with a design solution for personal protection, but can she act in time to avert a terrible accident? Each title in this colourfully illustrated, inclusive series progresses to another levelled book band offering more depth and engaging detail to develop readers’ thinking, inference and reasoning skills alongside this inspiring, anti- stereotypical heroine. An excellent choice for the classroom or library. I can see that Tara Binns is all set to be the Mr Ben of this generation and this time we have a female role model! David McKee’s book and TV series no doubt inspired many boys in the 1980’s to reach for their dreams- whatever they may be. But as the WISE campaign for gender balance in STEM professions, which endorses this series from Collins Big Cat, tells us: only 8% of girls go on to study STEM subjects and only 22% of women are employed in STEM careers. Tara Binns could help to change that and inspire girls to open their eyes to their full potential! Each story in this book banded series has a reading guide at the back providing practical support and stimulating activity ideas. There is a full teaching guide and lesson plan available on the website https://collins.co.uk/pages/tara-binns and WISE are providing real life case studies for each of the careers featured. High-Flying Pilot and Double-Quick Doctor are available now and 3 more STEM career titles will follow later in the year.
Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available. When Dani Binns opens up her toy box something exciting happens ... Dani Binns is a police officer! Several thefts have been reported at the town market - a silver bracelet, a set of keys, some coins, and a badge have all gone missing. But who has taken them? Dani and her fellow police officers, Asha and Tai, have their suspicions, but the clues seem to lead down a different path. Will Dani find the real culprit? This exciting title in the Dani Binns mini-series is written by Lisa Rajan. Lime/Band 11 books have longer sentence structures and a greater use of literary language. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.
Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available. When Dani Binns opens up her toy box something exciting happens ... Dani Binns finds herself on the substitutes' bench in a packed football stadium! It is the final game in the mixed teams National League Cup and, when a player gets injured, the Red team need Dani's help. How will she tackle being a footballer? Will she score the winning goal or let the team down? This exciting title in the Dani Binns mini-series is written by Lisa Rajan. White/Band 10 books have more complex sentences and figurative language. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.
Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available. When Dani Binns opens up her toy box something exciting happens ... Dani Binns is a farmer! When she goes to feed the animals on the farm, she discovers that they are mysteriously in the wrong pens. Chickens are in the horse's field, a horse is in the sheep pen ... and one sheep is missing! With everyone in a flap at the farm, can Dani restore order? This exciting title in the Dani Binns mini-series is written by Lisa Rajan. Purple/Band 8 books offer developing readers literary language, with some challenging vocabulary. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.
Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available. When Dani Binns opens up her toy box something exciting happens ... Dani Binns finds herself in the front cab of a train ... and she's the train driver! Asha, the other driver, and Tai, the conductor, show Dani how to work the train's controls and off they go ... until they come across something on the track ahead! Dani slams on the brakes and stops just in time to avoid hitting a herd of cows who have escaped from their field. With danger down the line, will Dani be able to get things back on track? This exciting title in the Dani Binns mini-series is written by Lisa Rajan. Gold/Band 9 books offer developing readers literary language and stories with distinctive characters. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.
Build your child's reading confidence at home with books at the right level Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available. When Dani Binns opens up her toy box something exciting happens ... Dani Binns is a firefighter! She finds herself in a fire engine, racing to the scene of a fire in a lighthouse. With no fire hydrant or water supply nearby, Dani and the team have to think fast. Can they keep their cool and save the lighthouse owner's kittens from the blaze? This exciting title in the Dani Binns mini-series is written by Lisa Rajan. White/Band 10 books have more complex sentences and figurative language. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.
Build your child's reading confidence at home with books at the right level Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available. When Dani Binns opens up her toy box something exciting happens ... Dani Binns is a paramedic! She finds herself in an ambulance speeding to the scene of an accident. A girl has fallen off a bike in the street and hurt herself. After an assessment by Dani and the team, she seems OK. But why did she fall off the bike in the first place... and who is this 'Benny' she keeps asking about? This exciting title in the Dani Binns mini-series is written by Lisa Rajan. Lime/Band 11 books have longer sentence structures and a greater use of literary language. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.
Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available. When Dani Binns opens up her toy box something exciting happens ... Dani Binns is a builder! The team are busy constructing a new development of houses when they hit a brick wall with the building plans. They need Dani's help, but how will she measure up? This exciting title in the Dani Binns mini-series is written by Lisa Rajan. Purple/Band 8 books offer developing readers literary language, with some challenging vocabulary. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.
Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available. When Dani Binns opens up her toy box something exciting happens ... Dani Binns finds herself in the bustling kitchen of a restaurant - and she's one of the chefs! When the sauce chef gets distracted and mixes up her ingredients, it's up to Dani to come up with a plan. Will she get a taste for working in a restaurant? This exciting title in the Dani Binns mini-series is written by Lisa Rajan. Gold/Band 9 books offer developing readers literary language and stories with distinctive characters. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.
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