Adrian Bradbury was born in Manchester and worked as a PE teacher before moving overseas to teach English in Europe, the Middle East and Far East. After returning to England he worked as Deputy Head in three schools and now divides his time between teaching and writing. As well as writing educational materials for HarperCollins and other publishers, he also writes humorous football books for children. His hobbies include playing the piano and all sports.
Collins Big Cat is a guided reading series for ages 4--7 edited by Cliff Moon. Top children's authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that your children will love to read, banded to help you choose the right book for every child. Practical teaching notes are included at the back of each book. Far, far away, in deep, dark space, was a star. From far way, that star was just a tiny twinkle. But it was Star Boy's home. Star Boy lived there all alone, with only his robot, Ace, for company. And although Ace was fun to play with, he was just a robot. For his birthday, all Star Boy wanted was a surprise - but how could a robot think of a surprise? This deceptively simple science fiction story explores ideas of friendship and understanding. The storyboard on pp 14-15 offers children the opportunity to recap and retell the story in their own words.

