April 16, 2015
Congratulations to Ransom Publishing, which is celebrating its 20 anniversary this month! For the past two decades, Ransom has been publishing books specifically written for struggling readers. One of the leading providers of “Hi/Lo” books – those with a high interest level but low reading level – Ransom’s titles are often among the most popular AR quizzes.
Special offer on AR book packs
To celebrate their anniversary, Ransom Publishing is offering Renaissance Learning customer schools a 30% discount on four Accelerated Reader book packs.
- Pack 1 AR100 includes 25 books suitable for pupils in Years 1-6 with a ZPD below 3.0
- Pack 2 AR200 includes 25 books suitable for pupils in Years 1-6 with a ZPD between 3.0 and 6.0
- Pack 3 AR300 includes 25 books suitable for students in Years 7-11 with a ZPD below 2.5
- Pack 4 AR400 includes 25 books suitable for students in Years 7-11 with a ZPD between 2.5 and 4.5
Each pack is priced at £99.99, a saving of £50. They are also available as eBooks from RM Books.
Books in the packs are a good mix from across the Ransom series including Boffin Boy, Toxic, Siti’s Sisters, Thunderbolts, Trailblazers, Zone 13, Starstruck, 321 Go!, PIG, Spook Squad, Dark Man, Steve Sharp, Vampire Dawn and Shades 2.0. Titles in each pack are all appropriate for the year groups specified.
Browse the available packs and order online at ransom.co.uk/SpecialOffers.html or call 01730 829091.
Top 20 most-quizzed Ransom titles
Nearly 300 of Ransom’s books have AR quizzes available, with more being added periodically. New quiz releases are published on the Monthly Quiz List, which is available to download in PDF and Excel format, so be sure to check back each month to browse all the latest releases.
When it comes to selecting books from Ransom, though, which ones are most popular with students?
To find out, we have drawn together a list of the top 20 most popular AR quizzes on Ransom books. We’ve totted up the number of times each Ransom quiz has been taken this academic year to date, revealing the books that students are reading most often.
The results are very revealing. The most consistently popular books are from David Orme’s Boffin Boy series. These books regularly feature in our annual What Kids Are Reading report, in the tables of quizzes struggling readers take most often, so it’s no surprise to see them featuring so strongly among Ransom’s titles.
Barbara Catchpole’s Pig books also receive a few mentions, proving how quickly a relatively new series can gain in popularity. Also featured in the top 20 list are two titles in the Dark Man series that helped to establish Ransom as a leading player in the struggling reader market. Interestingly, just one non-fiction book (Football by David Orme) makes the list.
| Rank | Quiz # | Title | Name | Points | IL | BL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 211509 | Boffin Boy and the Forest of the Ninja | David Orme | 0.5 | MY | 2.5 |
| 2 | 223020 | Pig and the Talking Poo | Barbara Catchpole | 0.5 | MY | 3.6 |
| 3 | 210235 | Boffin Boy and the Wizard of Edo | David Orme | 0.5 | MY | 2.5 |
| 4 | 211513 | Boffin Boy and the Temples of Mars | David Orme | 0.5 | MY | 2.3 |
| 5 | 210232 | Boffin Boy and the Monsters from the Deep | David Orme | 0.5 | MY | 2.3 |
| 6 | 211512 | Boffin Boy and the Rock Men | David Orme | 0.5 | MY | 2.2 |
| 7 | 210231 | Boffin Boy and the Lost City | David Orme | 0.5 | MY | 2.3 |
| 8 | 211510 | Boffin Boy and the Ice Caves of Pluto | David Orme | 0.5 | MY | 2.6 |
| 9 | 211511 | Boffin Boy and the Quest for Wisdom | David Orme | 0.5 | MY | 2.8 |
| 10 | 210234 | Boffin Boy and the Time Warriors | David Orme | 0.5 | MY | 2.6 |
| 11 | 211508 | Boffin Boy and the Deadly Swarm | David Orme | 0.5 | MY | 2.3 |
| 12 | 210230 | Boffin Boy and the Invaders from Space | David Orme | 0.5 | MY | 2.5 |
| 13 | 208709 | Football | David Orme | 0.5 | MY | 3.1 |
| 14 | 210233 | Boffin Boy and the Red Wolf | David Orme | 0.5 | MY | 2.3 |
| 15 | 223018 | Pig and the Fancy Pants | Barbara Catchpole | 0.5 | MY | 3.6 |
| 16 | 208003 | The Dark Never Hides | Peter Lancett | 0.5 | UY | 1.7 |
| 17 | 223022 | Pig Plays Cupid | Barbara Catchpole | 0.5 | MY | 3.7 |
| 18 | 225680 | Boffin Boy Goes to Hollywood | David Orme | 0.5 | MY | 2.2 |
| 19 | 223023 | Pig Saves the Day | Barbara Catchpole | 0.5 | MY | 3.3 |
| 20 | 208510 | The Dark Glass | Peter Lancett | 0.5 | UY | 2.4 |