Gross OMG (Old Mrs Gross): dyslexia friendly (original title: 'Gross Party Games')

Andrew Ashcroft is best known for the Gross series of stories. These stories feature a small monster, Mr Gross, and describe how he helps the people of Grimeton out of different predicaments. Being Gross by name and by nature, Mr Gross' solutions are always delightfully disgusting.

These stories were written with younger school-aged children in mind. They are fun to read aloud and listen to, using a rich but simple language. They are also written in short chapters with a generous use of illustration. The font used is sans serif and one version of each book is printed on cream-coloured paper, the intention to make it more readable for readers with dyslexia.

Having been a teacher of children aged 6 to 16 and having an interest in their special needs, Andrew Ashcroft's background has helped to form these stories. Another factor is that he still hasn't matured much beyond his target audience so he knows what they like.

He lives with his wife, three sons and two guinea pigs and dreams up new stories as he scrapes, hammers and paints their big old seaside house.

Andrew has also compiled a survival kit for anyone making Christmas crafts with children. It is called Christmas! Basic Photocopiable Christmas Crafts For Kids

Find out more on andrewashcroft.net

Facebook: facebook.com/natterjack.gross