@ Before reading It’s a good idea to talk with your child about a book before they read it © Look at the front and back covers together ~ these give clues to what the book is about. © Flick through the pages and look at the pictures. Talk about worms and composting. © Talk about the different types of food that you can compost. Encourage your child to read the book at their own pace. () Ambitious words Here are some ambitious words your child will read in this book wormery recycling centipede crocodile wriggling Australian escaped carnivoreobey ry . of the tipedeIn\this{story)... Farm helper | Sydney the centipedeMax, Cat, Ant and Tiger were at their local city farm. It had been a busy morning. Max and Cat went to get a drink at the café. Ant dragged Tiger the other way. “I’ve got something to show you,” Ant said.“Worms!” said Tiger. “Cool isn’t it?” replied Ant. He pointed to a glass wormery where there were lots of worms wriggling about. “You put waste food in and the worms eat it.” “What is so cool about that?” asked Tiger, puzzled.“It’s recycling,” said Ant. “They turn the food into compost.” “My grandad puts compost on his garden,” Tiger told him. “He says it helps the plants grow.”Ant pressed his face against the glass. “IT want to have a look at the worm eggs,” he said. “I wish | could shrink.” Ant’s watch had gone wrong earlier that day. He did not want to risk shrinking until he had fixed it.— Then Ant had an idea. “Your watch is working,” he said to Tiger. “You could go in and get a worm egg for me.” Tiger backed away. Ant grinned. ‘“You’re not scared are you?” he asked. “No!” snorted Tiger. “Go on, Tiger. Please!” said Ant. In the end Tiger agreed.Tiger turned the dial on his watch and ... Ant picked Tiger up. He opened the hatch on the wormery. He was about to put Tiger in when he heard a voice behind him.Ant turned around. It was one of the farm helpers. “Have you seen Sydney?” she asked. “Sydney?” said Ant. “He’s a giant Australian centipede. He’s escaped.” “No, I’ve not seen him,” said Ant. “But | will tell you if | do.” The woman thanked him and walked away. y“Phew!” said Ant, putting Tiger down. “That was close.” Tiger jumped inside the wormery. He landed on the earth with a thump. He got to his feet and looked », round. There were lots of worms. They seemed as big as snakes. —Tiger soon found some worm eggs. He was about to pick one up when something came crashing through the waste food. Tiger spun round. towards him. It was as big | | A centipede was coming — | as a crocodile!Ant had his face pressed up to the glass. He looked scared. “What's the matter with Ant?” thought Tiger. “It’s only a centipede. It won’t hurt me!” But Ant knew that centipedes were carnivores. That meant they ate meat. Tiger would be a tasty dinner!‘ 3 The lid was firmly fixed down on the wormery and the hatch was too small for Ant to put his hand in. He took a pencil out of his pocket. He began to write a note. Tiger watched him. “Car!” Tiger exclaimed. “Ant must be joking. There are no cars in here.”Ant finished the note. “Carnivore!” read Tiger in alarm. He turned and stared up into Sydney’s open mouth. He looked at Sydney’s sharp pincers. “Help!” he yelled. MPPTiger dived to one side just in time. The centipede snapped its pincers together angrily. Tiger scrambled towards the hatch. The centipede was close behind. “I’m not going to make it!” he yelped. visTiger grabbed a piece of orange peel and turned to face his attacker. Sydney lunged at him. Tiger held up the orange peel like a shield. Sydney sunk his teeth into it and ripped it out of Tiger’s hand.Tiger picked up an apple stalk. He held it in front of him. The hungry centipede snapped it in two. Tiger backed into the corner. yiTiger was right under the hatch. But it was too far above his head for him to reach. { Ant had to find a way of helping his friend.He felt inside his pockets. He found his tape measure. That was it! He pulled the end of the tape measure out of its case. He hung it down inside the wormery. %The centipede towered over Tiger. “I’m dinner!” thought Tiger. Suddenly the tape measure appeared next to him. He looked up and saw Ant.Ant went to tell the farm helper about Sydney. Tiger quickly grew back to normal size. Soon Sydney was back in his tank. Tiger and the worms were safe.“Come on,” said Tiger. “Let’s go and tell Max and Cat about our adventure.” “Your adventure, you mean!” said Ant. “I’m sorry | made you go and look for a worm egg. I’m sorry | put you in danger.” “Don’t worry,” said Tiger, smiling at his friend. “I managed to wriggle out of it,” he laughed.TJoke\page... What goes 99-clonk, 99-clonk, 99-clonk? ) A centipede with a wooden leg! ) Why was the centipede dropped from the insect football team? He took too long to put his boots on! ) What do you call a guard with 100 legs? ) A sentrypede! ) What do you get if you cross a worm with an elephant? Very big holes in your garden! ) What reads and lives in an apple? J ‘ A bookworm! )e After reading Talk with your child about the book after reading. Here are some questions you could ask © Why couldn’t Ant shrink to micro-size? © How did Sydney get into the wormery? © How did Tiger escape? © Did you like the book? Why or why not? Encourage your child to read the story again. This will build their reading confidence and reading fluency © Other things to do If your child wants to, they could draw a scene from their favourite part in the story. Or they could design a composting poster which shows what you can and can’t compost. OXFORD ‘UNIVERSITY PRESS is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Text and illustrations © Oxford University Press 2010 The moral rights of the authors, Jan Burchett and Sara Vogler, have been asserted. ‘Tony Bradman is hereby acknowledged as the lead author of all the character books in Project X. Mustrations by Jonatronix Ltd, Senior Art Director Jon Stuart, 3D artist Sean Frisby Project K concept by Rod Theodorou and Emma Lynch First published 2010 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, ‘without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, ISBN: 978-0-19:847732-7 13579108642 Printed in China by Hing Yip Paper used in the production of this book is a natural, recyclable product made fom wood grown in sustainable forests, The manufacturing process conforms to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.Attack of the Centipede Tiger shrinks to micro-size to explore a wormery. But a giant Centipede is on the loose. Will Tiger escape? Cle RUCK Ca slice Oe Nei) ONGC ra Lt Treat * Dangerous Creatures arate}