Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises , the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content . The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning ( CEFR ). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary. Ashes in the Snow, a Level 5 Reader, is B1 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to four clauses, introducing present perfect continuous, past perfect, reported speech and second conditional.

It is well supported by illustrations, which appear regularly. Ashes in the Snow follows fifteen-year-old Lina Vilkas as she's taken from her home in Lithuania with her mother and younger brother. Lina uses her love of art to try and find her father and keep herself and her family alive. Visit the Penguin Readers website Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys.