One Two Three and Away

One, Two, Three and Away (ISBN 0003142183) was a series of books for children written by Sheila K. McCullagh, often known as the Roger Red Hat Books,^[1] or The Village with Three Corners. Illustrated mostly by Ferelith Eccles Williams and published by Collins in the 1960s–90s and more recently by The Reading Hut Ltd with new ISBNs. Characters include Roger Red Hat, Billy Blue Hat, twins Johnny and Jennifer Yellow Hat, and Percy Green.

The books were written at a number of levels of increasing difficulty for those learning to read. After the Pre-readers and Introductory book, there are 4 coloured sections, in increasing order of difficulty, blue, red, green, yellow. Accompanying the red, green and yellow levels there are the Main Readers following a loose story arc, 1–3 in pink are aligned with red books, 4–5 with the green, and 6–10 with the yellow.

List of books[edit]

Pre-readers

(1) Red
(1a) Green
(1b) Roger Red Hat and Mrs. Green's hat
(2) Blue
(2a) Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, and Brown
(2b) Billy Blue Hat and the Snowman
(3) Yellow
(3a) Roger and the Ball
(3b) Jennifer Yellow Hat and the White cat
(4) Brown
(4a) Roger and the Bus
(4b) Jennifer Yellow Hat and Mr. Brown's goat
(5) One, Two, Three
(5a) I See Green
(5b) four five six
(6) Roger, Billy, Jennifer and Johnny
(6a) No, Percy Green!
(6b) Seven Geese
(7) Big and Little
(7a) The Yellow Cat and the Brown Dog
(7b) The big man and the little mouse
(8) Houses
(8a) Jennifer and the Yellow Cat
(8b) Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve
(9) The Little Yellow Cat and The Little Brown Mouse
(9a) Stop it, Percy Green!
(9b) Stop cried alex
(10) The Cat, the Mouse, the Dog and the Frog
(10a) Alex at the fair
(10b) Roger at the fair
(11) Billy went to school
(11a) Billy's Picture
(11b) Billy Blue-hat and the red mask
(12) Jennifer went to school
(12a) The donkey went to school
(12b) Roger and the frog

New publication, updated ISBNs

978-1-916941-00-7 Pre-Reader 1 Red
978-1-916941-01-4 Pre-Reader 2 Blue
978-1-916941-02-1 Pre-Reader 3 Yellow
978-1-916941-03-8 Pre-Reader 4 Brown
978-1-916941-04-5 Pre-Reader 5 One, Two, Three
978-1-916941-05-2 Pre-Reader 6 Roger, Billy, Jennifer and Johnny
978-1-916941-06-9 Pre-Reader 7 Big and Little
978-1-916941-07-6 Pre-Reader 8 Houses
978-1-916941-08-3 Pre-Reader 9 The Little Yellow Cat and the Little Brown Mouse
978-1-916941-09-0 Pre-Reader 10 The Cat and the Mouse, the Dog and the Frog
978-1-916941-10-6 Pre-Reader 11 Billy went to school
978-1-916941-11-3 Pre-Reader 12 Jennifer went to school
978-1-916941-12-0 Pre-Reader 1A Green
978-1-916941-13-7 Pre-Reader 2A Red, Green, Blue, Yellow and Brown
978-1-916941-14-4 Pre-Reader 3A Roger and the Ball
978-1-916941-15-1 Pre-Reader 4A Roger and the Bus
978-1-916941-16-8 Pre-Reader 5A I see green!
978-1-916941-17-5 Pre-Reader 6A “No, Percy Green!”
978-1-916941-18-2 Pre-Reader 7A The yellow cat and the brown dog
978-1-916941-19-9 Pre-Reader 8A Jennifer and the yellow cat
978-1-916941-20-5 Pre-Reader 9A “Stop it, Percy Green!”
978-1-916941-21-2 Pre-Reader 10A Alex at the fair
978-1-916941-22-9 Pre-Reader 11A Billy’s Picture
978-1-916941-23-6 Pre-Reader 12A The donkey went to school
978-1-916941-24-3 Pre-Reader 1B Roger Red-hat and Mrs. Green’s hat
978-1-916941-25-0 Pre-Reader 2B Billy Blue-hat and the Snowman
978-1-916941-26-7 Pre-Reader 3B Jennifer Yellow-hat and the white cat
978-1-916941-27-4 Pre-Reader 4B Jennifer Yellow-hat and Mr. Brown’s goat
978-1-916941-28-1 Pre-Reader 5B Four, Five, Six
978-1-916941-29-8 Pre-Reader 6B Seven Geese
978-1-916941-30-4 Pre-Reader 7B The big man and the little mouse
978-1-916941-31-1 Pre-Reader 8B Eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve
978-1-916941-32-8 Pre-Reader 9B “Stop!” cried Alex
978-1-916941-33-5 Pre-Reader 10B Roger at the fair
978-1-916941-34-2 Pre-Reader 11B Billy Blue-hat and the red mask
978-1-916941-35-9 Pre-Reader 12B Roger and the frog

Introductory books

(A) Roger Red Hat
(B) Billy Blue-Hat
(C) Johnny and Jennifer Yellow-Hat
(D) The Old Man
(E) Jennifer Yellow-Hat Went out in the Sunshine
(F) Jennifer Went Out in the Dark
(G) Roger and Rip
(H) Roger and the Pond
(I) Roger and Mrs. Blue-Hat
(J) Roger and the Little Mouse
(K) Sita and Ramu
(L) Jennifer Yellow-hat Went to Town
(M) The donkey went to town
(N) Percy Green
(O) The Little Brown Mouse Went out in the Dark
(P) Mrs. Blue-Hat and the Little Brown Mouse
(Q) Mr. Blue Hat and the Red Cart
(R) Roger, the stick and the old man
(S) Mrs. Rig and the Little Black Cat
(T) Mrs. Blue Hat and the Black Cat
(U) Percy Green and Mr. Red Hat's Car
(V) Crash! The Car Hit a Tree
(W) The Kite that blew away
(X) Ramu and Sita and the Robber
(Y) Jennifer and the little fox
(Z) Miranda and the dragon

New publication, updated ISBNs

978-1-8381211-3-6 A – Roger Red-hat
978-1-8381211-4-3 B – Billy Blue-hat
978-1-8381211-5-0 C – Johnny and Jennifer Yellow-hat
978-1-8381211-6-7 D – The Old Man
978-1-7398898-0-7 E – Jennifer Yellow-hat went out in the sunshine
978-1-7398898-1-4 F – Jennifer Yellow-hat went out in the dark
978-1-7398898-2-1 G – Roger and Rip
978-1-7398898-3-8 H – Roger and the Pond
978-1-7398898-4-5 I - Roger and Mrs. Blue-hat
978-1-7398898-5-2 J – Roger and the Little Mouse
978-1-7398898-6-9 K – Sita and Ramu
978-1-7398898-7-6 L – Jennifer Yellow-hat went to the Town
978-1-7398898-8-3 M – The Donkey Went to Town
978-1-7398898-9-0 N – Percy Green
978-1-7398898-7-4 O - The Little Brown Mouse went out in the Dark
978-1-7398898-8-1 P - Mrs. Blue-hat and the Little Brown Mouse

Main readers

(1) The Village with three corners
(1a) The Old Man and the Wind
(1b) Gopal and the little white cat
(2) Billy Blue-Hat and the Duck Pond
(2a) The cat and the feather
(2b) Roger and the Ghost
(3) The Haystack
(3a) The Donkey
(3b) The Empty House
(4) The Island in Deep River
(4a) The Two Giants
(4b) The House in the Corner of the Wood
(5) The Cat's Dance
(6) The Stepping Stones
(7) Billy Blue-Hat's Day
(8) The White Owls
(9) The Lost Dog
(10) The Three Robbers
(11) A Boat on Deep River
(12) The House in Dark Woods

Blue

(1) The Dog and the Ball
(2) The Little Old Woman
(3) The Big Dog and the Little White Cat
(4) The Little Old Man and the Donkey
(5) Rip's Bath
(6) The Old Blue Bus
(7) Sita and the Little Old Woman
(8) Billy Blue Hat and the Frog
(9) The Magic Wood (10) The Witch and the Donkey
(11) The Little Brown Mouse and the Apples
(12) Jennifer in Dark Woods
(13) Percy Green and Mrs. Blue-hat
(14) Benjamin, the Witch, and the Donkey
(15) The Little Old Man and the Little Brown Mouse
(16) Jennifer and the Little Dog
(17) The old man and the seven mice
(18) Roger has a ride
(19) Miranda and the magic stones
(20) Miranda and the flying broomstick

Green

(1) Roger and the School Bus
(2) The Little Old Man and the Little Black Cat
(3) The Little Old Woman and the Grandfather Clock
(4) Sita Climbs the Wall
(5) When the School Door Was Shut
(6) The Big Man, the Witch and the Donkey
(7) Caterpillars and Butterflies
(8) The Little Old Man and the Magic Stick
(9) Benjamin and the Little Fox
(10) The Cat and the Witch's Supper

Red

(1) Jennifer and the Little Black Horse
(2) The Old Red Bus
(3) Billy and Percy Green
(4) Roger Rings the Bell
(5) Mr. Brown's Goat
(6) Tom and the Monster
(7) The Ghost Train
(8) Sita and the Robin
(9) The Hole in the Wall
(10) The Little Fox

Yellow

(1) Fire
(2) The House Across the Street
(3) Roger and the Cats
(4) Christmas in the Village with 3 Corners
(5) The Sleeping Giant
(6) Dancing Ann and the Green-Gruff-Grackle
(7) The Fire in the Magic Wood
(8) The King of the Magic Mountains
(9) The Witch Who Lived Next Door
(10) The Horse that Flew in the Moonlight

Hummingbirds

Early Hummingbirds
Miranda and the Magic Mixture
The Witch's Cat
The Purse Full of Gold
Adventure in the Night
The Story of Yestin

GROUP 1

The Green Man and the Golden Bird
Mrs. Blue-hat is Very Cross
The Magic Cloak
Horses of the Moonlight
Halloween
Sharon and the Great Horse

GROUP 2

Jack and the Talking Dog
The Dancers from the Land of Mor
The Giant Owls of the High Hills
Peter and the Little Fox
The Magic People
Witches in the Magic Wood

GROUP 3

The Ivory Dragon
Lion-Men of the Mountains
The Great and Terrible Gift
The Rescue of Ker
The King with the Four Daughters
The Dangerous Journey

Critical response[edit]

Educator Mary Walsh describes the scheme as one which was "strictly regulated, and with little interest in real stories or books": she describes the use of real stories to motivate children who were failing to learn to read on "One Two Three and Away".^[2]

Other media[edit]

An educational video edition of One, Two, Three and Away: The Village with Three Corners was also released in 1996 by First Independent Video. Directed by Mark Taylor and produced by Bristol-based animation studio A Productions, the video consisted of drawn animation sequences, on screen games and songs. It was executive produced by Dan Maddicott at United Media.

Also available are teachers' notes and activity books, wooden dolls and stamp kits.

In 2023, SEN specialist Emma Hartnell-Baker mapped the books orthographically for dyslexic children, facilitating the development of phonemic awareness and orthographic knowledge. Within Ortho-Graphix IPA aligned phoneme characters are also used to improve orthographic awareness, without detracting from the main focus within the One, Two, Three and Away! series: vocabulary knowledge, comprehension, and reading for pleasure.

References[edit]

^ "One, Two, Three and Away – Roger Red Hat | Child Of The 1980's". www.childofthe1980s.com. Retrieved 2018-08-19.
^ In Pat Pinsett, The Power of the Page; p126

External links[edit]

123andAway.com One, Two, Three and Away! Now Published by The Reading Hut Ltd TheReadingHut.com
Ortho-Graphix.com One, Two, Three and Away! Now Mapped Orthographically for Dyslexic Students

[1] "One, Two, Three and Away – Roger Red Hat | Child Of The 1980's". www.childofthe1980s.com. Retrieved 2018-08-19.

[2] In Pat Pinsett, The Power of the Page; p126

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