This story is based on the life of Billy Bayly, a real boy who lived in Pennsylvania during the Civil War and had an unlikely friendship with a Southern soldier. <P> <P> Ready-to-Read books offer children a world of possibilities at four different reading levels: <P> <P> Pre-Level 1 <b>Recognizing Words</b> <P> ? Word repetition <P> ? Familiar words and phrases <P> ? Simple sentences <P> <P> Level 1 <b>Starting to Read</b> <P> ? Simple stories <P> ? Increased vocabulary <P> ? Longer sentences <P> <P> Level 2 <b>Reading Independently</b> <P> ? More-complex stories <P> ? Varied sentence structure <P> ? Paragraphs and short chapters <P> <P> Level 3 <b>Reading Proficiently</b> <P> ? Rich vocabulary <P> ? More-challenging stories <P> ? Longer chapters