I read dozens of chapter books each year, both because publishers send me review copies and because of my book clubs. Somehow, though, only three books really stood out to me! I've introduced all three to my book clubbers (aged nine and ten), and perhaps it's more significant that they enjoyed these books than that I did! The Great Sneak-Out The Great Sneak-Out is my favourite in the POFFS series. Wacky and warm, it tells the story of a pair of sisters--and a third grade mafia! Full of humour and heart, it's also a book with the most striking chapter titles I've ever come across. Each one could be a writing prompt, and in fact, I even designed a whole lesson around one of them--"We Get Away with It. Almost." Book review Bookish Activities Blame It on the Untz Blame It on the Untz is … [Read more...]
Jumble Sale
Jumble Sale is such a delightful Silly Billy Book that I can't wait to read it with my book club! Just like Agassi and the Great Cycle Race, which we read recently, it is a hilarious read that promises to cause much laughter as we read it together! Jumble Sale If your school organised a jumble sale, what would you sneak into it? What do you think you could sell with no one noticing? And how audacious do you think you could get? Songs I can't think of Jumble Sale without thinking of Tinaz Toddywalla singing, "Just you wait, 'Enry 'Iggins, just you wait!" I don't know how many children at my book club will be familiar with the song, so we'll listen to it and perhaps make it a listening exercise too! Mysteries Is a missing bottlebrush an intriguing enough mystery to solve? Each edition of Read, Write, Explore comprises … [Read more...]
Jumble Sale
Shabnam Minwalla's Jumble Sale is another delightful Silly Billy Book, a lighthearted mystery, which begins with a missing bottlebrush. Who could have stolen it? An evil crow? A ghost? Or a thin woman with a beaky nose?Jumble Sale takes us through a hilarious whodunnit featuring mischievous children Dina and Dorab Sethna, hapless parents, and a vengeful teacher, Tinaz Toddywala. Of course, we know who stole the blackboard, the Aadhaar card and the 'No Parking' sign. The question is, how will the whole story unravel?With Tinaz Toddywala, I found myself singing, Justchoo wait, Dorab-Dina, Justchoo wait! with a thrill of pleasure. With the children, I found myself chuckling and hoping they get away with mischief. And with their parents, particular Mrs Sethna, I had every sympathy!The pictures by Isha Mangalmurti make Jumble Sale all the more delightful--my favourite character … [Read more...]