Who doesn't love a good mystery story? I love the A to Z Mysteries because they're exactly the right level for my book club. The characters are fun, the mysteries are engaging, and the fact that we have a whole series of twenty-six books to read makes The Bald Bandit an easy choice for me. Even though the book is over twenty-five years old, it doesn't feel dated. I'm sure we'll have fun with it! Clues Fingerprints, shoe prints, bits of fabric--they're all clues! Let's have some fun with them. We'll draw the outline of our foot and try to make it look like a footprint. We'll play with thumb prints and try to look around us to see what signs we can find of the other people who live at home with us. Mysteries A storytelling worksheet is a great way to explore a rough outline of a story. I will give the children the framework of a … [Read more...]
The Hodgeheg
I love Dick King-Smith's work. There was a time when I read nothing except his books. I devoured story after story, the way children do when they get hooked on to an author. I remember just one book I didn't enjoy - Godhanger. But everything else? I loved. And that's why we're rereading The Hodgeheg, one of my favourites! It's a sweet story about one determined hedgehog who makes it his mission to find out how to cross a road safely. How do humans cross? Can't a hedgehog do the same? Here's what we'll do with this book at my book club. Slang The Hodgeheg begins with another hedgehog having 'copped it'. Later on, we have the phrase 'that's flat'.What do these phrases mean? The way in which words and phrases develop regional variations is fascinating. I remember reading the phrase 'I bet a monkey' while I was reading Georgette Heyer. I first … [Read more...]
The Adventures of Mooli and the Sticker Trickster
The very first book we read at my very first online reading programme was Trouble with Magic by Asha Nehemiah. We've read several of her books over time, and this time, we're rereading The Adventures of Mooli and the Sticker Trickster. This isn't the first of the Mooli series, but it works well as a standalone book! Mooli and Soups are busy ideating. They must come up with an idea that will win a prize at WAYOUTS - World's As Yet Original Untried Tricks and Stunts. What can they do that will be simply outstanding? Surely, two intrepid young children can come up with not one, but a hundred ideas!In the middle of all this, however, they have a mystery to solve. Who could be vandalising Mooli's Amma's signboard with silly stickers? Why does her board now read 'Yummy Scrummy mon Keys'?A hilarious adventure ensues as Mooli and Soups get to the bottom of the mystery and find the vandal. … [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...]
Vincent Can’t Go
Another book that's hot off the press is coming to my book club! Vincent Can't Go is a charming story about a boy who isn't allowed to go anywhere because his mother is too afraid. I enjoyed this sweet, simple story, and I'm sure my book clubbers will too! Interactive Game What are you allowed to do? What are you not allowed to do? Let's play a game! After that, we will use an interactive whiteboard to explore new ideas of things we would like to do if we were allowed to do them! Friends Friendship is an integral part of Vincent Can't Go. I'd like for the children at my book club to show me a picture of their friend, what they have in common, why they're friends, and anything else they would like to share! Portraits I love Habib Ali's pictures of 'Most Important Friend' and 'Man of Action'! In class, I'll ask the … [Read more...]
The Second Person Short Story
We haven't ever worked on the second-person short story, which is what made this writing workshop particularly interesting for me! I love it when I get to work with something new at a guest session! Michelle D'costa conducted a detailed session, introducing the three narrative perspectives and focussing on the second person narrator. From common misconceptions about the second-person narrator to hands-on writing exercises, Michelle covered a lot of ground in the course of one short hour. We read a mentor text, explored how we can write in second-person, and discussed a few things to keep in mind when we write a short story. I especially like it when guests I invite reinforce ideas I'm teaching! Here are a few things Michelle mentioned, for instance! We worked on paying attention to detail with an oral exercise for which Michelle showed us a picture of a man. Michelle … [Read more...]
Dum Dum to the Rescue & Yet More Adventures of Little Shambu
Did you read Shikari Shambu? I did, and I loved each silly adventure. That's why we're reading yet another Little Shambu book at my book club. We read Strangus Derangus in April 2024, In the Bear's Den in November 2024, and it's time to read the last one--Dum Dum to the Rescue.I enjoyed all these stories for their silliness and simplicity, as well as the lovely illustrations. An urban child's interactions with animals may be few and far between, but there are a range of hilarious stories in store for us in this collection. Role Play Any book that is rich in dialogue is perfect for role play. Helping children recognise when characters begin to speak and when they stop, beginning to recognise speech marks and paragraphs ... all this is part of a book club! Animal Encounters Have you ever had a fun/frightening experience with an … [Read more...]
The Mystery of the Missing Geometry Boxes
Who doesn't love a good mystery? When geometry boxes begin to go missing, the AKA Detective Club finally has a new mystery to solve! But things always go missing in schools, don't they? What's the big deal? When a pattern begins to emerge, however, the young detectives know that something is fishy. Surely, no one would want more than one geometry box. And is there a reason why only Yuga geometry boxes are being stolen?The Mystery of the Missing Geometry Boxes is a lighthearted mystery, funny and engaging. I look forward to introducing it to my book club! Detective Club AKA stands for Aarav-Karthik-Asha, or Asha-Karthik-Aarav, depending on whom you ask. What would your detective club be called? Would you have a password and a secret code? Let's make one together! Geometry Boxes I enjoy linking reading with other activities! I'm not … [Read more...]
Lights, Camera, Action!
Lights, Camera, Action! was a whirlwind introduction to filmmaking, one which I thoroughly enjoyed. I know next to nothing about filmmaking, making this guest session all the more exciting for me. What an informative, detailed session it was! We began by watching a short film in French, Detour by Michel Gondry. Samina Mishra, our guest for the evening, asked us what we thought of the film and then we revisited a few details from a filmmaker's eye. What goes into mise en scène, or the frame of a film? What about cinematography? What does one pay attention to? Sound? Editing? What else? After looking at a range of elements from setting to costumes, effect sounds to editing, Samina left us with a writing exercise in which she asked us to write a single shot. With clear examples, she asked us to pay attention to the following things as we wrote: It was unfair to ask Samina to … [Read more...]
Boo-Boo Investigates
We read Boo-Boo the Eco-Warrior by Tanushree Podder a few months ago, and my book club enjoyed it. For one, it's easy to read because of the way the text is laid out. For another, the stories in the book are simple and engaging. That's why we will be reading another book featuring this friendly ghost---Boo-Boo Investigates. Forest Experiences As Boo-Boo lives in the forest, we will listen to some forest sounds and write what comes to mind. What can you see? What do you hear? What do you think you would be able to smell? While we don't write much at my book club for ages seven and eight, I do like to work with a little creative writing, an introduction of sorts, which will prepare the children for other writing activities later. Mysteries If you had to solve a mystery, what clues would you look for? As we discuss that, we will also … [Read more...]
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