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Tag: Monsters

Published on Leave a comment on The Search for the Silver Witch by Sally Rippin

The Search for the Silver Witch is the final book in the Polly and Buster trilogy by much loved author and illustrator Sally Rippin.

Polly has put the gorvan back to sleep and its purple mist is no longer infecting Blackmoon Coven. Life should be peaceful in the town once again…shouldn’t it?

Things have become worse between the witches and monsters at Blackmoon Coven and a war is looming. Miss Spinnaker has been dismissed from the Miss Madden's Academy and Polly’s magical stones have told her to find a Silver Witch to save the town. It isn’t until she finds her Aunt Hilda that Polly finally accepts that she is the Silver Witch that Black Coven needs. It is not going to be easy….

“The time has come for you to decide what kind of Silver Witch you will become. Every time you do a spell from a place of fear or anger, it will take you in one direction. And the further you go along in this direction, the harder it will be for you to return…You, Polly can choose to find power in love and kindness.” (Aunt Hilda)

Deidre Holloway has returned with Buster in her sights and forces Polly to make the hardest of decisions, but she hasn’t reckoned on the power of true friendship and kindness. It's a heart-racing 'Broomstick 500s' ride with Polly and Buster as they bravely try to help the witches and monsters work together to defeat a beastly menace and save Blackmoon Coven before it is too late. 

Thank you Sally for creating Polly and Buster who have touched our hearts and reminded us of the power of kindness, friendship, empathy and acceptance.

Kindness is the most powerful spell of all.

Happy reading!

Published on Leave a comment on Beware The Deep Dark Forest by Sue Whiting

"You must beware the deep, dark forest,"
Rosie told Tinky.
"Never, ever go in there."

Rosie has never gone into the deep, dark forest, but when her puppy Tinky runs off into the forest she has to find him. 

"But the deep, dark forest is thick with danger," warned Rosie's Grandma. "Carnivorous plants they say."
"And venomous snakes," said Rosie's dad. "So I've heard."

Would you go into the deep, dark forest?

Rosie can't leave Tinky lost and alone in the dangerous forest and goes on a quest to rescue him. She needs to have courage as the forest becomes deeper, darker and muddier. Along the way, Rosie has to bravely sneak past a big, bristly brute, find a way to cross a place that is dizzily, dangerously, dreadfully deep and face a menacing, monstrous, muddy creature to save Tinky.

Sometimes like Rosie we don't know how brave and clever we can be.

Sue Whiting has written a story that is like a fairytale. It is lots of fun to read aloud with its repetition and descriptive words, especially when Rosie stands up to the muddy creature at the end! Can you find ways Sue has used words to make her writing scary, exciting and fun? 

Annie White's earthy water colour illustrations take you into the forest with Rosie and often as the reader you can see things in the forest that Rosie can't see. Can you see any carnivorous plants and venomous snakes or spot the shadow of the menacing, monstrous muddy creature? What has been printed on the purple endpapers, can you explain why?

If you like scary stories that are fun and going on quests where you can be a hero, then Beware The Deep Dark Forest is just the book for you!

Happy reading!

Teacher notes by Sue Whiting

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Published on 2 Comments on Monsters by Anna Fienberg and illustrated by Kim Gamble and Stephen Axelsen

If you worry about monsters in your bedroom then Tildy and Hendrik have a plan for you...

Tildy knows there are monsters in her bedroom. They are hiding under her bed, reading her books and playing with her games. They're big and bold and bossy and sail into her bedroom on the moonlight. Only Tildy can see the monsters. She sleeps with one eye open and the monsters are making her miserable. Hendrik, a new boy arrives at school and also knows about monsters. He becomes Tilda's friend and has a plan to help Tildy deal with with her monsters.

Monsters isn't a scary book. It is a warm and playful and encourages us to be brave. Part of the story is set in Kim Gamble's childhood garden, where as a child he would lie for hours on his back looking up at the clouds, seeing ships, dragons and monsters. Kim Gamble and Stephen Axelson have let their imaginations run wild to create an array of monsters that cheekily play and hide on the pages of the book.

How many different types of monsters you can find? Draw the monsters that hide in your bedroom or use your imagination to create and draw your own scary, funny, fierce or friendly monsters. 

Kim Gamble is one of my favourite illustrators with his whimsical water colour illustrations. You will know Anna Fienberg and Kim Gamble from the much loved Tashi series they created together. In this video, Kim uses chalk pastel to create a scene for Tashi and the Golem. It's magical!

A Final Note:

Sadly Kim Gamble passed away in 2016 before he finished the illustrations for Monsters. In a beautiful example of friendship, his childhood friend and illustrator Stephen Axelsen finished the illustrations for Anna and Kim's book.

Thank you for giving us one last book to read and treasure Anna, Kim and Stephen.

Happy reading!

Teacher Notes

 

Published on Leave a comment on The Polly and Buster series by Sally Rippin

Today I had the absolute delight of meeting Sally Rippin. Sally's passion for creating books for children shines as brightly as her infectious smile.  

Sally loves reading, writing and drawing and says that she is lucky to do what she loves every day. Sally has been writing since she was very young. When she was about 15 years old Sally was a babysitter and would made books like this one for the children she looked after. Sally was destined to become a book creator!

Sally explained that stories come from two places - your imagination and your experience (things that happen to you). Books are a combination of both. When you write a story it needs good characters and a problem.

Sally wanted to write a series with two new characters and use lots of imagination. She likes witches and thought a monster for a best friend for her witch would let her use her imagination. The next step was to create a problem for her characters and after filling her notebook with lots of ideas, Sally decided her problem would be that her friends were not allowed to be friends any more and they would have to fight for their friendship.

Next step was to decide what her characters would look like. Sally's first picture was in pen and the start of her ideas. Someone told her that Buster looked like a 'hairy potato'!!

Sally did lots of research about different types of monsters and witches before she created her final pictures of Polly Proggett and Buster Grewclaw using charcoal.

Once Sally knew her characters then she began to create their world of Blackmoon Coven that we enter when we read the Polly and Buster series.

Me and you,
You and me,
That's the way it
will always be ... (Buster)

Polly the witch and Buster the Feelings Monster have the sort of friendship that makes your heart squeeze with happiness. In a world where witches can never be friends with monsters, Polly and Buster have managed to keep their friendship a secret. Until one day when everything changes...

What would you do
if everyone thought
your best friend was
dangerous?

In this book, Polly and Buster are on the run from nearly everyone in town. Who is sending Polly messages through the magical stones and will Polly follow the messages? Polly and Buster have big decisions to make. Will they stay safe and hidden or risk it all to save the day? 

At the end of her session, Sally gave one of the best gifts an author can give their readers and read some of her new Polly and Buster book. It is such a privilege to hear an author read the words they have carefully chosen to write their story.

If you haven't met Polly and Buster yet, then it's time you did! Polly and Buster's friendship is warm, funny and magical and together as friends they can face whatever comes their way...they would love you to join them on their adventures!

If you ever have the chance to go along and meet Sally, please make sure you do because you will will be in for a wonderful treat!

Happy reading!

Teacher notes

 

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