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The Absolutely True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev

July 13, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Daydreaming! Sigh. You can be what you want to be. You can do what you want to do.

And Dev is the ace daydreamer. 

In The Absolutely True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev, the boy embarks on three adventures. He climbs Mount Everest, travels along the Amazon and then across the Sahara. Each adventure is real to him, and so, of course, he has no time to pay attention to mundane things like school and marks. In fact, even when he is being told off by his father, he’s off on another flight of fancy.

Dev’s stories are full of possibility, and that’s why I chose to include them in my reading programme. Imagination has no limits; let’s see how far-fetched we can get!

The Absolutely True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev

What could it be?

Look at the cover of The Absolutely True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev. There he is, lying on a Kwality Carpets carpet and dreaming. A carpet can take you on an adventure, can’t it?

What else? What could a stick be, if you use your imagination a little? What about a little felt cloth? I’m looking forward to exploring a whole range of possibility!

Where are you?

Anything sets Dev off on a daydream – sticky eyes, a hot wind, a conversation …

What about you? What was the last place you read about? And what would you do if you were suddenly transported there?

A similar ‘where’ activity involves a map. I remember using a map with younger children at a British Council workshop once, and I was amazed. I’d love to introduce the children to different parts of the world. Each story in Ken Spillman‘s collection is dedicated to someone. Let’s find out who they are and what they have to do with the place where the story is set!

Travel Adventures

Language, culture, customs – we experience so much when we travel! Dev learns about piranhas on the Amazon, he meets a Sherpa woman when he climbs Mount Everest, and he learns about amana while traversing the Sahara.

It’s been a long time since most of us travelled, but the joy of travelling lies in the stories we create. I think I’m being slightly ambitious here, but I would love for the children to create a picture postcard about any travel experience they’ve had. And if I can have them send postcards to one another, all the better!

Unusual Animals

What’s a dromedary? What about a caiman?

Animals are fascinating, more so for children. I would love for the children to talk about one unusual animal they’ve heard of or seen. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot!

Join a programme!

REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR ALL MY READING PROGRAMMES.

The next batches begin in the first week of October. If you would like to receive an email notification when I open for registrations, please fill this form. Alternatively, follow me on social media – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – for regular updates.

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Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: books for ages seven and eight, Ken Spillman, online reading programme, reading, review, The Absolutely True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev

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