I devoured books by Dick King-Smith as a child. I had so many favourites, and I’ve written about so many of his books: Sophie’s Lucky, A Mouse Called Wolf, All Because of Jackson, Billy the Bird, Ace, and two book club reads – the classic The Sheep-Pig and The Hodgeheg.
I think what I enjoy most about his books is the fact that mice and pigs, which are conventionally thought of as disgusting or dirty, are the protagonists of so many of his stories. And that’s one of the reasons I chose The Schoolmouse to read with my book club. The premise of the story–that reading can save lives–is perfect for a book club too!
While The Schoolmouse is not a book I read as a child and it isn’t one of my favourites, it has all the makings of a perfect book club read. Humour, silliness and a happily-ever-after are a great combination!
I love the potential of books about the alphabet! From books like Uncle Oscar’s Chairs and Once Upon an Alphabet to videos featuring Craig Smith’s Wonky Donkey, I’ve worked with the alphabet at more workshops than I can count, across age-groups. And alphabet poems never become boring!
Hyacinth, the mother mouse, names all her children after flowers. If you were called after a flower, what would your name be and why?
Also, later in the book, we meet Buck. A male mouse is called a buck. What other species are called bucks? It’s a good time to do a quiz on the different names for the males and females of various species!
Flora, the protagonist of the The Schoolmouse, learns to read because she lives in a school. Wolf, in A Mouse Called Wolf, can sing. What else can we imagine that animals could do based on where they grow up? I look forward to getting creative with my book clubbers, and coming up with wacky story ideas!
The April-May batch of Read, Write, Explore is sold out, so if you would like to join the June-July one, do so right away!
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