Last year a student in my class arrived in with a copy of 'Danger is Everywhere'. He loved to read and would often tell me about the books he was reading at home. This time he gave me his copy of the book and told me that I had to read it as I 'would LOVE it!'. Immediately I knew that it would suit the class, especially the boys that found novels a bit daunting. The book has a great balance of pictures, by Chris Judge, and words, by David O' Doherty. We went online and found an interview on Puffin Virtually live. It was a great way to introduce the book to the children. They were delighted when Chris Judge showed them how to draw Docter Noel! We spent a whole afternoon pausing and playing the clip so that the children could perfect their drawings of Docter Noel! That was it, we were hooked! Each day we read a page or two of the book. We linked it in with our literacy, art and drama lessons. Check out an extract from Danger is Everywhere here! In the extract you will see 'Instructions to check for page 9 scorpion'. This was what I had to do, with the permission from the owner of the book of course! The boys loved watching me make a fool of myself :) Reading the book and drawing illustrations wasn't enough and the children decided they wanted to use it as our focus for our drama lessons. So they took the lessons into their own hands and made up a drama based on another character in the book, the Postbox Octopus. The boys worked together to create costumes, make an octopus to be put on our local postbox and create their drama. I can only imagine that passers-by thought we were crazy, filming a mini drama at a post box! I have never seen the whole class as engaged and excited by the same book before. It appealed to every level of reader in the class and they loved the element of mischief in it. Oh and if you do read it to your class be aware that they will be convinced that you are a Vampire! :) Not happy with their attempts at saving the world from 'Page 9 Scorpions' and the 'Postbox Octopus' Chris and David have teamed up again to save us from many other dangers. they are launching their new book 'Danger is Still Everywhere' this Wednesday 23rd of September in Eason, O Connell Street. Make sure to check the tips about 'Avoiding Danger in Bookstores' before you go.
2 Comments
David O'Doherty
10/3/2015 07:25:13 am
Thank YOU so much for bringing our book to life! This article has really made my day. - do'd
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Helen Cahill
10/3/2015 08:48:14 am
Yeah, great article. Definitely going to use these books in my class.
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AuthorI have been teaching for several years and hope to share some of my ideas and experiences with you. Archives
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