Chatterpack

Funny Fiction from Simon & Schuster

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About this Pack This pack will help you to organise Chatterbooks sessions using the Simon & Schuster Funny Fiction Sampler * which showcases six of their latest books. This wonderful selection of hilarious extracts will introduce your members to new authors and stories. It is guaranteed to provide rip-roaring entertainment and bring side-splitting laughter to your sessions!

The activities in this pack, themed around these new stories, will encourage children to:

talk about the books

discuss characters

share their likes and dislikes

relate the stories to their own lives

be inspired in their own story writing

The pack contains a variety of activities for each of the six stories. The word games are short and fun and take about 5 to 10 minutes, while the activity sheets are more detailed and will take a little longer.

There is enough material to plan an hour-long Chatterbooks session and the activities are designed to suit a wide range of reading abilities.

All the activity sheets can be photocopied and are produced in black and white to save time and to cut down costs. All you need is pens, pencils, crayons, felt tip pens, and bags of enthusiasm!

*The sampler is being sent to all Chatterbooks groups February/March 2011

Top Tips for Success Choose activities that best suit your group. You can theme your session around

one or two of the books from the sample or on all of the books.

Have on display the books featured in the Sampler and available for children to borrow.

Make a note of which activities work well with your group and which don’t, to help you plan future sessions.

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Children are fascinated by personal information about authors, particularly things that are unusual - for example, Anna Kemp spent her childhood organising BMX displays - so it is a good idea to talk a little bit about the author.

Remember that some Chatterbooks children will whizz through all the activities while some Chatterbooks groups will only need a couple of activities to keep them busy throughout the session.

Be flexible and have fun!

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Pack Contents

The Great Cat Conspiracy by Katie Davies ………………………………………..5

Fantastic Frankie and the Brain Drain Machine by Anna Kemp……………………11

My Uncle Foulpest: Teacher Trouble by Timothy Knapman……………………..15

Dr Proctor’s Fart Powder: Time-Travel Bath Bomb by Jo Nesbo………………..19

Milo and the Restart Button by Alan Silberberg………………………………...….23

An Awfully Beastly Business: Bang goes a Troll by The Beastly Boys ……...….27

More Funny Books to Read……………………………………………………….….31

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The Great Cat Conspiracy by Katie Davies

About the Book A funny story about an ordinary family. The New Cat keeps bringing dead things into the house as gifts for Tom. When he brings in the head of the Vicar’s most expensive Koi Carp and the Vicar asks Mum for £200 to buy a replacement, Anna’s Dad is so cross he locks the cat out of the house. The New Cat disappears and Anna, Suzanne and Tom are convinced he’s been kidnapped.

About the Author Katie Davies studied English and Drama at University, where she wrote her first play

which was put on at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Her first children’s novel, The Great Hamster Massacre, was published in January 2010 and won the 2010 Waterstones’s

Children’s Book Prize.

She has worked as a special needs assistant and written articles for magazines. She has also written comedy shows for radio. Katie is married to the actor and comedian Alan

Davies, with whom she has a baby daughter, and they live in London.

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Short Activities (5 to 10 minutes) Pets, Pets, Pets! Ask everyone to write down as many pets as they think of in one minute.

If you were a pet ... Find out which animals your Chatterbooks members would be if they were pets and ask them why?

(E.g.: I would be a cat because I like sleeping in hot sunny spots)

Find out which animals best describe people in your Chatterbooks members’ families.

(E.g.: I think my sister is like a monkey because she is cheeky and always chattering. My mum is like a big brown bear because she is soft and cuddly but roars when I don’t tidy my bedroom.)

Rewards, Rewards, Rewards! Ask everyone to write down all the rewards they could offer to get the New Cat back ... the sillier the better.

Silly Stories When the Cat Lady offered a cup of tea to Anna, Suzanne and Tom she poured the tea into yoghurt pots. Has anyone in the group got any silly stories like this they can share?

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The Great Cat Conspiracy – Character Development Katie Davies has created wonderful family characters for this book. She writes so that we get to know the characters really well – for example, throughout the story we find out all the things the characters like and don’t like, as you can see in the table below.

Use the blank template to do this with members of your family - or you could make up an imaginary family. This can help with your story writing.

Character Likes Dislikes Mum Her family

Going to church

Smells in the house

Ironing

The New Cat

Dad Old clothes, especially flowery shirts with flappy collars and purple velvet flares

Eating leftovers

Throwing things away

Putting things in the bin

The New Cat

Anna Friends, especially her best friend Suzanne

Family

Talking

Adventures

Looking up new words in dictionaries

Not being able to talk to her best friend Suzanne

The smell of mothballs

Aubergines

Tom

Helping people

The New Cat

Watching cartoons

Biscuits

Fierce barking dogs

Going for walks with Suzanne’s family

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Likes and Dislikes Use this to list the likes and dislikes of your own family – or an imaginary family!

Character Likes Dislikes

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Design a Missing Pet Poster Anna, Suzanne and Tom design a missing cat poster. Why don’t you make a ‘Missing’ poster for an imaginary pet?

Don’t forget to draw a picture, give a simple description, say when the pet went missing, where it went missing from, and say what the reward is.

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Write a Funny Ransom Note The New Cat wasn’t kidnapped after all. But what if it had been? Write a funny ransom note to get it back!

Write a Silly Address here

Dear Anna and Tom,

Give a reason here why you kidnapped the New Cat

Say what you want as a reward

Say where you will leave the New Cat when you get your reward

Sign here with a Funny Name

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Fantastic Frankie and the Brain-Drain Machine by Anna Kemp

About the Book When Frankie Blewitt brings home yet another F-for-failure school report his parents decide to send him to boarding school. At first he is just relieved to be away from his horrible parents, but then he realises that something really weird is going on at Crammer Grammar...

About the Author Anna Kemp grew up in a street with a gang of kids and spent her childhood sticker-

swapping, playing Pac Man and co-ordinating BMX displays. She was a bit of a late reader but now reads a lot in her job as a university lecturer. Her first picture book Dogs Don’t Do

Ballet was published in 2010.

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Short Activities - (5 to 10 minutes)

Alphabet Name Game Alphonsine says the ‘F’ for Frankie is also ‘F’ for Fearless and ‘F’ for Fantastic.

What does the initial of your first name stand for?

Think of as many words beginning with your initial that best describe your character.

Think of nice names for the rest of your group.

Silly prizes ‘Staring out of the window prize’

‘Not picking your nose prize’

‘Looking after the hamster prize’

These are the silly prizes Anna Kemp, the author of Fantastic Frankie, thinks schools should award pupils. What silly awards would you give out? The funnier the better!

When I pack for Crammer Grammar, I take a... This is a memory game when new items are added and old ones are repeated!

Eg: The first person starts and says ‘When I pack for Crammer Grammar I take a water pistol’

The next person says ‘When I pack for Crammer Grammar I take a water pistol and a yellow rubber duck.’

The next person repeats what has previously been said and adds something new.

The last person in the group has to remember everything on the list!

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Fantastic Frankie – Silly School Reports Frankie Blewitt didn’t look forward to his school report. Write a silly school report for Frankie or yourself that will make people laugh. Choose unusual subjects like ‘texting friends’ or ‘eating Haribos’

Name of Pupil

Subject Comments Grade

Texting friends

Jack can do this without looking, holding his phone behind his back…..

A for skill

B for spelling

Headteacher’s Comments

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Fantastic Frankie – Friends Frankie thinks friends are very important. What do you think? Explain why you think this.

Write about or draw pictures of your friends

What do you like about your friends?

What don’t you like about your friends?

Which book characters would you like as friends and why?

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My Uncle Foulpest: Teacher Trouble

by Timothy Knapman

About the Book Wally’s uncle Foulpest is an ogre. Foulpest means well, but he can’t stop causing chaos – like accidentally sending Miss Nutkin through the roof at the school parents’ evening…

About the Author Timothy Knapman writes plays, opera libretti, song lyrics and children’s books. His books have been described as ‘thrilling adventures’ and ‘laugh out loud funny!’ Tim’s books have been translated into ten languages and are frequently read on CBeebies Bedtime Stories. He lives in London.

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Short Activities (5 to 10 minutes)

Food Glorious Food! Food features a lot in the Foulpest stories. Get your group to write down all their favourite foods in a minute and then get them to write down all the food they don’t like in a minute.

Think of combinations of food that would be silly - e.g. sausage rolls and custard.

Rude behaviour Foulpest is always scratching his bottom or burping loudly. Get your group to write down as many things they can think of that are considered to be rude behaviour in one minute. Be prepared for some rip-roaring laughter!

Embarrassing Moments Wally is embarrassed to take his Uncle to parents’ night. Get your group to talk about funny embarrassing things that have happened to them.

Magical Creatures Wally’s uncle Foulpest is an ogre. Write down all the magical creatures you can think of.

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Unusual Relatives

Wally’s uncle Foulpest is an ogre.

Which magical creature would you like as an unusual relative?

Which magical creature would you like as a relative and why?

What relative would you like it to be? (aunt, grandma, cousin etc)

What is your unusual relative called?

Draw a picture or write a description of your relative

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Uncle Foulpest’s Cookbook Uncle Foulpest makes great porridge – it’s purple, hairy troll porridge and is made from only the finest hairs from out of a purple troll’s nose. What recipe would you put in his cookbook?

What is the name of your dish?

What ingredients do you need?

How do you make it?

Draw a picture of it

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Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder: Time-Travel Bath Bomb by Jo Nesbø

About the Book Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder was such a successful invention that he has now invented a time-travelling bath. You just hop in, throw in a Time Bath Bomb, lather up and wish for where you’d like to go. Nilly and Lisa embark on another adventure with Doctor Proctor, this time to find his lost love.

About the Author Jo Nesbø is the most successful Norwegian author of all time. He is recognised as one of

Europe’s best crime writers. Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder is his first children’s book series. Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder is part of the Richard & Judy’s Children’s Book Club.

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Short Activities (5 to 10 minutes)

Secret Codes ASIL & YLLIN

PLEHDEE NEW DNA

EMOH EMOC ANNA W

SIHT DAER

Doctor Proctor sent Nilly and Lisa a help message in code. It was written backwards. Write some messages backwards and get people to decipher them.

Have a go at inventing a secret code of your own!

Inventors and Inventions Doctor Proctor, although he seems a bit weird, is an inventor. Get all the books about inventors off the library shelves (eg. Louis Braille, James Dyson, Thomas Edison, Alexander Fleming) and share them out amongst the group.

Get everyone to find out one fact about an inventor to share with the group.

Silly Inventions Think of silly things that could be invented to make people’s lives easier - the funnier and sillier the better!

Time-Travelling Machines Doctor Proctor’s time-travelling machine is a bath. What do you think would make a good travelling machine and why?

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Time- Travel If you were lucky enough to time-travel, like Nilly and Lisa, where would you go and why? Would you go to another time in history? Or perhaps to another time in your life? To the past or the future?

Describe or draw a picture of your time-travelling machine

Where would you travel to and why?

Who would go with you?

What would you take?

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Dragon’s Den

Choose four people to be a panel of ‘Dragons’.

Decide on names for these Dragons. How has each of them made their fortune?

Divide everyone else up into teams.

Each team has to come up with an invention and convince the Dragons that it

will work and be useful to people.

Each team has to present their invention to the Dragons.

The Dragons decide which inventions they think will work and which people

will want to buy!

Change teams around so everyone has a turn at being a Dragon.

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Milo and the Restart Button by Alan Silberberg

About the Book An amazing book that will break your heart. This book is suitable for older Chatterbooks children. It’s a moving story about 12- year-old Milo whose mother has died from a brain tumour. The story is about his loss and the difficult time he and his family go through.

Milo is endearing, sensitive, brave and funny. His friends are crazy, genuine, hilarious and supportive. Milo’s journey through this story is a difficult one, but it’s treated with the light touch and sparky humour of a brilliant writer.

About the Author Author and illustrator Alan Silberberg lost his mum to cancer when he was little and

believes in the power of using cartoons as a way to engage young people with serious issues. He believes it is ok to laugh and cry – at the same time. He works for the Disney

Channel, Fox and Nickelodeon. He lives in Montreal with his wife and son.

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About the Activities

Death and loss are very difficult to talk about. A Chatterbooks session may not be the most appropriate place for children to deal with very personal loss so it’s important to be aware of personal situations and be sensitive to children’s feelings if they are grieving.

The book gives the positive message of keeping memories alive of people we love who have died.

The ‘Milo’ activities in this pack focus on memories and valuing people.

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Short Activities (5 to 10 minutes)

Getting Started You could start the session by reading ‘A note from the author’ at the back of the book, and then doing a role play (interviewer and author) around the question and answer session also at the back of the book.

Smells, Smells, and more Smells Certain smells make Milo remember his mother. Smell is a very powerful sense for triggering memories.

What smells trigger memories for you?

What smells make you feel happy?

What smells make you feel sad?

My Family is... Milo remembers his mum as being not only his mum but a pirate, a princess, a dancer, a dreamer, a nurse, a magician, a friend.

What else is your mum?

What else is your dad?

What else is the person who looks after you the most?

Friends, Friends, Friends Hillary and Marshall are very good friends of Milo and help him collect together memories of his mum. They also let him talk about his mum.

What do you like about your friends?

Do your friends help you when you are sad? What do they do?

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Longer Activities

Drama There are some hilarious scenes in the book that could be brought alive through drama sketches. This would be a fun activity to do with older children at a Chatterbooks session.

For example, you could create a sketch around the part when Milo sees Summer Goodman walking down the corridor with her friends and he thinks he is going to look cool by leaning against his locker - but he misjudges where his locker is and lands on the floor!

Look through the book for scenes that will be good to act out

Work as one big group or split up into smaller groups and each group can do a different sketch

Write out a script - or you can make it up as you perform

Decide who is going to be which character

Practise the sketch

Make changes

When everyone feels confident the groups can perform to each other

Cartoons Alan Silberberg’s illustrations are fantastic. Get your group to have a go at drawing in this cartoon style. Children can work in groups or individually – then display the results for everyone to see.

Get together a selection of ‘how to draw’ books.

Ask everyone to look for a part of the book that can be illustrated. They can do one picture or a series of pictures.

It can be a part that hasn’t been illustrated or a part that already has.

Use simple drawings – the figures could be matchstick figures.

Add in speech balloons – the children to think up their own words for what the characters say.

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An Awfully Beastly Business: Bang Goes a Troll by The Beastly Boys

About the Book This is the third book in the series about Ulf the werewolf and the RSPCB (the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Beasts), a sanctuary for dragons, ogres, fairies and other fantastical creatures. Ulf the werewolf receives news of trouble in the wild and goes to find out what is happening.

About the Author The Beastly boys are Matthew Morgan, David Sinden and Guy Macdonald, all best friends

from childhood. They live in Kent.

Matt’s greatest fear is questionnaires, Dave’s greatest fear is the big hairy monster that comes out from the toilet, and Guy’s greatest fear is being re-incarnated as a lug worm. The eight words that best describe their lives are family, friends, dogs, stories, boats,

swimming, fishing and beasts.

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Short Activities (5 to 10 minutes)

Magical Creatures In one minute - write down as many magical and fantastical creatures you can think of.

Make up your own Magical Creatures A giranha has the body of a giraffe and the head of a piranha.

Make up new magical creatures by combining animals. Have animal books at hand to help with ideas.

Expedition Ulf and Tiana set out on an expedition to find out what is happening at Honeycomb Mountain.

In one minute - write down all the things you would need to take on an expedition.

Would you walk, cycle, take a car – or use a mixture of ways to travel?

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Create your own Beast The Beastly Boys have created some amazing beasts. Have a go at creating one of your own. Look through the ‘mini-beast’ books in the library for ideas.

Draw a picture of your beast

What does it eat?

What does it smell like?

What would you call it?

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Draw a Troll Look at the fabulous illustrations in the book and then draw your own Troll. Label the different parts of the body giving a sentence about how it works - Eg ‘very long hair so people can drag you around’.

Think of some really funny things!

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If you would like to read more funny books, why not try…

Animals, Insects

The Great Hamster Massacre

Katie Davies Simon & Schuster 978-1-84738-595-6

The Great Rabbit Rescue

Katie Davies Simon & Schuster 978-1-84738-596-3

The Clumsies Make a Mess Sorrel Anderson HarperCollins 978-0-007330-90-4

School According to Humphrey Betty G. Birney Faber 978-0-57125-541-2

Bad Kitty Gets a Bath Nick Bruel Puffin 978-0-14133-593-3

Claude in the City Alex T Smith Hodder 978-0-34099-899-1

S.W.I.T.C.H. : Spider Stampede

Ali Sparkes OUP 978-0-19272-932-3

Families, Friends

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Jeff Kinney Puffin 978-0-14132-490-6

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules Jeff Kinney Puffin 978-0-14132-491-3

Diary of a Parent Trainer Jenny Smith Scholastic 978-1-40711-572-6

My Brother’s Hot Cross Bottom

Jeremy Strong Puffin 978-0-14132-498-2

Billionaire Boy David Walliams HarperCollins 978-0-00737-104-4

Funny & scary!

Werewolf Versus Dragon The Beastly Boys Simon & Schuster 978-1-84738-286-3

Sea Monsters and Other Delicacies

The Beastly Boys Simon & Schuster 978-1-84738-287-0

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The Jungle Vampire The Beastly Boys Simon & Schuster 978-1-84738-399-0

Battle of the Zombies The Beastly Boys Simon & Schuster 978-1-84738-401-0

Runaway Troll Matt Haig Corgi 978-0-55255-578-4

The Ogre of Oglefort Eva Ibbotson Macmillan 978-0-33051-305-0

Pip and the Wood Witch Curse

Chris Mould Hodder 978-0-34097-069-0

Mr Gum and the Goblins Andy Stanton Egmont 978-1-40522-816-9

School stories

Pirate School: A Very Fishy Battle

Jeremy Strong Puffin 978-0-14132-096-0

Pandemonium at School Jeremy Strong Puffin 978-0-14130-495-3