The BFG

By Roald Dahl

This term's novel study was a huge success. The BFG is such a classic tale. Adored by children and teachers everywhere. The movie was a delight too, the new Steven Spielberg film was a true delight. I think a big part of the magic of the book is the clever way in which Dahl has the BFG talk. I'm sure there is a system or style he speaks in but all I know it is very clever and I enjoyed using 'the voice' twice as much as the children enjoyed listening to it.

Synopsis

The BFG is a nice and jumbly giant. In fact, he is the only big friendly giant in giant country. All the other giants are big bonecrunching brutes, and now the BFG and his frined Sophie must stop them guzzling up little human beans - with some help from Her Majesty THE QUEEN.

Novel Study

The BFG Novel Study Unit - This 147 page novel study for The BFG, by Roald Dahl, includes comprehension by chapter, 22 additional Common Core aligned activities, Culminating Project Choices, assessments, bookmarks, and answer keys.Open-ended questions and graphic organizers are easily adaptable for every type of learner. Common Core codes are listed on each resource, along with a student-friendly "I can" statement. No prep, and perfect for whole class, small group, or even independent study.

Author 

Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short story writer, poet, screenwriter, and fighter pilot. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide.
He chronicles his childhood in Boy and his early adult life in Going Solo. 

Books by the same author

Children's books


Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)
The Magic Finger (1966)
 Fantastic Mr Fox (1968)
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (1972)
Danny, the Champion of the World (1975) 
The Enormous Crocodile (1978)
The Twits (1980)
George's Marvellous Medicine (1981)
Revolting Rhymes (1982)
The BFG (1982)
Dirty Beasts (1983)
The Witches (1983)
Boy: Tales of Childhood (1984)
The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me (1985)
 Going Solo (1986)
Matilda (1988)
Rhyme Stew (1989) 
Esio Trot (1990) 
The Minpins (1991)
 Roald Dahl's Guide to Railway Safety (1991)
My Year (1991)

Other works
The Gremlins (1943)
Over To You (1946)
Some Time Never (1948)
Someone Like You (1953)
Kiss Kiss (1960)
Switch Bitch (1974)
James and the Giant Peach (1961)
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More (1977)
My Uncle Oswald (1979)
Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories (1983) 
Two Fables (1985)
Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life (1989)
The Vicar of Nibbleswicke (1991)

Rodrick Rules (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #2)

By Jeff Kinney

Rodrick Rules is the second book in the series. When I shared the Diary of Wimpy Kid book with my class the majority of them were really keen to read the other books in the series. And it gladdened my heart to hear them ask. This particular 'episode' in the series also has a movie attached which, in my opinion was done rather well too.

Synopsis

Whatever you do, don't ask Greg Heffley how he spent his summer holidays, because he definitely doesn't want to talk about it.
As Greg enters the new school year, he's eager to put the past three months behind him... and one event in particular.
Unfortunately for Greg, his older brother Rodrick knows all about the incident. And secrets have a way of getting out... especially when a diary is involved.

Author

 Jeffrey Patrick "Jeff" Kinney is an American cartoonist, producer and author of children's books, including the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series. He is also attributed as the creator of the child-oriented website Poptropica. He started working on The Diary of a Wimpy Kid sometime during 1998, however, it wasn’t published until the spring of 2007. The series gained quick popularity and attained the number one position on important charts with a worldwide sale of 42 million copies up till 2010.

Books in the Series 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway

Holes

By Louis Sachar

Back in 2002 I read this book  to my class and we talked about friendship and the importance of family. It was one of the early books, after Harry Potter, that I read to my Year 5 class. They thoughly enjoyed it. The following year the movie came out and we loved that too. Since then there have been any number of resources available for novel-study. I can highly recommend thi book as a novel study, especially for those older primary school children.

Synopsis

Stanley Yelnats isn't too surprised to find himself at Camp Green Lake, digging holes in the dried-up lake bed, day after scorching day. After all, his family has a history of bed luck.
The boys at Camp Green Lake must dig one hole each day, five feet deep and five feet across. But waht are they digging for? Why did Green Lake dry up? And what do onions and lizards have to do with it all? The answers lie in Stanley's own past...
Holes is a funny, surprising and deliciously suspenseful novel, weaving past and present into a plot that tangles and untangles to a thrilling end.

Novel Study

This novel study for Holes by Louis Sachar contains 108 pages of resources, including comprehension, vocabulary, Common Core activities, assessments, and more!
You will find that this study's layout is student-friendly, and that the questions and activities are easily adaptable to every learner. All Common Core activities have the Common Core code listed in the bottom corner, keeping both you and your students focused.
This is a well-rounded, no-prep novel study that will engage your students and sharpen their reading skills. Perfect for whole class, small group, or even independent study.
UPDATE!
♥BONUS digital version included, which works with Google Drive and contains eye-catching color versions of all resources.
♥Use the paper or the digital version; BOTH are included with your purchase!

Movie Tie-in

Holes (2003) A wrongfully convicted boy is sent to a brutal desert detention camp where he joins the job of digging holes for some mysterious reason.

Author  

Louis Sachar is an award-winning author of twenty-five books for children and young adults. His book, Holes, won the prestigious National Book Award and the Newbery Medal.

Other Books

• Sideways Stories from Wayside School (1978)
• Johnny's in the Basement (1981)
• Someday Angeline (1983)
• Sixth Grade Secrets (1987)
• There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom (1987)
• The Boy Who Lost His Face (1989)
• Wayside School is Falling Down (1989)
• Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School (1989)
• Dogs Don't Tell Jokes (1991)
• More Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School (1994)
• Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger (1995) 
• Kidnapped at Birth? (1992)
• Why Pick on Me? (1993)
• Is He a Girl? (1993)
• Alone In His Teacher's House (1994)
• Holes (1998) 
• Class President (1999)
• A Flying Birthday Cake? (1999)
• Super Fast Out of Control! (2000)
• A Magic Crystal? (2000) 
• Stanley Yelnats' Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake (2003)
• Small Steps (2006) 
• The Cardturner (2010)
• Fuzzy Mud (2015)

Mind Hunters

by John E. Douglas, Mark Olshaker 

I've always been interested in Criminal Minds the TV series. I think its one of those series that has never lost its edge. But this is not that. Rather it tells the story, through the dramaisation of interviews and discussions held with those first FBI agents who were charged with researching those murders that we later come to know as 'serial killers' in fact it is this particular fledgling department that creates such terms. The Netflix series was quiet and 'ploddy' but well written and produced as it explored the minds of the killers and the hunters.

Synopsis

He has hunted some of the most notorious and sadistic criminals of our time: The Trailside Killer in San Francisco, the Atlanta Child murderer. He has confronted, interviewed and researched dozens of serial killers and assassins, including Charles Manson, Richard Speck, John Wayne Gacy, and James Earl Ray - for a landmark study to understand their motives. To get inside their minds. He is Special Agent John Douglas, the model for law enforcement legend Jack Crawford in Thomas Harris's thrillers Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs, and the man who ushered in a new age in behavorial science and criminal profiling. Recently retired after twenty-five years of service, John Douglas can finally tell his unique and compelling story.

Authors

John E. Douglas heads the FBI Elite Serial Crime Unit and is widely experienced in the field of serial killers. This work explores psychology and motives in this area of crime.

Mark Olshaker, author of four novels and producer of the Emmy-nominated The Mind of a Serial Killer, lives in Washington DC. 

Other titles

Mindhunter (1995)
Journey Into Darkness (1997)
Obsession (1998)
The Anatomy of Motive: The FBI's Legendary Mindhunter Explores the Key to Understanding and Catching Violent Criminals (1999)
Broken Wings (1999)
The cases that haunt us (2000)
Law & Disorder: The Legendary FBI Profiler's Relentless Pursuit of Justice (2013)

Stuart Little

by E.B. White

I remember watching the Stuart Little movie years ago and really enjoying it. I have always enjoyed Michael J Fox and it was good to hear his voice again. 1999 was the year after I graduated and I worked in Scunthorpe in the UK when I first enjoyed this movie with my class. It's a real favourite of mine so when I came across this classic in the school library I wondered how closely the movie was to the original novel. The movie and novel begin the same but the endings differ considerably. I'm not sure whether I'd recommend it as a novel study but it might be worth making these resources available for an independent reading group to choose for themselves. I enjoyed the novel, though I did feel it finished rather abruptly for me.... might be worth having students continue the story themselves. That's my final brainwave.

Synopsis

Nearly being dumped in the Atlantic Ocean along with a whole boat-load of foul-smelling rubbish was just one of Stuart Little's amazing adventures.
E.B.White has created a fascinating character - a debonair, intelligent mouse, game for every kind of adventure- whose exploits are a delight to read.

Author

E.B. White was born in New York in 1899. In 1927, White joined The New Yorker magazine as writer and contributing editor—a position he would hold for the rest of his career. He wrote three books for children, including Stuart Little (1945) and Charlotte's Web (1952). In 1959 he revised The Elements of Style by the late William Strunk Jr., which became a standard style manual for writers. White, who earned a Pulitzer Prize special citation in 1978, passed away at his home in Maine in 1985. 

(Biography)

Books by the same author

The lady is cold (1929)
Is Sex Necessary? Or, Why You Feel the Way You Do (1929)
Alice Through the Cellophane (1933)
A Subtreasury of American Humor (1941)
One Man's Meat (1942)
 The Wild Flag (1943)
Stuart Little (1945)
Here Is New York
Charlotte's Web (1952)
The Second Tree from the Corner (1954)
The Elements of Style (with William Strunk, Jr.) (1959)
The Points of My Compass (1962)
The Trumpet of the Swan (1970)
Letters of E. B. White (1976)
Essays of E. B. White (1977)
Poems and Sketches of E. B. White (1981)

Unit Study

This novel-study resource contains a whopping 37 student page guide to use with the book "Stuart Little" by E.B. White. Do you want a literature guide for a story about an adventurous little mouse with a big thrill for life? Then this is the book guide for you.

Movie Tie-in

 Stuart Little (1999) The Little family adopt a charming young mouse named Stuart, but the family cat wants to be rid of him.
Stuart Little 2 (2002) Stuart and Snowbell set out across town to rescue a friend.

Available for Purchase
Stuart Little: Novel (Amazon)
Stuart Little: Movie (Amazon)
Stuart Little 2: Movie (Amazon)

Zoo

By James Patterson, Michael Ledwidge 

Even though by the time most of you will read this the Hastings District Libraries reading programme will well and truly over I still want to share this post. In fact the category listed as a reading challenge “Watch a movie or a TV programme based on a book or vice versa” has made me consider this new category of TV/MOVIE as something I want to expand now that the initial challenge is over.

Being on holiday has really given me a chance to catch up on not only my reading but binge watching some series on NetFlix. I’ve come across this programme Zoo, based on the James Patterson/Michael Lewridge collaboration. I’ve just finished the first season and I was propelled through it with ferocity of an Alex Cross novel. But now I’ve reached season 2 and I don’t know if I’ve tired of the concept or if the second season has strayed too far from the original idea. Either way, I’ve slackened my pace. It’s still good but… not quite the same somehow.

Synopsis 

All over the world, brutal attacks are crippling entire cities. Jackson Oz, a young biologist, watches the escalating events with an increasing sense of dread. When he witnesses a coordinated lion ambush in Africa, the enormity of the impending violence becomes terrifyingly clear. With the help of ecologist Chloe Tousignant, Oz races to warn world leaders before it's too late. The attacks are growing in ferocity, cunning, and planning, and soon there will be no place left for humans to hide.

Author 

James Brendan Patterson (born March 22, 1947) is a prolific American author and philanthropist. Among his work are the Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Women's Murder Club, Maximum Ride, Daniel X, NYPD Red, Witch and Wizard, and Private series, as well as many stand-alone thrillers, non-fiction and romance novels. His books have sold more than 300 million copies and he was the first person to sell 1 million e-books.

Michael S. Ledwidge is an American author of Irish descent. He wrote his first novel, The Narrowback, while working as the back elevator operator for a Park Avenue Coop apartment building. His novel, Bad Connection was written while working as a lineman for the telephone company in NYC.

Other novels 

Haunted (Michael Bennett, #10) (2017)
Chase (Michael Bennett, #9.5) (2016)
Bullseye (Michael Bennett, #9) (2016)
Alert (Michael Bennett, #8) (2015)
Burn (Michael Bennett, #7) (2014)
Gone (Michael Bennett, #6) (2013)
 Zoo (2012)
I, Michael Bennett (Michael Bennett, #5) (2012)
Now You See Her (2011)
Tick Tock (Michael Bennett, #4) (2010)
Worst Case (Michael Bennett, #3) (2010)
Run for Your Life (Michael Bennett, #2) (2010)
Daniel X: The Manga, Vol. 1 (Daniel X: The Manga, #1) (2010)
SeungHui Kye Step on a Crack (Michael Bennett, #1) (2007)
The Quickie (2007)
The Dangerous Days of Daniel X (Daniel X, #1) (2007)