A perfect activity for Halloween!
Buy Grobblechops
Grobblechops is a great story for Halloween, and this activity encourages children to become their own storytellers. We’ve put together a storyboard available to download for parents, to inspire children to come up with their own Amir and Grobblechops adventures! If you’re looking for more Halloween activities, download your own Grobblechops mask from our previous activity blog!
Now that Amir has overcome his fear of monsters, what will he get up to with his new friend Grobblechops? It’s important for young writers to get a sense of how illustrations can complement, but also contradict, the words in a story. When you’re reading Grobblechops, think about how the images work with the text. Illustrations, through colour and expression, can often show feelings in a way that words can’t. Give your child free reign. Show them the different spreads of Grobblechops, and let them point out the little details in Jenny Lucander’s illustrations. This is a great opportunity to talk to them about the different features of a book: the cover, front and end papers, title pages and the dedications, of course!
Get them enthusiastic about having control of their own story! Storyboards are used by authors and illustrations as part of their planning process when they begin a new story. Storyboards themselves are great for little writers as they can help them visualise the progression of their story as well as develop their sequencing skills. You can encourage them to use connectives such as ‘first’, ‘next’ and ‘finally’ to develop their narrative.
Here are some examples of questions you could ask children about their stories:
- How will words and pictures work together on the page?
- How will you show how your characters are feeling?
- Will there be speech bubbles or sound effects?
- What will happen at the end?
For more inspiration for illustration, check out our previous Grobblechops activity blog to find out about illustrator Jenny Lucander’s techniques, and how to create pictures using different materials.
There are blank storyboards available to download too, just in case any budding authors want to extend their story! Let them have fun with it – the possibilities are endless!
We would love to read your completed storyboards! Just upload a photo via Instagram, Twitter or Facebook and use the hashtag #Grobblechops or tag us, and we will share it.
- Read a review by Parents in Touch: Grobblechops will alleviate children’s worries
- Read a review by Dolphin Books: Grobblechops is an excellent book for your collection!
- Grobblechops featured by Book Trust on Instagram!
- Read a blog: is there really a monster under the bed?!
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