Date Book Title Comment Signed

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Date What is the title of your book? What type of story is it and where is it set? Who are the main characters? What happens in the story? What was your favourite part? Why? Who was your favourite character? Why? Star Rating: Date What is the title of your book? What type of story is it and where is it set? Who are the main characters? What happens in the story? What was your favourite part? Why? Who was your favourite character? Why? Star Rating: 3

1. Making a Paper Sunflower You will need: a paper plate, sticky tape, yellow paper, green paper, seeds, a wooden stick, a petal shape, a leaf shape, glue and scissors. 1 Draw around the petal shape 14 times on the yellow paper and carefully cut out the petals. 2 Make sure your plate is the right way up, then put some glue around the rim. 3 Stick the petals all the way around the rim, making sure they touch each other. 4 Spread some glue over the middle of the flower and stick on your seeds. Do this quickly so the glue does not dry out! You can make a pattern if you like. 5 Leave your sunflower to dry. 6 Turn your sunflower over and tape the wooden stick to the back of the flower. Make sure you use plenty of sticky tape! 7 Draw around two or three leaf shapes on green paper and cut them out. 8 Tape the leaf shapes to the stick. 9 When you have finished choose a place for your sunflower where everyone can enjoy looking at it. 7

1. What type of text is this? 2. Why does it begin with a list of things that you will need? 3. What two colours of paper will you need? 4. How many times must you draw around the petal shape? 5. Why must you stick the seeds on quickly? 6. How do you attach the wooden stick to the flower? 7. What are you told to do after you cut the leaf shapes out? 8. Why do you think each instruction has a number? 8

2. Vincent Van Gogh Vincent Van Gogh was an artist who lived more than a hundred years ago. He painted pictures of himself, and the people and places around him. Vincent also painted flowers, and he loved to paint sunflowers. Vase with Fourteen Sunflowers,1889 Van Gogh Painting Sunflowers,1888 Vincent painted pictures of sunflowers to decorate his house when his friend Paul was coming to stay. Paul painted a picture of Vincent at work, painting the sunflowers. Paul liked Vincent s pictures of sunflowers so much that he kept two of the paintings with him. He even ordered some sunflower seeds so he could grow some sunflowers for himself. Starry Night,1889 When Vincent was alive, he only sold a few drawings and one or two paintings, so he did not have very much money. Sometimes, he even had to stop buying food so he could buy paint, and carry on with his work. Now Vincent s paintings are on show all over the world and are worth a great deal of money. 9

1. What was Vincent Van Gogh? 2. When was Vincent alive? 3. Who did Vincent paint the sunflowers for? 4. What did Paul do that tells you he liked Vincent s paintings? 5. In what year did Vincent paint Starry Night? 6. Why was Vincent poor? 7. How can you tell that people like Vincent s paintings today? 10

3. Mr Davies and the Baby by Charlotte Voake Once upon a time there was a little dog called Mr Davies. All day long he stayed in his garden. He sniffed the smells and dug holes in the flower beds. He ate his meals, and when it rained he slept in his kennel. Next door to Mr Davies lived a baby. Every single day, the baby and his mother went out for a walk. Hello, Mr Davies, the baby s mother said. The baby clapped his hands and laughed and Mr Davies wagged his tail. Mr Davies watched them go down the road and wished he could go with them. Then one day, Mr Davies found he could squeeze right under the gate, and he came out to meet the baby. The baby was very excited. So was Mr Davies, and he jumped about and wagged his tail. Nice dog, said the baby s mother. Now go home, Mr Davies. But Mr Davies was much too excited to listen. He just wagged his tail harder and followed them down the road. Mr Davies was very good until he saw some ducks. Mr Davies, come here! shouted the baby s mother. The next day Mr Davies went for a walk with the baby again, But this time he chased a cat. And the next day Mr Davies saw a man on a bicycle and chased him up the road. People asked the baby s mother, Is this your dog? No, he is not, she said. The next day Mr Davies ran to meet the baby and the baby held out his arms. But just as Mr Davies got to the gate he came to a sudden STOP. Poor Mr Davies had been tied to his kennel! He barked and barked but he could not get free. 11

1. Which words tell you this is the beginning of a story? 2. What did Mr Davies do when it rained? 3. Who lived next door to Mr Davies? 4. How did Mr Davies get out of the garden? 5. Which things did Mr Davies chase? 6. Why did people ask the baby s mother Is this your dog? 7. Why did the baby s mother want Mr Davies to stay in the garden? 8. Why do you think STOP is written in capital letters? 9. Why does it say Poor Mr Davies? 12

4. Sorry Miss by Jo Furtado 13

1. Where did the boy say he took his book last Saturday? 2. How did the book get squashed? 3. Who was the boy reading his book to in the garden? 4. Why did the book get wet? 5. Do you think the boy is telling the truth? Explain your answer. 6. What do you think Miss Folio will have to say about all the excuses? 7. Describe another excuse that the boy could give for not returning the book. 14

5. A Worm s Eye View by Jan Mark 15

1. What did David do to the daisies? 2. What was Tom s job? 3. What tool did David use to dig? 4. What is an allotment? 5. What did Tom say the twig might grow into? 6. How would you describe David? 7. Do you think Tom and Alice liked looking after David? Explain your answer. 8. What advice would you give to David to help him improve his behaviour? 16

6. On Moving Day Here are some children s memories of what happened when they moved house. 17

1. What are the children s memories about? 2. Why are the words in speech bubbles? 3. Where was Sam found? 4. Why did Kavita have to sleep on the floor? 5. What was strange about Ryan s new house? 6. Why did Jamie think it was fun when they couldn t find the plates? 7. What did the cat do when she was let out of the pet box? 8. Which child do you think had the best time when they moved? Explain your answer. 18

7. Moon Facts The moon is a big rock with mountains and craters. Craters are large, deep holes. The moon is about 380 thousand kilometres away from Earth. If you could walk to the moon, it would take you almost ten years to get there! It is difficult for anything to live on the moon. There is no air for plants or animals to breathe. There is no wind or rain on the moon. Because of this, any footprints left in the moon dust will be there for a very long time. The moon is massive. If You could weigh the moon, it would weigh the some as 73 million trillion tonnes. That's 73 with 18 zeros after it! The dark spots you can see on the moon are large, flat areas of dark rock. The light spots are the mountains. The moon only shines because of the sun. The light from the sun bounces off the moon. Without the sun, there would be no moonlight. The moon doesn t actually change shape. As it moves around the Earth, you only see the parts of the moon that are lit by the sun. 19

1. Use the Moon Facts to finish these sentences. It would be difficult to live on the moon because If you could weigh the moon, it would weigh Footprints left on the moon will be there for a very long time because The light spots on the moon are 2. Which do you think is the most interesting facts about the moon and why? 20

8. Grandfather s Pencil by Michael Foreman The boy finished his letter to his father. He put down his pencil and climbed into bed. He kissed his mother goodnight. All was quiet. The house slept in the moonlight. The boy dreamed in his bed. The pencil lay on the paper. Then there was a scratchy, scribbly sound. The pencil was writing. I remember, wrote the pencil, I remember when I first came to this house. I was in a box with friends. We were all different colours. We were a present for the boy. I remember the shop where we were bought. The shelves were full of bottles of ink and boxes of paints in sets like soldiers. And paper so many kinds of paper smooth, rough, thick, thin. Papers from all over the world. Oh, the stories they told, in the night, in the dark! I remember the forest where we lived before we were pencils. I was part of a very tall tree. In my dreams I still feel the sway of the treetop in the wind. In the boy s room a slight breeze ruffled the paper. Yes, sighed the paper, I also remember the wind and the forest. The pencil wrote as the paper told its tale. I also remember when the men came and many trees were cut down. I remember the dragging of the logs and the thrilling journey down the river, said the paper. The boy stirred in his bed. Then the old wooden window flew open. The night wind whirled madly into the room. The boy sat up, his eyes wild with excitement. The door danced on its hinges, the pencil rolled off the table and dropped into the pool of moonlight and the paper flew out of the window. 21

1. At the beginning of the story, what was the boy using the pencil for? 2. Who came to say goodnight to the boy? 3. The house slept in the moonlight. What does this tell you about the setting? 4. Which words tell you the sound the pencil made when it first started to write? 5. How does the author describe how things moved in the wind? 6. What is the main idea of the story? Everything has a story to tell. Everyone should be a sailor. Everything is made of wood. Pencils are the best presents. 22

9. Grace Darling It was just before dawn on a wild September morning in 1838. All night a gale had been blowing. A few miles from the coast the rocky Farne Islands were battered by huge waves. The Lighthouse Lighthouse keeper, William Darling The lighthouse keeper s daughter, Grace Darling Grace Darling had been up for some time. Her father, the keeper of the Longstone Lighthouse, had kept watch for most of the night. Now that he had gone to bed Grace was on watch. Somebody always had to be near the great light in case it went out. Grace peered out in the grey light across the wildlytossed sea. Suddenly she saw a strange shape on the rocks a mile away. It was a wrecked ship! She ran to tell her father. The ship Grace had seen was called the Forfarshire. The Forfarshire was one of the earliest steamships. It carried about 60 people. That night the sea was very rough. The boat had hit the sharp rocks of the island. Then when the ship was flung upon the rocks, it had split in two across the middle. Nine people were left clinging to the side of the wrecked boat. William Darling knew that he would have to rescue the survivors quickly, but, he could not row the rescue boat alone. Grace persuaded him to let her row with him and help him, even though the sea was very dangerous. The journey was terrible and they had to row for nearly a mile without stopping. Once there, William Darling leapt onto the rocks. Grace was left alone in the boat trying to keep it steady. They took five survivors on board a woman called Sarah Dawson and four men. Grace and her mother then looked after the survivors in the lighthouse, while her father back to rescue those left on the rocks. 23

1. This is a true story. When did it take place? 2. What was the name of the lighthouse keeper? 3. Why did someone have to stay on watch all night in the lighthouse? 3. What did Grace see on the rocks in the distance? 4. Why did Grace go with her father to rescue the survivors? 5. Why do you think that Grace and her father could not rescue all the survivors at once? 6. What was the name of the woman they rescued? 7. Grace and her father were given many awards for their bravery. What might have been said to them when they were presented with an award? 24

After you have finished your book, answer the following questions. Title: Author: Why this is THE BEST! Title: Author: Why this is 2 nd best: Title: Author: Why this is 3 rd best: 25