Chatterbooks Activity Pack from Publishing Scotland Reading and activity ideas for your Chatterbooks group Publishing Scotland: Chatterbooks Activity Pack Here’s a brilliant variety pack featuring children’s books from five of the publishers in Publishing Scotland, the network, trade and development body for the book publishing sector in Scotland. For more information about this network have a look at Publishing Scotland. Here are picture books, longer fiction, books for young children through to teenage, several of them inspired by Scottish places, Scottish people and Scottish history and traditional stories. You’ll also find discussion and activity ideas, linked to the books, and some suggestions for further reading. Publishing Scotland is a member of the publisher partnership Children’s Reading Partners, coordinated by The Reading Agency, and this pack is brought to you by The Reading Agency and the following publishers in the Publishing Scotland network: AILSAPRESS Curly Tale Books Floris Books – Kelpies The Gresham Publishing Company – Geddes and Grosset Serafina Press Chatterbooks [ www.readinggroups.org/chatterbooks] is a reading group programme for children aged 4 to 14 years. It is coordinated by The Reading Agency and its patron is author Dame Jacqueline Wilson. Chatterbooks groups run in libraries and schools, supporting and inspiring children’s literacy development by encouraging them to have a really good time reading and talking about books. The Reading Agency is an independent charity working to inspire more people to read more through programmes for adults, young people and Children – including the Summer Reading Challenge, and Chatterbooks. See www.readingagency.org.uk Children’s Reading Partners is a national partnership of children’s publishers and libraries working together to bring reading promotions and author events to as many children and young people as possible. Contents 3 AILSAPRESS 7 Curly Tale Books 9 Kelpies 12 Geddes and Grosset 13 Serafina Press 2 Chatterbooks Activity Pack from Publishing Scotland AILSAPRESS Bramble and Coultoon: Their Hebridean Adventure Catherine Wilson & Ruth MacLean 978-0955565625 This story is a delightful blend of fact and fancy. Two Highland ponies using their wits, kettle, peat and tent set off to explore what happens on the other side of their home island of Islay. They take a ferry, which lands them in Oban, and then another ferry, which lands them in South Uist. After a stormy crossing they are very glad to pitch camp for the night. The next day they learn about the Prince’s Cave, and off they go! They meet Bonny Prince Charlie, and together they all return to Islay on his sailing ship. The illustrations are full-colour paper cut-outs, and provide clear and inventive images that lend themselves to detailed investigation. The text is simple and fun. Catherine Wilson and Ruth MacLean are friends. Like the two ponies, they also made a voyage across the sea by ferry. Ruth now lives in Canada and Catherine lives on Islay Coultoon was born on the moss at Coultoon, which is why he was called Coultoon. Bramble was also born on the moss at Coultoon but he couldn’t have the same name so he was called Bramble. Coultoon is on the island of Islay. They make whisky on Islay and there are lots of sheep. Be an explorer Have a look at the map at the beginning of this book and as you read this story, track the journey which the two ponies make in their exploration of the other side of the island of Islay. Be a researcher Using this fact-finding sheet, and researching in information books and on the internet, see what you can find out about key things in the story and the pictures in this book. Your findings What are the Paps of Jura? Find out more about the ferries on which Bramble and Coultoon travel. See https://www.calmac.co.uk/ What is the Lord of the Isles? What do the letters RSPB mean on the T shirt of the man with binoculars? Find out more about Bonny Prince Charlie. 3 Chatterbooks Activity Pack from Publishing Scotland Be a good sailor! What does this rhyme mean?! If you’re below decks in a gale Your breakfast will up in a pail! Where’s the best place to be on a boat when the weather and the seas are rough? And which way should you be facing? Talk about any journeys by sea, river or canal, which people in your group have enjoyed – or not! Be a Celtic artist Have a look at the picture of a horn at the end of this book, beautifully decorated with scenes from the story and Celtic patterns. Here are some more Celtic designs for you to colour in, or use in a picture of your own. You can find more of these patterns at yhoo.it/1Tlw0uK which you could copy or print out. 4 Chatterbooks Activity Pack from Publishing Scotland Bramble and Coultoon: Their Sky Dragon Adventure Catherine Wilson & Ruth MacLean 978-0955565632 Bramble and Coultoon are two fire-making ponies. In this, their second adventure, they get lost in a mist. No matter where they look, they can't find anything familiar. Then they meet two sheep who tell them they have reached the Edge of NoWhere. The sheep warn them not to go any further. But of course they do and so they meet the sky dragon. The dragon's fire has gone out and without fire she cannot return to her home in the sky. The rest of the story tells how the ponies make fire for the dragon with help from an eagle and the peat men. It is not easy going but they receive a wonderful reward - a ride on the sky dragon's back! The ponies halted. In front of them was a huge dragon with bulging eyes, pointy teeth, and a forked, red tongue. ‘Oh dear’, said Bramble. ‘We didn’t know we were running up and down your back!’ Create your own collage dragon The pictures in all the Bramble and Coltoon books are full- colour paper cut-outs. Using both plain and textured papers, and pages from magazines, cut out paper shapes to create your own collage. Assemble your cut-outs into the shape of a dragon and glue them on to a piece of card or paper. Words, lovely words! In this story there is a great description of a bog: Syrupy, slurpy, smudgy bog! You can really enjoy saying this! Try gathering some strong-sounding words to describe these. Find words which really sound like the thing they are describing – e.g. flaring flames; muzzling mist Rain Mist Waves Flames Sky dragon At the end of the book you can read about the stars in the sky which form the dragon-shaped constellation called Draco (which means ‘dragon’). Find out more about Draco and how you can find it in the night sky. On a clear night you may even get to see it! 5 Chatterbooks Activity Pack from Publishing Scotland Bramble and Coultoon: Their Bolsa Cave Adventure Catherine Wilson & Ruth MacLean 978-0955565663 Bramble and Coultoon are two fire-making ponies who love adventures. By now their fame has spread before them and a certain Mr McEnvy is anxious to get rid of them. He cunningly lays them a trap knowing their keen sense of adventure. He tells them about a cave far off on the rocky wild coast of Islay and of a piper who can still be heard playing his pipes in the cave. Of course the ponies cannot resist. When they get to the cave, they are told by a friendly stag that the piper had a dog who came out of the cave with all of his hair burnt off. They almost give up but curiosity gets the better of them. They discover the piper who asks for their help. They all come out of the cave alive, and there is a funny and happy ending which involves the Islay Pipe Band. The ponies were tired. So they got everything ready to make a fire and some tea in the morning, then they lay down and went to sleep inside the mouth of the cave. Suddenly, Coultoon awoke. He could hear the pipes. At the beginning of this book there’s a maze game – help the ponies to find the piper. The piper’s pipes This book is dedicated to the music of bagpipes, played in many parts of the world, including Scotland. Find out how they are played – here’s a clip from YouTube where someone is playing these pipes. And in this clip the tune is McCrimmon’s Lament, which is the tune the piper plays in the story. Quick Quiz Here are a few questions about the story – with each question see if you can pick out the right answer – then talk about how it fits into the story. 1.Look at the picture on the wall of the envious man’s house. What does it say? a. Welcome Home b. Home Sour Home c. Home Sweet Home 2.What kind of animals are hinds? a. Secretive creatures which hide b. Deer c. Foxes 3.What is peat? a. A boy’s name b. A fruit c. Soil material, formed in bogs, which is dug out in blocks, and used as fuel for fires 6 Chatterbooks Activity Pack from Publishing Scotland 4.How do Bramble and Coultoon light a fire? a. By rubbing two sticks together b. With sparks from rubbing their hooves together c. With matches 5.What does the envious man keep saying? a. You could knock me over with a feather b.