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Every half term each class celebrates an author and learns about their books.
AUTHOR DAY - SPRING TWO
Shirestone Teachers' Favourite Authors
Roald Dahl
Matilda by Roald Dahl is a personal favourite of mine as a love how the author has made you really feel for the characters. Miss Honey is a meek and mild character but by the end she is standing up for her rights! Her confidence is built by a small girl called Matilda. My favourite part is;
Miss Honeys mouth dropped open and her eyes stretched so wide you could see the whites all round. She didn’t say a word she couldn’t. The shock of seeing the miracle performed had struck her dumb.
You can tell how shocked Miss Honey is by the authors choice of words “mouth dropped open”, “struck her dumb” and “ her eyes stretched so wide you could see the whites all around”. He described her appearance to really get across to us how unbelievable and unusual the event was.
Roald Dahl’s sense of humour and word choice makes his books so enjoyable.
Watch a scene...
Beatrix Potter
One my favourite childhood author is Beatrix Potter; I love how she brought the animals and nature to life. All her wonderful books have a personal touch, as every adventure is a personal moment from her life. You can read these endless classics again and again but never get bored of the delightful characters.
It would be difficult to pick one book as my favourite as every book holds an enjoyable journey through an animated characters life. So I have chosen her very first book, ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’ first published in 1902 to share today.
A quote I like from the book is;
‘Now, dears,' said old Mrs Rabbit one morning, 'you may go into the fields or down the lane, but don't go into Mrs McGregor's garden: your Father had an accident there; he was put in a pie.'
I like this part as it’s the first indication that there will be trouble in the story because when you are told not to do something, there is always one character that will. Mischievous Peter Rabbit disobeys his mother and runs off into Mr McGregor’s vegetable garden. But when he comes face to face with Mr McGregor himself, a thrilling chase ensues. Peter takes the risk of ending up with his father’s ill fate of becoming a pie.
Does Peter escape from Mr McGregor's clutches?
Beatrix Potter was an inspirational writer and illustrator whose books are loved by all till this day.
Read 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit' ...
Gillian Cross
I got into reading book by Gillian Cross after first watching ‘The Demon Headmaster’ on TV when I was younger which made me want to read the book and then led me into other books by Gillian Cross. Her books are fantastic for young readers that want something based on real life but with a twist and sometimes a bit of comedy too!
Gillian Cross bases all her stories on experiences she has had or brilliant ideas based on real life events which helps to give that realistic touch that really captures me as a reader and gets me into the book, particularly being able to put myself in the character’s shoes from the way the characters are developed and described through the stories.
There are a number of trilogies in Gillian Cross’ collection, as well as ‘The Demon Headmaster’ and each one I have read has had me gripped! She really knows how to describe the events and characters to keep you guessing, and predicting what will happen next and how everything will tie together in the end.
One quote that captures her writing style and that I particularly like is from The Demon Headmaster And The Prime Minister’s Brain:
Underneath was a picture of a man in a white lab coat. He was very tall and very thin, with thick, pebbly glasses. Somehow, the blurred photograph made him look not quite human. More like an insect. Or a robot. Dinah actually found herself shivering and she gave a stiff little laugh to hide it…
‘He’s repulsive!’ Ingrid pulled an extra-horrible cross-eyed face and stuck out her tongue at the poster.
This section hints at something not quite right and uses great description to help with the visuals as well as character’s reactions that help us to infer what is going on and speculate about the man in the poster. There’s also a bit of humour in there too!
Jill Murphy
My favourite book is Five Minutes Peace by Jill Murphy.
I have loved this book since I was a child but I really like the way The author uses the dialogue between the characters to create the mood of the story.
Miss Squires
