The Hare-Shaped Hole

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Hertle and Bertle were always a pair, though one was a turtle and one was a hare.

They were utterly buddies, and best friends forever, and whenever you looked, you would find them together… until quite unexpectedly… the end came. When Hertle disappears for good, Bertle can only see a Hertle-shaped hole where his friend should be. He pleads with it, gets angry with it, but the hole still won’t bring his Hertle back. It seems like hope is lost… until Gerda, the kindly bear, finds him.

She explains that he must fill the hole with his memories of Hertle. And slowly… Bertle begins to feel a little bit better.

English:

• Retell the story in the first person, from Bertle’s point of view. Explain how he is feeling at different points in the story.
• Add the main points of the plot to a Story Mountain template.
• Write a prequel to this book, explaining how Bertle and Hertle first met.
• Make a list of the rhyming words in the book. Can you think of other words that rhyme with them? Use these to make your own story.
• Think of some speech / thought bubbles to accompany the illustrations in the book.
• Change some of the direct speech to reported (or indirect) speech.
• Create a poem about friendship and loss, using imagery from the book.
• Write a letter from Bertle to Gerda to thank her for helping him.
• Write a story about Gerda. Who is represented by the hole next to her in the book’s final illustration? Read The Bear-Shaped Hole* and discuss which book you prefer. We also have some teaching ideas for that book.
• Read other books about grief (e.g. Badger’s Parting Gifts). Why do people write about this topic?
• Record yourself reading this story. Think about the voices of the characters and how to express emotions. Here is an example:

Maths:

• Plot the main events in the story and add them to a timeline.
• Create some symmetrical pictures that include turtles and hares.

Science:

• Create some reports about turtles and / or hares. Where do they live? What do they eat? How are they adapted to their habitats?
• Explore the life cycles of turtles and hares.
• Look at the changing seasons shown in the illustrations. How do they reflect Bertle’s emotions? Investigate why we have seasons and how they affect plant and animal life.

Computing:

• Look at the pictures of stars on the inside covers of the book. Use graphics software to decorate stars in different ways.
• Use animation tools to retell a scene from the story.
• Create an animated trailer to advertise the book.

Design Technology:

• Create some puppets to represent Bertle and Hertle and use them to retell the story.
• Create some 3D stars. Here is a tutorial that you could follow:

• Design a memory box that Bertle could fill with items that remind him of Hertle.

Art:

• Look at the cover of the book. Decorate the inside of a silhouette of a face with pictures of your favourite people, things and memories.
• Look at examples of artworks that include silhouettes (e.g. Matisse’s Cut Outs and ‘Wanderer above the Sea of Fog’ by Caspar David Friedrich). Could you try to create your own versions of some of them?
• Create some shadow art to represent Bertle’s emotions.
• Retell the story in the form of a comic strip.
• Visit the author’s site to download some free colouring sheets linked to this book.
• Create your own illustrations of Bertle and Hertle. Draw pictures that show a variety of emotions.
• Look at the illustrations in which Hertle is missing. Can you make some pictures that include ‘a hole in the air’?

Music:

• Compose melodies to accompany some of the rhyming verses at different points in the story. How might these change to reflect Bertle’s changing emotions?

Religious Education:

• Discuss how different religions and cultures approach grief and remembrance.

PSHE:

• Make a list of similarities and differences between Bertle and Hertle. How are you similar / different to your friends?
• If appropriate, think of a time when somebody or something went missing from your life. How did it make you feel? How did you react?
• How does Gerda help Bertle in the story? What does this teach us about how to help people who may be dealing with a loss?
• Bertle remembers special times with Hertle and puts them into the hare-shaped hole. How does this help him to deal with her loss?