Grandma Bird

Buy This Book * More books by Benji Davies

Noi isn’t at all sure about staying at Grandma’s. Grandma boils seaweed for soup, and there’s not much to do on the tiny island where she lives where the wind cuts in and the grass grows sideways… But that’s before Noi gets swept up in the dramatic rescue that will mark the beginning of their touching new friendship.

English:

• Imagine that Noi has returned to school, and his teacher has asked him to write a report about his holiday. Write that holiday report.
• Write a diary entry from Noi’s point of view about the day when Grandma rescued him and the bird.
• Write some letters from Noi to his grandma before and after his summer visit. Could you write Grandma’s responses?
• Think of some speech / thought bubbles to add to the illustrations.
• Write a new story about an adventure that Noi and his grandma might have together.
• Noi also appears in ‘The Storm Whale’ books. Read these together and try some of our teaching ideas.
• Make a list of the words that are used to describe how Noi moves around (e.g. crept, hopped, pattered, weaved).
• Write an alternative ending to the story after ‘Then he spotted something shimmering across the sand.’ What could be shimmering?
• The author describes the ‘great big rock’ as a castle, a tall ship, a smuggler’s den and the back of a whale. Can you think of other metaphors for a big rock?
• Make some instructions to teach others how to look after a pet bird.
• Watch this video, in which the author reads the story. What questions would you like to ask him?

Maths:

• At the start of the story, Grandma is busy doing lots of different activities on her own. Write a timetable to show how she spends each day.
• The inside covers show bird footprints on a sandy beach. Investigate the length of the foot sizes of the children in your class. Make a table / chart to show the results.

Science:

• Noi encounters a storm in the middle of the story. Can you use this as the starting point for some learning about different types of weather?
• Make a poster to teach others what to do if they find a sick or injured animal.
• The inside covers show bird footprints on a sandy beach. Can you find images of other animals’ footprints? How are they similar / different?

Computing:

• Design a game in which a boat travels over the sea in a storm. What obstacles might it have to avoid?

Design Technology:

• Design a new home for Grandma.
• Design some new clothes for Noi to wear.
• Noi doesn’t like the seaweed soup that Grandma makes. Can you make some recipes for new, healthy meals for them to enjoy?
• Design and build a new boat that Grandma and Noi could use to travel across the sea safely during a storm.

Art:

• Draw some illustrations of Grandma’s unusual house.
• This video shows Benji Davies illustrating a scene from the book. Could you try to copy it?

PSHE:

• Do you think Noi’s grandma likes living alone? Why? Would you like to live alone?
• Do you enjoy spending time alone, or do you prefer to be around friends and family? Can you explain why?