Skippyjon Jones

Buy This Book * More books by Judy Schachner

Skippyjon Jones would rather be El Skippito, the great sword-fighting Chihuahua! He fears not a single bandit. He rescues his friends from a huge bumblebee to and gets the job done, yes indeed-o.

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

English

• When Mama Junebug Jones speaks to Skippyjon, she orders, scolds and calls. Can you think of other synonyms for ‘says / said’?
• Write a set of instructions from Mama Junebug Jones to teach Skippyjon how to be a cat. What do cats do that other animals don’t?
• Look at the use of rhyming within Skippyjon’s songs. Can you think of other words that rhyme with the ones that he uses?
• When Skippyjon meets the chihuahuas, he says that he is ‘incognito’. What does this mean?
• At one point in the story, Don Diego stands tall and speaks in a ‘sombre’ voice. What does this mean? Can you say the same sentence repeatedly but with different expressions? Does this change the meaning?
• The rhymes and songs in the story are often in the form of a limerick. Can you write your own limerick?
• Retell the story from Skippyjon Jones’ point of view. Could you retell the story from his mum’s point of view? How would the stories differ?
• Could you write a story about an animal who pretends to be a different animal?
• Watch this video and plan an interview with the author:

• Could you write a new adventure about Skippyjon Jones? Think of something that he might find in his toy box and how he could use this in a new story.
• Write a set of instructions to help people to look after their own pet cat.

Science

• Find out about the animals in the story. Choose one of them and write a report about them.
• Learn about different types of cats (and members of the cat family). How are they similar / different?
• Skippyjon Jones bounces on his bed. What forces are taking place when he does this?
• Alfredo Buzzito steals beans. What different types of beans are there? How do we eat them? Are they all healthy?
• The Great Bumblebeeto casts a giant shadow over the landscape. How are shadows formed? Can you investigate how to change the shape / size of shadows?

Computing

• Use a publishing tool to design a poster for a movie version of the book.
• Make an animation based on the characters in the book. Look at this video for inspiration:

• Download the Skippyjon Jones app. Watch this video for more information:

Design Technology

• Make some puppets of the main characters in the story and perform it for others.

Art

• Don Diego draws a picture in the sand for Skippito. Can you make your own sand picture?

Music

• Compose some tunes to accompany some of Skippyjon Jones’ rhymes. Could you perform these for an audience?

Geography

• Look on a map and find where Mexico is.
• What can you find out about Mexico? Could you write a report about the country? How is it similar / different to where you live?
• Prepare some questions to ask somebody who lives in Mexico. What would you like to find out?

Languages

• Most Mexicans speak Spanish. Can you find out any Spanish words? Could you have a conversation in Spanish? What Spanish words can you find in the story?