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Once there was a girl whose life was filled with wonder at the world around her…
Then one day, something happened that made the girl take her heart and put it in a safe place. However, after that, it seemed that the world was emptier than before. But would she know how to get her heart back?
Teaching Ideas and Resources:
English
- Look at the sketches on the inside covers of the book. Can you think of some captions / speech bubbles / thought bubbles for each of them?
- Use the first line of the book (‘Once there was a girl, much like any other’) to start your own story. How will it be similar / different to this one?
- Make a list of all of the ‘curiosities of the world’.
- The girl takes delight in finding new things. Plan an activity / trip in which you would be able to find out new things about a topic of your choice. What will you need? Where might you go? Who would come with you?
- How many connectives can you find in the story?
- What different types of punctuation has the author used? Are there any types of punctuation that he did not use? Why?
- Some of the illustrations have speech bubbles that show pictures instead of words. Can you think of the words that the characters might be using?
- Retell the story from the girl’s point of view.
Science
- Can you find out more about the heart? What does it do? How does it work?
Computing
- Download a copy of the iPad app linked to this book. Could you plan an iPad book / app linked to your own favourite story?
- Can you record your own video retelling of the story?
Art
- Draw some illustrations that show the girl’s facial expression at different points in the story.
PSHE
- The girl’s head is filled with ‘all the curiosities of the world’. What does it mean to be curious? What things are you curious about? How could you find out more about them?
- Make a list of words / phrases that describe how the girl feels at the start of the story, when she finds the empty chair, and at the end of the story.
- Why, do you think, did the girl put her heart in the bottle?
- What does this story tell us about how people sometimes react to different events in their lives?