The Legend Of The Worst Boy In The World

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Will is desperate to win the Giant Jelly Baby competition and be named ‘the best boy in the world’. But his big brother Marty always beats him to it. Then one day Will’s wish comes true – he’s the best boy in the world at last! Marty is not happy, and decides that something must be done…

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

English

• What is a ‘legend’? Find out about other legends.
• Could you write your own story entitled ‘The Legend of the Worst Boy (or Girl) in the World’? What would happen?
• Will’s brothers, Bert and HP, invent new words. Could you make up some new words and write definitions for them?
• Will explains that ‘Auto Nod’ is when ‘grown-ups don’t really listen to what a child says; they just nod every five seconds or so until the child goes away’. Why has the author used a semi-colon in this sentence? Can you make up your own sentences which use semi-colons?
• The headland where Will’s grandparents live ‘sticks out into the sea like a Stone Age arrowhead’. Can you think of similes to describe places around you?
• Grandad likes hearing about problems ‘with jungle animals’. Could you make up a story which he would like to listen to?
• Will tells his grandad an embarrassing toilet story. What does ’embarrassing’ mean? Can you write about an embarrassing incident that you have had?
• Think of a new story that grandad might tell Will about something that happened to him earlier in his life.
• There are lots of descriptive words in the book (e.g. quivering, forbidden, hilarious, exaggerate). Can you explain what they mean? Can you make up your own sentences which include them?
• At the end of the story, the characters talk about ‘morals’. Discuss what morals are. Do you know any other stories with morals? Could you write a story with a moral?

Art

• Draw some new illustrations for the book. These could include… images of the lighthouse on the coast or the view from the lamproom.
• Draw a picture of the ‘worst boy (or girl) in the world’.

Geography

• Draw a map which shows the places in the story (e.g. the new housing estate, the new road, the school, the village of Duncade).

History

• Using the information about the characters in the story, create a family tree showing their relationships.

PSHE

• Will tells his problems to his grandad. Talk about other people who are there for us if we have problems.
• Will hopes to take over his grandad’s job and live in the lighthouse apartment when he is older. What do you hope to do when you are older?
• Think about the emotions that Will goes through at different parts of the story. Could you make a graph which shows how his emotions rise and fall?
• Will loved to walk on straight lines when he was little. What are your favourite things to do? How have these changed as you’ve grown older?
• Use the story as a starting point for discussions about consequences and what might happen if we make wrong decisions / choices.