Teach-Primary-18.3

Meet the author FAVOURITE FUNNY MAN GUY BASS DROPPED BY FOR A CHAT What was primary school like for you? I was shyer than a barn owl on a sunny day, which made school a bit challenging. But it was still an inspiring experience. I got to do lots of creative writing and art, which I loved. I remember winning a class writing competition. I suspect my teacher rewarded me for vastness of word count rather than quality of content, but it did wonders for my confidence and was genuinely formative when it came to believing in myself as a writer. How do characters like Hugh Dunnit take shape in your mind? I wanted to write a noirish detective story and fill it to bursting with wordplay and puns. I was too nervous about plotting a genuine mystery so as a workaround I came up with Hugh Dunnit, who basically creates his own mysteries. I liked the idea that he saw himself as a grizzled private investigator, this ten-year-old who’s already seen it all. His cases become such an obsession that he doesn’t care how much trouble he causes, but he always has honourable motivations. In this book, he’s clearing his dog’s name for a crime he can’t believe she’s committed (even if the evidence is stacked is against her!). I find characters that are their own worst enemy the most fun to write: they’re so single-minded that it takes a wrecking ball to break their vision of reality. Do you have any advice for children who want to write funny stories? Play with opposites. Pair shy characters with bold characters, uptight with laid back, serious with flippant and so on. Surround your protagonist(s) with characters who make their lives more difficult, frustrating and/or challenging – at least on paper. If they end up friends in spite of their differences, then so much the better. Also, however absurd or daft or silly your story, make sure your characters take it all very seriously. The more serious they are, the funnier it is! And, whatever anyone tells you, the expulsion of human wind is never ever not funny. Taking Shelter: A Hugh Dunnit Mystery is out now. www.teachwire.net | 51 It Takes Guts byDr. Jennifer Gardy, illus. Belle Wuthrich (£9.99, Greystone Kids) Gut microbiomes are in the news these days, but do you really know how your body changes food into fuel? Friendly, approachable and packed with amazing facts, It Takes Guts follows a delicious meal on its long and complex journey through the ‘wonderful world of guts’. Correct biological terminology (and Canadian spelling) is used throughout, but child-friendly explanations and clear in-context use increase accessibility, and every chapter is followed by a summary to highlight key points. It Takes Guts will be enjoyed by confident readers from about eight years old, whose ability to tackle the vocabulary will grow alongside their fascination for the subject. The stylish illustrations are full of humour, and help to extend and cement our understanding of the text. Taking Shelter: A Hugh Dunnit Mystery byGuyBass, illus. Lee Cosgrove (£6.99, Andersen Press) Hugh Dunnit’s homework has been shredded. The evidence points to canine involvement, but Hugh is convinced there’s another explanation. There has to be. Now he’s finally got his rescue dog, Shelter, he doesn’t want to lose her. And why accept the obvious, when your Detective Alter-Ego comes up with so many other (hare-brained) scenarios? Written in short chapters, Taking Shelter is illustrated with black-and-white line drawings that blossom into graphic-novel interludes when Hugh’s imagination takes over. As obstinate as he is imaginative, Hugh’s know-it-all persona is softened by how much – and how often – he gets things wrong, and this light-hearted book will delight emerging readers who enjoy everyday absurdity and wordplay. KS2 KS2 RESOURCES RECOMMENDED BUILD WORD POWER Word Whoosh, from Plazoom, is designed to clarify and extend children’s understanding of tier 2 words from Reception to Y6+, enabling them to make more ambitious and accurate language choices when speaking and writing. Each resource pack explores six words through a series of four mini-lessons: read and visualise, associate, understand, and define and master (based on the Frayer model). Find out more at bit.ly/PlzWords