Billy and the Minpins (illustrated by Quentin Blake): Roald Dahl. Illustrated by Quentin Blake

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Little Billy’s mother was always telling him exactly what he was allowed to do and what he was notallowed to do. Little Billy was awfully tired of being good’. Write a new story with this as the first line. What happens next? And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it. Entering The Forest of Sin is ‘like being among the dead men in an enormous empty green cathedral’. Can you think of similes to describe different places?? (see Resources below) The author makes up the names of different creatures that might live in The Forest of Sin. Can you make up a name for a new creature? What does it look like? What happens to it?

Draw a map of The Forest of Sin, including the different places, people and creatures mentioned in the story.

And now Little Billy was kneeling on the chair, gazing with longing through the window at the famous Forest of Sin. Use different types of media to show some of the other creatures that might live in The Forest of Sin. The Gruncher uses his sense of smell to find humans. What other animals use smell? How are their noses adapted for this? All the things he was allowed to do were boring.All the things he was not allowed to do were exciting.

Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Norwegian descent, who rose to prominence in the 1940's with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's bestselling authors. This is a three-week Writing Root for The Minpins by Roald Dahl in which children begin by engaging in the themes of the story by talking about danger and what they are allowed and not allowed to do, imagining gruesome consequences if they don’t follow instructions! They then go on to read and explore The Minpins and create character descriptions (for their own monsters and The Minpins themselves), retellings of key events, reports about The Minpins and eventually writing a new chapter. Synopsis of Text: Use drama activities (e.g. Conscience corridor) to discuss whether Little Billy should go into The Forest of Sin and how he feels about it. Little Billy stares into ‘the everlasting gloom and doom of the forest’. Can you create a picture that uses perspective to show this?When Little Billy first enters The Forest of Sin he can hear absolute silence. Can you find a place where there is absolute silence? What things make sounds? How are they made? How are sounds measured? What is the loudest / quietest sound that you can make? Danger posters, setting descriptions, character descriptions, information reports,postcards Main Outcome:

If you were going to measure the height of a Minpin, what equipment would you need? How tall is a Minpin? What percentage of your height is the height of a Minpin? Little Billy did not believe a word of this. He guessed his mother was making it all up just tofrighten him and stop him ever going out of thehouse alone. These were the words the Devil whisperedsoftly into Little Billy’s ear on that sunny summer afternoon.Look at the illustration of Little Billy first entering The Forest of Sin. Think of synonyms to describe the size of the trees and words to describe Little Billy. Little Billy goes out through the garden gate in a ‘jiffy’. How long is this? Can you think of other ways of describe different periods of time? Which ones are the shortest / longest?

Draw a map of the tree in which the Minpins live, showing the different rooms that they have inside it. Little Billy's mum says he must never go out through the garden gate and explore the dark forest beyond. Stop reading the book at the point when Little Billy sees ‘a sight that froze is blood and made icicles in his veins’. Discuss what this might be. Could you describe / draw what Little Billy has seen? Imagine that you are an estate agent trying to sell a Minpin’s house to a new Minpin family. Make a poster using publishing software to advertise it. One of the things he was NEVER NEVER allowed to do, the most exciting of them all, wasto go out through the garden gate all by himself and explore the world beyond.

Just then a funny thing happened. Little Billy began to hear somebody whispering in his ear. He knew exactly who it was. It was the Devil. The Devil always started whispering to him when hewas especially bored. Whangdoodles are worse,” his mother said, “and Hornswogglers and Snozzwanglers and Vermicious Knids. On this sunny summer afternoon, Little Billy was kneeling on a chair in the living room, gazing out through the window at the wonderful world beyond. His mother was in the kitchen doing the ironing and although the door was open shecouldn’t see him. This was the last work of literature published by Roald Dahl and was published posthumously a year after his death. This novella is a fantastic introduction to the iconic author and is a great way to talk to children about overcoming their fears and helping others as well as exposing them to the language of a master storyteller at work. Links and themes: The Minpins wear clothes that are ‘the sort of thing people wore two or three hundred years ago’. Find out about clothing and fashion from different periods in history.