What the Ladybird Heard

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Draw a map of the farm on the coordinate grid (see Resources below) and use the coordinates / compass directions to show somebody how to move from one place to another. The thieves ‘crept’ into the farm. Think of synonyms which describe how people can move. Can you demonstrate each one (e.g. sprint, crawled, paced). Can you sort the animals in the story using Venn or Carroll diagrams? Which ones have two legs? Which have four legs? Which ones have a beak or a nose? How many other ways could you sort them? Look at the adjectives that are used to describe each animal. How many other adjectives can you think of to describe them? Use the animal posters (see Resources below) and write adjectives on them.

Can you make up a song which includes lots of examples of animal sounds? Get some ideas by watching this performance of a song by the author and her husband: Identify the rhyming words used throughout the book. Can you make your own rhyming dictionary, adding other rhyming words for the ones found? My real breakthrough was THE GRUFFALO, again illustrated by Axel. We work separately - he’s in London and I’m in Glasgow - but he sends me letters with lovely funny pictures on the envelopes. The animals on the farm are always making noise, all apart from the ladybird. When the farm is under threat from thieves, the ladybird - the quietest animal on the farm - overhears the robbers' devising their plan. In turn she then devises her own cunning plan to foil their attempt. What ensues is amusing and uplifting! What The Lady Bird Heard is a great book.One of my television songs, A SQUASH AND A SQUEEZE, was made into a book in 1993, with illustrations by the wonderful Axel Scheffler. It was great to hold the book in my hand without it vanishing in the air the way the songs did. This prompted me to unearth some plays I’d written for a school reading group, and since then I’ve had 20 plays published. Most children love acting and it’s a tremendous way to improve their reading. Look at the illustrations of the farm in the book. Look at the different textures used on the tree / grass / buildings. Can you try to recreate these textures using different art materials? It is also really great to introduce rhyme and patterns into a book, There is a nice repetitive structure to the book with a good natural flow, making it easy for children to follow and spot the patterns and rhymes. Funnily enough, I find it harder to write not in verse, though I feel I am now getting the hang of it! My novel THE GIANTS AND THE JONESES is going to be made into a film by the same team who made the Harry Potter movies, and I have written three books of stories about the anarchic PRINCESS MIRROR-BELLE who appears from the mirror and disrupts the life of an otherwise ordinary eight-year-old. I have just finished writing a novel for teenagers. The ladybird whispered into each animal’s ear. Think of other words that describe how we can communicate with others (e.g. shouted, screamed, hissed, chattered).

I really enjoy writing verse, even though it can be fiendishly difficult. I used to memorise poems as a child and it means a lot to me when parents tell me their child can recite one of my books. Before Malcolm and I had our three sons we used to go busking together and I would write special songs for each country; the best one was in Italian about pasta. Write a character profile about Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len? what kind of people are they? Where do they live?I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married. Remember to explore our teaching ideas for the sequel, What the Ladybird Heard Next. Teaching Ideas and Resources: English