Here’s the guidance and resource materials for teachers, librarians, parents and others who work with children for Episode Ten of The Story Thief Challenges.

Story Re-cap questions:

1. What made it so hard for the kids to bring their father to the library to meet the Story Thief?
2. Why did Liam contact the author?
3. How does the Thief magically travel everywhere?
4. Why do you think Liam’s last attempt to travel magically through stories worked?
5. What do you think will happen when they meet the Thief in the library?

Re-cap questions on Catherine Doyle writing advice :

1. When does Catherine think magic works best in a story?
2. Give an example of something ordinary but with a magical twist from in a story you know?
3. How can you be expressive in your language when describing the magic?
4. Why is how the magic affects your characters even more important than the magic on its own?
5. Give an example of magic in a book that the characters fear? Or that the characters love?

Story Challenge:

PS: Here’s a Story Challenge for you.

Choose something ordinary from your everyday life – it can be anything from a blade of grass to a piece of furniture to the family goldfish. Now, sprinkle it with magic. Delve into your imagination and give it a property that makes it enchanted. Does it talk? Sing? Change colour? Open a portal? As you tell your story, allow your main character to discover this magical item, and pay special attention to what happens when they do – the most exciting part is in the moment of interaction. I want you to tell me all about it!

How to do this challenge?

As usual the challenge is self-explanatory, but here’s some alternative ways it can be done in a group setting:

• Encourage kids to imagine how different characters might experience the same magical item. They could write an additional dialogue between two characters describing the same object – one character could love it, another fear it.
• This doesn’t need to be a written activity. Instead children could be encouraged to find something and bring it in to the group setting and present it to the other kids and describe its magic power.
• Have a discussion with the kids about their favorite moments from books and films and games where the characters discover magic.
• Whatever other approach you’re having yourself 🙂

Once the challenge is completed?

As ever we’d love to see what the kids came up with and show it to all our readers on the kids’ work pages.  Please get in touch to arrange this on our contact page.