Before Reading
Look at the front cover.
The title of this story is Charlie's Whale and it is written by Libby Gleeson and Illustrated by Hannah Sommerville. What is Charlie doing on the front cover? Have you ever been whale watching ot spotted whales out at sea? How does it make you feel when you spot one? Why do you think people love to go whale watching? The cover of a book is an important part of its message. Here we see the little boy from behind gazing out to sea, and there are a number of ships, boats and sails on the horizon. On the back cover is a view of the boy swimming with a giant whale. What do these two images suggest to you about the story’s content? What do you know about whales? |
Read and Discuss the text
Read and enjoy the story.
- Illustrators often include details or sub-text in images which are not commented on in the written text. For example, within two early frames in this book the whale’s tale appears, and in another one, the shadow of the whale is viewed underwater. Can you spot them? Why do you think we are given hints about a whale being there?
- What are illustrations in the text include images of whales?
- How do we know that Charlie is very interested in whales? (What does he say or do that gives us these clues)
- What are you interested in? How can you enjoy your interest and learn more about it? How could you share your learning with others?