Monday, March 10, 2014

The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler

The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler



















Emily Bingo:
Discussion Questions:
http://www.hclib.org/pub/bookspace/BookClubKid_discussionquestions.cfm?isbn=0763624837&title=The%20Tail%20of%20Emily%20Windsnap
·         Would you like to be a mermaid? Why or why not?
·         What do you think would be the best thing about being a mermaid? And the worst?
·         Emily visited Shona's mermaid school. If Shona could somehow visit Emily's school, what do you suppose she would think about what human girls have to learn at school?
·         Why do you think Neptune changed his mind about his laws?
·         Do you think Mr. Beeston is really bad? Why or why not?
·         If you had magical powers, would you keep that a secret? Why or why not?
·         Do you think it was brave or foolish for Emily to take out the boat by herself? Why?
·         Did you figure out Mr. Beeston was a merman before Emily did? If so, what were the clues?
·         Why was Shona so important to Emily? And do you think it is important to have a best friend, or is it okay to have lots of good friends?
·         Would you like to live on a boat? Why or why not?
·         Mr. Beeston was erasing Emily's mother's memory. If Neptune's law was going to keep them apart, do you think it was better for her mother that she couldn't remember anyway? And do you think it was harder for Emily's father in prison, who DID remember about his wife and child who he could never see again?
Make a Fortune Teller:

Mystic Millie likes to tell people’s fortunes. Use this fortune-teller at the Fintastic Friendship Festival to predict your friends’ futures!
Cut out the fortune-teller from the previous page.
Fold it in half along one of the dotted lines and unfold it again, making a crease.
Fold it in half along the other dotted line and unfold it again.
Flip it over so it’s facedown and fold the corners together so they touch in the middle, using the creases to help you.
Leaving the corners folded in, flip your fortune-teller over and fold the corners to meet in the middle.
Fold your fortune-teller in half, with the pictures on the outside.
Gently push your thumbs and pointer fingers into the flaps created underneath the pictures. Now your fortune-teller is ready to use!

Friendship Questions:
Shona and Emily become best friends but not everyone has a best friend.
Ask children to think about their own friends and discuss the following questions: Is it better to
have a best friend or lots of friends? Do you like all your friends in the same way? Do you like doing
the same thing with all of your friends? Do you tend to see some friends only in certain situations?
Would you want to see all of your friends all the time?

Sharks Vs Mermaids:
A variation of ‘bull dog’: choose two children to be the sharks who will try to catch the mermaids as
they swim from one end of the playground (or swimming pool) to the other.
When a mermaid is caught they become a shark. The game continues until there are no more

mermaids.