Toys in Space

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Have any of them been lost? What happened, and how were things resolved? If you like, you can use role-play to extend the discussion. Look at the patterns on the Hoctopize’s body. Can you create your own patterns on the ‘Hand Outlines’ template below?

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Look at the spread showing the ‘Room of a Thousand Lost Toys’. What do the words mean on the Sleep-o-meter? Can your class think of other words to describe the sleeping toys? Where could the Hoctopize come from? What might his planet be like? Generate ideas as a class and model note-taking for your children, as well as collecting good words to describe imaginary worlds. Wonderdoll invents this story to help the toys overcome their fears. Invite your class to create all sorts of different stories and provide special storytelling areas where they can tell them to an audience of toys. These areas can be just big enough for one child plus a toy, or larger to accommodate a group. Think dens – sheets draped over washing lines, enormous cardboard boxes – and decorate them with paints, cushions and bunting. This book is very adorable with its concept of lost toys. It reminds me of Toy Story in a way since each toy clearly has a distinct voice and personality, portrayed with different fonts. Parents will find this story perfect for creating "voices" during story time. When WonderDoll’s story begins, a range of adjectives are used to describe the toys (e.g. resourceful, brave, clever…). Can you make a list of these and add your own adjectives? Use a thesaurus to find some more.

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In this book, the Hoctopize first appears as a silhouette, which increases the tension. Use a white screen and spotlight to explore silhouettes cast by different shapes.

Toys In Space - Teaching Ideas

Ask children to wake slowly, stretching and showing surprise at finding themselves in a strange place. How do they feel, so far from home? What do they want, and what is going to happen next? The situation looks bad until the toys discover that the alien isn’t so scary after all. He’s just looking for something very special. When the toys are accidentally left outside overnight, some of them are concerned. The dinosaur doesn't like the dark, and the stuffed horse whinnies, "I may get damp!"

Why not give the silhouettes to another class and invite them to make the same response? Parachuting down to earth How are the toys introduced? Note the words describing them. What kind of comments does each toy make as the story progresses? Do they have distinctive characters? Which toy would you choose as a companion in a crisis? Why? Ask your class to plan a party, complete with traditional games, food, invitations and decorations. Talk abut the different tasks and assign pairs or groups of children to each task. Make a date for the party and allow each child to invite a toy as a guest. Stargazing

Space National Aeronautics and Educators Grades 5-12 Space

We've read several books by Mini Grey; in fact, we really liked the Traction Man series. So when I saw this book at our local library, I just had to borrow it. Divide children into groups and give them a large sheet of paper showing an outline of the Hoctopize. Look at the spread where the Hoctopize and the toys meet. What is the Hoctopize thinking? How does he feel? Write this inside the outline. The toys explain to the alien that the toys should be returned to their real homes. Why is stealing wrong?What do toys get up to when their owners aren’t looking? Share other books such as One True Bear by Ted Dewan, the Teddy Robinson stories by Joan G Robinson (out of print but available second-hand) and Traction Man by Mini Grey, and ask your class to create their own stories and illustrate them. Telling stories to toys In Wonderdoll's story, a mysterious spaceship appears out of the night sky. Inside is a strange space creature, known as the Hoctopize, who looks rather like a glove and is wearing pyjamas. The Hoctopize is very sad because he has lost his own beloved toy, Cuddles. Travelling the galaxies to find him, he has filled his spaceship with a thousand lost toys, collected from night-time gardens all over earth. Worried about the lost toys, Wonderdoll and the others decide to help the Hoctopize to return them to their own unhappy owners - and then throw a party to help take his mind off the missing Cuddles. In drawing on so many time-honoured themes and storytelling devices and illustrating them in such rich detail, Mini Grey has created a multi-layered and highly satisfying reading experience. Create your own illustrations / paintings that show the stars at night. Could you create your own pictures of different constellations?

KS1 Book Topic – Toys in Space - Teachwire

Why is it difficult to understand another person’s point of view? Could we do better? How? Come up with ideas and test them in real life. While searching for his Cuddles, the Hoctopize takes toys that don’t belong to him. What is right for the Hoctopize is wrong for everyone else, but the Hoctopize finds it difficult to empathise and see the world from somebody else's perspective. Gather children together to discuss the exercise. With you acting as scribe, ask children to collaborate on a piece of descriptive writing about the toys’ dreams. Look at the spread showing the Room of a Thousand Lost Toys. What do the words mean on the Sleep-o-meter? Can you think of other words to describe the sleeping toys? Mini Grey was given her name after being born in a mini in a car park in South Wales. After taking a foundation Course in Fine Art, she studied for an English degree at UCL, afterwards working as a theatre designer, then a primary teacher, before studying for an MA in sequential design at Brighton University.Look at pictures of the amazing variety of life on earth and talk about the way creatures evolve to fit the place they live. Investigate possible conditions on other planets and discuss how alien life-forms might adapt (or look at aliens in other books….) It's a fun, spacey story that features toys that we left outside overnight. The narrative is fun to read aloud and the colorful illustrations, with the author's inimitable style, complement the story nicely. We loved the ending and our girls knowing the answer to "Where's cuddles?" before the characters did. Look at the spread where all seven toys are introduced, noting the words Mini Grey uses to describe them. What kind of comments do these toys make as the story progresses? Does each toy have a distinct character? Which toy would your children prefer to have with them in a crisis?