Aristotle by Dick King Smith illustrated by Bob Graham

I am collecting books to use with a group of students as a part of a new volunteer role. The school had a set of Aristotle so I bought a copy home to read.

I think this book will appeal to my group because it is about a witch (a popular topic with young readers) and a cute kitten. Even though this is a fairly simple story there will be plenty to discuss. My group are children who are just beginning to gain confidence with their reading. Their new focus is on comprehension - looking into the structure of a story, looking for the hints provided by the author and making links between scenes.

Here is an example of our discussion using just the first sentence of Aristotle:

"When Aristotle was a kitten, he did not know that cats have nine lives. His mother knew, of course. But I'm not going to tell him, she thought."

• How did his mother know about the concept of nine lives?
• Why do you think she decided not to pass this information onto her new kitten?
• Does the next line of text give you a hint?
• Do you agree with her decision - why or why not?

We will look at the structure of this story. The pattern of accidents and losing one life at a time and the way Dick King Smith uses this to create tension in the story. We will also list all the funny moments in this story and notice how Dick King Smith gives his reader lots of laughs and smiles.

Names to research:
We need to explore the name of the witch - Bella Donna
Who is the real Aristotle? How might this name be connected to the little kitten?

Why is Gripper a good name for the dog?

Vocabulary:

• tearaway
• foreseen
• cauldron
• lumbering
• embankment
• thatched roof
• ridge-pole
• lofty
• earthenware jug

Here is a set of teaching and drama ideas to extend your students and their understanding of this text.

It will also be good to talk about Dick King Smith himself. He is the author so many books I love such as The Finger Eater, Happy Mouse Day and The Hodgeheg.

One more interesting point to discuss. In America this book has a different cover and more importantly a different title.  Does the title need to be different for a different audience? Why add the words "the nine lives of ...".  Compare this with Let's get a Pup by Bob Graham. In Australia this book is simply called Let's get a Pup! but in America it is called "Let's get a Pup!" said Kate.