A book recommendation - The BFG

I recently re-read one of my favourite stories by Roald Dahl - The BFG.  If you have never read this book I would highly recommend it.  It is full of adventure, excitement, imagination... and giants!  I especially love the way dreams are explored as I am quite a dreamer myself.  And, of course, no classic Roald Dahl book would be complete without the wonderful illustrations of the super talented Quentin Blake.

I could tell you more about the story, but I don't want to spoil any surprises for you!  Pick up a copy from your local library or bookshop and take yourself away to the land of whizzpoppers and snozzcumbers!

A note from Nev...

What great fun it was to create a brand new story here last week!  Thanks to everyone who suggested an idea for the interactive story.  You may have noticed that the story now has a title, 'Jasper and the Old Boots'.  If you missed it being created don't worry, you can still enjoy reading it here!

Jasper and the Old Boots - Chapter 5

'In the shed, under the chair,' he called out in a loud voice.  'You can keep it!'

'Keep what?' asked Jasper who kept jumping up in a desperate attempt to hear Lewis more clearly.  But it was to no avail.  Lewis and his grandpa's boots could no longer be seen as the hot air balloon disappeared through the thick clouds in the blue sky above.

Jasper stood still with his eyes fixed on the bright clouds.  Then, realising he would not be seeing Lewis and the boots again, he turned round and made his way back into the old shed.

He immediately spotted the only chair, which stood in the corner of the room.  Jasper rushed straight over to it and looked underneath.

'That's strange,' he said to himself.  'There's nothing there!'

He was right, there was nothing on the floor beneath the chair but then, on closer inspection, Jasper found a small envelope stuck to the underside of the chair.  He carefully removed it with his front teeth and placed it on the floor ready to open with his snout and paws.  But just as he was about to begin tearing into it, a booming noise came from the loudspeaker system which ran through the town.

'Calling all passengers!  Calling all passengers!  The last ship from Great Hootsville will be leaving in 5 minutes!'

'Oh no! Only 5 minutes!' barked Jasper in surprise.  'I have to get back!'

Jasper picked up the envelope and ran at top speed, back through the colourful town, past the welcome sign and down the boardwalk till he came to the great paddle steamer.

'Phew!  Just in time!' he puffed as he landed back on the deck of the magnificent ship.

It was not long before Jasper was back in familiar surroundings.  He carefully carried the envelope in his mouth as he made his way up the hill towards the great oak tree.  It was there that he decided to finally open it up.  As he did so he discovered inside there was a small photograph of a younger looking Lewis being held by a smiley grey-haired man who was wearing a pair of old black boots.  They were stood in front of a magnificent looking green and blue hot air balloon.

Jasper remembered the final words Lewis spoke to him: ‘In the shed, under the chair!  You can keep it!’

 

Jasper looked at the photograph, from under the chair, and thought to himself, ‘I can and I most certainly will keep it indeed!’

Jasper and the Old Boots - Chapter 4

Jasper leapt off the ship and ran with renewed curiosity as he followed the boy and the boots.  They went past a sign, which read Welcome to Great Hootsville!  They continued through a colourful town.  Then, upon reaching a narrow lane, the boy encouraged Jasper, ‘Come on!  It’s just down here now!’

            The lane was dusty and deserted and, as they reached the end, they came to an old wooden shed.  The boy opened the door as the pair of boots and Jasper quickly followed behind.

            ‘We made it!’ panted the boy as he opened a drawer and pulled out a tube of superglue.

            ‘What have we made it to?  An old shed?  Will you tell me what is going on?’ asked the ever more impatient dog.

            ‘Of course,’ replied the boy.  ‘But first, let me introduce myself.  My name is Lewis and these are my grandpa’s boots.’

            ‘Your grandpa’s boots?’

            ‘Yes, they’ve been helping me!’ said Lewis with a big grin on his face.

            ‘Helping you with what?’ asked Jasper.

            ‘Come and see for yourself!’ he replied as he opened the door and skipped round to the back of the shed.

            There before them was the most magnificent looking hot air balloon.  The balloon was red and yellow and stood so high it ached Jasper’s neck just to look up to the top of it.

            ‘Wow!’ remarked Jasper.  ‘That is incredible!  Where did it come from?’

            ‘I made it!’ Lewis replied.

            ‘You made it?  But… how and why?’  There was so much for Jasper to take in that his brain was now finding it hard to keep up.

            ‘When I was younger my grandpa and I lived here together in the town of Great Hootsville.  My grandpa never had much money, but he always looked after me well.  He lived here, with me, in this shed.  But it wasn’t boring!  My grandpa is an inventor and he would always be making things.  I loved watching him at work!  He would tell me about a wonderful home he was going make for us in the cliffs at the top of the clouds.  Then, one day, he decided it was time to stop talking about it and do it.  He made a hot air balloon and told me we were going to leave Great Hootsville and make our new home!’

            ‘You must have been excited!’ said Jasper a he wagged his tale.

            ‘Yes, I was very excited.  But then, something unexpected happened.  As grandpa got into the balloon to make the final preparations the ropes came loose and the balloon began to rise.  Grandpa called out to me, but as I ran out of the shed it was too late!  Grandpa was already high in the sky.  He called out to me, ‘Come and find me Lewis!  Use my boots!  They will help you to build your own balloon!’  He threw his old black boots down to me…’

            ‘And they’ve been helping you ever since!’ said Jasper, completing Lewis’s sentence.

            ‘Yes, they have!  Each day since grandpa gave them to me his boots have been out to collect all the pieces I need to create a balloon just like his.  And now I am nearly finished!’

            Lewis then pulled an object out from inside the left boot.  It was a compass.  He used his superglue to fix it to the inside of the basket.

            ‘That’s it we’re ready to go!’ shouted Lewis with great joy as he jumped into the basket.

            Jasper stood back and watched as the boots hopped in to join Lewis.

            ‘It’s time for us to go!’ Lewis said as he released the ropes, which held the balloon down.

            As the hot air balloon rose into the sky Lewis shouted down some important words to Jasper.

[We’re near the end of the story now.  But what words did Lewis shout to Jasper?]

[Chapter 5]

Jasper and the Old Boots - Chapter 3

Jasper looked down at a river far below and watched the boots now casually walking across the deck of a great paddle steamer.  The sternwheeler churned the water magnificently with its grand paddle wheel.  Jasper continued to watch as the ship moved further away from where he stood.

            ‘I’ve got to get on that ship!’ he said with fresh determination.  He had to make his move quickly or it would soon be too late for him.  Jasper backed himself up a few steps before launching himself forward.  His little legs pushed his speckled body up in the air.  ‘I’m flying!’ he woofed before he began to fall.

            The paddle steamer seemed to be pulling away at a greater speed as Jasper fell towards it, ‘I’m not going to make it!’ he barked.  ‘It’s moving too quickly!’

            There was a THUMP!  Jasper lay with both eyes closed.

As he opened them he was delighted to see that he was not swallowing river water, but he was on the deck of the ship – he had landed!

            He looked around and he could see lots of people talking, eating, drinking and walking around on the deck.  They looked like they did this sort of thing all the time.  Jasper jumped back onto his paws and began to wander.

            The people did not seem to take much notice of the little dog, which he did not mind at all.  Jasper still had his focus, he had to find out where the old black boots were going.

            He searched the deck, he ran down a number of corridors, he even poked his nose into the Captain's private quarters.  But there was still no sign of the boots.

            ‘Maybe I just imagined them,’ Jasper thought to himself as he started to lose hope.

Suddenly, he heard the voice of a young boy.  It seemed to be coming from a cleaning cupboard at the end of the corridor.  He walked slowly towards it.  As he got closer he could hear the boy speaking, ‘We’re nearly at Great Hootsville now.’  This was followed by the sound of stamping boots.

Jasper poked his snout through the gap of the door, which was slightly ajar.

‘Who’s there?’ shouted the boy as he pulled the door open.  

Jasper jumped back in surprise as he looked at a young brown-haired boy wearing a bright green outfit.  Behind the boy stood the pair of old black boots.

‘Well what are you doing down here?’ asked the boy in a softer tone of voice as he crouched down to speak to the dog.

‘I.. I was looking for that pair of boots,’ stammered Jasper in reply.

‘What?  This pair of boots here?’ asked the boy.

Jasper was now very confused, ‘Did you just understand what I said?’

‘Of course I did,’ he replied.  ‘Although you did stammer a bit!’

Even though Jasper thought he spoke perfect English, whenever he had tried communicating with humans in the past they could only hear him saying things like, ‘Woof!’ and ‘Grrr!’

Jasper replied to the boy, ‘I’m surprised because people don’t normally understand me.’

            ‘I’m sure they don’t!’ said the boy.  ‘But I’m not like most people.’

            The ship made an abrupt stop.  The captain spoke over the loudspeaker, ‘Alight here for Great Hootsville!’

            The boy began to run down the corridor with the boots following, ‘Quick, we have to go!’

            ‘Where are you going?’ barked Jasper as he chased after them.

            ‘Just follow me and you will find out!’

[Back to you!  Where did the young boy go?  And what was his name?] 

[Chapter 4]

Jasper and the Old Boots - Chapter 2

‘What is that?’ Jasper asked himself as he gazed down into the valley below.  Ever the curious dog, he quickly darted down towards the two moving objects.

            As he got closer he slowed his pace till he was walking slowly behind, what appeared to be, a pair of old, black leather boots.  Now Jasper had seen many boots in his time, but this pair of boots was different.  They were not lying motionless on the grass… they were walking!

            ‘I can hardly believe my eyes!’ Jasper woofed in disbelief.  ‘Am I really seeing this?  Boots walking by themselves… with no feet inside them!’

            The boots were marching along as if they had a purpose, somewhere to go.  Jasper, although confused by this strange sight, followed the boots.  They were walking at a steady pace, which was no trouble for the sprightly dog.

 

            Jasper was beginning to enjoy this unusual occurrence.  He gazed around at the sights of the flowers, the trees and the clouds in the sky before he looked back at the boots in front of him.  But as he looked back he was shocked to see that the boots were no longer immediately in front of him, they were now a dot in the distance.  The boots were running!

Jasper fixed his eyes on the speedy boots and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him.

‘I can’t let them get away!’ he barked.  ‘I’ve got to know where they are going!’

The boots ran up a large hill disappearing out of view.  Jasper reached the top of the hill to see the boots now jumping over a stile near the bottom of the hill.  Jasper continued to give chase as he squeezed his small body under the fence by the stile.  He was led into a forest where he could still see the boots running down the path before them.

Suddenly Jasper stopped himself as he reached the end of the wood and stood on the edge of a very high drop.  The boots had jumped over the edge.  Jasper’s eyes watched in amazement as the boots landed upon…

[Your turn!  What was it that the boots landed upon?]

[Chapter 3]

Jasper and the Old Boots - Chapter 1

His short white legs moved with great urgency as Jasper sped through the village, down the lane, under a fence and across a large green field.  As he reached the great oak tree at the top of the field Jasper stopped to catch his breath.  From the foot of the tree he could see for miles around.  His eyes were full of adventure!

* * * * *

Jasper was not your average dog.  While most dogs in the village stayed shut behind a fenced garden Jasper was free to roam around as he liked.  This was due to the fact that Jasper belonged to no one.  And because he had no owner to take care of him it meant that he had to take care of himself.  But he did not mind one bit, as he was a dog who thrived on the adventure of wild living!

* * * * *

As he took in the view Jasper’s eyes were drawn towards something very unusual…

[Okay, it’s over to you now!  What unusual thing were Jasper’s eyes drawn towards?]

[Chapter 2]

Jasper and the Old Boots - Introduction

Over the weekend I enjoyed a nice long walk in the Cotswolds with my wife and two friends.  As we were hiking across the lush green fields we noticed a little white dog running alongside us.  He had actually been travelling in the same direction as us for quite some time.  It made me wonder, where had he come from?  Where was he going?  Was he lost or was this something he did everyday?  Then I thought to myself, these are the sorts of questions that would be great to explore in a short story.

The Interactive Story
The idea of the next story is to create a short adventure with the help of... you!  I have so much fun making up new stories with many children from lots of different places that I thought we could try writing one together here.

How will it work?
I will begin writing a story based on the idea of an adventurous dog.  Every now and then I will stop to ask for an idea of where the story should go next.  It is then up to you to move the story on by suggesting your ideas (by leaving a comment below that part of the story).  Whether you are young or old, everyone is invited to take part!  Who knows where our imaginations will take us?

[Chapter 1]

Joel the Sheep (Part 2)

Suddenly Joel noticed a shadow cast over him. It was in the shape of someone he knew. ‘It’s him,’ thought Joel as he turned and looked up to see the familiar face of his shepherd.

The shepherd smiled at his sheep. Joel could see the genuine look of love and compassion in his eyes. The shepherd leaned down to gently and carefully remove the barbed wire that was stuck in his sheep. He then pulled Joel out of the fence and picked him up. Joel felt such warmth as he was held and comforted by his owner.

As the shepherd carried Joel back to be with the rest of the flock he spoke to him, ‘Where were you going? What were you trying to do? Everything you need is right here!’

Whilst the shepherd spoke Joel thought to himself, ‘Well, what if the grass runs out?’

But before he had a chance to dwell on that thought the shepherd answered his question, ‘And when the grass runs low, I have a new field waiting for you and the rest of the flock. I will lead you there when the time is right. You shall not be in want!’

Joel the Sheep (Part 1)

One fine spring day Joel the sheep was grazing in a field with his friends. Joel enjoyed thinking about things, ‘I wonder how many clouds there are in the sky? They look a bit like my friends and me! I wonder how many blades of grass there are in this field? I’ve eaten quite a lot of them myself! How long will they last us? How much more do we have to eat? What if we run out?’

Joel began to get himself panicked. ‘What would we do? What would I do? I’d starve, that’s what I’d do! I’d go hungry and starve! Oh no! I can’t let that happen! I don’t want to starve! Maybe I can find some grass somewhere else? Yes, there’s got to be more grass somewhere! What’s that? A hole? In the fence?’

As he curiously approached the fence Joel thought to himself, ‘I’ve never seen that before. Maybe I could get through it? Perhaps it will lead me to another field, with more grass!’

And, without a moment of hesitation, Joel squeezed himself into the hole. He was not even halfway through before he realised was stuck. His wool caught on the barbed wire. He started anxiously grunting as he struggled forwards and backwards, trying to release himself. The wire was tearing his wool and even beginning to cut into his skin. He was in great difficulty.

Before long Joel was tired of the struggle. He no longer had the energy to move forward or backward. He gave up hope and slumped in his hole. He was stuck in the fence.

[Part 2]

A note from Nev...

Well, what an eventful week it has been! As part of the Summer Reading Challenge 2011 I've been here, there and everywhere on many imaginative adventures with lots of creative children.

Thank you to all of you that came along to one of my library workshops and helped me to create some marvellous stories. There have been purple bears, time machines, brain invasions, multicoloured toilets, giant juggling balls, blue-haired zombies, talking bagpipes and many more wonderful creations!

If you have joined up to the Summer Reading Challenge I am sure you will have lots of fun as you try to read all six books. And don't forget - every time you read a book your imagination GROWS!!

Happy reading everyone!

The Orange Rocket (Chapter 5)

It seemed like much longer than five space minutes as Froggy Man held his hand on the golden object whilst trying to make sure he believed that his rocket would be fixed.

‘Okay, time to take your hand off now,’ said the smiling Ring Master.

Froggy Man looked up at the Ring Master and then looked over at his rocket. It was still lying in a heap and looking very broken indeed. ‘But my rocket… it’s still broken!’ said Froggy Man who did not want to take his hand away.

‘It’s okay,’ replied the Ring Master. ‘Trust me. You can take your hand away now.’

Froggy Man thought to himself, I suppose I have to trust him. And with that thought Froggy Man reluctantly removed his hand from the golden object.

A great silence was in the air as all eyes looked with eager expectation at the motionless orange rocket.

Suddenly, a metal groaning sound could be heard coming from the direction of the rocket. Screech! Schwaaap! Crunch! Before their very eyes the orange rocket began to move. It straightened itself up slowly and majestically. The crowd gasped. Froggy Man’s jaw hung low. The Ring Master grinned with great glee.

Before Froggy Man could say ‘Bloorr’ his bright orange rocket was standing upright and looking better than it did before the crash.

‘I don’t believe my alien eyes!’ was the response that came from Froggy Man’s lips.

‘Well you had better believe it,’ replied the Ring Master. ‘Because that is the rocket that will take you straight to planet Earth!’

Froggy Man ran through the circus crowd and quickly made his way to the rocket. He stretched out his finger and pressed the little green button next to the door. It opened just as before, outwards and downwards, revealing the set of steps for Froggy Man to climb up. He leapt up the stairs and stood in the doorway facing the crowd. They all cheered as he smiled at them with great pride at his wonderfully restored bright orange rocket.

‘We will miss you!’ came a shout from a young girl in the crowd.

Froggy Man saw the cheerful and happy face of the young girl who was waving her hand at him with great zeal. He then looked across to see the contagious smile of the big round Ring Master who was also waving as he made his way to the front of the crowd. ‘Goodbye Froggy Man! Be sure to visit us soon,’ he said.

Froggy Man’s smile dropped along with his waving hand as he looked out at the crowd of happy faces.

‘What’s the matter?’ asked the Ring Master. ‘Why the sad face?’

The crowd quietened down as Froggy Man spoke softly, ‘I’m going to miss you all too. You have all been so friendly to me.’

‘Well, you are always welcome to come and stay with us for as long as you like,’ replied the Ring Master hoping to restore the smile to Froggy Man’s face.

‘Really? Do you mean it?’ asked Froggy Man.

‘Of course we mean it! We love welcoming new friends to our family!’

Family was the word that made Froggy Man’s ears perk up and caused his eyes to widen. ‘Did you say… family?’

‘Yes, we are one big happy family here on this moon and always will be,’ replied the Ring Master proudly.

‘I’ve always wanted a family,’ said Froggy Man who had lived alone all his life. ‘But there are no other nice space creatures on Mars, only yucky ones like those nasty, horrible, stinky space rats!’

‘Well come and join us!’ said the smiling Ring Master.

‘Yes, join us!’ shouted the crowd.

‘We often go to Earth anyway – we do a lot of shows there. You can come with us on our next trip.’

That sealed the deal for Froggy Man. His mind was made up. He looked at the Earth, before he looked back at the crowd and made his way down the stairs with his arms raised high and exclaimed, ‘I’M HOME!’

The Orange Rocket (Chapter 4)

‘You want to go to Earth now?’ asked the Ring Master.

‘Er… yes, but I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to shout!’ Froggy Man was worried that he had upset the Ring Master.

‘Hmmm…’ said the Ring Master as he stroked his thick moustache and looked around. He appeared to be deep in thought before he suddenly clapped his hands together and shouted, ‘Ah ha! I’ve got it!’

Froggy Man was not sure what the Ring Master had got? But he looked at him expectantly nevertheless.

‘Wait here!’ the Ring Master ordered, ‘I will be back in a swiffy!’ (‘swiffy’ is the space word for ‘jiffy’ which means ‘a quick moment of time’).

Before he knew it Froggy Man saw the Ring Master hurtling towards him on a unicycle. ‘Look out!’ shouted the Ring Master as he jumped over the top of Froggy Man’s head and landed directly behind him causing a huge puff of space dust to rise up around them both.

As the dust settled the Ring Master slowly turned around with a big grin on his face. He was holding something in his hands. Froggy Man looked carefully to see a small golden object being revealed by the Ring Master. It was the shape of a small cake.

‘What is it?’ asked Froggy Man with an increasing sense of curiosity.

‘This, my friend, is the answer to your problem!’ replied the Ring Master. ‘It will fix your spaceship before you know it.’

‘How does it work?’ asked Froggy Man.

‘It requires a believing heart. If you place your hand on it and believe your rocket will be fixed, then it will be so.’

‘Okay,’ said Froggy Man as he extended his hand towards the golden object.

‘WAIT!!’ shouted the Ring Master, which made Froggy Man jump back in shock.

‘What is it?’ cried Froggy Man.

‘You must also know that once your hand is placed, it must remain there for five space minutes.’ (One space minute is the same as nearly two earth minutes.) ‘If it is removed before that time has occurred your rocket will remain broken... forever!’

‘Okay, I can do this!’ Froggy Man said to himself as he prepared for what was to come.

‘Whenever you are ready, you may begin!’ said the Ring Master as he held out the device.

Froggy Man could feel the eyes of everyone watching him as he stretched out his long green hand towards the glowing golden object and touched it.

[Chapter 5]

The Orange Rocket (Chapter 3)

A great cloud of dust surrounded Froggy Man’s orange rocket. Inside the rocket Froggy Man sat motionless with both eyes shut. Then, he opened one eye and looked all around. He opened the other eye and realised he was alive. ‘I don’t believe it! I’m… I’m… I’m alive! Hooray!’

‘Hooray!’ came a response from what sounded like a chorus of creatures outside the rocket. Froggy Man was confused, ‘Was that my echo?’ He tried shouting again, ‘Hooray!’ And back came the response once again, ‘Hooray!’

Froggy Man released himself from his nine seatbelts and then pressed the button to open up the door (even though the door now had a big dent, it still managed to come loose). His eyes squinted as the dust cloud parted to reveal countless numbers of, what appeared to be, brightly dressed men and women, boys and girls. Froggy Man had never seen humans before so he wondered what kind of ‘space creatures’ they were.

‘H… hello?’ whispered Froggy Man tentatively.

There was a slight pause before the response of ‘Hello!’ came loudly from all the people in unison. They sounded very happy indeed, but Froggy Man was not sure why. Before he had the chance to say anything else a large round man confidently stepped forward. He wore a bright red top hat with a matching jacket. He had noticeably big eyes, which were orange with pink spots. He revealed a big smile under his impressively thick moustache as his great voice boomed out, ‘Greetings to you! We are so pleased you have come to visit!’

Froggy Man looked at the man and everyone else who were expectantly waiting for a swift reply. ‘Er… th… thank you’ was the stammered response.

‘I am the Ring Master and this is my circus!’ continued the large man.

‘Oh…’ said Froggy Man, ‘…it’s nice to meet you. My name is Froggy Man.’

‘Froggy Man you say? What a fine name! Come, join us!’ The Ring Master held his arms open to Froggy Man and encouraged him down the steps of his rocket.

As Froggy Man made his way down the stairs he saw how many people there were, it looked like hundreds of them. Then, as he stepped through the cloud of dust, he saw a huge brightly coloured tent behind the vast crowd. ‘Wow!’ he exclaimed.

‘Ah, yes! Wow indeed Mr Froggy Man. This is our home!’ replied the Ring Master who had noticed Froggy Man’s gaze fixing on the tent.

‘What is it?’ asked Froggy Man.

‘It is our circus tent!’

‘Circus tent?’ Froggy Man had not heard of either a circus or a tent before.

‘Yes our circus tent. It is where we practice all of our circus tricks and shows!’ said the Ring Master proudly.

‘Tricks and shows?’ asked Froggy Man.

‘Yes, we practice them here before they we take them to Earth.’

Froggy Man’s tiny ears pricked up when he heard the mention of Earth, ‘Did you say Earth?’

‘Yes, I did. Have you been?’ asked the Ring Master.

‘No, not yet, but that was where I was trying to go before my rocket broke! But I really want to go there NOW!’ Froggy Man immediately noticed that by shouting he had surprised the Ring Master making both of his eyes pop wide open so that all his pink eye spots could be seen.

The Ring Master looked shocked, then he stared at Froggy Man before he opened his mouth to speak.

[Chapter 4]

The Orange Rocket (Chapter 2)

As he stood on his doorstep looking out into the black space that surrounded his planet (Mars) Froggy Man spotted, in the distance, the planet he had heard so much about – planet Earth.

‘That’s it! Today is the day I will go to planet Earth! I’m sure there won’t be any stinky space rats there.’ So, with fresh resolve, Froggy Man walked round to the back of his home to the place where he kept his rocket.

The space rocket stood tall and was bright orange in colour so that no one could miss it as it flew against the black backdrop of space. Froggy Man stretched out his long green finger and pressed the little green button next to the door of his rocket. It opened outwards and downwards creating a few steps for Froggy Man to climb up. He stood at the doorway of the rocket and waved, ‘Goodbye Mars! And good riddance stinky space rats!’

The door closed as Froggy Man sat down in the driving seat and began to put on his seat belts. ‘One seatbelt… two seatbelts… three seat belts… and four! …and five, six, seven, eight, nine!’ (Yes, there were nine seatbelts in his rocket, just to keep him extra safe as his rocket blasted into space.) ‘Here we go! Three… two… one… BLAST OFF!!!’

As his rocket shot off into space, at an incredible speed, Froggy Man looked out the window and watched his planet become smaller and smaller as he flew further and further away. It was not long before Mars looked as small as a marble.

Froggy Man began to get excited as he headed closer and closer to Earth. ‘Ooh, I can’t wait! I wonder what it will be like there? I wonder if they like to eat Bloorr for breakfast?’ These were just a few of the many thoughts that were going through his head as he could see planet Earth getting bigger and bigger.

Suddenly, there was a ‘BOOM!’ and a ‘CRACK!’ and a ‘KAPUTH!’ as the engine of Froggy Man’s rocket died!

‘AAAAAHHHHHH!’ screamed Froggy Man as his rocket began to fall quickly. He was so near to Earth, but not quite there. His rocket was being pulled down towards a big grey rock.

‘I’M GOING DOWN! GOODBYE SPACE!’ Froggy Man thought it was the end for him as his rocket came down onto the rock with a great big ‘CRASH!!’

[Chapter 3]

The Orange Rocket (Chapter 1)

[The following story was inspired by the children of Golders Green Library in London at an event for The Summer Reading Challenge 2011] 

Froggy Man opened his eyes as the smell became stronger. He sniffed and sniffed through his alien nostrils. The smell was so horrid and strong that he got out of his bed, left his room and made his way down the stairs of his home.

‘Down, down, down the stairs I go!’

Froggy Man always sang this tune as he descended the stairs of his house. He had so many stairs (about 137 in all) that it made the journey go quicker if he sang as he went.

‘Nearly, nearly, nearly at the bottom!

Nearly at the bottom of the stairs!’

Eventually Froggy Man made it to the bottom as he continued sniffing to follow that terrible smell. It seemed to be coming from the kitchen. As he opened the door to the kitchen he let out a huge, ‘YELP!’ (‘yelp’ is the alien word for ‘help’). ‘Oh no!’ he continued to cry, ‘Stinky space rats in my kitchen… again!’

Froggy Man had trouble with these creatures before and now they were back. ‘Shoo! Shoo! Go on, get out of here!’

As Froggy Man flapped his huge frog-like alien hands at the little blue rats they all ran and disappeared – some through cracks in the wall, others straight out of the kitchen door.

‘Ah, what a way to start the day indeed!’ he said as he opened up the cupboard to pull out the ingredients for his breakfast. ‘Time for some Bloorr!’ (‘Bloorr’ is a very popular breakfast for aliens who live on Mars. To pronounce it correctly you should roll your tongue at the end of the word.)

Once he had finished cooking his Bloorr he sat down to eat it, but just as he did so he let out another, ‘YELP!’ as one more space rat ran right through his legs, under his chair and out of the door.

‘That’s it! I’ve had enough!’ screamed Froggy Man as he threw his breakfast down on the kitchen table. ‘I can’t stand it anymore! Stinky rats here! Stinky rats there! Stinky space rats everywhere! I don’t want to be here anymore!’

Froggy Man used his long thin space legs to stand up tall and walk out of his big blue front door.

[Chapter 2]