Read Flood by Jackie French
This story was written during the Queensland floods in 2011.
Questions:
Where is this flood taking place?
Who is telling the story?
Is this story real?
How do you feel at the beginning of the story? How do you feel at the end? How does this story make us feel different emotions?
Where in Flood are there suspenseful, sad, positive moments?
How did people in the community help during and after the flood?
What words in the book describe the effects of the flood?
Have a close look at the illustrations. What techniques did the illustrator use?
Look at the cover of the book - Why do you think that Bruce Whatley has used the effect of paint running? Do you think that the green painted areas are all water, or a mixture of water and land? Has the water come onto the veranda? Why can't you see the dog's feet?
Bruce Whatley is right-handed, but he did the illustrations with his left hand. Why do you think he did this?
What type of dog is featured in this book? What kind of work does this breed of dog usually do?
Research: What is a flash flood? What causes them?
Activity: Try drawing a picture with the hand you don’t usually write with. Add paint using a lot of water to achieve Whatley’s ‘drip’ effect.