What’s So Good About … DVD English
Age 7–11
DVD includes five series – 165 minutes of programming
£39.00 QN445498
• Investigates a range of authors and genres • Develops an awareness of the author’s voice • Indicates how authors use their sources of inspiration • Compares a range of story styles and settings
•H elps to describe and evaluate the style of an individual writer • L ooks at connections and contrasts in the work of different writers •G ives an insight into the way authors handle time, characters, plot and settings
What’s So Good About ... JK Rowling?
What’s So Good About ... Roald Dahl?
Everyone knows that JK Rowling’s Harry Potter stories are hugely popular. These programmes show why the Harry Potter books are so compulsive. In the first programme, three avid Harry Potter fans talk about the appeal of the books and explore some of the key features within them. The second programme explores the Harry Potter phenomenon with the help of a group of young critics and their website.
Set in the garden of the country house where Dahl conceived many of his stories, the programmes explore what makes his writing so successful and feature a variety of lively readings, accompanied by Quentin Blake’s wonderful illustrations. This fascinating documentary analysis of Dahl’s life and work shows how he drew upon his experience and vivid imagination to create stories.
1. Platform 93/4, Boarding School, Owls, Scary Bits 2. More Than Just Books – Harry Online 2 x 15-minute programmes
What’s So Good About ... Jamila Gavin? These programmes profile the life and work of this popular fiction writer, author of Grandpa Chatterji, Coram Boy, The Eye of the Horse and The Wormholers. We discover how Jamila, born in the foothills of the Himalayas in India, inherited her love of stories from her English mother. She started writing because she felt there weren’t enough books reflecting the lives of children from different ethnic backgrounds. We also learn how her own grandfather was the inspiration for Grandpa Chatterji.
ENGLISH
Curriculum Connections
1. Heroes and Monsters: Dahl’s characters 2. The Greatest Secrets: How Dahl’s life and experiences influenced his work 3. Anything is Possible: Dahl’s creative genius 3 x 15-minute programmes
1. Myths and Legends: Childhood, friendships, story content 2. Wheel of Life: Creative writing, a perfect story, ideas from life 2 x 15-minute programmes
What’s So Good About ... Dick King-Smith? Dick King-Smith wrote over a hundred books including Foxbusters, Saddlebottom, Harry’s Mad and The Queen’s Nose, and achieved worldwide fame when his book The Sheep-Pig was made into the successful film Babe. These two programmes give an insight into King-Smith’s life and how the various experiences he lived through influenced his writing. In them he explains some of his approaches to writing and tells us why animals play such an important role in his books.
What’s So Good About ... Malorie Blackman? These programmes reflect on the life and work of the hugely popular author of Thief!, Noughts and Crosses, Tell Me No Lies, Whizziwig Returns, Trust Me and Pig-Heart Boy. Born in London, Malorie found that writing helped her cope with her parents’ separation as a teenager, and she hasn’t stopped writing since! In these two programmes Malorie shares her writing tips and inspirations, celebrates her talent and tells her readers exactly what they want to know. 1. We Have the Technology: Growing up, hobbies, getting ideas, top tips 2. Friends and Family: Creating characters, short chapters, the importance of family 2 x 15-minute programmes
1. Something on Paper
2. Through an Animal’s Eyes
2 x 15-minute programmes
11
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