Reasons for selection and synopsis
Mr Hoppy really loves his neighbour Mrs Silver, and Mrs Silver really loves her tortoise, Alfie. One day Mrs Silver asks Mr Hoppy how to
make Alfie grow, and suddenly Mr Hoppy knows the way to win her heart. With the help of a magical spell and some cabbage
leaves, can Mr Hoppy be happy at last?
Before reading…
Ask the children to look at the front cover. What do you think the book will be about? What things can you see on the front cover?
What sort of story will it be? Who might enjoy it? Think of the title Esio Trot. What is it backwards?
Now read the blurb. What does this tell you about the story? Make some predictions about what might happen in the story.
Look at the author Roald Dahl. Do you know any of his other stories? Which ones can you name?
Pages 1 – 5
Vocabulary
What does retired mean?
What phrase on Page 1 shows that the flowers are beautiful?
What does ‘jutted’ mean?
What are ‘endearments’?
Infer
How old could Mr Hoppy be? How do you know?
Why did the distance feel like a million miles to Mr Hoppy?
Why does Mr Hoppy want to do something such as save Mrs Silver?
Predict
At the end of Page 1, predict Mr Hoppy’s secret love.
Predict whether Mr Hoppy will ever tell Mrs Silver that he secretly loves her.
Explain
Explain how Dahl makes you feel sorry for Mr Hoppy.
Retrieve
Where does Mr Hoppy live?
Who lives below Mr Hoppy?
Why hadn’t Mr Hoppy told Mrs Silver that he loved her?
Who does Mrs Silver love?
Summarise
Sum up your first impression of Mr Hoppy in one word and explain your choice.
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Mr Hoppy was a shy man who had two loves in his life, one was flowers and the other one was his neighbour Mrs Silver, he kept the second love to himself. Mrs Silver is a middle-aged attractive woman who had a love, but it was not Mr Hoppy, it was a turtle named Alfie.
Mrs Silver wanted Alfie to grow bigger. A great idea hit Mr Hoppy, he managed to find a way to make Mrs Silver to be his slave.