CBA2024: The Fastest Tortoise in Town
‘The Fastest Tortoise in Town’ is a wonderful story! Barbara Hendricks, a tortoise, has been entered into a Fun Run by her owner-and best friend- Lorraine. Convinced that she has no chance of winning, Barbara Hendricks is less enthusiastic for the venture than Lorraine, but with encouragement and support, she finds the courage to try!
There is so much to explore in the story. In addition to conversations about taking part, doing your best and the normality of worrying about things like this, children are sure to enjoy finding out about all the animals which take part in the race. The humorous ending makes the link to the fable of ‘The Hare and the Tortoise’ which there are many re-tellings of including one illustrated by Brian Wildsmith (OUP ISBN: 978-0192727084) and one by Helen Ward (Templar ISBN: 978-1787419414).
The illustrations are just fabulous with so much to notice and enjoy on each page. The range of changing expressions on Barbara Hendricks’ face as she goes through a whole gamut of emotions is just wonderful! These pictures are sure to inspire children to draw and this can be put to good use in creating a little game based on the book!
Children love playing with magnets and this game offers a wealth of possibilities for investigating their properties, creating ‘fair tests’, working scientifically…but this magnetic race game can just be played and enjoyed for the pure fun of it!
On a piece of thin cardboard (from a cereal packet or similar), draw a race track. This can be whatever size you like, but allowing enough room for all the players will be important. Although there are six creatures racing in the story, it would be better to have perhaps three players at a time and race in heats!
Next, make your playing pieces to represent the animals in the race. We have used match boxes for this, but flat pieces of card will do just as well. To the bottom of each piece, attach a paperclip. Now, each player can select a piece and a magnet. Place the pieces on the board at the start line an each player needs to hold their magnet underneath the board. On the start command, each player moves their magnet forwards, taking their piece with it. The winner is the one who crosses the finish line first.
You might need to do a little experimenting with the available magnets to find out how best to use this with children. Some magnets are strong enough to work through table tops whilst others are not and so the board will need to be either held up by others while playing or be raised in some way- small piles of books, for example. I used small strips of magnetic tape inside the bottom edge of the matchboxes which worked very well. Experiment - and have fun!
The Fastest Tortoise in Town
Howard Calvert, illustrated by Karen Obuhanych
Walker ISBN: 978-1529501506