The Gargoyle 

By: Zana Fraillon and Ross Morgan

Published: 2023
Publisher: Lothian Children’s Books

This is the moving and unforgettable story of an old gargoyle, forced off his city rooftop to make way for a new development. The gargoyle is ordered off the train. He leaves his well -loved suitcase behind. An observant child opens the case to discover…

This book really got me thinking about themes of relationships, ageing, homelessness, respect, and sense of community.

I would read and explore this book with older children.

An A-Z of Learning Experiences ready to go!

  • Add speech bubbles to this illustration.
Takeaway Teaching Idea 40 - The Gargoyle2
  • Annotate the front cover with your predictions.
  • Borrow the brilliant words from Zana.
  • Chart Zana’s craft and features of the story.
  • Create your own suitcase of memories.
  • Design end papers to share your understanding of the story.
  • Develop a word splash from the story.
  • Discover the different sentence lengths used by Zana.
  • Explore compound words in the story.
  • Investigate the setting of the story.
  • Label an illustration with nouns and adjectives.
  • List settings in the world for your writing. Zana used Central Station.
  • Practise reading aloud the sentences created by Zana. I would select this page!
Takeaway Teaching Idea 40 - The Gargoyle2
  • Predict what was going to be in the suitcase.
  • Read aloud one of Zana’s novels to your learners to investigate her craft even further!
  • Research more information about gargoyles here
  • Text to text connections with Zana’s book – Wisp.
Takeaway Teaching Idea 40 - The Gargoyle2
  • Use a storyboard of images to plan your writing based on a theme of the story.
  • View images of gargoyles in your closest city.
  • View a part of the Disney movie – The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
  • Visit Zana’s website here to discover more! 
  • What does this book make you wonder?

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Andrea