Squishy McFluff: Seaside Rescue!: 1 (Squishy McFluff the Invisible Cat)

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Authors always tell people who want to write that they should read, read, read! But we say it for a reason, because whatever sort of story you want to write, reading other people’s books is like giving your brain a writing work out. Reading will give you lots of ideas, help you instinctively know which words to use, and arm you with the tools you need to create stories that work. It’s not only me who uses this read aloud method – Julia Donaldson does too, and if that isn’t what you’d call tried and tested, I don’t know what is. Squishy McFluff: the Invisible Cat!". booktrust.org.uk. Booktrust . Retrieved 15 October 2021. Cleverly bridging the gap between picture books and longer fiction, the lovable Squishy is certain to be a success with under-sevens - especially those who have ever had an imaginary friend of their own. Did you know that poems have feet? No? Well if you were to learn about poetry in a formal way, you’d be bombarded by all sort of funny terms which are used to describe the way verse is written, including metric feet, meter and iambs. It can all get very technical, but you don’t necessarily need to know that stuff. All you need to understand is that poems and rhymes normally have rhythm.

Our guide on how to run a school book club, which covers both primary school book clubs and secondary school book clubs. When Ava discovers an imaginary cat in the cabbage patch, she knows she's found a new best friend. Together, Ava and Squishy McFluff get up to all kinds of mischief . . . Squishy McFluff has been blow-dried and primped to perfection. He must win the Country Fair prettiest pet competition – and will if Ava has anything to do with it . . . Told in full colour throughout, this is the perfect stepping stone from picture books to older fiction. Bright new talent Pip Jones gives a hilarious, quirky twist to everyday experiences for readers aged 5+. Perfect rhyme is harder by nature because it requires the rhyming words to match in both their vowel and consonant sounds. So the combination of eat/sweet matches both the “ee” sound and the “t” sound. Similarly host/most share both the “oh” sound and the “st” sound.

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Cleverly bridging the gap between picture books and longer fiction, the lovable Squishy is certain to be a success with under-sevens.’ BookTrust Julia Smith (2017). "The Invisible Cat!". Booklist. American Library Association . Retrieved 15 October 2021. Here’s a slightly silly example (which I just made up!) showing how you can easily sacrifice the focus of a story for rhyme: Writing a good rhyming story is a bit like doing a jigsaw. When I begin, I know what the whole story will be (so that’s like the finished picture) and I have to put the pieces (or the words) together in exactly the right way to make everything fit. Just as it would be with a jigsaw, you can’t shove a piece into a place it doesn’t fit because otherwise, in the end, the picture will be wonky.

Perhaps you need to add a syllable to fix your rhythm, or maybe you need to take one away. It might be that you need to swap one word for another, to make sure the syllable emphasis falls in the right place for your rhyme’s beat.

Themed day / social media opportunities for April 2023

Lesbian Visibility Week– held in the last week of April. Stonewall’s Lesbian hub offers a range of articles and information that will be useful for secondary schools. These hashtag days might provide current and relevant talking points for secondary-aged pupils aged 13+ in KS3, KS4 and KS5, especially when linked to related literature. When you write a line of rhyme, it’s important not to force the reader to put the emphasis on a syllable where it wouldn’t occur in natural speech, just to achieve the rhythm. For example, if you put stress on the last part of the word emph asis, it would sound weird and awkward. So you need to try to write the lines of your rhyming story so all the words can be read in a natural, but rhythmic way. 5 Test your rhyming story Squishy McFluff: The Invisible Cat! is a 2014 children's chapter book by Pip Jones and illustrated by Ella Okstad. Published by Faber and Faber, it is about a little girl called Ava and her invisible friend, a cat called Squishy McFluff, who initially causes trouble around the family home but eventually learns to behave. But not everyone can see he’s the winner. The Mayor seems to have a particular blindspot . . . That is until Ava and her invisible pet foil a dastardly robbery!