for teachers

The Selby Series

Selby is ‘the only dog in Australia and, perhaps, the world’ who can talk, read and write. Each book in the series contains a number of Selby’s very funny adventures as he struggles to conceal his remarkable talent while protecting his much-loved owners, the Trifles.

The books were all illustrated by Allan Stomann.

Activities for the classroom

  • Draw a comic strip of an episode involving Selby and the Trifles.
  • Write an imaginary dialogue between you and your pet.
  • Draw a map of how you think Bogusville looks. Put in houses, the council chambers, the newspaper office and any other places mentioned in the Selby books.
  • Write and perform a TV script for a Dry-Mouth Dog Biscuits ad.
    • Collect pictures of dogs. Choose a playmate for Selby and give it a name.

Teaching Notes

Selby series

For some great ideas on teaching with the Selby series, download this resource file:

selby_series.doc (61KB)

selby_series.pdf (266KB)

Selby Splits

Selby Splits literacy unit (zipped Word files, 532KB)

This document features talking and listening, reading and writing activities.

You will need WinZip (or similar) to extract the files.

Emily Eyefinger

Teaching Notes

Emily Eyefinger literacy unit (Word document, 82KB)

This document features talking and listening, reading and writing activities.

Download the accompanying worksheets (zipped jpg images, 741KB)

There are 9 images (jpg files) that have been zipped.

You will need WinZip (or similar) to extract the files.

Comedies for Kids

A collection of ‘preposterous plays, silly skits and daft dramas’ designed for performing or reading aloud.

Piggott Place and Piggotts in Peril

The eccentric Piggott family is threatened with eviction from their neglected mansion.

  • Draw or paint a picture of how you imagine Piggott Place to be.
  • Use a story ladder to examine the novel’s key plot points.
  • Prepare a ‘wanted’ poster for each of the Piggott family members.

Download teaching notes for Piggotts in Peril (Word document, 41KB)

Download teaching notes for Piggotts in Peril (PDF, 29KB)

The Ghost Series

A reclusive ghost, Arnold Taylor, haunts successive tenants of his former Wattle Street terrace house. In each book — The Ghost and the Goggle Box, The Ghost and the Gory Story and The Ghost and the Shutterbug — Arnold attempts to drive everyone away so he can live in peace.

  • Debate the pros and cons of staying in a haunted house.
  • Make a list of titles for scary horror stories.
  • Design a device for capturing ghosts.
  • Hold an Arnold Taylor look-alike and sound-alike contest.