AR ma Toad Swivs _for his Life! R P Jill Atkins David Mostyn Ox &At the Animal Games, Toad is swimming in the 50 metres race. When he sees who else is in the race he is very frightened. A shark, a snake, a tiger and a crocodile are his opponents and they all threaten to eat him. But Toad thinks of a clever trick to make them quarrel among themselves and chase each other, so Toad swims to safety and wins the race. Talk together Look at the cover and read the title together. Talk about the cover illustration, and ask your child what Toad is doing. Look together through the book and at the illustrations. Find the characters in the illustrations and their names in the text. Point out the use of speech bubbles and thought bubbles. Read the story > © Encourage your child to read the story aloud to you, and join in with the enjoyment of the story. © As your child turns the pages, check they are reading the text and speech bubbles in an order that makes sense, rereading if necessary. © If your child misreads words, ask him/her to reread the sentence and check it makes sense, but don’t let your child struggle for long or the sense of the story may be lost. © Occasionally ask your child to show you who is speaking the words in speech bubbles by pointing to the character. © On page 5, encourage your child to emphasise the ‘sss’ sound in the snake's words. Say, “Can you make it sound like a hissing snake © On page 6, if your child has difficulty reading ‘fierce’ ask him/her to look at the picture of Tiger, and to think of a word beginning with ‘f' that makes sense. ‘On page 18, ask your child to follow the text with a finger. ‘At the end of the story, ask your child if they think Toad is clever.Toad Swilws for his Life! Story by Jill Atkins Pictures by David Mostyncome to ep. animal Ga: Toad shivered as he stood at the end of the pool. lt was his big day. He was going to swim in the 50 metres race. There was a big crowd at the pool.Toad peered down into the blue water. When he saw the other swimmers, his heart began to beat faster. But at that moment, a loud voice boomed out. 3In Lane One we have Shelley Shark, Toad clamped his mouth shut. He ~. tried to put on a brave face.In Lane Two we have Sammy the Water Snake, Champion of the Lake. Toad’s eyes almost popped off the top of his head.In Lane Four we have Carly Crocodile, Champion of the River: Snap, snap, snap! I make it snappy. Anything snappy makes me happy. Toad was wobbling likeToad wanted to go home. He did not stand a chance against all these other animals. Slowly, he began to crawl away from the pool. Suddenly, he heard his name. 8And Last, in Lane Five, we have Tommy Toad, Champion of the Pond. oOo» The crowd cheered. Toad could not get away now!The race was about to start. The crowd was cheering and shouting, waving and clapping.: Toad was as jumpy as a Jack-in-the-Box, but he crawled to the edge of the pool and was about to plop into the water when suddenly... 1Carly Crocodile began Terry Tiger began to growl. to snap. Your little bones will crunch when I have you for my lunch. My legs are strong. I swim like a fish “(You will make a tasty dish.Sam Snake began to hiss. Shelley Shark began to snarl. Don't you dare come near to me or I will eat you Slide in, son. Swim on my back so I can swallow a super snack.Poor Toad! What was he going to do? Suddenly he had an idea. Oh, you have frightened me so much. My mouth is clamped shut. My eyes are popping. My knees are knocking. I'm wobbling like a jelly. But you can't all eat me, can you? Who will be the lucky one? Who will have me for supper?Then Shelley Shark g fs erate, i. Ze Go “Sam snake é codile- SGA OF car crevnee at Carly Cro! rm él 7 Ma 7: SSThey went round and round ina circle, faster and faster and faster. Toad watched them for a moment then he smiled.---Toad plopped into the water and began to swim. He swam and he swam. It was such a long way to the other end of the pool for such a tiny toad. The crowd cheered and clapped and shouted. 19At last, he reached the end of the pool. The crowd cheered louder and louder. They went bananas! Suddenly, there was a terrible roar from the other end of the pool. 20You don’t want one of them to eat you after all, do The other animals had Quick stopped swimming round Toad! and round.Toad quickly climbed out of the water. He did not want to be Carly Crocodile’s lunch or Sam Snake’s snack or Terry Tiger’s dish or Shelley Shark’s tea! 22But when he saw what had happened to the other animals he began to laugh. They were all so dizzy they could not swim at all! 23:A lady gave the cup to Toad. Well done, Toad! You were so clever! You were so brave! Oh, they didn’t really frighten me at all.Same letters This game will help your child recognise alliteration, which will help him/her write stories and poems. © Talk with your child about the characters in the story. © Ask your child to find which character's names begin with the same letter. (Ghelley Shark, Sam Snake, Terry Tiger, Carly Crocodile) © Talk about the other characters, including Toad and those unnamed in the illustrations, such as Elephant. © Ask your child to think of alliterative names for Toad and Elephant, such as immy Toad and Edgar Elephant. Other ideas © Ask your child to draw a picture of Toad, and write a sentence describing him. Series adviser Shirley Bickler Design by John Walker Art editing by Hilary Wrightwo Feet arteries Story by jill Atkins Pictures by David Mostyn Toad Swims for his Life! Toad goes to the Animal Games and has a race with some very fierce animals. Stage 7 Snapdragons Hero Shy Shark Toad Swims for his Life ’m Not Wearing That! ‘The Monster Under the Stairs Rory’s Lost his Voice Arse pecs Stage 7 Sraperagons Pack of 6 (one ofeach We) ISBN 9780-19-845550-9 Stage 7 Snapdeagons Class Pack of 36 (a f each tie) ISBN 978-0-19-845551-6 Guided Reading Cards ako availabe