Issue #5
Th e Spotty Holi day : s e d u l c In OUR
TE E L P COM DING REA E! G N E L CHAL
ea v a h Let’s CY FAN arty rp dinne ome! at h e! r o m S AP Plus HE
Welcome back!
Read with Sally!
Sally has some SUPER-DOOPER ideas for having fun inside. You can draw, ma ke a tent, write to a friend and MORE.
PUSH PLAY!
How has everyone been? I’ve had a bit of a cold, so I’m writing this letter all cosy in bed with my pupp y, Billy, at my feet. I’m lucky that I love reading an d writing so I don’t mind a day in bed. Sometimes it’s nic e just to rest a little bit, isn’t it? When I was little and I would get sic k, my mum would make me a bed on the couch and bring me lemon and honey to drink. That always made me feel very special. We have lots of fun activities for you this week, including writing your very own story and setting up a fancy dinner party. We also get to meet a super fan, Olivia, and learn some meditation tips to help us feel ca lm. I hope you all have a lovely week and look forward to seeing you next time! Lots of love,
Sally
xxx
PUSH PLAY! Have you read The Spotty Holiday yet? Why don’t you read along with Sally and see if you can finish it by yourself!
! g a B l Mai
Oh no, not again! Some of the letters have disappeared from these Billie B Brown words. Fill in the missing
these words. Can you read the words now that they have been fixed?
A
super-dooper
Meet Olivia! She’s a Billie B Brown fan, and an incredible reader. Her mum asked her some questions so we could get to know her better! PUSH PLAY! ld like to If you wou ook for review a b s some us, send u r any fan mail o — email questions mailbag@ t.com hardiegran
middle sound for each of
h_s
f_t
h_d
h_t
sp_ts
n_t
M_m
f_n
r_g
g_t
b_d
s_t
s_t
b_n
t_n
C
U
Olivia loves SLIME!
E Olivia!
I Olivia’s favourite Billie B Brown book is The Bad Butterfly!
TEACHER APPROVED ACTIVITY
Billie wrote a
Billie was very lucky to travel on a plane to visit her Grandma.
TEACHER APPROVED ACTIVITY
do with her grandma. Write a list of some of things you would like to do with your grandma or grandpa, or with an aunt or uncle!
Have you ever travelled on a plane before?
List:
Write about a time that you’ve been on a plane. Maybe it was to go on a holiday too! Draw a picture to match you writing. If you haven’t been on a plane, write about where you’d like to go on a plane and draw a picture to match you writing.
fantastic list of fun things she’d like to
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
TEACHER APPROVED ACTIVITY
When Billie realised she wouldn’t be able to complete the original list of things she wanted to do with her grandma, she got very
creative!
Billie was able to plan so many fun things to do without leaving the
We have been practising our
TEACHER APPROVED
lots of words in Billie B Brown The Spotty Holiday that we know how to read. We call these words high-frequency words
ACTIVITY
house. She made her own zoo, had an indoor picnic and visited the
ACTIVITY
Look at all these words below. Count how many times
watched a movie and ate popcorn – in Billie’s very own cinema!
you find each word and write down the answer. Which word did you find the most?
What is something creative and fun you could do at your house?
for
with
is
for
you you
as
Write about and draw a picture
TEACHER APPROVED
because we see them all the time.
pretend ice-cream parlour and shoe shop. Billie and her grandma also
what you could do
high-frequency words. There are
for
you
to match.
the
for the
you
for
as
with
you
you
the
is you
as
for
the
with Which word
is
the
as
you
with
for
did you find the most?
a t s o H How to ! y t r a P Dinner
FANCY
n! w o r B B e i l l i B With
ty is r a p r e n in d r e p o r p Having a g an not at all like havin party! a ’s t I . r e n in d ld o ordinary cial. So it has to be spe First of all, you have to think about how many people you are going to invite. This can be a bit tricky because you don’t want to leave anyone out, but inviting a lot of people can be a lot of work. And everyone needs somewhere to sit! Billie usually invites her mum and dad and her best friend, Jack, who lives next door. And of course Billie’s little brother, Noah, has to come – even though he makes a bit of a mess. Sometimes, not everybody can come along, and that’s OK. You can invite them next time! Billie finds the most fun thing about dinner parties is the decorating part. Sometimes she spends so much time decorating that she forgets about the dinner part! But that’s OK. Because even if you are just having toasted sandwiches for dinner, if it looks fancy, it will feel fancy.
Flowers
THINGS YOU NEED FOR A FANCY DINNER P A R T Y :
Not just in a vase, but all over the table. See if you can pick some flowers next time you’re in you r garden or out on a walk with your family. If you can’t find any, why not draw some instead? Check out the paper flower template on the next page!
Food Fancy food is OK, but Billie doesn’t really like a lot of fancy food so she just chooses her favourite foods instead. Billie’s favourite dinner party menu looks like this:
MENU ENTREE ip d d n a s r e k c a r c Rice MAIN COURSE ese n g lo o b i t t e h g a Sp DESSERT Ice-cream with D s AN chopped banana sprinkles!
Tablecloth
ndy if This can be particularly ha u can you don’t have a table yo floor use. Put the cloth on the a fancy and then: voila! You have be dinner party picnic! Just brothers. careful of crawling baby ! They get into everything
Can you guess which courses Billie can make all by herself, and which one she asks for help with?
Guests The most important part! Sometimes Billie’s mum and dad are too busy to come to Billie’s fancy dinner parties, so she invites her dolls instead: Claudia and Tomoko, and Mr Fred, her teddy. But not Stinky, because she is a bit ... well, you know ... stinky!
! e t a l p m e T Invitation ake your own m to e id u g a s use a Fill this out or ur guests! o y r fo s n o ti a it FANCY inv
Dear You’re invited to a very FANCY dinner party!
Date Time Location
From
Paper Flower Templa te! Trace these flowers on to paper and colour them in to use as decorations on the ta ble! Or, draw your own!
n w o r B B Billie
S E V LTO O READ! She reads in bed, she reads on the couch, she reads in the bath – sometimes she even reads up a tree! Where is the strange place you’ve read a b st ook?
It’s time for a Billie B Brown CHALLENGE! Try and tick off five of these reading challenges this week ... or more! Read in bed – under the covers with a torch!
Read in bed!
Read to your pet, or favourite toy.
Take turns reading a sentence with someone else.
Read the book and then draw a new cover for it!
Make a cubby and read in it.
Read curled up on the couch.
Let us know how you go! Send us an email at mailbag@hardiegrant.com
a Get someone to read you! chapter out loud for
Read when you’re eating breakfast.
Read five times in one day!
Read a book and write a book review.
Read a chapter standing up!
Read a picture book to your family – pretend you’re the teacher!
Read a book about animals.
Read a funny book.
Read your best friend’s favourite book and call them to chat about it!
How to write a
GOOD STORY
Over the nex t three issues, Billie B Brown autho r Sally Rippin is going to s hare her tips for writ ing a story. How exciting ! Here is PART ONE.
Do you ever tell your mum or dad all the details about what happened over the course of your day? Well, that’s kind of a story, but not really. A good story needs a beginning, a middle and an end. I know that sounds easy, but, believe me, it isn’t! I’ve been writing stories for years and I still find it hard! So, I thought I’d give you some tips that might help you. Think of it like a recipe. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
1
A HANDFUL OF CHARACTERS . These can be a lot of fun to invent. You can come up with characters by dra wing them or writing down lists of things that make them interesting. What makes them lau gh? What makes them cry? What makes them cro ss? What are they afraid of? What is one thing about your character that they are too embarrassed to tell anyone about?
2
A PINCH OF DESCRIPTION. Don’t worry about adding too much description into your stories in the beginning. Just use a little bit to help us picture where your story is set. Is it in a spooky house? Is it in a jungle? Is it on another planet? Try using all your senses to describe the world. What can we see? What can we hear? What kind of mood do you want to create for your reader?
3
A GREAT BIG DOLLOP OF ACTION! This is the most important part – it’s the part that will make your reader want to keep reading. Show us your character, set your scene, then start the action bubbling by throwing into the pot one great big PROBLEM.
4
A SATISFYING RESOLUTION. This is the bit whe re everything come s together at the end. All your ch aracter’s problems have been fixed an sometimes they hav d e even learned som ething about themselves or the w orld.
This week, invent some good characters and describe the world they live in. Next week I’ll show you how to come up with a BIG PROBLEM to get your story started. Happy writing!
h t i w e m i t n o i t Ques
A K O U K AKI FU
! Z I U Q
How well do YOU know the
rown!
lie B B il B f o r o t a r illust
The Spotty Holiday?
ite picture of What is your favour you’ve drawn? Billie B Brown that
of tutu on the cover a in e li il B of re ndred The iconic pictu ing out over a hu y tr er ft A . y fl er The Bad Butt st not right, that ju e er w at th s n ig r des e different characte w, and we knew w re d I n ig es d al n It’s a picture was the fi ly met our Billie! al n fi ad h e w at straight away th my favourite! y el it in ef d d an e ing to m very special draw
Where do you live? ece of land I live on a little pi ive bush and surrounded by nat e upper rolling hills in th land. north of New Zea lots of We have planted ea fruit trees and hav tch to little vegetable pa ttle feed my hungry li far boys. We are not d from the beach an to my husband loves go fishing and diving whenever he has free time.
Billie B Brown book,
Do you have any advice to aspiring artists about how they might become illustrators? Enjoy drawing, so that you want to draw and continue to draw every day! Practice makes you improv e at anything over time, includi ng drawing. Don’t compare your self to others; instead, only compa re yourself to yourself-from-ye sterday! If you can draw slightly bette r than how you drew the day before, then you are improving. Keep repe ating this and your path to becom ing an illustrator will open up natu rally!
Take this quiz to find out! 1 In The Spotty Holiday, what does the B in Billie B Brown stand for?
6 In Chapter Three, what does Billie turn the lounge into?
2 Fill in the gap! Billie is going to stay with her ___________ for a whole week.
7 Billie tries on lots of shoes until she finds a pair that matches her T-shirt. What colour are they?
3 Circle the right answer! Billie and her grandma travel by …
8 What do Billie and Grandma make to eat at the movies?
train
bus
plane
horse and cart
4 Which of these is not on Billie’s list of fun things to do? Circle the right answer! zoo
movies
shopping
cleaning
9 Fill in the gap! One morning Billie makes an adventure ____________ out of cushions. 10 Where does Billie get to play Waterworld?
5 Billie has chickenpox. Who else in her family has it? Answers 1. Bouncy (see page 2) 2. Grandma (see page 2) 3. Plane (see page 4) 4. Cleaning (see page 9) 5. Her brother, Noah (see page 16) 6. A zoo (see page 22) 7. Purple (see page 33) 8. Popcorn (see page 36) 9. Playground (see page 38) 10. In the bath (see page 38)
The amazing
y a d i l o H y t t o The Sp
N O I T A T MEDI
Let’s lay down and have a relaxing RAINBOW REST with Caitlin!
PUSH PLAY!
! y d a C n i l t i a with C
Billie B Brown sometimes gets CROSS or FRUSTRATED. Sometimes she can’t get her mind to slow down. When our thoughts and feelings are buzzing around, it can be a bit stressful! Have you ever felt that way? At school, Billie B Brown’s class sometimes does Brain Rest with Ms Walton … That’s another word for meditation. Caitlin Cady has written a whole book on meditation and is here to guide you through a couple! Get comfortable and have a go!
Caitlin Cady is the author of Heavily Meditated. If you or your family would like more information about meditation, perhaps you could check out her website, or even buy her book!
PUSH PLAY! Stand tall like a tree, shake like a leaf, and use your imagination to practice SUNSHINE MEDITATION with Caitlin!
p e e k u Do yo
Next week!
? Y R A A DI Billie B Brown does!
Sometimes it’s fun to look back and see how much you have grown up!
The best thing that happened this week was
.
t s a e F t h g i n d i M e h T book!
is a This week, I have been reading
by
Something that made me smile was
The funniest joke I have heard is
If I could have a superpower, it would be
.
.
.
.
wn ? Have you read it yet
CLASSIC Billie B Bro
ck’s backyard. Ja in ng pi m ca e ar Billie and Jack le nd maybe just a litt But it’s very dark. A really big enough bit scary. Are they own? to camp all on their
Learn to navigate the stars!
t c e f r e The p feast t h g i n d i m
Activiti
es!
And much more!
Y R E V E u o y r See o f Y A D N , O d e l M l i un-f
f r e h t ano ed k c a p n o i t c a ! m a r g ro p y a d holi
You might have some of these Billie B Brown books in your bookcase, or they might be available as an ebook to borrow from your local library! Billie B Brown books can be found where all good books are sold. While it’s a bit tricky to get to the
Launch timetable THE MIDNIGHT FEAST Launching Monday 4 May
shops at the moment, we recommend checking if your local bookstore is doing delivery, or look up any of the fabulous Australian retailers who sell books online.
We are going to profile a different bookseller every week! UT
O K C E H C
Dymocks have been selling books in Australia since 1879! There are Dymocks stores all over the country, and many are currently offering deliveries. So give your local a call!
TAR THE SOCCER S 11 May day Launching Mon
wn
www.dymocks.com.au/brands/billie-b-bro
CLICK HERE! Dymocks have loved Billie since she first published, 10 years ago!
‘I love the Billie B Brown books. Billie is such a fun and engaging character and her super-dooper everyday adventures are the perfect stories to encourage kids to read by themselves. They’ll be hooked in no time!
Nicola
, Children’s Category Manager
Contact us! While we can’t meet up at a wonderful book event right now, we welcome you to the Sally Rippin Holiday Program community. Let’s keep in touch. Email us! Do you have questions? Suggestions? Maybe you just want to send us a picture of a butterfly! We will be checking our mail, and Sally will be answering a selection of questions every week! mailbag@hardiegrant.com.au
EMAIL US