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Lost in a book

The kids are on a beach playing together. Suddenly they notice that Sophie is missing! Where could she be?

They start calling for her, and then they hear her laughing. They follow the sound and find Sophie sitting under a palm tree with a book in her hand.

Sophie is reading and laughing her head off! She must have brought her book with her and decided that she would like some peace and quiet to herself.

She really should have told the others though, they were worried about her.

Funny books

Sophie’s book must be very funny because she is laughing a lot. The words in it and what the characters say and do are making her laugh out loud.

Has this ever happened to you?

Authors of funny books can write them like a story, but sometimes they are written like rhymes.

Joke books are also meant to be funny.

Sometimes the illustrator draws pictures to make you laugh and understand the story better.

The power of books

Books are not just funny, they can be sad too.

Have you ever read a book that makes you feel sad?

What happened in the story that made you feel sad? Maybe the story had a sad part in the middle, but the ending was happy.

Books can get your imagination going too.

The writer can take you to a make-believe place far away.

When you are reading, you feel that you really are in the make-believe world.

Books like this are exciting.

Sometimes you don’t know what is going to happen next. You can’t wait to turn the next page to find out.

Talk about what you have read

When you read a book, it is good to talk about it.

When you talk about what you have read, it shows others that you have understood the story.

You can retell the story in your own words, but you might also want to add in some exciting or interesting words that the author has used. Just remember that you might have to explain to others what they mean.

When you retell a story you have read, you should start at the beginning of the story. You can talk about the characters in the book and the setting. The setting is where the story takes place.

You may also wish to talk about some of the things that the characters get up to.

Remember, your friend might not have read the book, so sometimes it is not a good thing to share the ending. You don’t want to spoil it for them!

Share your opinion

When you read a book you will form an opinion about it.

Your opinion is what you think about the book.

For example, you might like the book because one of the characters does really funny things. Or, you might like it because it is a book about your favourite animal.

Your opinion about a book might not be the same as your friend’s opinion.

Opinions can be very different because we all like different things.