The Afghanistan Pup by Mark Wilson
Today we are going to read a narrative based on real events that happened during war time in Afghanistan.
Mark Wilson writes and illustrates many picture books about different wars that Australia has been involved in. He usually retells a story that helps us to better understand how the war impacts individuals. |
Look at the front cover
- Read the title and look at the front cover. What do you think this book is going to be about?
- How could the dog and the soldier be connected?
- What do you know about Afghanistan? What type of country is it?
- Discuss the role of Australian soldiers in Afghanistan. You may like to briefly look at the Australian War Memorial Site for some information.
- As you read the story today, we are also going to be thinking about the narrative structure that Mark Wilson uses to create the story of The Afghanistan Pup based on real events.
Read and discuss
In this story the love of the dog offers comfort to both an Afghani girl and an Australian soldier. What bond did the dog have with both the girl and the soldier? How did the dog help them both?
What characters in the story were demonstrating bravery? How? Mark Wilson is showing us that many are affected by War. Would you say that more than those who are actually fighting the war are affected? How? Who? |
Narrative Structure
Can you identify the elements of narrative in Mark Wilson's book? (Orientation; Complication; Series of events; Resolution?)
Can you identify the series of events in this story? How does more than one event, help to make the complication more interesting? How has Mark used media reports to enhance the story? How did this move the story along? Did they fill in any gaps in the narrative? Do you think this was effective? Why or why not? |