Before Reading
Take a look at the front cover. Read the title and look at the image.
What do you think this story is going to be about?
Read the blurb?
What do you thuink will happen in this story?
What could it mean by a wanting monster? What is implied when the word wanting is used with monster? Is wanting a bad thing?
What do you think this story is going to be about?
Read the blurb?
What do you thuink will happen in this story?
What could it mean by a wanting monster? What is implied when the word wanting is used with monster? Is wanting a bad thing?
Read and then discuss
Read all the way through without stopping for discussion, allowing students to absorb the story in its entirety.
After reading:
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Deeper Discussion
- Can you think of examples of greed and wanting in our society that leads to destruction of the world around us and the world's resources? (Plastics; Everyone wants a swimming pool; Constantly updating things such as phones, cars, game consoles etc even when they still work)
- Who is the character that fixes the problem? Why does the author use the littlest child to be the one who sees the problem and then does something about it? What does this say about the power of children?
- Why do you think the author has created the monster to be so tiny? What does this say about how easily people are influenced by others and how small things can grow into big things and get out of hand?
The book has a fable-like feel and will provide a valuable stimulus for many discussions. There is the issue of environmental degradation, the idea of ethics versus economics, the destruction of community and what community actually means and the potential danger of the cult of the individual, among others. The book ends with a direct question to the reader, asking them to reflect on their own behaviour: Does the Wanting Monster ever whisper to you?