Teacher Notes
I Am So Strong
Before Reading
* Explain this story has been translated. Introduce the author.
* Examine the cover image. What does it tell you about the Wolf?
* Do you like wolves?
* Brainstorm: Which other stories have wolves in them?
* What kind of characters are wolves in stories? Good or bad, kind or mean? Encourage students to justify
their thoughts.
Character Focus: The Wolf
* After reading, discuss the character of the wolf.
* Why did the wolf go for a walk?
* What are digestion and indigestion?
* How did the wolf treat the other characters?
* Look at the expressions of the other characters. How did they respond to the wolf? Would they dare to
disagree with him?
* What was the wolf wanting?
* What made the wolf change his tune in the end? How did he feel?
Exploring Language
* How does the writing make you feel? Why?
* What makes this writing interesting and fun to listen to?
* Which words/combinations of words work well?
* Take out the interesting words on one page and tell with just the basic vocabulary. What is the effect?
* Interesting words: ‘Fine and filling’ (alliteration), ‘pleased as Punch’, ‘trumpeted’, gargoyle, gherkin,
gumboil. How do they sound?
* Find out who Punch is. Find a photo of a gargoyle.
* Pet Names: ‘Strawberry, sugar-bun, bacon-bits’. Why does the Wolf use these foody names? Are they
funny or scary names?
* Share terms of endearment. Do you have a special name? Think of an animal character and invent an
endearing name for it.
* What does ‘prudently’ mean at the end?
Themes
Bullying: What is a bully? Is the wolf a bully?
* How do bullies make you feel?
* Why wasn’t the dragon scared of the wolf?
* Who could you ask for help if you were being bullied?
* What makes someone strong? Was the little dragon strong in some way?
* Compliments: What is a compliment? List some on a chart.
* How did the wolf want to be complimented? Are the compliments he makes genuine? (does he mean
them?).
* Should we demand compliments like he did?
* Think of something you appreciate about a classmate – pay each other a compliment. Find moments to
pay compliments throughout the day/week.
I am so Handsome is a good follow-up book to read.
Fairy Tales: Do you recognise the characters in the story? What fairy tales have they come from?
* Read other books that use a variety of fairy tale characters: e.g. Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf by
Lauren Child; The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, by A. Wolf, Jon Scieszka, and Lane Smith.
Characters: Choose a fairy tale character (princess, giant, wizard, Jack, Queen etc) and create a poster about the character. Draw a large outline of the character and write inside it: likes/ dislikes, favourite saying, friends/ enemies, feelings, where they live etc.
Writing
Questions: What is a question? Students think of questions beginning with ‘who’ (or other).
* Children write questions such as: Who is the strongest? Who is the fastest?
* Write an answer to the question. Share some of the questions and answers.
* Story Structure: Like many picture books I am so Strong has a repetitive structure: the wolf meets a
series of animals and asks the same question. Read similar ‘pattern’ books (eg. The Dudgeon is
coming by Lynley Dodd, Bring Back the Ball Daisy Dog by Hugh Todd, Donkeys by Adelheid Dahimene).
There’s usually an unexpected ending in such books.
* Children write their own repeating story. They imagine a character and a special quality for them. Eg. A
snail might be slow (I am so Slow). Orally tell the story. Who will your character meet? The characters
the wolf met were all smaller than him – the children ’ s characters may meet their opposite. Eg. A snail
meets a fast bee. What question will the main character ask?
* Refer to the repetitive responses of the characters in the book. How will each character respond?
* Construct a story meeting 3 characters, but the final character is surprising somehow. Illustrate.
* Continue the book from the little dragon’s point of view.
Illustrations
These questions help focus children on the illustrations:
* How do the pictures make you feel?
* What attracts your attention in a particular picture?
* What kind of colours have been used?
* What kind of lines and textures are used?
* Do the pictures mirror the text or go beyond what the story tells you?
* Do the pictures suit this kind of story?
* What part of the text has the illustrator chosen to draw? For example, the dragon’s mum.
* Look at close-ups and distance. Why are they used?
Wolf Art: Look at the wolf’s pose on the front, inside title page, and growling at the dragon. Look at shape of the face/body and stance. Children could practice ‘strong’ poses in pairs and sketch each other. Draw the wolf looking strong. Remember the shagginess of the coat.
* Illustrators use variation in lines to suggest character, movement, feelings (eg. thick jagged lines for
anger or danger). What kind of lines and brush stokes are used for the wolf? Sharp or round? Thick or
thin? Why?
Landscape/Backgrounds: Discuss the backgrounds. Why has the artist used a forest scene on some pages and not on others? (Note: A white background is used to make the small characters appear more vulnerable alongside the big wolf).
* The first illustrations show depth and perspective. Choose one to model from.
Activity:
- Colourwash a background on a piece of A3.
- While the background is drying, draw the wolf on A4 with black. Colour mindful of texture and shading
and cut out beside the black line. It needs to be visible.
- On A3 sheet draw at least one tree (in black) the length of the paper with barely any greenery
showing, and some bushes and flowers. Colour boldly and cut out.
- Look at the clearing in the book and the placement of other trees. Cut out a couple of tree trunks
and place only, free to add bushes, flowers, etc at the base of, in front or behind tree trunks.
- Stick wolf onto scene.
- Draw any other characters, cut out and place.
* Create a picture of the mother dragon using different shades of green pastel.
Animal Study
* Take children on to field trip to the zoo, farm or similar animal centre. Find out the special qualities of
animals such as pigs, rabbits, reptiles. Sketch the animals.
* Real Wolves: Divide a page into four sections and draw an outline of a wolf in the centre. Make notes
on (Juniors could illustrate) these 4 sections:
1. Food: what do real wolves eat?
2. Habitat: where do they like to live?
3. Senses: what are their special abilities?
4. Enemies- what or who is a threat to wolves?
* Why do you think wolves are often the ‘bad’ character in stories? Is this true in real life?
Drama
* Re-read the story, explaining that role play will make the story come alive. Listen carefully to the order
of the story, how the characters speak and what they say. Students they can use their own words if
they want to.
* Experiment with voices for the various characters. There can be a storyteller and more characters can
be added – children could suggest these, based on where the other characters came from.
* Shared Reading: students can assume the wolf’s and/or other character’s roles in the story as teacher
reads the main parts. Children should use their own words. If they are not confident, they could repeat
the dialogue after the teacher.
* Play: Write the story as a play script. It could be a recorded play or using simple head bands to
represent the animals.
Personal Response
Review the book. Give reasons for your favourite event, character, words and illustration. More capable students could consider quality of printing production, a personal response, and a suitable age group for the book. Give it a rating (eg. stars).