Funnily enough, I find it harder to write not in verse, though I feel I am now getting the hang of it! My novel THE GIANTS AND THE JONESES is going to be made into a film by the same team who made the Harry Potter movies, and I have written three books of stories about the anarchic PRINCESS MIRROR-BELLE who appears from the mirror and disrupts the life of an otherwise ordinary eight-year-old. I have just finished writing a novel for teenagers. One of my television songs, A SQUASH AND A SQUEEZE, was made into a book in 1993, with illustrations by the wonderful Axel Scheffler. It was great to hold the book in my hand without it vanishing in the air the way the songs did. This prompted me to unearth some plays I’d written for a school reading group, and since then I’ve had 20 plays published. Most children love acting and it’s a tremendous way to improve their reading. Choose an animal and write a detailed description of it to help the butterfly find it straight away.

Little monkey has lost his mum but a passing butterfly tells him that she will help him to find her. The only clue that Little Monkey can give butterfly is 'She's big! Bigger than me.'

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

Look at the patterns and textures on the animals in the story. Investigate what camouflage means and how this helps animals. The story begins with a little monkey, alone and lost in the jungle. This little monkey has lost his mum. Once more this misleads butterfly as she produces a snake, so Little Monkey has to tell him that his mum has more legs than that. Once more this is confusing to butterfly who produces a spider. 'No, no, no! ... 'she'd rather eat fruit than swallow a fly, And she lives in the treetops way up high' is Little Monkey's next clue.

The narrative of "Monkey Puzzle" centers around a young monkey who becomes separated from her mother in the vast and dense jungle. Feeling lost and alone, the little monkey embarks on a quest to reunite with her beloved parent. Along her journey, she encounters a helpful butterfly who volunteers to assist her in the search. Choose one of the animals on the word mat (see Resources below). Then, make up some clues for a friend to help them identify the animal that you are thinking of. I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married. This pattern continues with humour and rhyme as the animal pair meet numerous other animals until the monkey is finally reunited with its mum and dad. Fortunately the little monkey isn’t alone for long. A well-meaning and friendly Butterfly appears and comforts him, then they set out to find the little monkey’s mum, together. Poor Butterfly keeps finding animals that fit the little monkey’s description but they aren’t quite right.

Downloads:

Investigate environmental issues linked to jungles and rainforests. How can people help to protect them?

Once the misunderstanding is ironed out Butterfly is more successful and they find Dad and finally Mum! The story was great fun to read, with lots of opportunity for children to interact with the story, such as declaring what each animal is. As always with this collection of titles from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler which includes the critically acclaimed 'The Gruffalo', the illustration is vibrant and brings to life the animal characters. The characters are all which the children can relate to; the monkey in search of its mother could be the children themselves, and the helpful adult butterfly can be likened to police, teachers or other adults who would help the child. I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him).

Crafts and activities for kids

Look at the creatures in the story and the illustrations. Could you write a report about one of them, describing where they live and what they are like? Axel Scheffler's distinctive illustrations bring the characters and settings of "Monkey Puzzle" to life. His vibrant and expressive artwork adds depth to the story, making it an immersive experience for young readers. Monkey puzzle is the tale of a young monkey who searches for his mum with the help of a butterfly. Confusion unfolds as the butterfly uses only the most immediate piece of information when looking for the monkey's mum, for example 'She's big!' declares the monkey 'bigger than me' and using this information the butterfly takes the monkey to an elephant. I really enjoy writing verse, even though it can be fiendishly difficult. I used to memorise poems as a child and it means a lot to me when parents tell me their child can recite one of my books. The story is wonderful to read and enjoy simply as it is, or if you want to use the book to inspire some conversation I have always found Burt is quite happy to talk about the friendly characters that Axel Scheffler brings to life in the illustrations. You could use the story to talk about different animals, introduce some mathematics by counting each animals’ legs or do some biology and talk about metamorphosis and the lifecycle of a butterfly. You could also explore language together by describing each other or thinking of a better description for little monkey’s mum.