The fantastic image of a guinea pig in front of the internet bidding on one of the last remaining leaves in existence is a joy. The guinea pigs like to ‘munch’ and ‘nibble’ the dandelions. How many words can you think of to describe how we can eat?

high energy storytelling, bringing fun meaningful theatrical experiences to children aged 2-7 and their families too! And in Christopher’s Caterpillars, he has learnt to nurture caterpillars, so that they can flourish and turn into magical butterflies, as they flutter right before our eyes out from Mr Rosetti’s café window.From the company who brought you The Lost Present…A Christmas Adventure! comes a new wintery tale for the whole family to share. When reading the book with the children it is the perfect time to start thinking about Christopher’s character and what they think he should do at this point. Hot seating the poor guinea pig in his moment of decision would be ideal. You could use a conscience alley to explore for and against devouring the plant, and wider discussions with the children about truth and honesty will also present themselves. You could create an aerial map of Dandeville or become town planners and build a scale model of key landmarks in the town. What types of shops would there be? What other facilities might they have? We know there is a library and a restaurant. Let children choose where Christopher’s house would be, where they think Daisy Chain Hill is or the football pitch where Christopher loves to play. Christopher Nibble by Charlotte Middleton is a wonderful topic book to use whilst teaching and learning about plants and growth in KS1.

It takes a lot of ‘willpower’ for Christopher to stop himself from eating the last dandelion. What is willpower? How can it help us? Using a poem as a model is a super way to scaffold children’s own writing and, of course, Roger McGough’s Sound Collector would be a perfect poem to enjoy and use to create your own class poem together.and off you head into a super list poem of all those sounds you have collected together. 2. Role-play and ‘real writing’

Christopher Nibble loves munching dandelion leaves. And he's not alone. All the guinea pigs in Dandeville eat dandelion leaves for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But no-one seems to do anything when the dandelions begin to dwindle. They just carry on munching. In fact the guinea pigs of Dandeville are heading for eco-disaster . . . But that's where Christopher Nibble steps in. He discovers the last dandelion growing outside his bedroom window and, rather than eat it, he does his horticultural research in the library and then nurtures the dandelion patiently until it has produced a perfect head of tiny seeds. Then he blows the seeds from a hill high over Dandeville so that each dandelion seedling takes root and grows into a new plant. Katie and all of the other children around the world have just received the news that every child fears…Christmas is…CANCELLED!The tale follows events in the town of Dandeville, where not only Christopher and the Nibble family, but also the entire town are extremely fond of the local delicacy… dandelions of course Key Stage 1 The young guinea pigs have worked their magic again and ignited the interest of all the residents of Dandeville and hopefully some aspiring young readers too! Author and illustrator Charlotte Middleton introduces the wonderful Christopher Nibble’s latest eco-adventure! Christopher Nibble's tale of dandelion derring-do is a delightful starting point for a KS1 topic, says Judy Clark... Can you find any dandelions in parks and gardens near to you? What other plants grow in these areas?