Pistes d'exploration

Create a poster advertising Jane’s ordinary qualities (cuddly, kind, hard-working, etc.).

Find antonyms for adjectives in the text (e.g. graceful, mighty, fearless).

Create your own name banner and decorate it with fitting adjectives.

Brainstorm a list of jobs that Jane could do at the circus (e.g. make deliveries, collect tickets, escort people to their seats, etc.).

How are the circus posters structured? What features can you identify (images, names, circus name, a punchy sentence)? Design a circus poster focusing on you and your qualities.

Predict the plot based on the cover. Why do you think the word extraordinary is written in two different colours?

List the qualities of the various characters. With two different coloured highlighters, identify those qualities that describe you and those that don’t.

List Jane’s qualities (character traits). Discuss how you can be successful and loved without being extraordinary.

How are the circus posters structured? What features can you identify (images, names, circus name, a punchy sentence)? Design a circus poster focusing on you and your qualities.

The Mermaid and the Shoe, Ordinary Mary's Extraordinary Deed

Mots-clés

Picture book , acceptance , circus , dogs , illustrations (acrylic) , individuality , talent

Commentaire descriptif

Jane is an ordinary dog in an extraordinary circus. She isn’t “graceful like her mother, or mighty like her father.” Her music lacks musicality; her paintings, pizzazz. Her brothers are daring and her sisters are fearless. What can Jane do? Heights make her dizzy and her jokes are a flop. Nonetheless, the Ringmaster has just the perfect job for her, something right up her alley. Simple text clearly and effectively captures the differences between Jane and the rest of circus performing family. Fun, acrylic paintings depict the circus in bright, colourful detail, including a few visual gags, as well as the wide-ranging expressions on the animals’ (and Ringleader’s) faces. Before even opening the book, readers are visually cued to the theme of standing out and being special because the word ordinary, in blue letters, stands out in the all-orange title. This warm-hearted tale of a loveable circus dog trying to make an impression reminds readers that kindness and loyalty are important character traits, perhaps even more so than being the fastest, brightest or strongest.