Shh! We Have a Plan

Product Information

When children hear the story several times they’ll get to know it really well. This helps them to tell it in their own words, using the pictures as prompts. Listen for the ways they use words and phrases from the story. This familiarity will help them to read the story independently and with increasing accuracy. Watch a Trailer

Following the Rule of Threes the older trio creep stealthily upon the bird on the ground, in a tree, and out on a frozen pond, always failing to catch their prey. At last the Little One offers up some bread crumbs and they stalkers are suddenly surrounded by many birds. With the birds so close it seems as if catching them will easy until they realize they are outnumbers and outsized and off the run. Re-read the story, encouraging children to join in with the repetition and fun: ‘ready one, ready two, ready three… GO!’ Tell the story Kids getting a notion in their head and proceeding with what they believe is a well-considered plan only to have it fail due, in part, to their own limited understanding of the real world. Four friends out for a walk decide they must have the beautiful bird perched high in a tree. They have a plan... Trouble is, their plans don't quite work and each time they land up in a tangled heap as the bird flies off. But look more closely and you will see that the littlest one doesn't join in - he has a much better idea. Even then, things don't quite go according to plan in this almost wordless picture book which relies heavily on the clever picture to relate the story.'Is it a lesson in respecting and protecting small creatures? The triumph of innocence over mischievous adventures? A subtle anti-hunting tract? Pleasingly spare and simple in design and storyline, and ending with a good joke, this is a perfectly executed picture book. ... Chris Haughton plays tribute to Tomi Ungerer’s classic What happens next? Children can draw and write what they imagine happens next in the story of the hunters and the squirrel. This is a very entertaining book about a group of four who are searching in the dark of night for something to catch. Three of the group are bigger and often tell the smallest (likely youngest) of the group repetitively to "Shh! We have a plan." In fact, I had been dozing off the food and activities of our Thanksgiving day, when the girls woke me with numerous whispers of "Shh! We have a plan." We laughed over the silliness of the characters and marveled at the success of the little one.

Most of the illustrations use different shades of blue. Could you try to create your own pictures using different shades of the same colour? Shh! We Have a Plan is a book to fall in love with . . . The characters are so warm and endearing, their antics so gentle and funny that children will take them to their hearts. . . a lovely, lovely book' Armadillo The first thing I loved was the contrast of the dark blue figures in the dim blue world to the bright and vibrant birds! I think there is a hint here about nature and wildlife compared to the human world. I love that subtle environmental message...

Look at the expressions of the characters in the illustrations. How are they feeling? What are they thinking at different points?