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Sally Murphy, Australian author

Where Do Ideas Come From? The origins of Head Hog

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My post  about the origins of Queen Narelle has left me thinking about where the ideas for my other stories came from.  So I thought I’d share perhaps the most ridiculous origin story.

The first two trade books I had accepted for publication were Doggy Duo, which

Doggie Duo

Doggie Duo

included two stories about dogs, and The Floatingest Frog, a picture book about, you guessed it, frogs.

The Floatingest FrogOne day I was talking to someone about my writing and they asked  “what are you going to write next.?’ I don’t know what inspired me, but I said flippantly ‘Well, I’ve written about dogs and frogs, so I guess the next one will be hogs.’ I don’t remember if the person laughed, groaned or just smiled politely at that response, but the idea to write a book about a hog remained in my brain as a tiny seed.

It wasn’t the next book I wrote, but the desire to write a book about a hog didn’t go away. Eventually I brainstormed some ideas, and came up with the idea of a Head Hog. It reminded me a little of hedgehog, but also of  Boss Hogg, a character in a 70s TV show.

I started asking myself what would a head hog be like. I decided that my hog would takeHead Hog the role of being Head Hog very seriously – too seriously – so that it would take a much younger hog to show him how to have fun. And, eventually, I  wrote the story that, after much revision and rewriting, became Head Hog, and was published by Koala Books with wonderful illustrations by  Ben Wood.

Unfortunately, it is no longer in print, but  I do still regularly read it at school and library visits, and it is a lot of fun. – and a reminder of how little ideas can grow into fun, complex stories.

Much much later I wondered if, having written about dogs, frogs and hogs, if I could perhaps write about logs. You can be the judge of the success of that: this poem is my very quick attempt:

Logs

There are many poems about frogs

There are many poems about dogs

There are many poems about hogs

But not many about logs

 

So let’s write about a log

And see if it’s such a hard slog.

 

A frog sat on a log

A dog sat on a log

A hog sat on a log

And that was the end of the log.

 

Proof that not all my ideas (or all my poems) are good ones.!

Still Floating

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Last week, at my day job as a university lecturer, I read The Floatingest Frog to my students, who are pre-service teachers, accompanied by two froggy puppets, and with all the voices and silliness I always use when I read this book.

Afterwards, I realised I have been reading about Frankie and Ferdinand for seventeen years. No wonder I can now read it with my eyes closed.  In that time I have read it to audiences and classes of all sizes, and all ages and stages, as well as to my own children and, more recently, my grandchildren.  The good news is – I have as much fun reading it now as I did seventeen years ago.

The even better news is that it is, amazingly, still in print.

And the best news of all is that I still get to read not just this book, but my other books as well, at Bookweek, which is only days away, as well as other times. No wonder I love being an author.

(PS, If you are a teacher and want to use this book, you can find teaching ideas here or purchase it here. It isn’t just a fun read – it can also link to units about frogs, and is a retold Aesop’s Fable)

Teacher Tuesday: The Floatingest Frog in the Year 4 Classroom

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Welcome to the third edition of Teacher Tuesday, where I match one of my books to a year level, and offer some activities for sharing the book in the classroom. In the first two weeks I shared activities for Looking Up and for Do Not Forget Australia.

This week I’m focusing on my very first picture book: The Floatingest Frog.

Using The Floatingest Frog in a Year Four Classroom

The Floatingest FrogThe Floatingest Frog, text by Sally Murphy, illustrations by Simon Bosch 

Published by New Frontier Publishing, 2004
ISBN: 9781921042546 (Paperback)
Format 24 page Picturebook, RRP $14.99

Available from good bookstores or here.

Blurb: Ferdinand the Frog wants to outdo his brother Frankie in every possible way. He can jump the farthest, croak the loudest, and even has the longest name! Sibling rivalry soon reaches hilarious heights when Ferdinand pushes his luck too far. Based on an Aesop’s fable, The Floatingest Frog is a cautionary tale about being too full of hot air.
Sally’s Recommended Grade Levels: Year K-5, but these suggestions focus on Year 4.

Themes/Topics:

  • Siblings
  • Frogs
  • Animals
  • Friendship
  • Aesop Fables
  • Humour
  • Wisdom

Curriculum Links:

Year 4 English

  1. Recognise how quotation marks are used in texts to signal dialogue, titles and quoted (direct) speech (ACELA 1492)
  2. Investigate how quoted (direct) and reported (indirect) speech work in different types of text (ACELA 1494)
  • During Re-Reading of the book, or using selected pages, ask students to identify how we know a character is speaking. Highlight opening and closing quotation marks, commas and attributions such as said/exclaimed/scoffed.
  • Rewrite selected sentences of dialogue on whiteboard or smartboard, demonstrating the correct placement of punctuation.
  • Create a worksheet with sentences from the text containing dialogue, with punctuation removed. Have students punctuate appropriately.
  • Writing: Write a conversation between Frankie and Ferdinand which does not happen in the book. OR write conversation where Frankie goes to introduce himself to the cow.

 

  1. Make connections between the ways different authors may represent similar storylines, ideas and relationships (ACELT 1602): comparing different authors’ treatment of similar themes and text patterns, for example comparing fables and allegories from different cultures
  2. Discuss how authors and illustrators make stories exciting, moving and absorbing and hold readers’ interest by using various techniques, for example character development and plot tension (ACELT 1605)
  • After Reading: Explain that The Floatingest Frog is based on an Aesop’s Fable, The Frog and the Ox. Discuss the elements of a fable – a story designed to teach a moral or message, after using animal characters and explicitly stating the moral.
  • Questions: Did any student identify the story as a fable on the first reading? How? Does The Floatingest Frog contain the elements of a fable?
  • Read Aesop’s fable: The Frog and the Ox. (There are several versions of this available online)
  • In groups/pairs construct a table exploring how the picture book is similar/different to The Frog and the Ox. Suggested headings: length, language, characters, dialogue, statement of moral.
  • Discuss: Why might an author use a fable to create a picture book? Which version did students prefer? Why did Sally use two frogs, rather than just one? Why did she change the ox into a cow?
  • Examine the book closely – using a story map or other process – to identify how the text attempts to make the original fable more engaging using dialogue, characterisation and action. Examine the illustrations closely to see how the illustrations add to the written words.
  • Questions: How has the author used dialogue tags/word choice/repetition/pacing to build an exciting story? Are their things which happen in the illustrations which do not happen in the words? What effect does this have? Why does the word ‘cow’ not appear in the text? How do we know it IS a cow?
  • Writing: Retell a different Aesop’s Fable as a narrative.

 

  1. Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts containing key information and supporting details for a widening range of audiences, demonstrating increasing control over text structures and language features.
  • After Reading: Building on work on dialogue and on fables, have students write their own original animal story OR rewritten fable. Work through stages of planning, drafting, editing and publishing this narrative.

Year 4 Science

Biological sciences

  1. Living things have life cycles (ACSSU072)
  2. Living things, depend on each other and the environment to survive (ACSSU073)Frogs: Awesome Amphibians
  • The study of The Floatingest Frog can coincide with studies of the life cycle of the frogs. You can find Frog Printables here or at numerous other websites – or make your own.
  • Complement The Floatingest Frog with my non-fiction book Frogs: Awesome Amphibians, available here. You can see sample pages of the book HERE
  • Compare the language of the nonfiction book with the fiction book, integrating science and literacy activities into the one unit of work.

 

Other suggestions for using The Floatingest Frog in your classroom include:

  • Art/Technology:  The art in The Floatingest Frog is created digitally. Experiment with drawing on whichever computer programs are available in your classroom.
  • Art: There are many ideas for frog craft, including frog origami. This Pinterest page has links to many easy, clever activities.
  • Email the author (that’s me!) Your students can write to me through this website, and share their responses or ask questions.

Related Books

Mostly, I’d love to remind you that while I love to see my books used in classrooms, I also love to see kids just enjoying them. Reading a book should be pleasurable – whether it’s being used in the classroom or not.  So allow your students to enjoy reading The Floatingest Frog.

If you find this useful, or have any suggestions or comments, do leave a comment. And, if there is a particular book or year level or topic that you would like covered in a future edition of Teacher Tuesday, let me know.

Book Bling

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Over the years I have had a lot of fun sourcing jewellery that matches my various books.

There were frog earrings for The Floatingest Frog.

Floatingest Earrings

 

There was a necklace and earrings featuring the globe for Pearl Verses the World.

Pearl with Necklace

 

Toppling had a necklace (which I made myself) plus earrings and a bracelet.

Toppling With Jewllery

Head Hog had a necklace with a blue glass hog.

Head Hog Necklace

Hide and Sleep has two pairs of owl earrings.

Hide and Sleep Earrings

While Snowy’s Christmas had kangaroo ones.

Snowy Earrings

I even have earrings for books I either haven’t written yet, or that I’ve written but haven’t been published yet (watch this space!):

earrings

But, today, the postie brought me a little package with my latest earring purchase – and just in time, because these ones are to match Sage Cookson’s Sweet Escape, which is released tomorrow. Guess when I’ll be wearing them?

Sage Cupcake Earrings

A Frog Blog

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Am so excited about Frogs: Awesome Amphibians that I have set up a new blog – a frog blog, dedicated to my two frog books: this one and, of course, Floatingest. I’ll include bits and pieces about the two books, but will also talk about and link to anything frog-related. So, if you are into frogs, check it out.
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