Here are some downloadable resources and activity ideas for use at home. If you get your parents to post some pictures of your work on Twitter or Instagram, I will try my best to reply back! Remember to tag me in (@kmlarwood on Twitter, @kieranlarwood on Instagram).
Mr B’s Podcast
In The Reading Corner Podcast
Five Realms Battle Game!
When I was (much) younger, I used to love a series of books called ‘Fighting Fantasy’ and a game called ‘Dungeons and Dragons’, where you had to battle enemies by rolling dice. Inspired by this, I have made a Five Realms version. Design your battling bunny and then see if you can fight your way past four villains from The Legend Of Podkin One-Ear. You earn gold to spend on items after each encounter. Make sure you choose wisely!
I would love to see your character designs! Tweet them to me at @kmlarwood and I will put them on my blog.
Uki & The Swamp Spirit on Moon Lane TV
New book exclusive! Moon Lane books asked me to do a reading from Uki & The Swamp Spirit and to set a little writing activity:
Fantasy Map Drawing Lesson
Step-by-step instructions for creating your own fantasy world. Just for fun, or makes a brilliant starting point for writing your own stories.
Faber Booktime
Here I am, talking about the inspiration behind my Five Realms books and trying not to look too awkward about it.
Authorfy Masterclasses
I have a series of videos and some resources on the excellent Authorfy website. Click here to visit.
Colouring Sheets
Podkin Thursday
Radioblogging.net is an amazing online radio show, full of ideas for writing and activities to do at home. They featured Podkin in a special episode, which you can listen to here.
Fox Paw
Make your own Fox Paw dice. I used blank wooden dice to make these, but all you need are three ordinary six-sided dice. Stick a piece of paper or tape over the six and draw a fox paw on. Then you’re ready to play!
Rules
- there can be any number of players- just take turns around the circle
- roll all three dice together
- if you roll one or more Fox Paws, you are out of the round
- if you have no Fox Paws, you can add together the numbers you rolled
- you can ‘bank’ (keep) the score and end your turn, or you can roll again
- for every other roll you take- if there are any Fox Paws you are out and your score is zero. If there are no Fox Paws, then you can add the total to your overall score
- once everyone has finished rolling and adding, the player with the highest score wins!
Ogham
This is the alphabet that the rabbits of Gotland and Enderby use. Can you write a message in ogham? Get someone to write you one and see if you can decode it.
Download some printable Podkin Activity Sheets
Writing prompts:
- When Podkin, Pook and Paz escape from Munbury warren at the beginning of The Legend of Podkin One-Ear, the bard says ‘That terrible night will only be remembered by those poor little rabbits, and they will never speak of it again.’ What do you think happened? Could you write an extra chapter about their escape from the Gorm and their night in the frozen woods?
- There are twelve magic Gifts in the saga of Podkin. Each has a special power, but also a weakness that makes them tricky to use. Can you design your own Gift with its power and weakness? Draw a picture of what it might look like to help you.
- When the bard is suggesting some stories to the children, he mentions the tales of Beobunny and The Fisher Rabbit. What do you think they might have been about? Could you write your own version?
- In Uki & The Outcasts the rabbits of Hulstland love the sport of Neekball. The teams in the book are called the Nys Nighthawks and the Syn Smashers. Can you design your own team? They will need a name, team colours and a logo. Write an account of a championship game between your team and another. Remember to make it action-packed, with lots of powerful verbs and adjectives.
- Heroes and villains– every story needs a good hero and a wicked villain! Can you design one of each? List their strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes. Draw a sketch first, if it helps you picture them. Then write a scene where the two face each other for the first time. How does your hero feel? Do they stand and fight, or escape by a whisker? Make it as dramatic as possible.
- Comic strip– I’ve always dreamed of my books being made into a comic or graphic novel. Can you pick a scene and draw out a page in comic book form? Tweet me what you come up with!
Links
There are more resources available on the following websites: