Illustrations © Emily Gravett, 2019

EXTRACTS
AND NOTESFOR KS2TEACHERSINTRODUCTION
Evie and the Animals by Matt Haig is suitable for teaching to children aged 8+.
This Teachers’ Pack includes extracts, discussion questions and activities that are aimed atdeveloping children’s awareness of the natural world around them, stimulating discussion
around important themes in the story: the animal kingdom, Evie’s supertalent, protecting
the environment, and empathy and kindness.

CONTENTSEXTRACT 1: PAGE 4
The Animal World (taken from A Special Child)
OBJECTIVES: Match up animals with facts about them; paint a picture ofyour favourite animal, labelling it with defining characteristics and features.
SUBJECTS: Literacy, Science, Design, Art and Technology

EXTRACT 2: PAGE 7
Evie’s Supertalent (taken from A Special Child)
OBJECTIVES: Act out scenarios in which a pet can communicate with
its owner; write a letter to your owner from the perspective of a pet.
SUBJECTS: Drama, PSHE, Speaking and Listening, Creative Writing:Writing in Role, Writing a Letter

EXTRACT 3: PAGE 10
Protecting the Environment (taken from The Girl from the Jungle)
OBJECTIVES: Consider the negative impact humans have had on
the environment; design a leaflet persuading the public to do more tohelp protect the environment and the natural habitat of animals.
SUBJECTS: Literacy, Science, Geography, Creative Writing:Writing to Persuade

EXTRACT 4: PAGE 13
Kindness (taken from A Good Life)OBJECTIVES: Design an acronym of your name using positive personal
traits and talents you possess; create a storyboard of a time you
made the world a better place for a person,
animal or the environment.
Illustrations © Emily Gravett, 2019

SUBJECTS: Design, Art and Technology,
Literacy, PSHEABOUTthe BOOK
Eleven-year-old Evie has a talent.
A SUPERTALENT.
A talent that can let her HEAR the thoughtsof an elephant, and make friends with a dog
and a sparrow.
The only problem is, this talent is dangerous.
VERY dangerous. That’s what her dad says.
So when she frees the school rabbit from its
tiny hutch, she vows to keep her talent a secret.
But after a face-to-face encounter with a lion,
things start to go very wrong. Her dad – andevery animal in town – is now in danger. Evieis determined to save them. And to find thetruth of her own past. To do that she must battle
a mysterious man with a talent more powerfulthan any other.
As time runs out, she must seek help
from the animals, and finally DARE TO
BE HERSELF . . .

Kan LaileyABOUT THE AUTHORS

Illustrations © Emily Gravett, 2019

Image byAs well as being a number one bestselling writer for adults, Matt Haig
has won the Blue Peter Book Award, the Smarties Book Prize andbeen nominated three times for the Carnegie Medal for his stories forchildren and young adults. He has sold more than a million books inthe UK and his work has been translated into over forty languages. In
2018, The Truth Pixie was a Sunday Times children’s bestseller.
Emily Gravett is an award-winning writer and illustrator. She won
her first CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal with the picture book Wolves
and received the award for a second time with Little Mouse’s Big Book ofFears. Emily lives in Brighton with her family and their two dogs.

tt

Image by Mik Grave3

Extract 1:

The ANIMAL
WORLD
Extract from ‘A Special Child’ – pages 1–2‘Once there was a girl called Evie Trench. Evie was not a normal child. She was a‘special’ child. That’s what her dad said. Special.

Illustrations © Emily Gravett, 2019

Evie often thought it would be a lot easier to be a normal child than a special
child, but there you go. She was special. And the reason for this was . . . Well, it
was complicated. Evie didn’t really understand it herself. Before we get on to her
specialness, let’s start with a simple fact. Evie liked animals. Of course, lots of people
like animals. But Evie liked all animals. Not just the cuddly ones.
She liked dogs and cats, yes, of course, but also cockroaches, snakes, bats, vultures, hyenas,sharks, jellyfish and green anaconda snakes. She liked every animal. Well, apart from theBrazilian wandering spider – the deadliest spider in the world – which even Evie foundhard to love, for reasons that will become clear. But, as a general rule, if it lived, she liked it.
And she knew everything about the animal world. As much as anyone. There were probably
professors of Animal Biology at extremely clever universities who knew less than her. By
the time she was six years old she had read more than three hundred books on the subject.’DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What is your favourite animal and why? Which are the most popularanimals in your class?
2. Which animals does Evie like? Why is this unusual?
3. Why might Evie find it ‘hard to love’ the Brazilian wandering spider?
How is it described?
4. Why is it important to care about all animals, not just cats and dogs?
5. How does Evie know so much about ‘the animal world’?
Why is this impressive?

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Activity 1:ANIMAL
FACTS
SUBJECTS: Literacy, Science

Evie cares for all animals, not just cats and dogs, and has spent many years researching them.

Illustrations © Emily Gravett, 2019

Using the table, match up some of the animals that are mentioned in extract 1 with facts
about them. To really show off your knowledge of the animal world, work with a partner
to include any other facts you know in your table.

A N I M A L FAC T S

Which animal does the fact belong to?

1. Around 600 species of thisanimal are venomous. Many ofthem swallow their victims whole.

ANIMAL:2. Known as ‘scavengers’, these birds
are in danger of becoming extinct.

ANIMAL:

3. They eat thousands of insects
every night, including mosquitoes!

ANIMAL:

4. The ‘Great White’ is one of themost famous predators on earth.

ANIMAL:

5. This animal looks similar to a dog.
They are intelligent, skilled hunters.

ANIMAL:

6. This animal has no brain and islargely made out of water.

ANIMAL:

Snake, jellyfish, bat, vulture, hyena or shark?

E X T R A FAC T I K NOW:E X T R A FAC T I K NOW:E X T R A FAC T I K NOW:E X T R A FAC T I K NOW:E X T R A FAC T I K NOW:E X T R A FAC T I K NOW:

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Activity 2:

My FAVOURITE
ANIMALSUBJECTS: Design, Art and Technology, Literacy, Science

Using all that you know and have learnt about animals, choose your favourite animal in theworld. It might be that you choose one of the animals that is mentioned in the text.
Note: it can’t be a cat or a dog!

Illustrations © Emily Gravett, 2019

Paint your animal leaving some space so that you can label it afterwards. Once it has dried,
write a few words labelling your painting with what makes your animal so special and why
you have chosen it as your favourite.

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Extract 2:

EVIE’SSUPERTALENT
Extract from ‘A Special Child’ – pages 3–4

Illustrations © Emily Gravett, 2019

‘But Evie didn’t just like animals. She didn’t just know facts about them. She also had avery special skill. A very unusual skill. The skill was this: she could HEAR what animals
were thinking. And sometimes she could get animals to hear what she was thinking.
Without moving her lips or making a sound, Evie could talk to animals. Evie had
no idea how or why she could hear animals. She just could. And, as she got older, it
seemed to be happening more and more often. And it was the best thing ever. It was
her very own secret superpower. She had only ever told one person she could do this.
Her dad. And he’d said that she must never tell anyone about it. Ever.’DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What is Evie’s ‘very special skill’? Why is this described as ‘unusual’?
2. What does the word ‘empathy’ mean? How might Evie’s skill help her
to empathise with animals?
3. Would you like to possess this skill? Explain why or why not.
4. Why do you think Evie has only told her dad about it? Why doesn’t
she tell more people?
5. If you could have one ‘supertalent’, what would it be and why?

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Activity 1:

COMMUNICATINGwith ANIMALSSUBJECTS: Drama, PSHE, Speaking and Listening

Imagine what animals might say to their owner and vice versa if they
had the chance. If you have pets of your own, use them as inspirationor you can get ideas from the extract to help you.
Get into pairs with one of you acting as an owner andone of you acting as their pet.
Then, take it in turns pretending to be the following animals:
C AT, BUDGIE, GOLD FISH , D OG.

AFTER YOU HAVE BOTH ACTED OUT 2 OF THE ANIMALS, DISCUSS;

Does this activity make you think more about what it is like to be a pet?

Will you treat your pet differently after this exercise?

Illustrations © Emily Gravett, 2019Why?

8Activity 2:

LOOK WHO’S
TALKING!
SUBJECTS: Creative Writing: Writing in Role, Writing a Letter, PSHE

Using Activity 1 to get some ideas, write a letter to your owner from the perspective of a pet.
In your letter, you may wish to include descriptions of; what it feels like to be a pet; whatmakes you happy or sad; what makes a good owner; what you would change about your living
conditions or routine if you could.

Illustrations © Emily Gravett, 2019Read some of these letters out as a class. Discuss any common ideas or themes that come up.
Consider issues such as: what makes a good owner? How might the world change if we could
communicate with animals?

9Extract 3:

PROTECTING theENVIRONMENT
Extract from ‘The Girl from the Jungle’ – pages 61–63

Illustrations © Emily Gravett, 2019

‘Evie nodded in a daze. She couldn’t believe there was still more to find out. She
stared down at the birth certificate in her trembling hands. “Your mum had theTalent, Evie. Animal telepathy. Just like you, and she was hearing all the animals. Theanimals told her terrible stories about the humans who were destroying their land.
And she helped them. She told the animals what was happening and where to hide.
She was a hero to the people who wanted to save the rainforest. But other people
didn’t like her. The business people. The loggers. The cow farmers. And one man inparticular really didn’t like her.”’

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What important information does Evie learn about her mum in thisextract?
2. Who wants Evie’s mum to stop what she is doing and why?
3. Why do animals need our help and protection? What is happening totheir homes and land?
4. What can be done to protect animals and their environment?
5. Why is protecting the environment everyone’s responsibility? What
will happen if we don’t take action?

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Activity 1:

HUMAN
IMPACT
SUBJECTS: Literacy, Science, Geography

A major theme in the text is how humans have damaged and even destroyed
the environment, including the natural habitat of many animals.
Using the table and the extract for ideas, make notes on some of the negative impacts
that humans have had on the world and what can be done about it.
When completed, go through each human impact as a class to see if there is anything else you
can add to your table. Including as much detail as possible will help you with Activity 2!

H UM A N I M PAC T

What are the negative effects of thison animals and the environment?

What can be done to protect
animals and the environment?

DE F OR E STAT ION

P L AST I C S & OT H E R
N ON - B IODE G R A DA B L E
G O OD S

P OAC H I NG

Illustrations © Emily Gravett, 2019

C L I M AT E C HA NG E

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Activity 2:

CREATINGa LEAFLETSUBJECTS: Science, Geography, Creative Writing: Writing to Persuade

Create a leaflet to raise awareness about how human beings are negatively impacting theearth and the natural habitats of animals. In it, you will persuade people to do more toprotect the environment.

Illustrations © Emily Gravett, 2019

Make your leaflet as eye-catching and informative as possible by using colour andillustrations, as well as your notes and discussions from Activity 1.

12Extract 4:

KINDNESSExtract from ‘A Good Life’ – pages 238–239

Illustrations © Emily Gravett, 2019

‘Granny Flora smiled her soft twinkly-eyed smile at Evie, her teeth stained with tea
and liquorice.
“Your real talent isn’t talking to animals, Evie,” she said after a while. “It’s kindness.
That’s what made you stronger than Mortimer in the end. Kindness is a boomerang.
You throw it out and you get it back. You had done kind things in the world, andyou had been rewarded with kindness in return.” Evie smiled a little. “Thanks,Granny.” “Well, think about it. You were kind to that rabbit, and she then helped
us escape. You helped that snake, and it saved your life. Our lives. You were kind to
Scruff when you helped his poorly paw, and now he loves you. You were kind to
Beak, and he pooped on your enemies . . .” She placed her cup of tea down andpicked up Plato. “Your mother would be proud of you.” Evie’s dad was watchingfrom the doorway. “Yes, she certainly would.’’’DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:1. What does Granny Flora believe Evie’s ‘real talent’ is? Why is this abrilliant talent to have?
2. What is a boomerang? What does Granny Flora mean when she saysthat ‘kindness is a boomerang’?
3. How does Evie’s kindness help animals throughout the text?
Pick out some examples.
4. Do you agree that Evie’s mother would be proud of her?
Explain your ideas.
5. As well as kindness, what other important personal traits andtalents does Evie possess?

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Activity 1:

REAL
TALENTSSUBJECTS: Design, Art and Technology, Literacy, PSHEOn a coloured piece of card, write your name down the left hand-side in big letters.
Note: If your name is short, for example 3 letters long, you may wish to include
your middle name or use your surname instead.
Use your name as an acronym for positive personal traits, characteristics or talents you possess
or would like to develop as you get older. For example, K = Kindness, B = Bravery.

Illustrations © Emily Gravett, 2019

Decorate your card with symbols, colours, and anything else that you
associate with these traits and talents.

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Activity 2:

STORYBOARD
SUBJECTS: Design, Art and Technology, Literacy, PSHE

Think about how your traits, characteristics and talents help to make the world
a better place for humans and/or animals. Then, try to think of an example of atime you have shown one of these traits.
Create a storyboard showing step-by-step how this trait or talent had a positive
impact on people, animals or the environment.
Underneath your sketches, write a few words explaining what is happening at that stage
in the story. For example, it could be feelings or emotions that people or animals areexperiencing, or it could be a setting like school, the park, or at home.

Illustrations © Emily Gravett, 2019

Swap your storyboards with a partner so that you can learn from each other’s experiences.

We’d love to hear about how you’re using these Evie and the Animals resources in yourclassrooms, libraries etc. Please share your photos and stories with us online! Tag us@canongatebooks on Twitter and Instagram and use the hashtag #EvieandtheAnimals

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