A wonderful alternative - and a necessary one - to chapter books.
Bored of chapter books? Well no, frankly. Not by any means. However exposure to other genres is vital and useful to children’s understanding of their own preferences and simply the volume and variety of books out there. Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx is part of a series of books by Joe Todd-Stanton, that cover Vikings, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Shang China.
Vividly artistic with vibrant illustrations, Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx is a graphic novel that immediately captures the imagination of the reader simply by sight alone. The first bite, they say, is with the eye.
Why this story?
Yet the fabulous artwork isn’t just it. The story itself centres on Marcy, a girl who listens raptly to her father’s incredible adventures of his past without really believing them. When he finally takes her on one, she’s too frightened to continue. In order to help his daughter overcome her fears, her father leaves on a journey later but does not return. It’s up to Marcy to figure out his whereabouts, face numerous dangers, negotiate with a pantheon of ancient Egyptian gods before solving the riddle of the sphinx to save her father. A charming story of adventure and conquering fear with puzzles and villains that would suit champion fictional adventurer Lara Croft herself.
How does it fit into English?
It’s a short KS2 book, one might argue, with 50-odd pages with only a paragraph on each one when there is writing on there, but I always run out of time when I’m using it as a class book. If you're after reading comprehension questions, you can find them here. Aside from the dazzling and intricate illustrations previously mentioned, the story itself is conducive to an array of various writing opportunities within; from instructions to extending the narrative to diary entries to character/setting descriptions. There's drama easily gotten out of it too, or use shadow puppets and create a show.
Learning about direct speech, fronted adverbials, expanded noun phrases and the like for SPaG? Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx is awash with them. Comprehension questions can be found here and can always be adapted or extended with a SPaG focus.
And the rest of the curriculum?
Obviously, as the title dictates, Ancient Egypt comes into the fore and there is great opportunity to research Ancient Egyptian Gods (we made top trump cards). There’s map making for geography, astrology and using stars for directions and all sorts. Overcoming fear and the like is easily linked to PSHE and your class will doubtless be able to think of their own examples. In short, there are ample opportunities within the historical study of Ancient Egypt to get a huge amount of enquiry out of, along with plenty of art and DT.
Who to use it with?
Who would I use it with? I use it with Year 4, but this book is accessible for Year 2, though not, perhaps, as a grammar exercise, through to Year 6. Picture books seem seldom used in UKS2 which is a crying shame because often, the rich vocabulary and grammatical features lend itself very well to Years 5 and 6 where they can really dissect a story and its features.
It is also very accessible to KS2 usually across all abilities depending on what you do for it. Did I mention that it’s beautiful to look at? Find the link to buy the book here, comprehension questions here, and indulge yourself with a super story with some fabulous inspirational artwork and lessons.
Buy Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx by Joe Todd-Stanton on Amazon.
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