Christopher Nibble

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Why not create an entire restaurant area in the classroom complete with table cloths, place settings, menus and a specials board? The children could roleplay the heyday of dandelions and be assigned individual roles, such as waiter, cook, maitre d’, and a whole range of different types of customer. Then it will be all change as the dandelions run out and the class could set about creating new menus using all of the vegetables they don’t like. Christopher faces a dilemma. He absolutely loves dandelions and there, outside his bedroom window, is what might be the last one. Nobody knows he has it. He could eat it all by himself and no one would know. Look at the book titles in the illustration of the library. Can you write a story based on one of these titles? Think of positive words that Christopher might use to describe dandelions and negative words to describe cabbages! And in Christopher’s Caterpillars, he has learnt to nurture caterpillars, so that they can flourish and turn into magical butterflies, as they flutter right before our eyes out from Mr Rosetti’s café window.

The guinea pigs of Dandeville love munching dandelion leaves so much that slowly but surely dandelions are disappearing from all over town. Author and illustrator Charlotte Middleton introduces the wonderful Christopher Nibble’s latest eco-adventure!high energy storytelling, bringing fun meaningful theatrical experiences to children aged 2-7 and their families too! Using a poem as a model is a super way to scaffold children’s own writing and, of course, Roger McGough’s Sound Collector would be a perfect poem to enjoy and use to create your own class poem together. Christopher’s mouth waters at the sight of the last dandelion. What makes your mouth water? Are these healthy or unhealthy types of food? You could create an aerial map of Dandeville or become town planners and build a scale model of key landmarks in the town. What types of shops would there be? What other facilities might they have? We know there is a library and a restaurant. Let children choose where Christopher’s house would be, where they think Daisy Chain Hill is or the football pitch where Christopher loves to play. The performers] had good boundless energy, jolly and quizzical facial expressions throughout, and a clear sense of timing and choreography” – Jonathan Brown Fringe Review, Fringe Recommended.

Now Christopher was well and truly on the road to his new adventure! In this story we revisit Mr Rosetti in his cafe and we meet some new characters along the way, as Christopher spots recycling opportunities all over town. With the help of his sister and Posie his neighbour, they come up with some brilliant ideas and set to work turning old rubbish into something useful and wonderful! The tale follows events in the town of Dandeville, where not only Christopher and the Nibble family, but also the entire town are extremely fond of the local delicacy… dandelions of course Key Stage 1 The guinea pigs like to ‘munch’ and ‘nibble’ the dandelions. How many words can you think of to describe how we can eat?Written especially for children aged 2-7, Christopher’s Caterpillars is a bright and beautiful tale of minibeasts and mystery!

The fantastic image of a guinea pig in front of the internet bidding on one of the last remaining leaves in existence is a joy. It all boiled down in the end to the word ‘cycle’. Christopher’s world is all about sustainability so ‘ recycling’ seemed to be the way forward and what better way to propel this guinea pig into the next story book, than with a recycled bicycle! In the next story, then, Christopher would surely be encouraging the residents of Dandeville to help him in his next environmentally-friendly quest, whatever that might be… Look at the repeating patterns on the guinea pigs’ clothing. Can you design your own repeating patterns?When reading the book with the children it is the perfect time to start thinking about Christopher’s character and what they think he should do at this point. Hot seating the poor guinea pig in his moment of decision would be ideal. You could use a conscience alley to explore for and against devouring the plant, and wider discussions with the children about truth and honesty will also present themselves. At school, Charlotte loved drawing and would regularly illustrate her spelling and times tables test papers. She went on to study Graphic Art and Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art. Her first book, Tabitha’s Terrifically Tough Tooth, was published in 1998 and since then she has written and illustrated more than a dozen books. Her stories have been sold all over the world and Charlotte would love to be as well-travelled as her books one day. It’s Christmas Eve, and having tumbled to earth through the night sky, Elva sets out on a journey to find her best friend – a little girl she hasn’t even met yet. Has the lost present got what it takes to find her way through the cold winter night? Will she arrive in time for Christmas morning? Will Elva be everything the little girl wished for. Christopher’s Christmas

Written and illustrated by Charlotte Middleton and adapted for the stage by Claire Alizon Hills, Topsy Turvy Theatre, the company who brought you Ruby Flew Too! and Isabel’s Well, proudly present the charming Christopher Nibble in a tale of dandelion daring-do! Some budding Jamie Olivers may want to create and concoct interesting meals with dandelions, which of course will require shopping lists of ingredients to be written along with recipes.

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Christopher Nibble's tale of dandelion derring-do is a delightful starting point for a KS1 topic, says Judy Clark... From the company who brought you The Lost Present…A Christmas Adventure! comes a new wintery tale for the whole family to share. It takes a lot of ‘willpower’ for Christopher to stop himself from eating the last dandelion. What is willpower? How can it help us? The young guinea pigs have worked their magic again and ignited the interest of all the residents of Dandeville and hopefully some aspiring young readers too! Unfortunately, rampant consumerism leads to the once plentiful crop disappearing and the worse thing imaginable happens; they are left with only chewy cabbages to eat. Yuk! That is until Christopher comes to the rescue. Outside his bedroom window grows the last ever dandelion and the rest of the book follows his quest to restore the town’s favorite food and with it the balance of nature.