Quill Soup

Quill soup is a myriad of colour and imagination. It is a story of Noko the porcupine's search for food. Tired and hungry after his long journey, he finds himself in a village where no animal is willing to share their food. A plan is struck; a plan that will encourage others to join in and share, driven by the other animals' own desire and greed to taste something 'fit for a King'. Dale Blankenaar's illustrations bombard you with colour, the colour mirroring the ingredients gradually being added to the soup. What you end up with is a an explosion of colour and imagined taste. This is an imaginative book - a great reworking of Stone Soup - which would appeal to any age group. 'Imaginary soup' could be made using a variety of different things as a way of exploring all the senses. A class poem could be developed building on adjectives and noun phrases. Descriptive games such as 'What's in the Soup?' could be played to encourage children's understanding of descriptive language and of course a large scale collaborative art project would provide an attractive display. A whole wealth of different learning opportunities is provided in this visually exciting book. Picture book / Ages 4+ / Reviewed by Louise Gahan, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 5+