James Mayhew
Biography
James Mayhew was born in Stamford, England and graduated from the Maidstone
College of Art in 1987, with first class honours. James is keen to involve children in
music and art and his enthusiasm and sense of fun come across very strongly in both
his writing and illustrations. He visits many schools, libraries and bookshops and
enjoys involving children in activities such as mural painting and a variety of art and
literature based projects.
Mayhew’s first children’s book was Katie’s Picture Show. He developed this subject
into a successful children’s series about a young museum-goer who is able to step
into paintings and learn about the artists and their eras. Other titles in this series are
Katie and Mona Lisa, Katie and the Sunflowers, and Katie Meets the Impressionists.
In 1994, Mayhew received the New York Times Book Award for his illustrations in
The Boy and the Cloth of Dreams. He has sold his artwork worldwide and exhibited it
throughout Hertfordshire, in London, Cambridge, Paris and New York. James now
lives in Hertfordshire with his wife and son.
Introduction
The activities provided in this resource focus on three novels: Katie in Scotland, Katie
and the British Artists and Katie Meets the Impressionists. They are designed to be
fun, engaging, cross-curricular activities which should enhance the children’s
enjoyment and understanding of the author’s work. Please see the websites below
for further information about Mayhew and other teaching resources and activities.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/content/articles/2005/01/28/james_mayhew_int
erview_feature.shtml - Detailed interview with James Mayhew
http://www.blogger.com/profile/07010336942604939464 - Profile on James
Mayhew
http://jamesmayhew-katiespictureshow.blogspot.com/ - Information about different
books and examples of children’s work relating to these
Contents
Introducing James Mayhew Activities for Early Level Page 2
Activities for First Level Page 2
Activities for Second Level Page 2
Katie in Scotland Activities for First Level Page 2
Activities for Second Level Page 4
Katie and the British Artists Activities for First Level Page 4
Activities for Second Level Page 5
Katie Meets the Impressionists Activities for Early Level Page 6
Activities for First Level Page 7
Additional Resources Pages 9-13
1
Introducing James Mayhew
Activities for Early Level
Show the front covers or images of the front covers of James Mayhew picture
books to discuss which ones children have read or are familiar with.
Reading - Enjoyment and Choice - LIT 0-01b/LIT 0-11b
Ask children about the terms ‘author’ and ‘illustrator’, referring to the way in which
they are authors and illustrators of their own stories. Explain that Mayhew is an
author and an illustrator of books.
Reading - Understanding, Analysing and Evaluating – LIT 0-19a
Discuss books or films in which characters transport themselves into other places
and times (Oxford Reading Tree stories - Biff and Chip and the Magic Key, for
example). Explain that Mayhew has a character, Katie, who transports herself into
different paintings to find out about the artists who painted them and the characters
in the paintings.
Reading - Understanding, Analysing and Evaluating – LIT 0-19a
Activities for First Level
Log on to James’ Blog page to read his in depth profile and find out all about his
likes, dislikes and some of his books:
http://www.blogger.com/profile/07010336942604939464
Technologies – ICT to Enhance Learning - TCH 1-03b
Find out about the different paintings that Katie enters on her visits to art galleries.
Choose 1 and create 3 questions that you would like to ask Katie about the art,
artists and era of the painting.
Reading - Understanding, Analysing and Evaluating – ENG 1-17a
Activities for Second Level
Log on to James’ Blog page to read his in depth profile and find out all about his
likes, dislikes and some of his books:
http://www.blogger.com/profile/07010336942604939464
Technologies - ICT to Enhance Learning - TCH 2-03b
Find out about the path James took from wanting to be an artist to becoming a
successful author and illustrator:
http://jamesmayhew-katiespictureshow.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-it-all-began-
part-six.html
Technologies - ICT to Enhance Learning - TCH 2-03b
Katie in Scotland
Activities for First Level
Writing
Imagine you met Nessie on a visit to Loch Ness. Choose a Scottish city you would
like to take her to and describe 3 sights that you visit. Think about the following
things:
- For each sight, describe how Nessie gets involved, in the same way that
Mayhew describes how Nessie takes part in the Festival show and enjoys
seeing the bones of a relative in the National Museum
2
- Where would Nessie sleep?
- How would Nessie travel to and from the city with you?
Creating Texts - ENG 1-31a
Imagine you and a sibling or friend take part in the Festival with Nessie. What type
of show would you perform (singing, dancing, comedy, theatre) and what would
you do? What would Nessie’s role in the show be? Write a personal recount of
the show, describing what you did, what Nessie did, how you felt, and how the
crowd reacted. Draw and paint an illustration to accompany your recount – see
page 14 to give you some ideas!
Creating Texts - ENG 1-30a
Look at a brochure for the Edinburgh Festival and identify the details provided in
an advert for a show. Create an advert for a show being performed by you and
Nessie – remember to include all of the necessary details (description, genre, time,
place and cost) and create an eye-catching title and picture to make sure people
buy tickets!
Organising and Using Information - LIT 1-26a
Art
The illustrations in this book are created with watercolours. Discuss some of the
properties of watercolours and the effects they have (the colours can be mixed
easily, different shades of one colour can be produced, they can have a ‘dreamlike’
effect (pages 7, 8 and 16). Choose one of your favourite illustrations from the
book and reproduce it using a different medium (pastels, textiles, chalk, colouring
pencils). Think about the possibilities and limitations of this medium and the way
in which it change the effects of the illustration.
EXA 1-07a/EXA 1-02a
Choose a different skyline of Edinburgh (Calton Hill, Arthur’s Seat, Royal Mile or St
Giles) and illustrate it in watercolour, using colours to create a night-time effect, as
seen on page 17 of the book. Draw a picture of you and Nessie in the foreground,
gazing at the lovely skyline you have created.
EXA 1-03a
Technologies
Nessie travels around Scotland in a goods train. Design a mode of transport for
transporting Nessie on a trip around Scotland. Think about where she will visit and
create a mode of transport appropriate for this (mountains, West Coast, cities, a
different loch). Make a plan of your vehicle using autoshapes in Word, labelling
different parts to explain what they do. Create a model of the transport using junk
materials. Remember to give your mode of transport a name, as Mayhew did with
‘The Nessie Express’.
ICT to Enhance Learning - TCH 1-04b
Drama
Hot-seating: imagine you are Nessie and have just returned from your tour of
Scotland with grandma, Katie and Jack. Be in role in the hot seat, whilst friends
ask you about what you saw, how you felt, what you found strange or what you
learnt on your visit.
EXA 1-12a
Homework
Discuss places you would like to visit in Scotland. Find out about 1 place in detail
and prepare a mini talk to present to the class, telling them about why you would
like to visit this place and describing what it is like.
3
Look through newspapers, brochures or leaflets advertising places to visit in
Scotland. Choose 1 and make a poster, advertising the attraction. Cut out
pictures, draw some of your own or show the location of the attraction on a map of
Scotland.
Activities for Second Level
Writing
Read the story as far as page 8 and then stop. Continue the story keeping the
same characters and setting and develop the plot to explain what happens to
Nessie in the night. Don’t finish the story, but write about the next event and the
way in which the characters behave. Draw an illustration to accompany the event
you describe.
Creating Texts - ENG 2-31a
Listening and Talking/Writing
Although the story is set in Scotland and written from the point of view of Scottish
characters, Mayhew chose not to use much Scots language in the book. Discuss
why you think this might have been (it is more accessible to larger audiences,
there are many different Scots dialects, it might be harder for younger children to
understand…). Work in pairs, with each pair taking one page from the story. Each
pair should try to translate its page into Scots. Bring all pages together and bind
these as a Scots version of the story! You may wish to use this Scots dictionary to
help you with some words:
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/Images/JaneMillersScotsDictionary_tcm4-582616.pdf
Tools for Listening and Talking - ENG 2-03a / Creating Texts - ENG 2-31a
Technologies/Writing
Research other famous Scottish legends or mythical creatures. Create a tourist
information leaflet, introducing visitors to the different places in Scotland where
the legends exist and giving them information about them. You could try
researching Kelpies or Selkies – you could even create your own mythical
creature, describing where it lives in Scotland and what it does!
ICT to Enhance Learning - TCH 2-03b/
Organising and Using Information - LIT 2-26a
Homework
Map the route taken by Katie, Jack, Nessie and grandma on their travels around
Scotland. Use the blank map of Scotland shown in Additional Resource 1.
Remember to labels the cities and places visited and write around each the
attractions/sights which were visited by the characters at each place. Add in
other labels to show mountains, rivers and lochs.
Katie and the British Artists
Activities for First Level
Reading
Imagine that you meet each of the characters that Katie meets in the story. Design
a question to ask each of them about their job. Think about finding out about likes
and dislikes about the job or what life was like in their time.
Understanding, Analysing and Evaluating - ENG 1-17a
4
Technologies/Writing
Research the works of other famous British artists to find a painting of someone
working at a job you would like to try. You could try the works of William Hogarth
(The Bench (painting of a judge)) or John Wootton (The Round Course at
Newmarket (painting of jockeys)). Enter into the painting and imagine what you
would do. Write about how you find the job, something that goes wrong and
something you enjoyed about the job.
ICT to Enhance Learning - TCH 1-03b/ Creating Texts - ENG 1-31a
Art/Technologies
Research each of the paintings in the story and complete the table found in
Additional Resources 2 to show the media used and the effects that the media
has produced in the painting.
ICT to Enhance Learning - TCH 1-03b/EXA 1-02a
Art
Choose one of the medium used by an artist in the story and create a painting
showing a modern day job that you would like to try.
EXA 1-02a
Design picture frames to surround your paintings. You could think about…
- sticking quilled paper onto card (http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/picture-
frames.htm)
- creating a design with pasta shapes and painting them in gold and silver
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/kids/make_photoframe.PDF)
- using branches and twigs
(http://familycrafts.about.com/od/pictureframes/a/Twig_Picture_Frame_Craft.h
tm)
EXA 1-06a
Health and Wellbeing/Drama
Visit a local art gallery and find out about the different jobs that people do.
Display your class artwork in a class art gallery and create job adverts for
different roles in the gallery (describe what is involved and the skills required).
Advertise and apply for a role in the gallery and practise being in role as that
gallery worker. Invite other classes to look at your artwork and show them
around in role.
Planning for Choices and Changes - HWB 1-20a/EXA 1-12a
Homework
Choose one of the paintings from the book and describe it to a parent or carer.
Explain the following things:
- The colours used
- The actions/jobs of the subject(s) in the painting
- The setting of the painting
- The way in which Katie interacted with the painting in the story
Activities for Second Level
Health and Wellbeing
Visit a local art gallery and look at the way in which different paintings and pieces
of artwork are displayed. Interview a museum worker to find out about the job of
handling and displaying artwork in the gallery. Find out about the position of
lights and natural lighting, the way in which paintings and artwork are grouped
together or spaced apart, the information cards accompanying the artwork and
5
the seating provided for visitors. Draw a sketch of the layout of one of the gallery
rooms.
Planning for Choices and Changes - HWB 2-20a
Art
Design your own gallery room. Think about the types of lighting, seating,
information and positioning of paintings and artwork you would like to see. Be
creative! Think about the effect that different-coloured lighting or seating might
have on the visitors. How could you display the artwork creatively to help them
enjoy and appreciate it? What types of artwork would you display?
EXA 2-06a
Listening and Talking/Art
Look at an image of each of the original paintings shown in the story. Choose
one that interests you particularly. Use Bloom’s Taxonomy question starters (see
Additional Resource 3) to help you create hot and cold questions about the
painting. Pair up with someone who has chosen a different painting and ask,
answer and discuss your questions.
Understanding, Analysing and Evaluating - LIT 2-07a/EXA 2-07a
Technologies/Writing
Research the works of other famous British artists to find a painting of someone
working at a job you would like to try. You could try the works of William Hogarth
(The Bench (painting of a judge)) or John Wootton (The Round Course at
Newmarket (painting of jockeys)). Enter into the painting and imagine what you
would do and what life would be like. Write a personal recount about your time in
the painting. Remember to:
- Describe a problem that you encountered and the way it was resolved
or overcome
- Give personal feelings (think about how you would feel as a modern
person visiting that era)
ICT to Enhance Learning - TCH 2-03b/ Creating Texts - ENG 2-31a
Homework
Discuss with a parent or carer the occupations of the people in the paintings. Tell
them about an occupation you would like to have one day and explain why you
think you would like or be good at the job.
Match the artists to the paintings and the occupations of the subjects in the
paintings from the story – see Additional Resource 4.
Katie Meets the Impressionists
Activities for Early Level
Art
Katie says that she can only see blobs when she looks at the first Impressionist
painting. Create your own blob pictures of flowers by finger painting or sponge
printing. Look at the paintings of water lilies and flower gardens created by
Monet (Water Lilies, The Water Lily Pond, Still Waters). Mix the same shades
and use these to create your own paintings.
EXA 0-02a
Look at the movements and positions of the dancers in Degas’ paintings and
sculptures. Use pipe cleaners or modelling clay to make your own ballerina
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figures. Paint them shades of blue or green, as in Degas’ paintings. Create a
backdrop of a stage on which to display your ballerinas.
EXA 0-02a
Listening and Talking/Writing
Explain which character from the paintings in the story you would most like to
meet and why. Think of something you would like to do, see or play with that
person, like Katie does in the story. Write a letter inviting the character to come
and visit you. Draw a picture to show him/her what you would do when s/he
came to visit.
Creating Texts - LIT 0-09b / LIT 0-31a
Drama
When Katie meets different characters in the story, she carries out different
actions. Call out different characters from the story and children should act out
what Katie does when she meets that character. Ask children to freeze, and tap
one on the shoulder, asking him/her to describe what action they are doing. You
could use these characters and actions:
- Jean (picking flowers)
- Jean (painting a picture)
- The Girl with the Watering Can (watering the flowers)
- The Girl with the Watering Can (chasing the girl)
- The angry mother (running away and hiding)
- Mrs Monet (having a picnic)
- Mrs Monet/Jean (being chased by bees)
- The girl at the theatre (dancing on the stage)
EXA 0-12a
Homework
Go for a walk with a parent or carer and try to spot some of the flowers
mentioned in the story – look for sunflowers, poppies, daisies, hollyhocks and
roses
Ask a parent or carer to quiz you about the different things that you saw in the
Impressionist paintings in the story – see how many things you can remember
(flowers, trees, fields, people, dancers, water…)
Activities for First Level
Technologies/Art
Research the work of the Impressionists using the following webpages and the
information in the story and at the end of the book:
- http://artsmarts4kids.blogspot.com/2007/09/impressionism.html
- http://www.theartgallery.com.au/kidsart/learn/impressionism/
Complete the factfile in the Additional Resources 5 in order to record different
pieces of information about their work.
ICT to Enhance Learning - TCH 1-03b/EXA 1-07a
Art
Look at other Impressionist works by Renoir, Degas and Monet. Use the
Discussion Points in the teachers’ notes in the following link to think about
themes, moods, style and media:
http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ladylever/exhibitions/impressionists/teachers
_notes.pdf
EXA 1-07a
7
Create your own Monet’ garden in the classroom, based on the painting The
Water Lily Pond. Use some of these ideas to help you:
- Create origami water lilies and glue these onto green card lily pad shapes
– see Additional Resource 6
- Construct a bridge using poster tubes and rolled newspapers, painted
brown
- Create a backdrop of weeping willows and trees by shredding and twisting
crepe and tissue paper
- Use chalks to draw flowers and lilies onto large pieces of light blue sugar
paper – use these as the water and place origami water lilies on top of
these
- Around the garden, place words which describe the atmosphere and
effects created by Monet’s painting. These might include words such as
shimmering, peaceful, tranquil, hazy, relaxing …
EXA 1-02a
Homework
Go for a walk with a parent or carer and try to spot some of the flowers
mentioned in the story – look for sunflowers, poppies, daisies, hollyhocks and
roses
Draw a detailed pencil sketch of a flower in your home, garden, street or local
park. Bring it into school and choose which media you would like to use to colour
and complete your sketch.
8
Additional Resource 1
9
Additional Resource 2
Painting Media Effects
10
Additional Resource 3
Bloom’s Taxonomy Question Starters
Remembering Questions (Purple)
Can you describe how ………… ?
How many ………… ?
Is this true or false ………… ?
Understanding Questions (Blue)
Can you summarise the ………… in your own words ?
What are the differences between ………… and ………… ?
Can you describe the ………… in your own words?
Applying Questions (Green)
What would you change about ………… ?
Can you think of another painting where ………… ?
What would happen if ………… ?
Analysing Questions (Yellow)
What are the differences between ………… and ………… ?
What part of the painting is most ………… ? Why?
How is ………… similar to ………… ?
Evaluating Questions (Orange)
Why did ………… decide to ............ ?
Can you think of a better way to ………… ?
Do you agree with ……………? Why?
Creating Questions (Red)
If you could …………, what would you ………… ?
How would you change the ………… ?
Can you design a ………… to ………… ?
11
Additional Resource 4
Match the artist to the title of the painting to the job of the subject in the painting!
Artist Painting Title Job
John constable Daughters Chasing a Butterfly Shepherd
Thomas Gainsborough The Cornfield Train driver
George Stubbs Rain, Steam and Speed Horseman
JMW Turner Whistlejacket Sailor
12
Additional Resource 5
Impressionists Factfile
Dates of Movement: ___________________________________________________
Impressionist Artists: ___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Common Themes/Subjects:
Style/Effects: ________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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Additional Resource 6
14
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