Many of us now know what it’s like to stay at home and rarely go out.

What did you do during Lockdown? What did you like about staying at home? What didn’t you like? What did you miss? 

Look at the first spread (showing Elise at a grey table.) How would you describe her?

Talk about loneliness. How do you think Elise is feeling? What could she be thinking? Add post-it thought-bubbles to capture your ideas. Write descriptively about loneliness or being ‘stuck indoors.’

Emil helped Elise by visiting her. What else could she do to connect with others? Could you help someone who is feeling lonely? How?

Emil brings colour back into Elise's life          artwork copyright Antje Damm for Gecko Press

Look at the front endpaper (Elise’s unoccupied room) and compare with the back endpaper (the same room in colour.) List words and phrases to describe each picture. How do they make you feel? What stays the same? What changes?

The endpaper from the beginning of the book             artwork copyright Antje Damm for Gecko Press

Use paints, pastels and other media to investigate colour combinations. Can you sort your results into mood-groups? Happy, sad, energetic, calm… Does everyone agree on choices? Are there ‘right’ answers? Look at famous paintings. What do you notice about their colour palettes?

If you wanted to cheer someone up, which colours would you use? Can you paint a cheerful picture for someone who’s feeling sad?

If you could invite anyone to visit you - friends, family, famous people, imaginary characters - who would you choose?

Collect ideas. Why would you invite these guests? What games would you play? What would you talk about? What refreshments would you offer?

Ask children to choose three visitors to join them for an imaginary tea. Who will they invite, and why? What will they eat and drink? Provide invitation, menu and place-card templates to be filled in.

Ask children to draw themselves and their guests in black marker on white card. Cut the characters out and sit them on chairs around a table  - use dolls-house furniture or make from cardboard. Photograph each group, so children have individual pictures.

If you want place-settings and food, ask children to draw on a paper square the same size as the tabletop and add them to your scenes!

Write reports explaining what you did. Display with your photographs, figures, menus and place-cards. 

Photograph your tea-party....      artwork copyright Antje Damm for Gecko Press

Add collections of short stories and fairytales to your reading corner and explore them.

Record children reading their story-choice aloud ‘for Emil’ and build an audio library for everyone to enjoy.

Could you recruit some older volunteers to read ‘Emil stories’ to small groups?

What frightens Elise? What impact have these fears had on her life?

What scares your children? Are anxiety and fear useful? Share ways to manage them.

Working together, devise a questionnaire to discover what scares children and grown-ups. Examine your results. How many people answered? What is the most common fear? Is there a difference between children and grown-ups? Show your results on a table and as a graph.

Construct room sets using shoeboxes, white card and black markers.
You could recreate Elise’s living-room, model your own bedroom or use your imagination to create something completely new. Add cardboard furniture and props, and cut windows or a roof-flap for a light-source.

Once your sets are ready, position your cut-out characters and photograph your scene. Try different lighting and camera angles to get the best results!

Alternatively, you could photograph your cardboard characters in a dolls-house, or use them as puppets to retell the story.

Learn how to fold model planes, like Elise and Emil

Launch them in a large, clear indoor space and measure how far they fly.

How will you make your tests fair? By using the same paper, by making a rule about how planes are launched….

Try different paper types, or add paperclip weights to the nose or wings, then re-test. What effect do your changes have? Repeat your investigation outside. Did your planes fly further? Write about what you’ve done and what you’ve learned.

Extend by decorating sheets of paper with paint and printed patterns. Fold into planes and hang from the ceiling to create mobiles. Or make special planes with friendly messages on them, and send to someone who has to stay indoors (or might be feeling lonely….) 

Build on the work you did earlier by hosting a real tea-party for family members or other guests. If you can't invite real visitors, invite your toys!

Involve children at all stages of planning and delivery, giving them responsibility for manageable tasks.

Play Hide and Seek, Grandmother’s Footsteps, Musical Statues and other traditional games that Elise would recognize and enjoy sharing. 

Remember to leave plenty of time for Emil-stories!

“One day something unbelievable happened...”
Tell or write a story starting with these words.

Examine the characters’ expressions, gestures and postures. Copy them. What do you notice? What do these things tell us?

Look at the picture of Emil waiting to be invited in. Recreate the scene in pairs, like actors on a stage.

Can you bring the picture to life by showing what happens next? Try freeze-framing another picture, then bring that to life, too. How many pictures can you explore? Could you join them to make a performance? 

What happens after this book ends? Talk about your ideas for a ‘next episode’ and develop through roleplay, drawing, storytelling and writing. 

OR 

Roleplay Emil telling his Mum or Dad about visiting Elise. How will they respond?