Overview and Outcomes:

This is a two-week Writing Root using Until I Met Dudley by Roger McGough and Chris Riddell.  Children write their own explanation texts for everyday objects, inventing their own imaginary responses to the question of how they work, before researching and describing them properly.  They also write letters to a fictional ‘Dudley’ character asking for his help to get to the bottom of some more complicated items.

Synopsis of Text:

Have you ever wondered how a toaster works? Or a fridge-freezer, or a washing-up machine? In this fun-filled book of how things work, Dudley, the techno-wizard dog, provides the answers. Roger McGough's delightfully ingenious text and Chris Riddell's striking illustrations take children from the furthest realms of fantasy into the fascinating world of technology to discover the workings of familiar machines, making it an exciting book which will delight again and again.

Text Rationale:

Roger McGough is one of Britain’s best loved poets and his lyrical creativity shines through in this humorous techno-guide. Chris Riddell’s distinctive illustrations bring the text to life and let children in on the secret of how things work - real and imagined.  Providing obvious links to the DT curriculum, children will be engaged by the opportunity to design their own inventions and the text will fire up their imaginations for writing explanations for how they work.  

Links and themes:

Inventions, inventors, explanations, creativity

Date written: November 2016          Updated: December 2021