Teachers Notes

Finn and Puss

Author: Robert Vescio

Illustrator:Melissa Mackie

Publisher:EK Books

Price:$19.99

ISBN:9781925335507

Publication Date:October 2017

Audience:Children aged 4+

Notes prepared by

Robert Vescio

Type of Text

Picture book

Key Curriculum Areas

English

Themes

Hope

Despair

Loneliness

Friendship

Responsibility

Doing the Right Thing

Synopsis

Finn, a young boy, is lonely. Puss, a cat, is lost. Then Finn and Puss meet. Suddenly Finn isn’t lonely anymore, and Puss seems quite happy to be with Finn too. So when Finn sees a ‘Lost’ poster, put up by Puss’s owners, he’s faced with a tough decision. Will he do the right thing?

Finn and Puss is a tender tale that explores ethics and integrity through the friendship of a lonely boy and a lost cat.

This simple story, told in few words, gently explores how sometimes we need to make hard choices but that ‘doing the right thing’ has its own rewards.

About the Author

Robert Vescio is a published children’s author. He has worked in the publishing industry for over 12 years as a Production Manager and as a Photo Editor. Robert sourced photographic material from world-renowned photographers the ilks of Greg Gorman, Mario Testino, Annie Leibovitz and JeanBaptiste Mondino just to name a few.

Robert’s picture books include Eric Finds a Way (Wombat Books), Ella Saw the Tree (Big Sky Publishing), Jack and Mia (Wombat Books) listed on the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge for 2017, Barnaby and the Lost Treasure of Bunnyville (Big Sky Publishing), Marlo Can Fly (Wombat Books) listed on the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge for 2015, No Matter Who We’re With (IP Kidz). He has more picture books due for release soon.

Many of his short stories have been published in anthologies such as Packed Lunch, Short and Twisted, Charms Vol 1, The Toy Chest and The School Magazine NSW.

He has also won awards for his children’s writing including First Place in the 2012 Marshall Allan Hill Children’s Writing Competition and Highly Commended in the 2011 Marshall Allan Hill Children’s Writing Competition. Robert enjoys visiting schools.

Robert is a Books in Homes Role Model and enjoys visiting schools. His aim is to enthuse and inspire children to read and write and leave them bursting with imaginative ideas.

Robert is a BIG kid at heart and a HUGE fan of Disney. He enjoys spending time with his children who are an endless source of humour and inspiration. For more information visit: or

About the Illustrator

Melissa Mackie is an illustrator and graphic designer based in northern NSW, Murwillumbah. She lives with her 2 lovely daughters. Her work has been published in many magazines and various print material such as The Sydney Morning Herald, Organic Gardening Magazine and the Virgin Airlines inflight magazine. This is Melissa’s first children’s picture book. Melissa loved using a mixture of water colour, gouache and coloured pencil for this project. Melissa is passionate about illustrating and cannot wait to illustrate and create more picture books for children in the future.

Selling Points

- A heart-warming story about a lonely boy and a lost cat.

- A simple message about doing the right thing.

- Stunning illustrations complement the text.

- Encourages children to think for themselves and choosing between what is right and wrong.

- ‘Doing the right thing’ has its own rewards.

- Sparse text encourages beginners to read along.

Author/Illustrator Interview

What was the inspiration for the story?

RV: A similar situation faced by my children sparked the inspiration for this story. I was very proud of their decision. So I quickly put pen to paper and wrote this story to help other children who are faced with the choice between right and wrong.

What was the most rewarding part of this project?

RV: Melissa’s stunning illustrations complement the story beautifully. They are positively breathtaking, highlighting the setting and mood of the story perfectly. The high quality of her images make Finn and Puss a great book for both young and old to enjoy. If you are the type of person who chooses a book by its cover, Finn and Puss should certainly be a popular choice.

MM: Seeing Robert’s beautiful characters come to life and seeing how it all came together in the end.

What was the most challenging part of this project?

RV: Waiting to finally see Melissa’s illustrations in colour and to be able to share and show the world our beautiful book.

MM:Waiting for the approval stages and holding off on painting until getting the okay.

What media did you use to create your illustrations? Can you briefly describe your process?

MM: I used Archers smooth watercolour paper and a mixture of water colour, gouache and coloured pencils. I started off with doing a lotof rough sketches to develop the characters of Finn and Puss and the composition of each scene. I reworked the drawings until the flow of scenes and characters were just right. The fun part was bringing the illustrations to life with colour and the use of water colour techniques.

Teaching Notes

Initial Reading – Whole Class

- Before Reading

1. Show the students the cover of the book and have them make predictions about what the story is about?

2. What feelings or themes might it evoke for a reader?

3. Read the blurb on the back cover and see how accurate their predictions were.

Key Learning Areas

Choosing Between Right and Wrong

When a decision involves choosing between right and wrong, it’s not always easy to know what to do. Whenever you aren’t sure what’s the right thing to do, stop and think and ask yourself:

  1. What does that little voice inside my head say about it?
  2. Could it hurt anyone?
  3. Is it fair?
  4. How do I feel about it?
  5. What would someone else do?
  6. How would I feel if it happened to me?

Being Responsible

Finn used good judgement in his decision to return Puss back to its rightful owner. When you think things through you’ll make better choices and you’ll gain the trust of your family and friends.

Dealing With Feelings

In the beginning, Finn was lonely and sad. When you’re in a sad mood, it can seem like it will last forever. But usually feelings of sadness and loneliness don’t last long. Sometimes it can last a few moments, a few hours, or maybe a day or two. Once Finn found Puss he wasn’t sad or lonely anymore. Until Finn saw the ‘Lost’ poster for Puss and his sadness returned. But then Finn was happy again when he was rewarded for doing the right thing.

- After Reading

Discussion Topics

  1. Have you ever found something that belonged to someone else and wanted to keep it? What did you do?
  2. What’s wrong with keeping something that doesn’t belong to you?
  3. What made Finn change his mind about keeping Puss?
  4. Do you think things would have turned out differently for Finn if he had not returned Puss?
  5. Have you ever really wanted to do something but felt deep down that it was the wrong thing to do?
  6. Do you think about whether something is right or wrong before you decide to do it?
  7. Why do people do the right thing?
  8. What would happen if nobody cared about doing the right thing?

- Classroom Ideas

Activities

  1. Have the students list ideas about ways to tell whether or not something is the right thing to do.
  2. Role play a situation in class i.e. An empty building block has a ‘No Entry’ sign. But the front door is open. No one is around. What do you do? Divide the class into two groups. One group wants to do the right thing and the other group wants to do the wrong thing. Each group must give reasons for their actions.
  3. Ask students to talk about a time when someone tried to get them to do something wrong. What did they do?