Summary:
Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes is the story of a 10-year-old blind orphan who is also the greatest thief who ever lived. After living a tough life he finds a guy with a mysterious box. Inside the box is three pairs of magical eyes. After trying on his first pair he is transported onto a hidden island. On the island he meets two people: the man he stole the box containing the eyes from, and a Professor. He is then asked to asked to go on a special quest to travel to an unknown world and save a lost kingdom from its King. With the help from people he meets along the way and the Fantastic Eyes, Peter Nimble begins an adventure to save someone he does not even know and more importantly find out who he truly is.
- Adventure
- Theavery
- Survival
- Teamwork
- Diversity
Teaching Strategies:
Key Vocabulary to Help with Understanding:
- Clopped: A sound made by or as if by a hoof or wooden shoe against the pavement
- Bossiest(Bossy): Marked by swelling or roundness
- Trolley: An electric vehicle that runs along the streets on tracks
- Cawed: To utter the harsh raucous natural call of the crow or a similar cry
- Chasm: A deep hole or opening in the surface of the earth
- Bleaker(Bleak): Not warm, friendly, cheerful, etc.
- Yolks: The yellow part in the center of an egg
Electronic Resources:
Peter Nimble Website: Students are able to read about the author, and ask questions to the theif and receive a response from the author himself. There is also a dictionary that address many of the key phrases that are found in the book. The student can interact with the author by "defacing" him.
Braille: Although Peter Nimble never learned to read during his life it is important for students to understand what it mean to be blind and that students who are blind are still able to learn to read. This website teaches students about what braille is and even play some games to learn about it.
Before Reading Activity:
As a pre-reading activity I think it would be really important to have the students learn about what it is like to be blind. Being blind is what makes Peter so good at what he does, but why? This is the opportunity for students to learn how important their other senses are when one does not work properly.
During Reading Activity:
As a during reading activity for this novel have the students create a timeline. Throughout Peter's adventure he travels to many different place and at time it can become confusing, but every place leads him somewhere new. Have the students create a timeline that includes where he was, some important things that happened while he was there and what caused him to get to the next place. Have the students create pictures to go along with the timeline to create a visual reference for them.
After Reading Activity:
Throughout the book the setting plays a very important role. Since Peter Nimble is blind he always does an excellent job of describing what is going on around him using the sounds he hears and what he feels with his hands and with the help of Sir Tode he is able to imagine what the world looks like around him. Using these have the students create a picture of one of the many places that Peter travels to and then be able to describe one thing that happens there that affected Peter's journey.
Writing Activity:
For this activity have the students look ahead. Have them write what they think the palace will be like 20 years from now. The author gave us a brief look into the future, but have your students look even farther. Will the palace be successful? Will everyone get along? What will the relationship between Peter and Princess Peg be like? Make sure that the students use examples from the story to support why they think the palace will be like this.