The children can do many things with this book. I will recommend it to years 3-5. Firstly, they can engage in hot seating and role plays to gain an understanding of the characters in the story. They can continue the story in their own version to tell us what happens next. There is a great deal of creativity of words and crushing sounds used in different shapes and with exclamation mark. Children can explore these in comprehension, why the author did this and what effects he wanted to create. We wanted to give kids a good time, we did that in knowledge that what we were intending to bring were positive values. I think you always bring your own values to writing, so I brought mine and also the values of my son, Ben – without him the Q Pootle 5 series would not be out there! I also looked for other writers who shared those values so they became embedded in the series. They are not made to teach as such, but still bring things which children can learn, like how to react kindly, be unselfish and have warm friendships. suggests ways to enhance areas of core provision to consolidate children's learning about the theme. It is the practitioner's role to observe children's learning daily to inform individual children's Profiles and future planning. Children should be encouraged to use available resources to support their own learning, so the possible learning outcomes will be wide-ranging and varied for each child. Children will enjoy joining in with the sound effects at the beginning of the book and some of the things the characters say. Tell the story But I can't help doing a compare and contrast with the TV show. In the book, Pootle has gone to Earth. On TV, Earth is never mentioned. In the book, Pootle repairs his spaceship with a tin can. On TV, the components for the ships are all sensible spare parts. In the book, Pootle is going to a party for Z Pootle 6. On TV, no such character exists.

Some people create characters and shows purely to entertain, whereas others want to teach children something. Did you have specific aims when making Q Pootle 5 as a TV series? Provide a copy of the book Q Pootle 5 and use this with children as a point of reference for their ideas.Stella is yellow and wears pink wellington boots. She lives in a treehouse and loves gardening most of all, but she also likes to play her bagpipes whenever there's an opportunity to do so.

For me it has been hugely satisfying to be able to widen the scope of what I have been trying to do in the field of children’s books. TV is a much more collaborative process than publishing. Working with Ben and Annette has allowed me to work with people I like and respect towards the common goal of creating a high quality, narrative based children’s TV series. In geography children can look at space, the moon and the earth and its relationships using the book as a starting point. In science and geography they can look at how different components go together in making cars, bikes and then spaceships and they can explore what the spaceship needs for it to work. Watch your children draw – I must say, I love the way children draw – I just think they have this real confidence to get something down on paper without thinking too much about what it’s going to look like, and it’s only later when they start thinking about ‘Ooh, is this right?’ that they then start to think ‘Oh, I can’t draw’ and it becomes stilted. Picasso said it took him a lifetime to draw like a child and he meant to draw with that kind of simplicity and confidence children have. There’s a great story of a little girl who was drawing a detailed picture and when asked what she was drawing, she replied ‘I’m drawing God.’ The teacher said, ‘But no-one knows what God looks like’ and the child replied ‘Well, they will in a minute.’ It’s just that lovely confidence that children have, they’re willing to have a go, to just do it and see what happens. So, my advice is to help sparingly and appreciate copiously and say, “Wow, that’s brilliant! Tell me all about it!”

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Anyone who doesn't have a child addicted to CBeebies (the 'early years' BBC channel) may not have heard of Q Pootle 5. I've become rather fond of him. He's an affable little green alien who lives on the planet Okiedokie, and potters around having gentle adventures with his alien buddies. Space is exciting and intriguing to people. The series has diverse, strong stories and rich nuanced characters that people can identify with. There is a lot of fun and laughter in the series and some very tender moments too, which all seem to really resonate with children and parents.