Little Billy's mum says he must never go out through the garden gate and explore the dark forest beyond. His first children's book was The Gremlins, about mischievous little creatures that were part of RAF folklore. The book was commissioned by Walt Disney for a film that was never made, and published in 1943. Dahl went on to create some of the best-loved children's stories of the 20th century, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda and James and the Giant Peach. Stop reading the book at the point when Little Billy sees ‘a sight that froze is blood and made icicles in his veins’. Discuss what this might be. Could you describe / draw what Little Billy has seen? The Gruncher makes lots of strange sounds, e.g. Whooshing, swooshing, whiffing. Can you think of any other examples of onomatopoeia? Whangdoodles are worse,” his mother said, “and Hornswogglers and Snozzwanglers and Vermicious Knids.

When Little Billy first enters The Forest of Sin he can hear absolute silence. Can you find a place where there is absolute silence? What things make sounds? How are they made? How are sounds measured? What is the loudest / quietest sound that you can make? Little Billy’s mother was always telling him exactly what he was allowed to do and what he was notallowed to do. One of the things he was NEVER NEVER allowed to do, the most exciting of them all, wasto go out through the garden gate all by himself and explore the world beyond. Every now and again his mother would callout to him, saying, “Little Billy, what are you up to in there?”

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The Gruncher uses his sense of smell to find humans. What other animals use smell? How are their noses adapted for this? Use different types of media to show some of the other creatures that might live in The Forest of Sin. Little Billy was awfully tired of being good’. Write a new story with this as the first line. What happens next? The story was not exactly what I expected, that's why I didn't shelve it as one of my favorites, but it was close! I really liked how Dahl suggested other mysteries throughout the story, letting us imagine ourselves the other worlds existing. The illustrations of the Minpins in the trees are really cute, with a lot of details, and the descriptions of the forest are beautifully written. I felt like I was in there with Billy, escaping the house and entering this magical world. All the things he was allowed to do were boring.All the things he was not allowed to do were exciting.

Look at the illustration of Little Billy first entering The Forest of Sin. Think of synonyms to describe the size of the trees and words to describe Little Billy. Little Billy goes out through the garden gate in a ‘jiffy’. How long is this? Can you think of other ways of describe different periods of time? Which ones are the shortest / longest? Little Billy’s mother was always telling him exactly what he was allowed to do and what he was not allowed to do’. Make a list of things that you are / aren’t allowed to do. Can you think of reasons why you aren’t allowed to do certain things (see Resources below)? Use drama activities (e.g. Conscience corridor) to discuss whether Little Billy should go into The Forest of Sin and how he feels about it. Danger posters, setting descriptions, character descriptions, information reports,postcards Main Outcome:

And now Little Billy was kneeling on the chair, gazing with longing through the window at the famous Forest of Sin. Entering The Forest of Sin is ‘like being among the dead men in an enormous empty green cathedral’. Can you think of similes to describe different places?? (see Resources below)