KS2 Book topic: Varjak Paw

If you’re looking for reading material to inspire your children’s written work, look no further than the exciting tale of feline martial art

Varjak Paw is a Mesopotamian Blue kitten. He lives with his family in an old house on a hill. Like the rest of the family, he has never left the house. But, one day his grandfather tells him about ‘the Way’ – a secret martial art for cats. Varjak then has to use the Way to survive in a city full of dangerous dogs, cat gangs and, strangest of all, the Vanishings.

The book is a fantastic mentor text, engaging children through pacey storytelling and the emerging message of the importance of friendship and loyalty. Author SF Said is a writer we can learn from, particularly in the way he creates gripping moments of tension and his detailed descriptive passages. Varjak Paw is written as a series of relatively brief chapters so lends itself to a serialised read over a period of time. This gives you the opportunity to model to upper KS2 pupils how to read aloud with fluency, accuracy and expression. Don’t interrupt the reading by asking questions or for opinions. Read it for enjoyment. Then, return to specific parts of the book to explore and teach particular skills.

1. Reading as a reader

The first four chapters of the book set the scene and introduce the reason for Varjak’s departure from the house. Chapter five sees the cat’s dramatic climb to freedom and gives readers the chance to reflect on Varjak as a character. As he sits on the top of the wall at the end of the chapter, ask pupils to think about how he’s feeling. Write up the following sentence stems:

• I can see …
• I can hear …
• I can feel …
• I can taste …

Then discuss how they could be completed. Challenge children to come up with more abstract ideas, e.g. “I can see my future” or “I can taste fear”.

SF Said is not an author who tells his readers everything. He challenges us to fill in the gaps, to create meaning, to make inferences. On the top of the wall, Varjak reflects that “Beneath that giant sky, he was no one. He was nothing.” (p51). You could explore this by asking “Why do you think Varjak felt like that?” On page 58, the old cat tells Varjak “Only when you admit that you know nothing, can you truly know anything.” Ask the children “What do you think the old cat means by this? Does Varjak understand? How do you know? How do you think Varjak knew that the old cat was Jalal?”

Chapter 7 is the first of a series of dream sequences that are interspersed through the story. Explore children’s responses to the dream. “How does the author make it different from the previous chapter? How do you feel that it adds to our understanding of Varjak’s character?” Compare the setting description on page 54 with that on page 60. Discuss how the author has created the sense of the city being overcrowded. He has packed description into the passage, created sharp contrasts and used lengthy complex sentences. And, what a brilliant example of the use of the semi-colon!

2. Reading as a writer

By chapter 13, Varjak has reluctantly resigned himself to living in the city. The description on page 98 emphasises the differences between life as a city cat and his previous comfortable, pampered life. Help children to explore the impact of this new setting on Varjak through drama. Ask them to move as if they were Varjak, exploring the new, unfamiliar alleys and back streets. Use adverbs, e.g. confidently, nervously, excitedly, curiously, anxiously, to encourage children to change the way they are moving. Give verbs, e.g. crawl, prowl, slink, freeze, skulk. How does this change the movement? Focus on the passage on page 133 where movement verbs are used to create a sense of threat. This will help children understand how they can draw on the drama activity when they write.

Raise children’s awareness of authorial techniques by exploring how SF Said creates tension and atmosphere. Read pages 122–123 and identify when the tension starts to build. Look at the vocabulary that is used, the sense of the unknown or the unexplained, the use of the ellipsis, the contrast “not quite alive, but not quite dead either” and the two very short sentences at the end of the paragraph. List the techniques and display them on the working wall so that children can refer to them when they write.

With the children, develop a framework for a suspense story that is based on one of Varjak’s adventures in the city.

• Varjak is in the city at night
• He senses something threatening
• He hides and waits
• Whatever it is gets closer – tension builds
• Varjak is chased and escapes

Through shared writing, demonstrate how to draw on the authorial techniques that you have explored, and model how to write each section of the story. Establish that the focus is on creating tension at certain points in the story. Support the children in planning and writing their own stories.

3. Springing off the page

Varjak Paw is a rich text that can be used as the stimulus for writing beyond the book. The following suggestion involves children writing non-fiction texts for specific purposes and audiences.

Write a letter to the children from a Ms Fee Lines at the Society for the Protection of Rare Breeds, informing them that a rare Mesopotamian Blue cat has been sighted near the school, and asking for any information or pictures they might be able to supply.

The children then write a non-chronological report, based on what they know about Mesopotamian Blue cats. The reports are then sent to the SPRB, and a reply is received in which Ms Lines asks for an explanation of The Skills that were mentioned in the reports. By now, a line of communication has been established between the children and the SPRB. Ms Lines suggests that Varjak is nominated for Cat of the Year. She asks the children to help her to persuade the judging panel that he should win. Perhaps they could write an article for the SPRB journal that tells the readers how Varjak solved the mystery of the Vanishings? Maybe, Ms Lines could turn up in person to congratulate the children on their fantastic writing!

4. Moving on

Having explored the book in the ways outlined in this article, children have responded to, and reflected on, the story, the characters and the techniques used by the author. They have written a further tension-filled episode and used the book as the context for creating non-fiction texts. To continue their learning, they could go on to read the sequel, The Outlaw Varjak Paw, explore Dave McKean’s atmospheric illustrations in The Wolves in the Walls or Coraline, and discover other mentor texts such as Krindlekrax by Philip Ridley. Choose mentor texts wisely and watch your readers blossom into writers.