Read fantasy with illustrations
Key Notes :
Understand What Fantasy Is
- Fantasy is a type of fiction that includes magical, supernatural, or imaginary elements.
- These stories often have talking animals, mythical creatures, or magical powers that don’t exist in real life.
Common Features of Fantasy Stories
- Imaginary worlds (like magical kingdoms or futuristic lands)
- Unreal characters (wizards, dragons, fairies, etc.)
- A clear battle between good and evil
- A hero’s journey or quest
Role of Illustrations
- Illustrations help visualize the fantasy world and its characters.
- They support comprehension by showing settings or events that may be hard to imagine.
- Pictures often give clues about the mood, action, or emotions in the story.
Using Text and Pictures Together
- Combine text clues with illustration details to better understand what’s happening.
- Look at the expressions, colors, and actions in the images for more context.
- Ask yourself: “What does this picture add to the story?”
Reading Skills to Practice
- Make predictions using pictures and story elements.
- Visualize scenes using the author’s description and images.
- Summarize key events with the help of both text and illustrations.
- Identify themes, such as bravery, friendship, or imagination.
Vocabulary in Fantasy
- Learn new words that are often invented or magical-sounding.
- Use illustrations to help guess the meaning of unfamiliar words.
Learn with an example
🐵Read the first part of the story.
The Door to Unicorn Village
- People sometimes expected Sima and Rohan to act the same because they were twins. And it was true that they both loved reading. But the minute they walked into any bookshop, Sima and Rohan went in different directions. Sima wanted stories about magical creatures, while Rohan found books that explained how trains work.
- This time, Sima tugged her brother’s arm before they parted ways. ‘You should come with me. Life’s more fun with magic in it.’
- ‘I’m not interested in magical stories,’ Rohan said. ‘It’s all fake.’
- Sima pointed at a winged creature flying near a lamp. ‘Then why is there a fairy over there?’
- Rohan laughed. ‘That’s just a moth,’ he said. ‘I’m going to find a book with something real in it. See you later.’ He walked off.
- ‘So what if that fairy was only a moth?’ Sima muttered. ‘It looked like a fairy, and that’s what made it fun.’
How is Sima different from Rohan?
- Sima likes to read books more than Rohan does.
- Sima enjoys things that are make-believe, but Rohan likes facts.
- Sima is a magical being, but Rohan is a real person.
- Sima knows more about winged creatures than Rohan does.
In the story, Sima wants to find books about magical
beings, but Rohan wants to find books that explain how trains
work. Magical beings are not real, but books that explain how trains work tell facts about real things. This shows that Sima likes things that are make-believe, and Rohan likes facts.
🐵Read the first part of the story.
Charlie’s Wish
- Charlie needed to leave for swimming training, but his dog Max was still digging in the back garden. When Charlie went to bring him inside, he noticed a shiny object in the dirt.
- ‘Looks like you dug up someone’s necklace,’ Charlie said, taking it out of the hole.
- Max looked up to see Charlie in his swimming shorts and gave a happy bark.
- Charlie sighed. He’d once asked his swimming coach Robert if he could bring Max to the pool. But Robert had said no.
- Charlie dusted the dirt off the necklace’s red jewel and looked at Max’s sad eyes. ‘I know you love the water, mate,’ said Charlie. ‘Believe me, I wish you could come to the pool with me.’
- Suddenly, the necklace glowed, and Charlie heard a strange hum. ‘That’s weird,’ Charlie said. He didn’t have time to worry about it now, though. He tossed the necklace into his swimming bag and headed inside.
When does the necklace start to glow and hum?
- right after Charlie sees a shiny object in the dirt
- right after Max digs in the back garden
- right after Charlie calls for Max
- right after Charlie makes a wish
Read this part of the story again:
‘I know you love the water, mate,’ said Charlie. ‘Believe me, I wish you could come to the pool with me.’
Suddenly, the necklace glowed,and Charlie heard a strange hum.
It tells you that the necklace starts to glow and hum right after Charlie makes a wish.
🐵Read the first part of the story.
The Noisy Dragon
- ‘Aaaaiieeee!’
- The sun was just rising when Petunia, the village baker, heard the awful sound.
- ‘There goes that dragon in the hills again,’ she grumbled. ‘Good thing I can sleep through any noise.’
- But she knew the other villagers would be angry. All week, the dragon’s loud screams had kept all of them from getting enough sleep.
- With a sigh, Petunia put down the baking tray full of unbaked buns and went to make a fire for her oven.
- At least the villagers will have freshly baked buns, she thought.
- But when Petunia looked in the wood box, there were no logs. There were just a few twigs left. She groaned. Only now did she remember that the village woodcutter hadn’t done his job yesterday.
What was the village woodcutter probably supposed to do for Petunia?
- plant a tree near her bakery
- bake buns for the village
- bring logs for her woodbox
- find the noisy dragon
In the story, Petunia goes to make a fire for her oven. But when she looks in the woodbox, there are no logs left. Then she remembers that the village woodcutter didn’t do his job.
A woodcutter’s job is to chop wood for people to use to make fires. But Petunia doesn’t have any wood for her oven. So, you can guess that the woodcutter was supposed to bring logs for Petunia’s woodbox.
let’s practice!
Read the first part of the story.
The Land of Giants
The ground shook as the two towering giants stomped towards each other. Suddenly, Enzo let out a deafening roar! Titus responded by baring his teeth, narrowing his eyes and bellowing at Enzo. Once the echoes died away, both giants turned to Sweeney, who sat against a tree, taking notes.
‘How was that?’ asked Enzo.
‘Enzo, that was much louder. Excellent!’ said Sweeney. ‘And Titus, I loved the face you made. If I were a human, I would definitely run away screaming if you two were guarding the kingdom’s gates!’
Instead of practising to become a guard, Sweeney had decided to coach his friends as they practised being scary. Like all young giants, Sweeney had once dreamed of being chosen as one of the kingdom’s guards. But unlike Enzo and Titus, Sweeney was just barely as tall as the treetops.
Enzo and Titus both grinned.
‘I always say, “The louder, the better”!’ said Titus. ‘Let’s do one more round!’
