Educational Resource
The Were-Nana
By
Melinda Szymanik, illus. Sarah Nelisiwe Anderson
Synopsis
Stella Rosa is going to the airport with
her family to pick up her grandmother. Nana Lupin has flown over from a far
away country for the first time. Stella Rosa has never met Nana Lupin before
and Stella Rosa's older brother Simon takes this opportunity to scare his
sister with the idea that Nana Lupin is a monster; a Were-Nana with long
fingernails, hair on her chin and witches for friends. One kiss from Nana Lupin
and you turn into a Were-Nana just like her. Stella Rosa is petrified of
meeting her grandmother until Nana Lupin finally arrives and Stella Rosa
discovers she isn't monstrous at all.
Themes
Family relationships, siblings, grandparents,
telling tales, fear, the power of words,
Questions
- Why is Stella Rosa afraid of her nana before she even leaves home to go the airport?
- Why doesn't Stella Rosa's mother give her any potion?
- How many witches are there on pages 14 & 15?
- What do Stella Rosa and Nana Lupin have in common? There is a clue in Stella Rosa's name.
- Do you think Nana Lupin's friends really are witches?
Extra
for experts
- Simon is very clever with words in this story. How can he say, he never said Nana Lupin was a were-wolf? (p. 13)
- The colours used by the illustrator change over the course of the story. How do they change and why do you think the illustrator did this?
- The author used the name Lupin for the character of the Nana for a special reason. Do you know why?
- What is Stella Rosa REALLY afraid of?
Activities
- The author has used particular words to make the story scary. Find at least five words that do this.
- Come up with five more scary words that would also work in this way
- What do you think a were-nana might look like if there was such a thing? Make a paper-plate mask of a were-nana face
- Word-find attached
The Were-Nana
Words to find:
--------------
airport black
broom coat
hairy kiss
nanalupin potion
simon spider
stellarosa whiskers
wicked witch
e s s w p v d x t p j q f k a
d j p a i r p o r t z g e t f
s f i b r o o m z o n i w b l
s o d y u s f y k a k i h l o
i i e v s i m o n i c k h n a
k w r d c c b a h k s n j t r
n a s o r a l l e t s i o e j
l e d z u u b d m l c d h t n
v w d f p r s h p t y m u c t
r i l i s d f a w n o i t o p
h t n c a w h i s k e r s s d
e c s q r q i r x t w b b j a
w h g v m s o y e k a e e y h
r b l a c k r p d d g o g e n
n x a e a g r b r y h y c c g
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