Before you start to read the story aloud take time to look at the end papers and talk about what you both can see and what the story might be about. Read the story aloud, pausing now and then to talk about what Pete is doing and what might happen next. Join in

Lush foliage and delightfully funny characters abound in this dramatic tale of overzealous neatness that delivers its message of environmental preservation with subtlety and humour. The freshness and vibrancy of the illustrations, the endearing charm of the animal characters, and the many deft comic details throughout make this a very special book - once you enter this forest, you'll never want to leave. The authors of In The Forest use the pop-up elements to emphasise what has vanished and what is left. It might be possible to make individual cards with pop-up effects or a large scale one as a class. This does not use any kind of ICT technology but is amazingly effective.Why do trees have leaves? Can you find out and think of ways to share this information with others? Can you find out about different types of leaves?

Make a keep our forest tidy poster to encourage (human!) visitors not to drop litter Make your own cut out ‘peep through’ scene Plus points to the cover (which has a hole so it looks like you are looking through a tunnel in the forest and see the badger cleaning things up).

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Carry out some role-play activities based on the book, e.g. interview the other forest animals to ask them what they think about Pete’s actions.