Educational Activities: When I’m Not Looking by Farren Phillips

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When I’m Not Looking
Author: Farren Phillips
Illustrator: Farren Phillips
18 May 2021
Yeehoo Press
32 pages

Book description from Goodreads: “An interactive detective story with fun fill-​in-​the-​blanks and laugh-​out-​loud details.

Legs loves her pet duck. But Legs isn’t quite sure what her duck gets up to when she’s not looking. Her duck may want Legs to think that she is just sitting around a pond eating bread all day, but Legs knows better than that! She is certain that her duck is more likely dressing like a knight and fighting dragons, starting an army of ducks, building a rocket, and even trying on Leg’s best pants.

Young readers will love joining Legs on her quest to solve the mystery. Using their creativity, imagination, and detective skills, they can help Legs find the truth about what her duck does when she’s not looking.

What to Expect:

Families Love Pets: This exuberant story of finding out what the pet is up to is perfect for pet lovers.

Creative Interaction: Shows playful interaction of readers’ help and imagination, and demonstrates that stories can be found all around us.

Detective Theme with Humorous Twist: Delights mystery lovers and brings out the inner detective in young readers with its search-​and-​find element and bright illustrations,

Irresistible Artwork: Observant readers will be delighted to spot the fun and charming details and explore every corner of the surroundings.

Thinking Like A Philosopher: This book is a good tool for parents and teachers to get children thinking outside of the box about the world and what is happening beyond their bubble.”

Need some reviews of When I’m Not Looking?

As a bonus, enjoy this interview with author/​illustrator Farren Phillips!

And as a second bonus, here’s the book trailer for When I’m Not Looking.

Educational Activities inspired by Farren Phillips’ When I’m Not Looking:

  • Before Reading–From looking at the front and back cover: 
    • Where and when do you think this story takes place?
    • What does the title mean to you? Not looking at WHAT? And WHY do you think the child isn’t looking?
    • What emotion is being felt by the child on the cover?
    • What do you make of all the ducks? What about the other animals?
  • After Reading–Now that you’ve read the story: 
    • Was this a happy story, a sad story, or did you feel mixed emotions? Why?
    • Early in the story, the child talks about their “moms.” What does it mean if someone has more than one mom?
    • This book has interactive elements. Did you try them? 
      • Did you find a portrait of a duck? A worm? A microscope?
      • How many socks did you find? How many books?
      • What did you fill in the blanks with?
    • What does Legs say a philosopher does?
    • Why do you think Legs is so concerned about what her pet duck is doing when she’s not around?
    • There are a lot of odd and unexpected things in the background. Which ones stood out most to you? Why?
  • Writing–Beyond the ideas or evidence presented in this book, what do you think Legs’ pet duck is REALLY doing when Legs isn’t around?
    Write down what you imagine the duck is up to. Have fun with it. Perhaps retell the entire story from the point-​of-​view of the pet duck. Does the duck wonder what Legs is doing when the duck isn’t around? Feel free to share your writing with friends or adults.
  • Crafting–Since When I’m Not Looking features a duck, let’s have some more duck fun. Try your hand at one or more of the following crafts (use recyclable materials when you can) about ducks. Get an adult to help, just to be on the safe side: 
  • Further Reading–It’s easy to think of Legs as being a detective who looks for clues to help answer a mysterious question. Which of these other picture books about detectives have you read? (Click on any book cover for more information on these titles!)