Book guide: Mission: The scarers

Have you met a tree troll or tried dark glasses?

Do you want to know if there are scarecrows in abandoned houses? And if they exist, do you want to know exactly how dangerous they are? Join Lina and Peppar on their new mission.

Questions about the book

1. At the beginning of the book, Pepper is about to be revealed when the mother opens the door. What do you think about her opening the door without knocking? When is it okay? When is it not okay?

2. All bodies change throughout life. Pepper is proud of the marks she has on her body from her adventures. What are you most proud of about your body?

3. Lina rides Alberto, even though she can't. Have you tried to do something you can't? What happened then?

4. The trolls in the forest attack Lina and the others. There will be a fight. What would you do if someone grabbed you like the troll queen did with Lina?

Get good at arguing

Getting into conflicts and arguing is part of being human. We are different and think and think differently and we cannot read each other's thoughts even if we wanted to.

Practice becoming good at arguing using the 3-step method. The method involves
1) Put into words what is happening
2) Put into words how it feels
3) Say what we want to happen instead.

For example: You pull my arm. It hurts and I feel sad. I want you to let me go so we can talk instead. Try role-playing various made-up situations and practice the -step method.

To help others

Being helpful is a way of caring for each other and showing empathy. It can also be a way of showing solidarity. In this book, Lina and Peppar are helped by Alberto, but Lina also helps her grandmother and Peppar helps Lina when she is paralyzed by fear. By letting many different people in the book help each other in different situations, it is shown that it is good to be able to give help, as well as that it is obvious that we also sometimes need help ourselves.

Being helpful is a matter of practice, as it involves, among other things, learning to see when others may need help. Therefore, it is good to both practice being helpful in everyday life and to read about how a story develops thanks to mutual help.

About fear

Fear is an emotion that everyone can feel. Sometimes fear is a good signal that something is dangerous or wrong. But sometimes fear is an emotion that may need to be challenged and overcome so that it doesn't stop us from doing what we want to do.

Lina is often afraid, and considering all the dangers she is involved in, it is a reasonable fear. But, she doesn't let her fears stop her from pursuing her goal: to write the book for adventurers and to help her grandmother keep her house. In this way, Lina reflects strength and determination.

The school curriculum

"Teaching aims to promote the students' imagination, empathy and ability to learn together with others through play, movement and creation through aesthetic forms of expression as well as with exploratory and practical working methods. In teaching, through play, students should be given the opportunity to process impressions, try out different identities, develop creativity as well as their ability to collaborate and communicate." Lgr rev. 2019