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ACTIVITIESCHRIS PRIESTLEY

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#TheLastOfTheSpirits @crispriestley @KidsBloomsbury

About The Last of the SpiritsThe Last of the Spirits is a fantastic reimagining of Charles Dickens’s tale A Christmas Carol. Told from the point of view of two poor London street children, Sam and Lizzie, it features the main characters of Dickens’s story – Scrooge, Marley, Tiny Tim and all. The story follows Sam and Lizzie as they encounter ghosts of the past, present and future, and is full of drama, scares and vital lessons about compassion and life choices.

About Chris PriestleyChris Priestley was an illustrator and cartoonist for many years before becoming a writer. Chris’s other books include the Tales of Terror series as well as Mister Creecher, The Dead Men Stood Together, The Dead of Winter and Through Dead Eyes. Like The Last of the Spirits, many of these books are based on classic stories of the past.

main characters of Dickens’s story – Scrooge, Marley, Tiny Tim and all. The story follows Sam and Lizzie as they encounter ghosts of the past, present and future, and is full of drama, scares and vital




The Last of the Spirits QuizWhen you have fi nished reading The Last of the Spirits, test your knowledge of the book with this quick quiz. Some questions are easy and others more fi endish. The answers are at the side of the page – no peeking!

1. What is the name of the debtors’ prison to which Sam and Lizzie’s father is taken?

2. What relation to Scrooge is Fred, the young man who works for him?

3. What burden does the ghost of Jacob Marley have to carry around with him?

4. What is Scrooge’s fi rst name?

5. And what is Sam and Lizzie’s last name?

6. In what county did Sam, Lizzie and their parents once live?

7. Which ghost is faceless and cloaked in black robes – Past, Present or Yet to Come?

8. What do the Cratchits cook for their fi rst Christmas dinner in the story – beef, goose or chicken?

9. What allegorical names are given to Sam and Lizzie to symbolise the neglect of poor people – and which of them is Scrooge told to fear the most?

10. Which character speaks the famous line ‘God bless us, every one!’

MY SCORE: out of 10

Answ

ers:

1 M

arsh

alse

a, 2

Nep

hew,

3 C

hain

s, 4

Ebe

neze

r, 5

Hun

ter,

6 Ke

nt, 7

Yet

to C

ome,

8 G

oose

, 9 Ig

nora

nce

and

wan

t; Ig

nora

nce,

10

Tiny

Tim

Answ

ers:




Draw the Ghost of Jacob Marley‘Something started to emerge from the ground in front of the headstone …’

The fi rst appearance of the ghost of Jacob Marley is one of the most dramatic and scary moments in The Last of the Spirits. Using the descriptions on pages 26 and 27, draw your impression of the apparition here.




Reimagining StoriesClassic children’s stories are often reimagined for the 21st Century – by authors and fi lm directors alike. To understand more about the adaptation process, take a look at these three books and three fi lms.

Books

1. The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman (Bloomsbury)

This is a reinvention of fairy tales including Snow White and Sleeping Beauty

2. Silverfi n by Charlie Higson (Puffi n)

James Bond, star of Ian Fleming’s books and numerous fi lms, is reimagined as a much younger hero

3. Mister Creecher by Chris Priestley (Bloomsbury)

Another modern take on a classic by Chris Priestley – this time the chilling story Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley.

Films

1. The Harry Potter fi lms

The popular series of fi lms based on J.K. Rowling’s books

2. Tangled

This is Disney’s hugely popular version of the story Rapunzel, attributed to the Brothers Grimm

3. Wicked

A prequel to the book and fi lm The Wizard of Oz that tells the back stories of some of the characters

How many more adaptations can you name? Try to list ten stories that have either been made into fi lms or changed for other books.

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Now, can you reimagine a story of your own? Follow these three tips to get started.

1. Choose a book Pick a story that you know well and that has interesting characters you can interact with. Fairy tales and other classics are ideal.

2. Choose a lead character In The Last of the Spirits Chris Priestley makes heroes out of two very minor characters in A Christmas Carol. Which characters do you think might have great stories to write about?

3. Go backwards or forwards in time A lot of reimagined books are either prequels, which picture what happened before the start of the story they are based on; or sequels, which imagine what might happen after the end of it.




Tell A Ghost Story …How good are you at scary storytelling? See if you can write a chilling story of your own using one of these lines to start you off . Even better, gather together a few friends, turn off the lights and take turns to tell your tale.

1. A piercing cry echoed round the graveyard. I turned and ran into the thick mist …

2. As I lay in bed, the grandfather clock in the hall chimed midnight. I heard the fl oorboards creak and saw the door handle slowly start to turn …

3. I had lost my way and pitch darkness had fallen. All around was utter silence. Then I felt something brush against my arm …

4. The phone rang, but when I picked it up there was no one there. Then all the lights went out …

5. I walked past the abandoned church, just as I did every day. But this time when I looked up I saw a small, pale face at the window …

… Or Draw OneIf you prefer drawing, use boxes like these to put together a story, using speech bubbles or captions to move it along. Or try animating one of the scenes of The Last of the Spirits – chapters two or seven would work well.

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The Last of the Spirits v A Christmas CarolThe Last of the Spirits is inspired by Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol – and if you have not yet read that classic short novel, give it a go! It is a brilliant book that gave The Last of the Spirits its main characters and storyline – and while it is similar in many ways, there are some important diff erences too.

Once you have read both books, use this table to review them and decide which you prefer. Give the two books a score out of 10 for each attribute, then add up the numbers to fi nd your overall favourite.

The Last of the Spirits A Christmas Carol

Storyline / 10 / 10

Characters / 10 / 10

Language / 10 / 10

Scariness and tension / 10 / 10

Lessons and morals / 10 / 10

Total score / 50 / 50

My favourite book is




Read on, watch onIf you loved The Last of the Spirits there are dozens more versions of A Christmas Carol to enjoy. Try these – and rate them as above.

1. A Christmas Carol: The Graphic Novel by Sean Michael Wilson and Mike Collins (book). A brilliant comic book interpretation of the story

2. A Christmas Carol (fi lm). Disney animation with voice acting by Jim Carrey

3. Scrooged (fi lm). A 1980s comedy take on the book starring Bill Murray

4. Blackadder’s Christmas Carol (TV programme). Comedy with Rowan Atkinson’s popular grumpy character

5. A Muppet Christmas Carol (fi lm). Probably the craziest version of the book!

activities - bloomsbury publishing of the...the harry potter ﬁ lms ... a prequel to the book and...

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