It’s a real delight to be the final stop on this blog tour for Duncan Beedie’s latest master piece, Molly’s Moon Mission. If you haven’t already, check out the other posts on the tour to find out more about Duncan’s favourite books, illustrations, characters; check out his studio; and find a few crafty ideas.

I’m going to share a few ways you could use the book in a school setting, but first, may I introduce you to the inspirational Molly!

Molly has a dream. It’s a pretty big dream, that sounds a bit out of reach. She wants to fly to the moon! Now, she’s a busy moth, helping out with her younger siblings, but she trains and trains hard. One day, she is ready…

But is Molly really ready? Well she doesn’t quite make the moon on her first attempt, just the nearest light bulb! (Well she is a moth!). And here she meets a rather unhelpful bluebottle, who tells her she’s far too small to make it to the moon. Undeterred (go Molly!), she doesn’t listen to the bluebottle and tries again.

After visiting a few different light sources, Molly finally makes it to the moon! Yay! Of course she bumps into a pair of friendly astronauts there, who give her a lift home.

Then, Molly returns home to a proud Mum. I just love the way this book ends though. Molly decides she won’t be the only moth to reach the moon and goes on to start teaching her siblings how to do it too! What a girl! Total inspiration.

I love Molly and think she’s a great character to use in a school assembly. There is so much in the story to discuss about perseverance and aspirations.

• Why not ask your pupils to think of a really big goal or ambition? How might they need to prepare and train? Look at the way Molly trained. There were different ways and she had to fit it in around her busy life. Focus on the need to make time for things that are important.
• Then look at what the bluebottle and spider say to Molly. Their words could have made her give up. Ask pupils to consider how they speak to others who are trying hard to achieve something. Compare the words of the crab and the positive impact they had.
• Try considering the time and steps in the journey to Molly’s achievement. In a culture of instant gratification, this is a good model to show that some things take time and many, many attempts.
• Look at the end of the book, when Molly passes on what she’s learnt. Ask pupils to think about how they can share their learning with others.

This book would also make a great introduction to a Year 3 science unit on light. You could look at different light sources and learn that the moon isn’t actually a source of light itself. What might Molly think was the moon in your classroom, home or street? Work scientifically to sort reflective and non-reflective materials. Create your own Mollys and investigate how to make her shadow bigger or smaller. Children could imagine they are Molly and create a book or lesson for younger moths about light sources, reflections and shadows, as they train to be the next moth astronauts!

I really enjoyed this book and so did my 6 year old bookworm. So I leave you with her picture of Molly!

Molly’s Moth Mission is out now in paperback.