Chris Isaac P7 Book review 6 – The Kiss That Missed by David Melling

[Cisaac]

The Kiss That Missed by David Melling
‘The Kiss That Missed’ follows the adventure of a knight and his horse who are sent on a mission to recover the kiss of a king that missed his son as he wished him goodnight. The kiss flew out of the window; an event that sets the scene for the premise of the story. It is a short tale filled which adventure which involve wolves and bears and dragons; what KS1 students’ imagination wouldn’t be set alight by that?!
This book works well in a whole class reading activity as the pictures and story allow for a high level of comprehension questions to be elicited from the student. The story also provides a unique take on the traditional fairy tale and, therefore, allows children to explore the structure and expectations of stories within a fairy tale theme.
If I were to use this story in a literacy setting there would be a number of writing activities that could be used post-reading to extend students creative writing. For example, I would ask students to write their own scene in the story. Where did the kiss go? What dangers did the knight and his horse encounter? How did they combat the difficulties they faced?
I have read this story in a whole class setting for KS1 students and found this book best suited to this age range. It is fun, quick witted and evoke enthusiasm from students to find out what will happen next and how the adventure will be resolved.
I would whole heartedly recommend this book to teachers looking for a delightful read before home time.