A Plan for Pops

Written by Heather Smith, Illustrated by Brooke Kerrigan

Lou spends every Saturday with Grandad and Pops. They walk to the library hand in hand, like a chain of paper dolls. Grandad reads books about science and design; Pops listens to rock and roll, and Lou bounces from lap to lap. But everything changes one Saturday. Pops has a fall. That night there is terrible news: Pops will need to use a wheelchair, not just for now, but for always. Unable to cope with his new circumstances, he becomes withdrawn and shuts himself in his room. Hearing Grandad trying to cheer up Pops inspires Lou to make a plan. Using skills learned from Grandad, and with a little help from their neighbours, Lou comes up with a plan for Pops.

Discussion Questions:

At the library, Grandad and Pops both enjoy different activities. What is your favourite thing to do in a library? In which area of the library would you most like to spend some time? Why?
In the story, Grandad’s “three P’s” are perseverance, persistence and patience. How do these three character traits help Lou to build the contraption?
At the end of the story, Lou goes back to the library with Grandad and Pops. How are the characters feeling? How do you know? What clues have the author and illustrator given you?
Think about how the characters of Grandad and Pops are described throughout the story. What can you infer about their personalities? How do you know? What clues have the author and illustrator given you?

Design a ramp to different speeds of travel:

Build a machine that moves something from one side to another:

Make a trampoline for a ball to bounce on:

Create a unique domino effect:

Extension: Combine the different machines together to make one machine that does a simple task in a complex way (Rube Goldberg Machine)

Bootleg

Botley Robot

Use Botley's chain reaction kit, or materials from the MakerSpace, to set up some elaborate sequences to complete a simple task (Rube Goldberg machines). This is a sample of bowling. Could you figure out how to pop a balloon?

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