Mustafa

Written and Illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay

Mustafa and his family travelled a long way to reach their new home. Some nights Mustafa dreams about the country he used to live in, and he wakes up not knowing where he is. Then his mother takes him out to the balcony to see the moon — the same moon as in their old country. In the park, Mustafa sees ants and caterpillars and bees — they are the same, too. He encounters a “girl-with-a-cat,” who says something in a language that he can’t understand. He watches an old lady feeding birds and other children playing, but he is always looking in from the outside and he feels that he is invisible. But one day, the girl-with-the-cat beckons to him, and Mustafa begins to become part of his new world

Discussion Questions:

When the girl-with-the-cat speaks to Mustafa, he runs away. Review this passage as a class. Why do the students think Mustafa reacted that way?
Review the scenes where these characters interact. In each one, Mustafa leaves. Why does he do that? How must it make Maria feel? How does she respond?

Mustafa

Practice Communicating Without Words

Brainstorm: What are some ways that we can show someone we're a kind and caring person without using our words?

Focus:

Body Language

facial expressions (Maria smiles)
body gestures (Maria waves at Mustafa)
space/proximity (close together when playing or exploring)
eye contact (They look at each other while introducing themselves)

Practice

Mirror Mirror: Pair up! Choose a mirror and choose the reflection. Keep eye contact with each other. The mirror makes a facial expression and uses their body to pose, and the reflection copies.

Guess the Leader: Choose one person to leave the room (guesser), and everyone else sits in a circle. Choose one leader. The leader makes a facial expression and everyone else follows. The leader continues changing their expression while the guesser tries to figure out who the leader is. They get three guesses. Tip: don't look directly at the leader - keep your eyes darting. Leader tip: keep your facial expressions flowing instead of sudden changes.

Birch Tree Art

Mustafa arrived to his new home in one season, and made a friend in another. When the leaves started changing colours, he thought the trees were magic, especially when the sounds of music brought the park to life! Create your own magic trees with watercolour paints and a black marker.

1. Fold a piece of white paper in half. Rip painter's tape in half and stick it to the paper and the desk in long strips. Use smaller ripped pieces of tape to create branches.

2. Choose a wide brush and get it nice and wet in some water. Next, swirl it in the blue colour pot to create a watery colour. In horizonal strokes, create the sky on your page by painting over the tape trees. You don't need to make the entire sky a solid colour - look out the window for some inspiration. Give your work about 5 minutes to dry. If your page is really wet, use a paper towel to sop up some of the extra water.

3. Add some water to the autumn colour pots (orange, red, yellow). You want the paint wet, but not too watery this time. Add dots over the branches of the "autumn" trees (choose the left or right half of the page to start with).

4. Add summer coloured leaves to the other side of the page. Use a black fine tip marker to lightly outline the birch trees. Be sure not to trace the branches under leaves, only the branches that can be seen through the leaves.

5. Add details on the bark of the birch trees with the black marker. Draw lines about half-way across the sections, making sure the lines are all different lengths. Try alternating sides. Look at some pictures of real birch trees for inspiration.

Extension: Mustafa noticed the music in the park. Some people say music is a universal language. What things could you add to your picture that would make music? What did Mustafa hear in the story?

Music as a Universal Language

Listen to the following songs and think about how they make you feel. Close your eyes and watch the movie that starts to play in your head because of your imagination. Isn't it amazing how a story can be told without any words?

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