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teacher notes

The Last King of Angkor Wat Written and Illustrated by Graeme Base

SynopsisWe meet four very diff erent animals in the jungle, amid the ruins of the hauntingly beautiful Angkor Wat. Tiger, Gibbon, Water Buff alo and Gecko are discussing who among them would make the greatest king. Tiger believes his strength would make him a fi ne king, but Gibbon values his own compassion above Tiger’s strength. Water buff alo points out he never gives up, and kings need to be resilient. Little gecko proclaims that he is a great warrior, and kings must be fearless in battle.

Suddenly, a mysterious elephant appears, pointing to the ruins of a temple on the hill. He explains that the animals must journey to the temple if they want to see who is worthy of being king.

The journey that follows tests each of the four animals to their limits—revealing hidden truths and the great wisdom of the elephant as all is revealed at the top. Will any of them be good enough?

About the Author Graeme Base is one of the world’s most loved and celebrated creators of children’s picture books.

Graeme was born in England but came to Melbourne in 1966 and still lives in this vibrant Australian city with his wife and three children.

Before Graeme wrote and illustrated his fi rst picture book in 1983, My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch, he worked in a string of advertising jobs as a designer, followed by a few years rocking out in a band called Rikitikitavi. The world of advertising was not for him, for such talent could only be channelled to create the most beautiful and fascinating picture books:

“From My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch to Enigma, Base’s books have enthralled children worldwide. No page-turners these, rather pages to be pored over, studied carefully and exclaimed about when the secret is revealed. Books of jollity, whimsical animals, imagination and rollicking good fun.”– Map Magazine, 2008

Finally Graeme was able to turn a hobby into a successful career when Animalia was published in 1986. It received international acclaim and has sold almost three million copies worldwide.

Other books include The Sign of the Seahorse, The Eleventh Hour, Jungle Drums, The Worst Band in the Universe, The Discovery of Dragons and Uno’s Garden.

To read more about Graeme and his books, visit graemebase.com

• Leadership • Making good choices• Nature and animals • Ancient Cambodia

Teacher Notes may be reproduced for use in school activities. They may not be redistributed for commercial sale or posted to other networks. Copyright © 2014 Scholastic Australia Pty Limited. For more great resources go to www.scholastic.com.au/toolkit 2.

Discussion Points1. WHAT HAS YOUR JOURNEY REVEALED?

Each animal knows they have certain qualities before they set off on their journey, but what they don’t understand is that a leader must also be other things.

Ask your students to describe what each animal realises they lack after completing their individual journeys:

Tiger Strong but lacks _________________________________________________

Gibbon Compassionate but lacks __________________________________

Water Buffalo Determined but lacks ________________________________________

Gecko Brave but lacks ___________________________________________________

Why do you think it is important for a king or leader to have all of these qualities?

2. ANKGOR WAT—A PLACE FOR GREAT KINGS

Angkor is a real place in Cambodia, a complex of temples built between 800 and 1200 AD by the Khmer civilisation. From here the Khmer kings ruled over a vast region, from Vietnam all the way to China and the Bay of Bengal. There are over 100 temples, including the famous Ankgor Wat— now one of Cambodia’s biggest tourist attractions.

So this setting really is fit for a great king.

Ask your students:

What do they think makes a great leader?

Who is the mysterious elephant in the story?

Do you think the elephant makes the other animals learn something new? How?

Why does he disappear at the end?

Why are there so many elephant carvings when the animals return to the temple at the end?

Activities and CopymastersACTIVITY 1

At the end of the story you can see the beautiful stone carvings in the temple walls. This is a great opportunity for the children to sketch a plan for their own carving. The temple walls contained carvings of elephants, the symbol of the ancient king and of compassion, strength, resilience and courage.

Split the picture into four, and children draw something that they associate with each quality from their own personal experience.

You might even go on to use this as the design for a clay carving.

Download CM a, Stone Carving Design.

ACTIVITY 2

The illustrations in this book are striking, colourful and extremely powerful. The animals with the backdrop of Ankgor Wat are larger than life.

This is a great opportunity to create some giant and colourful display paintings fit for a king!

The children could choose their favourite animal, or draw all four when they sketch their design for their painting in CM b, A Painting for a King.

ACTIVITY 3

For those children who need extending, ask them to re-write their own version of The Last King of Angkor Wat. They should keep some factors the same but they can be as creative as they wish with everything else!

Include:

Four characters who feel they should be king

A mysterious setting

A wise king who helps the other characters to learn something about themselves.

CM c, The Last King of…….EXTENSION