
So I set up a common account on Storybird, chose a pattern, showed them some ideas and asked them to write their own book. Last week I got quite tired with my group full of teenagers who clearly hadn’t felt like doing their homework for a while. The list of excuses the book offers is great, but my students can surely do better. Perfect for a period right after a winter break, when they don’t feel like, well, doing anything. When I was browsing through this book I immediately thought about a project for younger learners. The book is basically a list of perfectly illustrated, funny, weird, amazingly impossible excuses a student could use… but they usually don’t.

And it was its small bookshop where I noticed a book which immediately caught my eye: I Didn’t Do My Homework Because by Davide Cali and illustrated by Benjamin Chaud. Some time ago I spent a Black Friday weekend in Manchester – yes, I guess I must have gone mad – I do like the city very much (surprisingly, because I support none of the local football teams), but going there in the heat of the international shopping spree wasn’t exactly the best idea ever.Ī highlight of my visit was definitely the John Rylands Library – a magnificent building with impressive interiors and amazing atmosphere (generally Manchester’s libraries are awesome, I fell in love with Manchester Central Library, best place ever!).
