Patrick Ness' "A Monster Calls" teachers' review

Brief description and distinctive features

Distinctive features of A Monster Calls:

• A rich text for Stage 4 as a close study
• The third person narrative focalises the experiences of the main character Conor O’Malley
• The chapter titles are evocative and enable close focus for thematic and narrative enrichment
• The monster’s voice is credible in its blunt, caustic and confronting tone.
• The characterisation is rich, not only of the monster but also Conor himself, his grandmother, his mother, his friend Lily and a range of other characters who contribute to Conor’s plight.
• The clever narrative structure interweaves fables and stories to enrich the texture of the novel.
• Symbolism is used effectively and authentically as part of the author’s layering of meaning. These symbols invite exploration and discussion to enrich students’ joy and pleasure in interrogating literature:
• The yew tree
• Tales and myth
• The schoolyard bullies
• Light
• Darkness
• References to truth
• The Author’s Note: the story behind the story, honours Siobhan Dowd’s original work “she had the characters, a premise and a beginning” and Ness’s response to being asked to turn her work in to a book. You could read it to the class or delay reading it until the students are engaged and interested in the story.
• Exploration of a wide range of powerful ideas: loss, love, death, friendship, courage, strength, cruelty of humans and the inexplicability of life’s tragedy.

Ways to use A Monster Calls in the classroom

1. Show the book trailer for A Monster Calls.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8-psqOON-Y

1. What interests you from the book trailer?
2. Who is now inspired by this trailer to read the book?
3. Watch the trailer again:
   • What elements of the trailer engage or inspire you?
   • What questions do you have?

Return to the trailer after you have explored the book to evaluate how effective the trailer is in capturing the key features of A Monster Calls. 

Aim for the book to be read or listened to in 3-4 lessons so that you can explore the novel once students have experienced the story.

2. Examining how a story is told

A masterful storyteller like Ness, will deliberately incorporate rises and falls in action, intensity and emotion to keep the reader interested and to propel the story. 

Form groups of 3-4 students:

1. As a group: decide on the three most compelling parts of A Monster Calls. These are the incidents or situations or points in the narrative which your group found the most gripping or enthralling or powerful as moments of tension and conflict.
2. Rate your three episodes/sections/incidents from the most gripping: 1,2,3.
3. What influenced your rating?
4. Poll the class for their number one choice: list them – is there any consensus?
5. Each group to argue 2-3 points as to why they rated their event/incident/situation as the most compelling.

3. Characterisation of the monster

The characterisation of the monster in A Monster Calls is a combination of the writing skills of Patrick Ness and the evocative images of the illustrator, Jim Kay. In fact, the illustrations are very much part of making the monster real. Kay’s illustrations, in richly textured black and white, are haunting. Following interrogation of the narrative and symbolic role of the monster and how monsters have long been part of the broader literary tradition, explore some aspects of the characterisation of the monster.

• Choose one of the illustrations of the monster.
• Select a paragraph of written text about the monster.
• Is one representation more effective than the other? Consider the word choice and modality of language chosen by Ness and the visual elements of Kay’s illustrations including the salient images, use of pen and ink, detail, contrast of light and dark.

Further exploration of characterisation could include Conor and his grandmother.

Relevant details in relation to the new English 7-10 syllabus

Text requirements: A Monster Calls is an illustrated novel, by British/American author Patrick Ness. It fits the prescribed text selection of an extended prose (including at least one novel) and is regarded as quality literature and a quality text from around the world. 
Looking for more classroom texts for Stage 4 students? Browse our Year 7 texts and study guides and Year 8 texts and study guides at Five Senses Education.

Concepts include Narrative • Characterisation • Connotation, imagery and symbol.

Connecting texts

Texts which explore mythology, monsters, legend, fable may also be a valuable focus for wide reading/reading for pleasure