SuitabookThe Missing Trick
Robin Jacobs
- Reading
- Read the pictures closely and pause before each search result to invite predictions. Name the objects together, discuss facial expressions, then revisit the ending to consider how Louis’s view of the show changes.
- Themes
- Unnoticed ability: Louis believes he is searching unsuccessfully, while his actions entertain a growing audience; he is surprised by their response. The story supports the idea that a person’s understanding of their own abilities may differ from how others experience them.
- Community and diversity: People gather around Louis’s accidental performance, and the illustrations show a diverse audience enjoying the spectacle. The crowd is presented positively as appreciative and connected through shared enjoyment.
- Mistakes becoming play: Louis’s attempts to find the rabbit produce flowers, balls, scarves and other surprising objects, which the audience treats as entertaining. The book presents this favourably.
- Worth knowing
- Louis becomes frustrated while the rabbit is missing, and there is brief suspense when both Louis and the rabbit disappear. The overall treatment is comic and reassuring, centred on the crowd’s delight and applause.