Cup-saving dog inspires Book Day activities

Year 7 students celebrated World Book Day on Thursday, 2nd March, with a series of activities based on the novel The Dog that Saved the World Cup by Phil Earle.

The story, which is based on real-life events, follows Pickles the dog and his owner Elsie who both love football. Elsie’s team (helped in no small part by Pickles) wins the opportunity to show off their football skills during the half-time break at the World Cup final. However, their dream is almost certainly shattered when someone steals the famous Jules Rimet trophy and the match is cancelled. Pickles comes to the rescue, accosting the thief in the park and retrieving the World Cup.

Students were interested to learn that Pickles was based on a real-life dog who did recover the World Cup when it was stolen in 1966 and Elsie’s character was based on Fara Williamson who represented England in several European Championships and World Cups while being homeless. After listening to excerpts from the story, students created 'wanted' posters (for the thief and the dog), diary entries, newspaper reports and graphic novel pages retelling parts of the story.