Parents & Teachers

A few simple ways to turn a shared story into conversation, creativity, and time together.

Choosing your next read

The Deadly Jenkins is a rhyming picture book with playful gothic imagery, friendly ghosts, and unusual pets. Preview the illustrations to decide whether its spooky style suits your reader. Grown-ups know their readers best; reading independently and enjoying a read-aloud can be very different experiences.

The companion activity book is designed for ages 6–9, with adult help as needed. This activity range is not an independent-reading-level rating for the story.

Explore the story & illustrated preview →

Before you read

Look at the cover together. What do you notice first?
What kind of family do you imagine lives at 3131 Skeleton Drive?
Which details feel funny, cozy, mysterious, or spooky?

During the story

Listen for the rhymes. Can you predict a rhyming word?
Pause to explore the illustrations. What small detail did you spot?
Talk about the characters and pets. Which would you like to meet, and why?

After the last page

What makes the Jenkins home different from yours? What might be the same?
If you could visit for an afternoon, what would you do?
Invent another unusual pet. What is its name, and how would you care for it?

Three creative extensions

Draw a new neighbor. Create someone who might live near the Jenkins family. Add a home, a pet, and one wonderfully unusual detail.

Make a rhyming pair. Choose two words that rhyme and write a silly two-line verse together. Younger readers can dictate while a grown-up writes.

Tell a picture story. Color a printable, then describe what happens just before or after that scene. There is no single correct answer.

Ready for a creative afternoon?

Download six coloring pages or the 16-page activity book. Print on US Letter paper using “Fit to page.” No email signup is required.

Get the free printables

School or library questions?

Contact Caliber Press with your organization and the title you’re interested in.

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