Why is The Accidental Diary of B.U.G. series so interactive?

When I was writing The Accidental Diary of B.U.G., I had my own son in mind. Overwhelmed by books that were just pages and pages of just text, he’d quickly lose interest. He liked books with illustrations, but even those weren’t always enough to keep his interest.

That’s why The Accidental Diary of B.U.G. series is packed with things to do.

The distractions are within the book. They’re all relevant to what’s going on in the story, and they all involve reading. Sneaky, hey! Yes, but also effective!

Here are just a few examples:

Fun decision-makers

Children have said they love working their way through these. Some even make their own up after seeing one in a chapter, so they go on to practise writing and logical thinking too. 😊

Biscuit Laws!

Biscuits are one of the series’ less-serious themes (although, as a biscuit-lover myself, I could argue that this is a VERY serious series-spanning topic!).

This picture shows the first five laws Billie and her TOBLA (The Official Biscuit Law Association) pals invent, but more are added as the series continues. Not only do children love reading these, they like debating their merits, trying them out and writing their own.

Games to try

The Accidental Diary of B.U.G. describes a lot of games that Billie plays in class and with her friends. As well as reading the rules, children can test them out which usually involves giving clear instructions to their friends.

Drawing activities

There are lots of drawing activities peppered through the series. Like the example below, many involve a bit of reading!

Bonus Blog content!

I love games. I’m a fan of playing games during long car journeys.

Here are five of my favourites that don’t require any equipment.

Try them on your next journey and see how quickly time passes! (Or, if games aren’t your thing, why not listen to a fun audiobook? Here’s a link to mine! my audiobooks)

Fun games to play on a car journey:

1. FORTUNATELY, UNFORTUNATELY

(as played by Billie and her class in The Accidental Diary of B.U.G.)

Rules:

1. One person says a sentence to start a story.
2. The next person continues the story, but they must start with the word unfortunately – essentially describing something that hinders things.
3. The next player continues the story, but must start with the word fortunately and, in doing so, try to rectify the unfortunate event that has just happened.
4. This continues until it gets too silly or boring, at which point you start again, or try the next game.

Example:

PLAYER 1: Derek jumped into his car and began to drive to a theme park.

PLAYER 2: Unfortunately, he’d only been driving for five minutes when he got a flat tyre…

PLAYER 3: Fortunately, he had a pump in his boot.

PLAYER 1: Unfortunately, the pump was broken.

PLAYER 2: Fortunately, Derek was a member of the AA, so called for help and the tyre was soon fixed.

(TIP: It’s good to resolve things along the way like this so that the story can continue)

PLAYER 3: Unfortunately, when Derek arrived at the theme park, he realised he’d left his wallet at home, so couldn’t buy a ticket.

PLAYER 1: Fortunately, his friend, Mary, who he was meeting, lent him £20.

PLAYER 2: Unfortunately, the tickets were £30.

PLAYER 3: Fortunately, Mary also had a £10-off voucher which she gave to Dereck and they entered the park.

PLAYER 1: Unfortunately, the roller-coaster Derek really wanted to go on was shut due to strong winds.

PLAYER 2: Fortunately, Mary was a weather weaver and ordered ten minutes of calm, sunny skies.

(TIP: It’s fine to include a fantasy!)

(TIP:  This game works best with three or more people. )

Here are some sentences to start your stories in case you’re struggling to think:

One sunny day, Laura went for a walk with her dog.

Jamil and Henry wanted to build a den.

Shannon really wanted an ice cream.

The pigs at Parr Farm were starving.

2. ANSWER THE QUESTION BEFORE…

(as played by Billie and her class in The Accidental Diary of B.U.G. Sister Act)

Rules:

1. You play this two at a time.
2. Player 1 asks player two a question.
3. Player two doesn’t answer it verbally.
4. Player 1 asks player 2 another question.
5. Player 2 gives the answer to the first question.
6. Player 1 asks another question.
7. Player 2 answers the second question they were asked
8. …and so on until you’re bored or achieve a hilarious result.

Example:

Player 1: What day is it?

Player 2: (no answer)

Player 1: What was the last thing you ate?

Player 2: Saturday!

Player 1: What is your sister called?

Player 2: Weetabix

Player 1: Who are you going to buy a present for today?

Player 2: Lucy…

Tip: a bit of fore-thought works well! 😉

3. THAT DRIVER IS…

Rules:

Take it in turns to look at the drivers of vehicles you pass and assign them an adjective using sequential letters of the alphabet.

Example:

PLAYER 1: That driver is amazing

PLAYER 2: That driver is boring

PLAYER 3: That driver is careful

PLAYER 4: That driver is dangerous

TIP: It’s okay to pass or ask for help!

SUGGESTION: Play alternative versions of this game like ‘That driver is called…’ or ‘I be he/she likes…’ in which you essentially play the alphabet game using topics of your choice.

Example:

PLAYER 1: That driver is called Adam

PLAYER 2: That driver is called Bilal

PLAYER 3: That driver is called Christine

Example:

PLAYER 1: I bet she likes apples

PLAYER 2: I bet he likes burgers

PLAYER 3: I bet they like Coronation Street

4. COUNTING CARS

A basic game that my children loved when they were young.

Rules:

1. Each player picks a colour.
2. You set a time for the game to end e.g. “when we reach junction 34”, or “at 10 past 11.”
3. Everyone counts how many vehicles of their colour they spot during that time period.
4. The winner gets a toffee.

TIP: I like to pick a rare colour like brown so I can have a little sleep while the children are counting their red, black and white cars!!

WARNING! This games tests children’s honesty.

5. SILLY REGISTRATION PLATE PHRASES

Rules:

1. Consider the registration plate of a vehicle in front of you.
2. Using the string of three letters, take it in turns to make up a silly phrase.

E.g. LS15 GDF as above

Player 1: Gary dances funkily

Player 2: Get dressed, Freddy!

Player 3: Great dozy farmers

Everyone votes for their favourite then you choose another car.

TIP: wait for a car without an X!

Are we nearly there yet?

Yes.

Boo, I was enjoying that journey…😉