Origin
The idea for Jillian Jiggs came from a Mother goose rhyme, Gregory Griggs:
Griggs, Gregory Griggs,
Had 27 different wigs.
I wanted to write a story about a boy named Gregory who turned everything in the house into a wig. But when I drew a picture of him wearing a mop, he looked like a girl. Now you can’t call a girl Gregory, can you? The only three syllable girls’s name I could think of was Gillian. Gillian Griggs didn’t sound right. I dropped the ‘r’ and it became Gillian Giggs. When everybody mispronounced her name, my editor at Scholastic, suggested that the G’s be changed to J’s. And that’s how Jillian Jiggs was born!
Fun Facts
The paintings on the walls of Jillian’s room were done by my children. One is a picture of Jason that was drawn by his sister, Melissa.
After working on The Balloon Tree for fifteen years, I kind of missed it. So I decided to hide a bit of it in Jillian Jiggs. That started something odd…
Hide and Seek
The wizard from The Balloon Tree
The painting of hundreds and millions and zillions of balloons
Chickens!
Activities
Activity #1: There are many questions that can arise in this book, which make great written and oral exercises. Suggestions:
- I like to dress up as ———- and ———-.
- What did Jillian’s Dad say or do when he came home?
- Jillian’s Mom is talking to Rachel’s Mom. What do they say?
- What did Jillian say to herself when she looked in the mirror?
Activity #2: Print a key word on the blackboard and invite students to suggest words that rhyme with it. Working together, create a four-sentence story. Each sentence must end with one of the rhyming words on the blackboard.
- 1st sentence: Introduces a person, place or thing with a problem.
- 2nd sentence: Shows the subject beginning to solve the problem.
- 3rd sentence: Presents an obstacle to solving the problem.
- 4th sentence: The solution to the problem.