– Carl is mentioned once or twice in the book, but we never meet him. What can we figure out about him from what they say? Have a go at drawing him, adding a few speech bubbles so he can tell us about himself, or even draw a comic page featuring him up to something.
– At the end of the book, Connor seems pretty excited and looking forward to high school. Write down a few rough ideas for things that might happen on his first day, then share with the class. Flesh the most interesting ones out into a simple script, then have a go at turning each into a comic page. Can they be arranged into a sequence that depicts his whole day?
– The boys bump into the two girls on the street. Chat about what the rest of their afternoon was like, and how you might make a story that featured them as the main characters.
– Do you identify with any of the characters, or have you experienced anything that they do (seeing your teacher in their regular clothes, for example!) ?
– Does it matter that nothing really happens in Playing Out? When I made it, I wanted it to be believable and convincing, so kept it a very ordinary day with no drama or excitement.