100 Cupboards

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Make Your Own Magical Cupboard”

After reading 100 Cupboards and exploring the magical worlds Henry finds, students design their own representations of multiple settings from the novel with distinct atmospheres.

The magical cupboard the children find gives them access to many different worlds. Having so many unique settings makes 100 Cupboards an unusual book. Each of its settings has a different impact on the reader because each setting has its own atmosphere. Atmosphere is the feeling created by the details of a setting—colors, objects, movement, and elements of sensory imagery. In this activity, you will create illustrations for four of these settings. Your illustrations should show that you understand how the atmosphere of each setting differs from the others.

• Choose four settings from the story. These settings should be ones that are described clearly in the text and showcase differences in atmosphere.
• Create a “cupboard” in which four of the doors open to reveal illustrations of the settings you have chosen. You might need to add some details from your imagination, but these should fit logically with the location as it is described in the text.