Teacher’s Guide Anyone But Ivy Pocket by Caleb Krisp
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SYNOPSIS (PLOT)
‘The key, child,’ she whispered. ‘Use it. ’ (p 13)
Ivy Pocket is an infuriatingly confident twelve-year-old maid
said to be ‘of no importance’ who nevertheless has a very
high opinion of herself!
Her previous employer, Countess Carbunkle, having had
enough of Ivy, has ‘run away’ to South America, leaving her
maid stranded in Paris. With no resources, our young heroine
is mysteriously summoned to the bedside of the monstrously
fat and imperious (albeit supposedly dying) Duchess of
Trinity.
The Duchess sets her a mission and offers her the princely
sum of £500 to courier her most precious possession – the Clock Diamond – to Butterfield Park in
Suffolk, England, and to put this ‘thing of withering power’ (p 16) around the neck of wealthy young
Matilda Butterfield on her twelfth birthday.
However, Ivy is shocked when she discovers, just before embarkation to England, that the Duchess
has been murdered. Moreover, aboard ship, Ivy disobeys one of the conditions set by the Duchess,
and also reveals her secret mission to a strange travelling companion, Miss Always.
Ivy, in all her very flawed ‘wisdom’, is soon steeped in a drama which involves all the devices of an
exciting mystery plot including conspiracy, and even murder.
Illustrated in lively and hilarious detail by John Kelly, Anyone But Ivy Pocket is
an action-packed Gothic Victorian melodrama.
How will Ivy escape the tangled web she has woven for herself? Read this book and find out!
AUTHOR BACKGROUND
Caleb Krisp was ‘raised by militant librarians who fed him a constant diet of nineteenth century
literature and room temperature porridge. He graduated from the University of Sufferance with a
degree in Whimsy and set out to make his mark in the world as a writer. Years of toil and failure
followed, until, following a brief stint working in a locked box, Caleb moved to an abandoned cottage
deep in the woods and devoted himself to writing about the adventures of a twelve-year-old lady’s
maid of no importance. Caleb has a strong dislike of pastry chefs and certain domesticated rabbits.
His only communication with the outside world is via morse code or kettle drum. He trusts no one.’
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ILLUSTRATOR BACKGROUND
John Kelly is an Illustrator, writer and designer. He has written and illustrated his own and others’
picture books, young fiction, graphic novels, non-fiction, storyboards, concept art and treatments for
film. He’s been shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway prize twice (Guess Who's Coming for Dinner? and
Scoop!), and shortlisted for the Royal Society/Rhone Poulenc science book prize three times, (The
Robot Zoo, Everyday Machines, Pox, Plagues & Pestilence). All his work has been digital since 1995.
<http://www.johnkellyillustration.com/>
THEMES
This fiction text which might be used in relation to each of the KLAs in the curriculum.
(www.australiancurriculum.edu.au) Themes include:
Orphans
Key Quote: ‘It’s no wonder you’re an orphan. Your parents probably died of shame.’ (p 266)
Discussion Point: A chink in the brittle carapace of Ivy’s flighty exterior is revealed when she writes:
‘While people loved me as a general rule, I haven’t much experience of them worrying about me.
That’s the sort of thing a parent might do. Or so I am told.’ (p 75) Being orphaned lies at the heart of
Ivy’s story. Her false bravado harbours hurt and loss.
Discussion Point: Many Victorian and Edwardian stories are based on the idea of being orphaned. eg
The Secret Garden (1911) by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Ivy actually says she played Mary Lennox (the
central character in this novel), in a touring production (p 88). What does Ivy have in common with
characters in other such novels? eg Louisa May Alcott’s Eight Cousins; or, The Aunt-Hill (1875); Susan
Coolidge’s What Katy Did (1873); Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress. 3 vols.
(1838); L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables (1908); Eleanor H. Porter’s Pollyanna: The Glad
Book (1913).
Social Class
Key Quote: ‘She is a maid and maids do not sleep in guest bedrooms.’ (p 98)
Discussion Point: Ivy is a poor and ill-educated maid and so is treated with disdain by Matilda and her
relatives. Why does wealth and privilege make some people convinced of their superiority?
Friendship
Key Quote: ‘After all, we may not share blood, but are we not sisters?’ (p 151)
Discussion Point: Ivy is besieged by so-called friends who prove very unreliable. Which people prove
to be her real friends?
Grief and Loss
Key Quote: ‘I think I would just call it sorrow and leave it at that.’ (p 192)
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Discussion Point: Both Rebecca and Ivy have lost a mother, although Ivy has no memory of hers. What
part does grief or loss play in the formation of character here?

Revenge
Discussion Point: The Duchess sends the Clock Diamond to Matilda, because she has never forgiven
her arch enemy Lady Elizabeth for stealing her suitor. Is revenge a useful strategy in dealing with
disappointments in one’s life?
THE ARTS
In this curriculum area several sub-topics might be explored:

English
Discussion Point: The Quest or Journey Motif is central to this novel, as it is in many narratives. This is
also a classic story of an orphaned lost girl making her way in the world and confronting hurdles which
she must overcome. Discuss the plot in relation to the conventions of this trope.
Activity: This title has been compared to the Lemony Snicket series because it employs the highly
mannered tone of a Victorian Gothic melodrama, albeit in a deliberately satirical style. What do these
texts have in common, in terms of genre? What makes them different from each other? Read other
texts in this genre [such as some listed under Teacher Activities 1. below].
[See also Writing Style below.]

Visual Arts
Activity: Study the black and white images which appear in this text. Then invite students to create a
similar image of any scene in the novel.
Activity: A gallery of portraits of the characters is depicted on the endpapers. Photocopy, and write
their names beneath each one. Then draw a portrait of yourself and create your own class gallery of
portraits in similar style.
Activity: The image of a map of Butterfield Park appears on the endpapers. [See Blackline Master 3
below.]
Activity: Perspective is important in the picture of the Duchess and Ivy (p 15). What effect does it
have? Ivy and Miss Always (p 43) are depicted with Ivy in the foreground and Miss Always behind. This
gives the viewer an insight into what is happening which Ivy doesn’t have. Create a picture which ‘tells
a story’ like this one. Ivy meets Matilda and Rebecca (p 91) for the first time. How does perspective
effect the reader’s interpretation of this image? Ivy is depicted swinging from the kitchen rack with
pots and pans (p 66) when trying to escape the two hooded intruders, with Mrs Vans blissfully knitting
behind her, and once again perspective is important. This image is extremely crowded with detail.
What feeling does this image convey? Ivy is shown overhearing Miss Frost and Rebecca (p 121) on the
library gallery above her. How does her placement in this picture influence your reading of it?
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Activity: The Ghost of the Duchess appears to Ivy (p 138) in an alarming scene. How does this image
arrest the reader’s attention?
Activity: The Clock Room (p 189) would be an entertaining image to re-create. Invite students to
invent their own clocks and draw a room full of them.
Activity: Banks arrives to advise Ivy (p 212) wearing a Top Hat and tails? Draw your own versions of
his costume.
Activity: Examine the picture of Ivy landing in the cake (p 266). Then draw your own version of that
very funny scene and create a gallery of the different images.
Activity: The duel between Miss Frost and Miss Always is depicted in silhouette (p 277). Create an
image in this style.
Activity: Rebecca is shown disappearing when she puts on the clock diamond (p 295). In what other
way could you show that someone was disappearing? Create your own image.
Activity: Create a new cover for this book.

Creative Arts
Activity: Act out the dramatic scene where Ivy confronts Miss Frost and Miss Always (Ch 17).
Activity: Choose some atmospheric frightening music to accompany the scene.
WRITING STYLE

Narrative Perspective, Person and Point of View
Activity: This story is written in first person from Ivy Pocket’s perspective. What might have been
different in the story had it been told from Rebecca’s perspective instead?

Unreliable Narration
Discussion Point: Ivy’s account of her time with Countess Carbuncle is the first evidence the reader
has that things might not be quite as Ivy described them. She suggests that the Countess lured her
into her employ (from her former employer Lady Prudence) and then found her indispensable. But
then she relays curious tales of the Countess hiding from her in disguise (pp 2–3) and concludes that
she ‘was an aristocrat and therefore barking mad.’ (p 3) As the novel progresses we realise that Ivy is
an inveterate liar. Even her descriptions of place can’t be relied on. eg The Duchess’s home in
Belgravia is described as: ‘Vulgar antiques. Even the paintings on the wall were dull and lifeless. The
Duchess had appalling taste.’ (p 60) What effect does such unreliable narration have on the reading
of this text?
Discussion Point: Ivy’s tall stories are evidence of the fact that she treats the world as a stage on which
she is the main character fighting off foes and outwitting enemies. How much is this story about the
role of the imagination in dealing with life’s challenges?
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
Ideas
Activity: Stories begin with strong ideas and concepts. Write a story inspired by this text. [See
Blackline Master 3 Story Starters below for ideas.]

Structure
Discussion Point: The story opens with Ivy finding a note. How effective was this opening in terms of
structure?
Discussion Point: It ends with Ivy embarking on a new life as a coffin-maker’s daughter. Does this
ending suggest a sequel?

Literary Devices
Activity: The book is written in ornate and often over-elaborate language in keeping with the genre.
Similes and metaphors include for example, ‘like a ginormous mollusc’ (p 107) Descriptions are often
vividly suggestive, for example, ‘And she flew at me, glowing like a winter dawn. Her bloodstained
nightdress billowing, an instrument of rage and thunder.’ (p 137) ‘It was a symphony of
disappointment.’ (p 134) Locate other examples of such language.

Setting
Activity: Settings in the novel include the hotel in Paris, the Belgravia home and Butterfield Park. Visit
websites which contain images depicting these sorts of buildings in the era described eg ‘English
Country Homes’ <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_country_house>

Characters
Discussion Point: Characters include: Countess Carbuncle; Duchess of Trinity; Miss Geraldine Always;
Hooded figures; Horatio Banks (Duchess’s lawyer); Mrs Vans, housekeeper; Rebecca Butterfield,
niece of Lady Amelia Butterfield; Matilda Butterfield; Lady Amelia Butterfield; Lady Elizabeth; Miss
Frost, a governess; Miss Rochester, a governess. Which was your favourite character and why?
Activity: Ivy’s descriptions of people are often very cruel, but also funny. eg ‘a toothless, red-faced
butterball of no consequence’ (p 59). Encourage children to come up with their own funny
descriptions of imaginary people in this style.
Activity: Names are quite amusing in this novel, often relating to the character of the person
described. eg The rather imperious and short-tempered Countess Carbuncle; a ‘high class’ French
hotel manager, Mr Gateau. Invite students to come up with a name for the people with the following
occupations, as if they are characters in this novel: an incompetent doctor; an ailing cook; a villainous
lawyer; an impudent child.

Anti-Heroine
Discussion Point: Ivy is described in publicity as an ‘anti-heroine’. What is a heroine? And how does an
anti-heroine differ from the classic heroine? Make a list of Ivy’s attributes as a person to illustrate
your answer.
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Discussion Point: One of the most endearing and frustrating aspects of Ivy’s character is her ability to
completely misunderstand the most obvious of situations. Her far-fetched theory that the hooded
figure she observed Miss Always speaking to, was her ‘publisher’s long lost son’ (p 51) was one
example! Vanity is another of Ivy’s failings: ‘I possess the delicate beauty of a princess in a tower.’ (p
73) Discuss her character with your students.

Humour
Discussion Point: The novel is full of Humorous Devices: a) Exaggeration: ‘I have all the natural
instincts of a wartime prime minister’ (p 6); b) Bathos: ‘like choking on a lobster claw.’ (p 29) or ‘I
looked breathtaking. Just like a banker’s daughter. Or at the very least a cheesemaker’s niece.’ (p 79);
c) Tall stories: are particularly obvious whenever Ivy’s absent parents are mentioned eg ‘When I was
four I walked across India with my father’ (pp 86–7); d) Slapstick Humour: eg Ivy smears Lady
Elizabeth’s face with cheesecake to treat her sunburn (pp 172–3); landing in the cake (pp 266–7);
Sarcasm: ‘I feel certain there is a humpbacked footman or a toothless blacksmith just waiting to
sweep you off your feet.’ (p 104) or ‘She was rather stubborn for a dead woman.’ (p 109). What other
types of humour did you identify? Make a list.

Mystery/Thriller
Discussion Point: Observe and discuss Mystery Fiction Tropes such as Ivy being given a) a secret
mission; b) a list of ‘Strict, unbreakable conditions’ (p 19); c) Secret Plots. eg The Duchess’s explanation
for the gift is that it ‘soothes her’ to give it to her old arch-enemy’s daughter (p 21) which proves to
be a mask for her real intention; d) Mysterious strangers such as the hooded figure; e) Secret hiding
places in the piano in Paris and in Belgravia (pp 12–3) and (p 61); e) Cliffhanger Chapter Endings: ‘But I
didn’t believe her for a moment.’ (p 85); f) Omens: ‘The stone has much to show you, ‘sang the ghost,
‘but it will bring you no joy. Only suffering. Do not be tempted. Leave it alone, child – for your own
good.’(p 110); Special Powers: eg The ‘Dual’ ‘a girl who can pass freely between our two worlds’ (p
152) and later finds the world is called Prospa; and Ivy being able to heal Miss Always’ injured wrist (p
181); ‘I could speak to the dead.’ (p 195); Secret Messages and Letters eg Warning from Horatio Banks
(p 155); Visions (pp 174-5); Miss Frost tells her about ‘locks’ hooded creatures in dark robes (p 178);
Secret Rooms. eg of clocks (p 188). What other mystery tropes did you identify? Make a list.

Poetry
Activity: Create an acrostic poem using the letters in ‘IVY POCKET’ to create a response to this text.
See ‘How to Write an Acrostic poem’ for details: <http://www.poetry4kids.com/blog/lessons/how-towrite-an-acrostic-poem/>
TEACHER ACTIVITIES
1. Read other fiction books Victorian Gothic melodramas such as Lemony Snicket; there is an excellent
list here: ‘Chapter Books: If you Like Books Like Lemony
Snicket’<http://www.belmont.lib.ma.us/childrens-recommended-reading/chapter-books-gr3-andup/469-chapter-books-if-you-like-lemony-snicket>
2. Activity: Make a Book Trailer for this book. Find tips on how to do this here:
‘Book Trailers for Readers’ <http://www.booktrailersforreaders.com/How+to+make+a+book+trailer>
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‘Book Trailers’ <http://www.insideadog.com.au/teachers/book-trailers>
3. Activity: Create a poster advertising this book.
4. Create a three dimensional diorama of Butterfield House.
5. Create a classroom display of the materials generated in this unit, including writing, drawing,
painting and modeling making.
BLACKLINE MASTER 1 COMPREHENSION QUIZ
Fill in the answers by reading this book.
Questions:
1. What is the name of the hotel where Ivy finds herself stranded in Paris?
2. Where did Ivy grow up?
3. What did the Duchess of Trinity give to Ivy Pocket?
4. What is the supposed title of Miss Always’ first book?
5. What does Rebecca collect?
6. What is the name of the missing Governess?
7. Who is Matilda’s cousin?
8. What is the title of Lady Amelia’s novel?
9. The Clock Diamond is sent to Matilda with the kinds regards of who?
10. What is the name of the country which Miss Frost and Miss Always have crossed over from?
Answers: 1.The Grand. 2. The Harrington Home for Unwanted Children. 3. The Clock Diamond. 4.
Famous Ghosts of Scotland and Wales. 5. Clocks. 6. Miss Rochester. 7. Rebecca. 8. Summer Tempest. 9.
Winifred Farris. 10. Prospa.
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BLACKLINE MASTER 2 IMAGINE THIS SCENE
This is a map of Butterfield Park. Enlarge it on a photocopier to A3.
Invite students to add to the scene by drawing some of the characters engaged in a scene described
in the novel. Create a gallery of the images you create.
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BLACKLINE MASTER 3 STORY STARTERS
Start a story written in first person, as if you were Ivy, and imagine a new adventure for her.
Invite students to begin an alternative episode to the novel with this sentence:
‘I set off to find the perfect hiding spot for the Clock Diamond.’ (p 5)
OR
‘I heard the key turn in the lock.’ (p 145)
OR
‘The floor rushed to greet me.’ (p 158)
OR
‘I was going to find the evil governess.’ (p 261)
OR
‘For I was already gone.’ (p 275)
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BLACKLINE MASTER 4 NAME THIS OBJECT
Each of these images relate to the action in the novel. Name each of them.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Answers: 1. Chandelier. 2. Key. 3. Cake. 4. Scissors. 5. Library. 6. Clock.
7. Schoolhouse. 8. Grand Piano. 9. Garden. 10. Mirror. 11. Spiral Staircase. 12. Sword.
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