The Hobyahs

Book cover A simple version of the folk story. It tries to keep the nicely-scarey feel of the original.

Run run running on the tips of their toes came the Hobyahs! Senior citizens will get a flash-back of delightful terror. The Hobyahs is a Scottish folk story, rewritten in the Second Victorian School Reader, 1930. Rude Readers simplified the syntax but kept the sound of the traditional story. In the 1930's version for 8 year old children, Dog Dingo was dismembered and magically re-assembled in time to kill the Hobyahs. The Rude Readers version of The Hobyahs (Volume 3) muzzles Dog Dingo, and the Hobyah's escape, never to be seen again. The teaching points show how phrases build up. Each page is one sentence built from prepositional phases and noun phrases - Once upon a time, in a house, in a paddock, near the bush lived Little Old Man, and Little Old Woman, and Dog Dingo. Modal verbs are used will, could not. The Hobyahs' scary running style is unchanged. This Rude Reader isn't as rude as the 1930's version but it's still scary and has the sound of an oral story. The Hobyahs are still like bloated commas but coloured bright green. The detailed drawings are a close match to the text and cue the child to recall the story.