Starting from Chapter 1,“Mrs Twit,” through to Chapter 22,“Skillywiggler,” these VIPERS questions explore the key events, characters and themes in The Twits. Pupils are encouraged to develop their understanding of the disgusting tricks played by Mr Twit and Mrs Twit, the consequences of unkindness, and the importance of friendship, teamwork and justice.

The questions focus on important plot developments, including the Twits’ cruel tricks, their mistreatment of the Muggle-Wump monkeys, the bird pie scheme, and the clever plan created by the animals to outwit the Twits. They also explore Roald Dahl’s use of humour, exaggeration and disgusting descriptions to create memorable characters and entertaining situations.

Through a balance of Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Retrieval and Summarising questions, pupils are guided to analyse character behaviour, explore themes of cruelty and kindness, make predictions about unfolding events and explain how the animals work together to achieve justice. The questions culminate in consideration of the novel’s ending, where the Twits receive their comeuppance and the animals finally gain their freedom.