IELTS Speaking Part 2: IELTS Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card

Describe a children’s story that you know well

: You should say

when you first heard or read it
what you particularly liked about it
why you think it became popular
and give a brief of the story

: Sample Answer 

The first children’s story I can think of is one that I doubt you will know. It was one of my absolutely favourite stories when I was little, and I just assumed everyone else knew it too. As I’ve got older I’ve never met anyone else who read it, I feel you have all missed out, maybe by talking about it to you today you will one day seek it out and read it for yourself

I’m going to tell you what the story is, when I first read it and why I didn’t just like it but loved it so much. As to why it became popular? Well it is a mystery to me why it isn’t more widely known, but I can tell you why I think it is so charming, and I’ll give you a bit of an overview of the story too, it’s quite simple. I might tell you that early on actually, as then you will understand why I liked it so much and why I think it is so appealing

The story is called ‘The story of Ferdinand’, it’s by someone called Munro Leaf, and I first came across it as a little paperback with a bright orange cover. It hasn’t got very many words, but it is illustrated with beautiful black and white line drawings by someone called Robert Lawson. I don’t remember how I came to have the book, it must have been a present from someone, and I was very little when I first read it. Maybe around five year’s old, although I can’t be sure

The story nearly broke my heart when I was little! It is the tale of a bull called Ferdinand that was bred to fight in Spain. I couldn’t believe that such a cruel sport existed, and it was terrible to me that this little bull was to be forced to battle. The story was how he never liked to fight. He was a peaceful bull, who preferred to sit smelling the flowers and keeping out of trouble. Whilst his more volatile companions practised putting their heads together he would find a shady spot to sit and ponder. One day some important people came to the field where he was living to choose a ferocious bull to fight in the bull fights in Madrid. Ferdinand did not want to be picked, so he snuck quietly away. However, disaster! He sat on a bee, and the bee stung him. Ferdinand leapt up in surprise and started to buck and plunge about because he was in so much pain. The people think he must be a very rough and tough bull indeed and take him away to fight… When he gets to the bull ring it is awful. The people want to fight and kill him. I was so upset at what might happen to poor Ferdinand! The matadors parade in, they prepare to taunt and spike him with spears. Then Ferdinand is brought into the ring. However, he refuses to fight, he sits in the middle of the arena and quietly smells the flowers in the lovely ladies’ hair. In the story, because he refuses to fight, they eventually take him home, and he is left to sit happily under his favourite cork tree smelling flowers for the rest of his life… I have a horrible feeling that isn’t what would really have happened

The story is completely charming. The peaceable bull character that doesn’t quite fit in with his friends is easy for a child to relate to. The story is simple to understand. There is peril (that Ferdinand will be forced to fight and could be hurt and killed) but fortunately, there is a happy ending. The illustrations are simple but delightful. Some of the pictures are quite comical too, the angry matador cries and stamps his foot because he couldn’t show off with his cape and sword. The text is very straightforward too, just a sentence on each page, with the facing page full of the illustrations. It was a book I could read and understand myself from an early age. I think it’s a wonderful story – I still get a lump in my throat remembering it now

I really don’t know how someone found the book for me, and I am at a loss to explain why it isn’t more widely known. I’m sure if it had been more available it would have been (and still be) incredibly popular with younger readers and their parents. I still have a copy of the book. It isn’t my original one, I lent that to someone and never got it back. I was heartbroken. I feel quite sentimental about the tale and couldn’t bear to be without it, so I ended up trying to get a new copy. I found then that it was long out of print, so I ended up buying a ‘new’ second-hand version on amazon or eBay or something. It isn’t the same, but I was glad to have a copy back in my possession. Look out for it if you can, I wonder if you will like it too, or whether you have to be six or under to really appreciate it