On the morning of its first birthday, a baby was found floating in a cello case in the middle of the English Channel. What has happened? Why does the author use the pronoun ‘its’? Where is the English Channel? How do you rate this as the opening sentence to a novel? What puzzles are there?

It was the only living thing for miles. Just the baby, and some dining room chairs, and the tip of a ship disappearing into the ocean. What more have you learned about what has happened? Why is ‘and’ repeated in the comma list sentence? What is the effect of this? Which ship might this be? When do you think the story was set? What puzzles are there?

There had been music in the dining hall, and it was music so loud and so good that nobody had noticed the water flooding in over the carpet. The violins went on sawing for some time after the screaming had begun. Sometimes the shriek of a passenger would duet with a high C. Why does the author repeat the phrases ‘so good’? What is happening? What do you think about the description of this event? Are there any words that need to be explained? What puzzles are there?

The baby was found wrapped for warmth in the musical score of a Beethoven symphony. It had drifted almost a mile from the ship, and was the last to be rescued. Who wrapped up the baby and put it in the cello case? Why? What is ‘the musical score of a Beethoven symphony’? Why was the baby the last to be rescued? How long might the baby have been floating in the sea? What puzzles are there?

The man who lifted it into the rescue boat was a fellow passenger, and a scholar. It was a scholar’s job to notice things. He noticed that it was a girl, with hair the colour of lightning, and the smile of a shy person. Are there any words that need to be explained? Does the man who rescues the baby know her already? Describe the colour of the baby’s hair in your own words. What will happen next? What puzzles are there?