Sign In
Sign In
Register for Free

Three Gilberts, One Penguin, A Big MAD Box And Six Steps To Children Achieving Their Goals

Help children turn dreams and desires into action and success with Gilbert Filbert and his Big MAD Box

Andy Gilbert and Ian Gilbert
by Andy Gilbert and Ian Gilbert
Paddington Bear whole school resource pack
DOWNLOAD A FREE RESOURCE! Paddington Bear – Whole-school lesson plans & activity sheets
PrimaryEnglish

If you asked anyone, young or old, whether they would like to make a difference then it’s pretty certain the answer will always be a resounding ‘Yes’. Yet, for the vast majority of us, that’s as far as it goes.

How many of us actually set out to achieve what we say categorically we want to achieve?

And when we do see people who have hit their goals we often attribute it to luck, determination or the intervention of the Kremlin.

But what if we had a plan? A foolproof formula for achieving more than we normally do? What if we really wanted to make someone smile and only a penguin would do the trick?

This is the challenge facing Gilbert Filbert (no relation) in the book that Ian Gilbert (no relation) and Andy Gilbert (no relation) have put together for older primary children, drawing on Andy’s highly-prized work in top-level businesses around the globe.

Andy’s research has led him to create a practical and proven series of steps that, while not guaranteeing we will always reach our goals, do take the guesswork out of knowing how to go about making that difference.

Written in the same endearing and entertaining style as Ian Gilbert’s first book for Crown House, Little Owl’s Book of Thinking, this new publication takes the reader through Gilbert Filbert’s desire to win the school prize by making a difference, specifically the task of making his mum find her smile again.

Gilbert’s cranky and enigmatic grandmother is the one who leads him through the six stages of Andy’s ‘Make a Difference – MAD’ technique (although she claims it is a secret revealed to her husband by a mysterious Chinese man via a magical and ancient seven-sided [sic] box found ‘in the cave in the rock on the hill in the field down the lane near the wood’).

What ensues is a series of chapters in which each critical step is revealed to Gilbert as he works to make that difference, all despite the best efforts of his science teacher, his clueless father and Arnav, the little boy next door who wants to know the names of everyone’s favourite fish. Each step is actually one of the sides of the MAD box, and Gilbert soon builds a clear strategy for what he needs to do:

• Goal – what is it you want to achieve?

• Reasons – what are the compelling reasons behind that choice?

• Self-belief – do you feel you are up to the job?

• Possibility thinking – what are the 10 key areas to address to make the possible slightly more probable?

• Make a plan – what do you need to do in order to do what you set out to do?

• Take action – as Gilbert’s grandmother points out: “Some people have things happen. Some people make things happen. Some people do. Some people make do. Some people get by. Some people get lucky. Which are you going to be, Gilbert?”

To find out whether Gilbert Filbert succeeds in making his mum smile, how a box can have seven sides and exactly where the penguin comes in – if indeed it does – then you’ll have to get hold of a copy of the book yourself.

In the back there is a photocopiable resource that allows you to create your own MAD box – using both the inside and the outside – with children, as well as a handy copy of the 10 aspects of ‘Possibility Thinking’ that Gilbert Filbert goes through, notably handy because they are written on each of Gilbert’s 10 fingers.

Previously, few adults had access to Andy Gilbert’s strategies unless they happened to work for the sort of large corporation prepared to fork out for the privilege. But everyone can benefit from adopting the strategies that Andy has identified and using them to enrich their own lives and the lives of those around them. By opening up his ideas to some of the youngest members of our school communities, Andy has opened the door for a new generation of entrepreneurs, achievers and those keen to make a difference to do exactly that, even if it’s just to make a loved one smile again with the help of a penguin.

Gilbert Filbert and his Big MAD Box by Ian Gilbert and Andy Gilbert is now available for £9.99 from Crown House Publishing here

Ian Gilbert is an award-winning author and editor, a leading educational speaker and an entrepreneur. Currently based in Hong Kong, he has lived and worked in the UK, South America and the Middle East and so has a special perspective on classrooms and systems, what works and what definitely doesn‘t.

Andy Gilbert developed the acclaimed Go MAD (Make A Difference) thinking system which is used by people in over 40 countries. He is passionate about helping people develop their ability to think in a solution-focused way and spends most of his time facilitating leadership and results acceleration programmes.

You might also be interested in...