Maxi and the Magical Money Tree

Maxi and the Magical
Money Tree
By Tiffiny Hall
Book Summary:
Maxine Edwards is used to insects
climbing between the floorboards in her
family’s run-down house, but she is very
surprised when she discovers banknotes
creeping through the cracks into her
bedroom.
Where has the money come from and who
does it belong to? The answer to the
mystery lies somewhere in the house, but
in the meantime, what is Maxi to do with
this money?
And by taking just one note, the trouble
begins.
Curriculum Areas and Key Learning
Outcomes:
Language and Literacy
SOSE
Visual Arts
Appropriate Ages:
9+
ISBN: 9780732299927
E-ISBN: 9781460704035
Notes by Simone Evans
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reproduced (either in whole or in part) and offered for commercial sale.
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Contents

Introduction

About the author

Study notes on themes and curriculum areas
1. Themes and key discussion points
a) You can’t buy happiness: money and excessive wealth
b) You are rich: family and friendship
c) Red lies make your face burn: telling the truth
d) Lots of likes: social media and self-confidence
a) Curriculum areas and key learning outcomes
a) Literacy and Language
b) SOSE
c) Visual Arts

Bibliography

About the author of the notes
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Introduction
Maxine (Maxi) Edwards, her 14-year-old sister Fleur and their hardworking
parents have just moved into a new blue, ramshackle house at Number Nine
Graham Grove, Hatbridge. Hatbridge boasts an excellent school and both girls
(on scholarships) will be attending. Hatbridge is different to the Edwards’ old
suburb; it’s a rich area! Walking around her street Maxi ‘can’t believe some
homes have letterboxes that are more luxurious than our house,’ (p 34). The
Edwards family don’t have a lot of money to spare; Maxi’s mum has been
working two jobs to support the family while Maxi’s dad has been writing his
Ph.D. and they save all their money for the expensive medical equipment that
Maxi’s Nana needs in hospital – Maxi can barely afford to buy cockroaches to
feed her lizards, Sybil and Socrates! The trouble with moving to Hatbridge and
being poor is that everyone values money. The kids at school are all dressed in
the latest gear, carrying smartphones and tablets. When a local kid, Santa asks
Maxi how much her dad makes just to ‘break the ice,’ Maxi knows she’s in
trouble, plus she is getting bullied by the richest kid in school – Stacey Shovelton.
Then Maxi finds a secret Money Tree in her basement. She can’t quite believe it,
and the more she plucks the bank notes from its branches, the more it grows...
Maxi knows that her family need the money – there are bills piling up, her mum
is driving an ancient car and the girls don’t have any of the computer equipment
they need for school… So slowly she begins to prune the tree and put the money
to good use. But Maxi can’t keep this secret to herself; she needs allies; her sister
Fleur and her new (and only) friend Tyler. The three do their best to respect the
tree and to use the money for things they really need. But can buying a few bags
of lollies be so bad? What about the whole lolly shop? And Fleur really needs a
new wardrobe of clothes to fit in at school… And surely a few gadgets can’t hurt
either. As the purchasing begins to spiral out of control Maxi can’t identify with
her feelings anymore. Shouldn’t she be feeling good about all these purchases?
Shouldn’t she be feeling happy?
As Maxi weaves a complicated web of lies to keep her precious secret, she
realises she is miserable. Only the sensible guidance of her loving parents, true
friendship and her own moral compass will help her work out how to fix the
terrible problem of having too much money!
About the Author
Tiffiny Hall has a Bachelor of Arts/Media and Communications and Diploma of
Modern Languages (French) from the University of Melbourne, Certificate III & IV in
Fitness and a Diploma of Sport (coaching) with a specialisation in martial arts. Also a
5th Dan black belt, Tiffiny worked as a journalist before pursuing her love of fiction.
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Tiffiny’s Roxy Ran series for children with HarperCollins includes three novels, White
Ninja, Red Samurai and Black Warrior. Her new novel is Maxi and the Magical Money
Tree. Tiffiny Hall is a trainer on Network Ten's The Biggest Loser Families. Tiffiny
continues to be a positive media role-model for health and fitness.
www.tiffinyhall.com.au
Study Notes on Themes and Curriculum Areas
Themes and key discussion points
a) You can’t buy happiness: money and excessive wealth
When Maxi and her family move to Hatbridge they haven’t got any money in the
bank. Maxi thinks money worries are threatening to steal her ‘mother’s magic’
and certainly the girls want for a few things… but the family is happy. When Maxi
finds the Money Tree she is ecstatic! Why wouldn’t you be? But as Maxi gets used
to spending the never-ending pool of money she is starting to feel anxious and
ultimately unhappy. The money is starting to corrupt her and Fleur and having
everything they want isn’t strengthening any of their relationships:
‘I think that Fleur and I have never said a mean word to each other before. No
one has ever called me greedy. Fleur has never been selfish.’ (Maxi, p126)
Both of Maxi’s parents believe in hard, honest work – and they value it above
anything else. When Maxi’s mum tells her that ‘money doesn’t grow on trees,’ (p
183) she means that money is valuable and that a lot of people work for their
money.
Discussion Points: Do you agree with Maxi’s mum that ‘you appreciate money
when you earn it’? (p 50) Do you think you would appreciate material goods, as
much if you could buy as many things as you wanted, whenever you wanted? What
is the value in saving up for something?
b) You are rich: family and friendship
Maxi’s dad (with the help of Socrates the philosopher) helps Maxi learn a very
valuable lesson: that being rich doesn’t have to mean having a lot of money or
material possessions. He teaches her that ‘with love no-one is poor,’ (p 261).
Maxi’s dad feels rich every day because he loves his family. Maxi realises that she
feels richer when her precious lizard eggs hatch and in the kind company of her
sister Fleur, than when she purchases new and expensive clothes or treats.
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Discussion Points: How do you feel about the last line of the novel? Do you
agree? Can you identify some times that you have felt rich? What is the advantage
of thinking this way?
c) Red lies make your face burn: telling the truth
Maxi never sets out to lie to her family but unfortunately owning the Money Tree
means that she has to. At first she is not really lying, she is just not telling the
whole story... But in time her little lies need to get bigger just so she can cover
her tracks and before she knows it she is lying all the time.
Discussion Points: Most of us have told lies before. There are the small ‘white’
lies and then there are the lies that Maxi’s mum calls ‘red’ lies – the ones that
hurt other people. Can you remember the last time you lied? How did it make you
feel on the inside? Did you get away with the lie or did someone guess it? Did you
regret telling the lie or did you forget about it? What do people mean by the
expression that a lie is ‘eating away’ at them?
d) Lots of likes: social media and self-confidence.
At Hatbridge all the kids uses Instagram and Facebook. Maxi’s mum warns her
that in an image saturated world it ‘could be easy to succumb to the sum of one’s
selfies,’ (p 33) but Maxi uses her Internet profile for good when she posts a video
of her lizard eggs hatching online, exclaiming ‘This is me. Take it or leave it
world,’ (p 184).
Discussion Points: Maxi isn’t always confident, she can be shy and she thinks she
is a bit chubby. What is the significance of her posting the lizard video? Can social
media platforms like Instagram and Facebook be used to strengthen friendships?
How can these sites be used for positive interactions? How can you protect yourself
from negative interactions online?
Curriculum areas and key learning outcomes
a)

Literacy and Language
Tiffiny Hall does a wonderful job of creating colourful three-dimensional
characters. By the end of the book we have learnt a lot about Maxi, Fleur and
their parents.
Activity: As your class reads through the novel, create character profiles on
the Edwards Family. Each character should have their own page in your
English book and you should record information about:
1. Their age (if known.)
2. Their appearance (i.e. Fleur’s eyes are the colour of wet moss)
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3. Their personality traits and quirks (i.e. Mum has lots of charisma.)
4. Their job/school (i.e. Dad is a Doctor of Philosophy and teaches the school)
5. Their fears/concerns (i.e. Worrying about money threatens to steal Mum’s
magic.)
6. The important things they say to other characters (i.e. Mum thinks people
have ‘too much money and not enough cents.’)
7. Their ideas and beliefs (i.e. Dad thinks ‘no-one’ has it better than his
family.)
This information can come from the character’s own actions or words or it
can be something that Maxi points out. As you build up your character
profiles take notice of how much detail has gone into the creation of each
character.

Tiffiny Hall uses figurative language to create vivid characters and settings
that appeal to the reader’s senses.
Activity: As a class, consider the examples below and the ways in which the
author has created some strong imagery. The sentences should be read aloud
(expressively) by different students so the class can try to articulate what they
like about each sentence. What words stand out? Why?
‘His cheeks full of chips.’ (p1)
‘Fleur and I skate our eyes around our new home.’ (p2)
‘Eyes flashing.’ (p3)
‘She lands in a tangle of giggles’ (p15)
‘The world turns shiny in the rain.’ (p53)
‘The night spreads its heavy wings across the walls’ (p16)
‘Fleur smiles in the inky darkness.’ (p 14)
‘Despite her voice being so quiet, it can drip with sarcasm and sting.’ (p 35)
‘The cabinet, carpet and ceiling are milkshake pink. So pink you have to drink it
down or drown in it.’ (p 112)
‘A shower of light warms my cheeks, the soft glowing gleam you see radiating off
Christmas trees and candles.’ (p 61)

Tiffiny Hall uses lots of interesting words as an alternative to ‘said’. E.g. Fleur
‘retorts ’ (p 1). She also uses lots of interesting verbs to describe the way her
characters move. This makes the writing more interesting to read and also
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gives the reader a greater sense of the drama. For example:
‘I glide past the laminex bench.’ (p 21)
‘I creep into the kitchen’ (p 58)
‘On the balls of my feet I tread into the living room.’ (p 59)
‘I float towards the wardrobe’ (p 61)
Activity: Conduct a word search for words that Tiffiny Hall uses as an alternative
to ‘said’ and ‘walked’. Record these and then share with the class. Create a word
bank for the class wall to use in your own creative writing.

Tiffiny Hall uses some fun similes in her writing. A simile is a figure of
speech that compares one thing with another, usually beginning with like or
as. Similes allow writers to really play with vocabulary and create strong
images for the reader. Examples include:
‘We all chorus “noooo” again, like a pack of howling wolves.’ (p 10)
‘I remember seeing the hatch that leads down to the basement. It was embedded
in the ground like a forgotten coin.’ (p. 21)
‘Behind us, bruised clouds follow us like kites on a string.’ (p 76)
Activity: As the class reads through the book, look out for all the similes and
record them in your English book. Practice creating some of your own similes to
describe objects in your own school. Share them with the class.

The novel is written in first person narrative. This is a literary device that
allows us to see the world though the eyes of Hatbridge student Maxi
Edwards.
Activity: Re-read Chapter 21 when Maxi discovers Stacey in the basement.
Now consider the scene in the basement from Stacey’s point of view. How do you
think she was feeling as she heard footsteps coming towards the Money Tree?
Now write (retell) the same events from a different point of view. Remember to
use the personal pronoun ‘I’ and focus on Stacey’s perception of things. It may
help to imagine that Stacey is writing a diary of the events.

Maxi’s dad sees the value in her having command of a strong vocabulary.
‘He makes me write the word in six different sentences in my notebook to
commit it to memory.’ (Maxi, p 7)
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Activity: Here are some words from Maxi’s notebook. You will need to locate
these words in the dictionary and record them alongside their meanings in your
notebook. Now try and use each word in six different sentences (some of them
are really tricky!) and share your favourite sentence with the class.
Cathartic
Pulchritudinous
Serendipitous
Apt
Solipsism
Existentialism
Epistemology

Tiffiny Hall includes pieces of dialogue in her novel. This helps her to reveal
character traits and advance the plot.
Activity: In pairs, select a piece of dialogue from the novel and use this as the
basis for a short dramatic performance. Write some of your own conversational
dialogue to extend the scene. Perform your scene for the class.

Tiffiny Hall has written a novel. Being able to think and write creatively is
important if you want to create fun fiction books for readers.
Ten-minute creative writing activities: Try some of these quick ten-minute
creative writing activities each morning to warm up the creative side of your
brain.
1. When Maxi and her dad make gingerbread biscuits for the teaching staff
they write cute sayings on them that include: ‘time for recess’ ‘stay calm
and mark those essays’ and ‘I have an A plus attitude’ (p 11). If you were
going to bake cookies for the teachers at your school, what could they say?
2. When Maxi plays the game ‘That’s sadder than…’ (p 13) she suggests a
few things to be sad about, such as ‘a lost puppy’. Write a list of your own
silly ‘sad’ ideas starting the sentence each time with ‘That’s sadder than…’.
3. When Maxi finds the basement at her new house she is surprised by all
the things she finds. What kind of wondrous things would you find in your
imaginary basement? Would there be some ordinary things too? Write a
list.
4. When Maxi tries to go to sleep she usually counts her blinks. What
creative ways can you think of making your characters go to sleep? Write
a list.
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5. When the lizards have been born Maxi names all the babies
(Bumbershoot is her favourite one). What interesting names can you
think of for your lizards? Write a list. Explain why have you chosen them.
6. ‘ The Beetroot Ponycats’ are Maxi’s favourite indie band. What would the
songs on their hit album be? Write a list.
7. On page 119 Tyler and Maxi suggest some interesting ideas about how
and why the Money Tree was created. What are your ideas? Write a short
story of how the Money Tree came into being.
8. On page106 Tyler squashes Simon the cockroach when Simon runs across
the floor. Write a short diary entry (from the afterlife) by Simon the
cockroach, about his last day on earth. Make sure you use the first person
pronoun ‘I’ and include lots of creative detail for the reader.
9. When Maxi challenges Santa to a tongue-twister she asks him to say
‘Santa’s short suit shrank’ three times. Make up some of your own tongue
twisters for the characters Maxi (starting with an M), Fleur (starting with
an F), Tyler (starting with a T) and Stacey (starting with an S).
10. The name Stacey Shovelton is a great one because it is an alliteration of
the letter ‘S’ and it also tells us something about her nasty personality.
Dream up some silly names that use alliteration and tell us something
about the character’s personality. E.g. Gavin Grouchy and Paula Petty.
Key learning outcomes:

Know how to select and use the personal pronoun when writing in first
person.

Identify how the author selects figurative language to create vivid characters
and settings.

Appreciate vocabulary.

Value creative thinking. Understand that authors use different types of
stimulus to help them create stories.
b) SOSE
Socrates Teachings
‘Think of what Socrates the philosopher has taught you…’ (p 157). Maxi’s dad has
some very wise words for her when she has lost her way. Re-read the interaction
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between Maxi and her father on pages 156 – 158 before researching and writing
a report on the life and teachings of the philosopher Socrates. The below
websites provide some useful resources for students with lots of interesting
facts:
http://www.historyforkids.net/socrates.html
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/philosophy/socrates.htm
http://www.philosophyslam.org/socrates.html
http://greece.mrdonn.org/socrates.html
http://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_greek_philosophers.php
http://www.historyforkids.net/greek-philosophy.html
Magical Money
‘Holding the note up to my nose the hologram flashes… ’ (p. 17). When Maxi
finds her first twenty dollar note clinging to a twig, creeping through her
floorboards she examines it carefully, remarking on the hologram embedded in
its paper. But Australian money didn’t always have holograms, and once upon a
time our notes were made of paper. Work with a partner to answer the
following questions about Australian money and its history. You can research
this information online or in books in your school library.
1. What year did the Australian dollar replace pounds, shillings and pence?
(1966)
2. What year were the first Australian paper banknotes introduced? (1966)
3. What year were the first Australian polymer (plastic) banknotes
introduced? (1988)
4. Where is the Royal Australian Mint? (Canberra, ACT)
5. What happens at the Royal Australian Mint? (The mint manufactures and
stores circulating coins for Australia)
4. What animal is on the 10 cent coin? What special skill does this animal
possess? (A male lyrebird; the bird is a clever mimic)
5. The Australian Dollar (currency code AUD) is the official currency of the
Commonwealth of Australia. From 1966 to 1976 another (independent)
country in the Pacific also used the Australian Dollar. Who are they?
Locate them on a map? (Tuvalu; Indicate on a world map)
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6. On page 66 Maxi takes her money to the bank to ask if it is a ‘counterfeit
note’. What does this mean and can you really find counterfeit money?
(Fake money not produced by the Mint; yes)
7. What are some advantages to plastic polymer (plastic) banknotes?
(Durability; more difficult to produce counterfeit copies)
8. In simple terms, what does financial ‘inflation’ mean and can you give an
example of inflation in Australia? (The general price for goods and
services is rising; a litre of milk cost an average of 60 cents in 1975 and
now costs an average of $1.45 per litre)
9. In the future (as inflation continues) we might need a $500 note! Choose
an Australian person and an Australian animal to be on your $500 note.
Justify your choices. What is special about this person and this animal?
Lizard Lover
Maxi loves her lizards and they make her very happy! Caring for the lizards also
takes a lot of work. Sibyl and Socrates are a type of lizard commonly known as
‘bearded dragons’. Locate images of bearded dragons in an encyclopaedia and
draw some reference images of them. Try to draw their defining features and
colours as realistically as possible. Label your animal’s body parts in detail and
list some interesting facts about these animals alongside your drawing.
Local Charities
Maxi wants to do some good with her money so she begins to ‘prune’ the tree
and dump bags of money in a local charity bin. Charity organisations are an
important part of a generous society and giving to a charity can help someone in
need. Charities don’t always collect money; sometimes a charity will collect old
clothes in good condition or even cans of pet food for dogs and cats that aren’t
lucky enough to live with a family. Investigate your local shops and talk to your
parents/friends about charities in your local area or charities that operate at a
national or international level. Choose one charity to research and share the
information you have learned with the class. As a class, decide on one charity
that you would like to collect some items for, and create a charity bin in your
classroom. You can encourage other classes to bring in items to donate as well.
Organise to send these items off at the end of term.
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Key learning outcomes:

Engage with the cultural, social and historical material presented in the
novel.

Evaluate the relevancy of information.

Organise information and present clearly.
c)
Visual Arts
Activity: Maxi’s mum tells her that ‘money doesn’t grow on trees,’ but we know
that it does – at least in this story, anyway! Page 63 includes a beautifully
detailed description of Maxi’s money tree. Re-read this description aloud before
building a class money-tree. To build the tree:
1. Draw a template of the trunk and branches on a large roll of paper (this
can reach half way up the classroom wall).
2. Collect real bark from the playground or students can bring this in from
home.
3. Affix bark to the trunk and branches of the tree (PVA craft glue will be
best for this activity).
4. A group of students can source Australian banknote templates for the
money ‘leaves’. These can be printed as paper templates, cut out and
lightly coloured using pencil (i.e. orange pencil for twenty dollar notes,
purple pencil for five dollar notes, etc.).
5. Students will then consider the things in their life that make them rich (in
the meaningful way!). These things can be written on individual money
leaves and attached to the tree branches. Students may wish to interview
their families for homework about what makes them feel rich and include
money leaves for their family members as well.
6. Decorate the branches with gold and silver chocolate coins (or make
these in class as well).
7. Discuss ways that the class can represent the warm light that radiates
from the trees. A collage of foil may work well – or old Easter egg
wrappers!
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8. Display Tiffiny Hall’s description of the tree from page 63 alongside the
class tree.
Activity: Maxi’s mysterious new house at Number Nine Graham Grove is a ‘blue
weatherboard house that seemed to slope drunkenly to one side.’ The house
creaks and moans and certainly has a lot of character. It’s no ordinary house.
What does Number Nine Graham Grove look like in your mind? Create a threedimensional model of the house using mixed-materials and found objects. Find
materials with interesting textures and shapes – egg cartons, aluminium foil,
buttons, strainers, cotton, material– and collect in the classroom. Give yourself a
one-hour time limit to construct the model. Challenge yourself to add as much
detail to the model as possible without drawing anything on with pen.
Activity: Maxi and Fleur may be sisters but they look quite different. Consider
your ideas of what the two girls look like and then use oil pastels to create two
character portraits displayed side by side. Oil pastels are wonderful for blending
colours so play with creating different tones on the character’s skin and clothes.
You may like to re-read the description of the sisters on page 29.
‘She (Fleur) has a doll face, legs like stilts and mahogany hair that twists and
curls in a Hollywood mane over her freckle-free shoulders. Unlike me, as mousy
as it gets, with freckles that join across my cheeks as if someone went nuts in
mum’s womb flicking dirt.’ (Maxi, p 29)
Choose an important line of dialogue that each of the girls says in the novel, write
it up neatly, and display alongside your portrait.
Activity: Maxine describes how the curtains in her new room at Graham Grove
are always frightening her with ‘shapes that morph in the shadows.’ (p.27)
Experiment with charcoal on thick art paper to create some fluid shadowy
shapes. Charcoal can be held on the side to create soft wide strokes of grey, or
you can press firmly on the point to create sharper, black marks. What images
are your curtains creating?
Activity: Maxine’s magical basement is ‘woven with cobwebs’ (p. 23). Try
creating some miniature cobweb art in class. Students can work with small (A5)
size pieces of black cardboard, drizzling PVA glue (from a fine nozzle) onto their
cardboard. Whilst the glue is wet, sprinkle silver glitter and icing sugar onto the
card, shaking off the excess. These can be displayed dangling from white cotton
in the classroom and will also be a nice reference to the ‘web of lies’ that Maxine
creates in the story!
Key learning outcomes
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
Visually express characters and places described in the novel.

Experiment with mediums and techniques to create artworks.
Bibliography
Author unknown, Tiffiny Hall, retrieved from:
www.tiffinyhall.com.au
Author unknown, Socrates for Kids, retrieved from:
http://www.historyforkids.net/socrates.html
Author unknown, History for Kids: Socrates, retrieved from:
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/philosophy/socrates.htm
Author unknown, Philosophy Slam: Socrates, retrieved from:
http://www.philosophyslam.org/socrates.html
Author unknown, Socrates: The great teacher, retrieved from:
http://greece.mrdonn.org/socrates.html
Author unknown, Ancient Greece Philosophers, retrieved from:
http://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_greek_philosophers.php
Author unknown, Greek Philosophy, retrieved from:
http://www.historyforkids.net/greek-philosophy.html
About the Author of the Teachers’ Notes
Simone Evans attended Newtown High School of the Performing Arts before
completing a Bachelor of Media and Communications at Charles Sturt University
and later, a Graduate Diploma of Learning & Teaching with the University of
Southern Queensland. She has helped produce theatre and festivals in Australia
and England, taught primary school classes in sunny Byron Bay and is now the
Education Coordinator at Belvoir Street Theatre in Sydney.
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reproduced (either in whole or in part) and offered for commercial sale.
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