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This guide is produced in partnership with Blue Peter.

The Breakfast Club Adventures: The Beast Beyond the Fence, written by Marcus Rashford with Alex Falase-Koya and illustrated by Marta Kissi, is the ninth title in the Blue Peter Book Club.

When Marcus kicks his favourite football over the fence, he knows he's never getting it back. But when he's invited to join the Breakfast Club Investigators, he's soon part of an exciting adventure with Stacey, Lise and Asim to find out what's on the other side of the fence – and get his football back!

You can get a sneak peek of the book over on Blue Peter.

Did you enjoy reading The Breakfast Club Adventures? With its fast pace and mystery you will have been entertained and on the edge of your seat throughout.

But… did you notice the message that the story was also trying to share with you?

Authors, like Marcus Rashford and Alex Falase-Koya, often try to weave a message into a story. A message is the big idea that the story centres around.

At first, it's easy to think that The Breakfast Club Adventures is all about Marcus getting his ball and his 'touch' back.

In reality, the whole story is based upon one simple message: the importance of family, friends and teamwork. We know this because Marcus constantly relies on the excellent relationships he has with others in order to overcome the challenges he faces.

In the end, the key message of The Breakfast Club Adventures is made extremely clear when Marcus relies on his friends, his family and teamwork to solve the mysterious case of the chupacabra.

The text in The Breakfast Club Adventures is sometimes presented in a very interesting way.

You will notice that some of the words in the book are larger than others or written in a different font size (what the actual letters look like). But why?

Using a different font size and style has been used in order to emphasise important words.

When a word is emphasised it stands out, so that you really pay attention to it! This makes the writing more interesting and exciting to read.

In The Breakfast Club Adventures, the font styles used try to emphasise the action that is happening and help create an image in your mind, for example:

Description is important in any story, especially stories like The Breakfast Club Adventures.

But sometimes, a long detailed description can be a bit boring for you to read. That's why writers often use a technique called 'show not tell'.

Show not tell encourages you to think and engage with the story as you read. This might be when you are trying to visualise a character, a setting or some action that is taking place.

The important thing to remember when using show not tell is that the writer does not directly tell the reader what they are describing.

Take a look at these examples from the story.

"He looked up at Amira with an eyebrow raised." (page 2)

Rather than just saying that 'Marcus wasn't too sure about what Amira was saying,' it is more interesting to describe him raising an eyebrow as a signal of his uncertainty.

"Lise wrapped her arms around her body." (page 153)

The authors could have just said that Lise didn't like what she saw; however, a clearer image of how she feels is created by describing what she does with her arms instead.

"The hair on Marcus' arms stood on edge."(page 80)

It would be quite boring to just write "Marcus was nervous." Instead, describing what happened to the hair on Marcus' arms creates a much more interesting image of how he feels.

The Breakfast Club Adventures contains lots of fantastic writing techniques. Apart from show not tell - did you spot any others?

Short, snappy sentences are another writing technique used well throughout the story.

But what are short, snappy sentences?

Take a look at the examples below.

"Then he remembered. Today, they were going over the fence. He and the Breakfast Club Investigators." (page 55)

"The thing took a step forward. Marcus's jaw hung open. He couldn't close it." (page 81)

"They were not alone." (page 229)

As you can see, short snappy sentences are small, quick sentences that are often easy to read. Sometimes, you might get two or three of them in a row!

But why do authors use them?

Using short, snappy sentences is a writing technique that has a powerful impact. They give the reader a sense or feeling that:

• something mysterious is happening
• tension is building (a feeling of nerves, worry or fear)
• something needs or is going to happen quickly (urgency)

As you know from reading The Breakfast Club Adventures, there are lots of mysterious events and moments with lots of tension. Therefore, short snappy sentences have been purposefully used by the authors to build tension and a sense of mystery throughout the story.

Now that you understand the writing technique 'show not tell' it's your turn to give it a try!

Imagine that you are describing the moment Marcus is dragged through the woods by the chupacabra. He would be feeling terrified, anxious and maybe a bit sore!

Your challenge is to think about what different parts of his body might be doing to show these feelings. Try to describe these features:

• Marcus' face
• Marcus' body
• Marcus' voice

Struggling to think of an idea? Here's some help!
Marcus' voice sounded like a plate of jelly. His bottom lip trembled and his body was frozen still.

Short, snappy sentences are a great writing technique for building tension and urgency.

In this quiz, can you identify which sentence (or sentences) are short and snappy?