Mrs. Pratchett

If you have ever read Boy by Roald Dahl, I'm sure you will remember Mrs. Pratchett the sweet-shop owner.  I love the visual Dahl creates of her.  I think it is a great piece of writing because he doesn't really describe her physical features in detail - just uses one or two details and that is enough - and describes her more by her actions.  Yet the reader can create a picture of this nasty woman quite clearly.
I read this extract to my class and asked them to describe someone in a similar way.  Choosing details that build a picture without necessarily disclosing many physical attributes.
One or two described teachers or classmates, a couple wrote about their dogs and one did a clever piece on facebook.  These were the ones people were willing to share!