13th June Pigeon Appreciation Day

Really, it is very hard to appreciate pigeons! But, they are extremely popular at school, both in the playground and in the library. There are two pigeons which seem to be almost permanent fixtures in the playground and the children have named them Dave and Gary. As the school teacher librarian this really makes me smile, because this means that something has got through in library.  Gary by Leila Rudge was read to every child in the school when it was on the shortlist for Book Week. In this story Gary is the pigeon who is the odd one out in his roost because he cannot fly. He is a failed homing pigeon. Dave comes from a very popular series of chapter books with the title Dave the Pigeon... by Swapna Haddow. In fact, they are not the only popular pigeons in the library. Of course Mo Willems' Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus  series is popular. As is Andrew McDonald and Ben Wood's series Real Pigeons  and there's some stand alone titles that 'walk out the door'.

• How to Be Famous by Michel Shalev
• Pigeon P. I. by Meg McLaren
• Pigeon Pie Oh My! by Debbie Singleton
• Keith Among the Pigeons by Katie Brosnan

This article on the history of the pigeon gives great insight into why they have been around so long  why they have been used during wars and why we should look past the vermin or pest labels.
Their contribution to history as homing birds and messenger bearers has been well-documented in children's books.
See:
• Pigeon Hero  by Shirley Raye Redmond
• Flapper VC  by Mark Wilson
• Fly Cher Ami, Fly! by Robert Burleigh
• Lofty's Mission by Krista Bell and David Miller

There are other titles listed on this Pinterest page...more than enough titles for a great display!

1st June World Milk Day

World Milk Day is an international day established by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations to recognise the importance of milk as a global food. 

During COVID19 at school we are making students take books from a display, so as to avoid too much touching or rummaging on shelves, so we are making sure there is plenty on display.  There would be five or six topics displayed at a time so when the students come tomorrow they will be greeted with a book display for World Milk Day. We were surprised just how much we had, about five books with 'milk' in the title, but when we extended it to cheese and cows there was an abundance.

Here's some milk titles:
• Don't Spill the Milk  by Stephen Davies
• Milk and Cookies by Frank Asch
• Oliver's Milkshake by Vivian French
• Tea With Milk  by Allen Say
• Milk Goes to School  by Terry Border

and a chapter book

• Fortunately the Milk by Neil Gaiman


and some nonfiction books worth looking for
• Journey of a Glass of Milk by John Malam
• From Milk to Ice-Cream  by Bridget Heos
• Eat Smart Dairy by Vic Parker
• Dairy  by Honor Head
• From Farm to Table: Dairy by Woody Brambles 


Lots of fun 'cheese' picture books:
• The Great Cheese Robbery by Tim Warnes
•  The World-Famous Cheese Shop Break-In by Sean Taylor and Hannah Shaw
• I Don't Like Cheese  by Hannah Chandler
• Dinosaurs Love Cheese  by Jackie French
• Mack and the Missing Cheese  by Chae Strathie
• Cheese Belongs to You by Alexis Deacon



My favourite cow stories:
• Belinda by Pamela Allen
• Kiss the Cow by Phyllis Root
• Myron's Magic Cow  by Marlene Newman
• Cow by  Malachy Doyle
• Prudence the Part -Time Cow by Jody Jensen Shaffer
• The Cow Who Fell in the Canal by Phyllis Krasilovsky 


And if Tony  a poem by Ed Galing and Erin Stead is in your library borrow it too. In this story the narrator reminisces about how, when he was a boy , he would go out early each morning and greet Tony, the horse that pulled the milk cart. While on the topic of milk deliveries, I was always fascinated by the 'milk float' that delivers milk in London in the Shirley Hughes' Alfie stories.

Mental Health Awareness Week (18th - 24th May)

It is Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK. (Watch the video embedded in the link) Don't know about here, but given COVID 19 it is relevant everywhere. I was pleased to read the theme this year is kindness, even more fitting, and something that is easy to 'zoom in' on at school.

The teachers at my school spend a lot of time with their classes 'filling buckets' and kindness is often a Circle Time topic. As school resumes for all students next week perhaps it is time for a welcome back display in the library that includes 'kindness' books. Books I'd include in my display are those here and here.

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16th May International Day of Living Together in Peace

Unesco instigated this Day which aims to uphold the desire to live and act together, united in differences and diversity, in order to build a sustainable world of peace, solidarity and harmony. The Day invites countries to further promote reconciliation to help to ensure peace and sustainable development. 

Living together in peace is all about accepting differences and having the ability to listen to, recognise, respect and appreciate others, as well as living in a peaceful and united way and how pertinent is this for this time during COVID 19 when we begin to be given less imposed constrictions but continue to be asked to practise self distancing, continue to wash hands and be mindful about hygiene and to be careful when in public spaces. Can we all do that? We will have to wait and see.

As school goes back here, being considerate of others, patient with others, tolerant of others and most importantly accepting of others self-imposed limits is going to matter more. Maybe it is time to look at picture books that look at these values and what constitutes living peacefully together.

The Peace Book  by Todd Parr is a good place to start because it is simple and for a very young audience. It  delivers a timely and timeless message about the importance of friendship, caring, and acceptance. 

Peace is an Offering by Annette Le Box  is a warm comforting poem where a group of neighbourhood children find love in everyday things--in sunlight shining through the leaves and cookies shared with friends--and learn that peace is all around, if you just look for it.


A Little Peace by Barbara Kerley is a  book that juxtaposes photographs from around the world with simple, reflective messages about our responsibilities for finding and keeping peace on the planet. 

And at school on Monday perhaps reading these two books will remind students to be accepting of difference, to stand up for each other and yet encourage peaceful problem solving.

One by Kathryn Otoshi. You may recognize Red, the bully of this story, who picks on Blue for looking different; you may recognize the other colours, who stay quiet as red becomes more and more antagonistic. I hope you also recognize One, who finally stands up for Blue, and Blue itself who shows Red kindness and acceptance despite their past actions.

Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall. Here Red is expected to draw fire trucks and strawberries, but he is a blue crayon in a red wrapper,  and everything he draws comes out blue. At first Red is misunderstood, but he is soon accepted and respected for who he really is. This simple story is so heartwarming; it teaches us not to judge by first impressions and expectations, but to accept and respect however a person wants to define themself.

13th May World Migratory Bird Day

This year the theme for World Migratory Bird Day is “Birds Connect Our World” and it was chosen to highlight the importance of conserving and restoring the ecological connectivity and integrity of ecosystems that support the natural movements of migratory birds and that are essential for their survival and well-being. What a great theme!

I have written about this day before, but wanted to write about it again because lately I have been reminded of so many beautiful books that do this topic so well.

Mike Unwin and Jenni Desmond's wonderful book Migration gives many examples of birds that do these great migrations, but is the individual picture story books that heighten our awe and empathy for both the birds and the sheer vastness of the journeys.

Jeannie Baker's Circle  tells the migration story for the Bar-tailed Godwit which makes the longest unbroken migration of any bird, a total of 11000 kilometres, all the way from Alaska to New Zealand. The illustrations allow the reader to follow the journey very closely and to marvel at the ingenuity and tenacity of such a small bird. New Zealand authors have also written about this bird and a new book  Little Godwit Finds His Wings was published this year.

Two books that look at migrating cranes are Grandfather's Dream by Holly Keller and Lotus and Feather by Ji-Li Jiang. Holly Keller's book, set in Vietnam tells the story of Nam and her grandfather who is constantly harking back to the days when the cranes came to the delta as part of their migratory journey.  Jiang's story, set in China tells of a crane that fails to finish a migration because of a hunter's bullet. The discussions elicited by classroom readings of these two books. Lotus and Feather could be read along side Rechenka's Eggs by Patricia Polacca as there are similarities in that Rechenka is an injured goose who also needs to be nursed back to health.

Another two books for comparison are about hummingbirds. Look for Tiny Bird by Robert Burleigh and Wendell Minor and Hummingbird by Nicola Davies and Jane Ray. Both of these chart the long journey from Mexico to Canada that this tiny bird that is smaller than you thumb makes each Spring.    

In Is this Panama? by Jan Thornhill and  Soyeon Kim,  a young Wilson's warbler wakes up one day knowing this is the day to start a long journey from the Arctic Circle to Panama and because this bird is named, Sammy you cannot help but get involved in his plight. He is no longer, just any bird!

I noticed there is a new book coming called The Sea Swallow and the Humpback Whale by Catherine Barr and Gerry Turley which tracks two migratory journeys across sea and sky. I look forward to seeing this.

While each of these books tells an amazing story of persistence, resilience and sheer determination it is the illustrations in each that make them very special. The illustrations do much more than give a map or track a journey. They personalise, imbue wonder and allow the reader to marvel.

1st May National Banana Day

Yesterday at school we made a wonderful display of books that feature bananas on their covers. We did this because we seem to have some new 'banana' books. The children are beginning to come back to school so it felt good to put together a display.

Then this morning my husband made banana bread and I thought about bananas again. When I looked online to see when it was Banana Day I saw that here in Australia it is National Banana Day today and that the farmers have issued a baking challenge to see who makes the best banana bread.

So I have made a Pinterest page with books that feature bananas. It includes these four new books:

• The Day the Banana Went Bad by Michelle Robinson and Tom Knight

• One Banana, Two Bananas by Charlotte and Adam Guillain and Sam Lloyd

• Iguanas Love Bananas by Jennie and Chris Cladingbee and Jeff Crowther

• Would You Like a Banana by Yasmin Ismail