5th August Sunflower Day

Sunflowers are said to be a symbol of adoration, loyalty, and longevity. Their bright yellow colour is a sign of happiness, friendship, and intelligence. Much like the sun, sunflowers mirror vibrancy and give off the energy of life. Some websites say it is National Sunflower Day in the USA on the first Saturday in August. Others say it is the 21st August. Here in Australia it is  Sunflower Day on the 28th September. Whenever it is celebrated this day reminds us to show our inner sunshine, while taking the opportunity to share one of the earth’s most beautiful flowers.

It is fitting to celebrate Sunflower Day in our library now as the library is decorated for Book Week where the theme is Read Grow Inspire. Sunflowers are so easy to grow and so inspiring because of their size, the way they turn their heads to the sun, and their cheery disposition. So let's read about them. There are so many picture books about growing them.

• To Be Like the Sun  by Susan Marie Swanson and Margaret Chodos- Irvine

Hello, little seed,
striped gray seed.
Do you really know everything
about sunflowers?

My hoe breaks apart
the clods of brown earth,
but you do the real work
down in the dark.

Not radish work or pumpkin,
not thistle work –
sunflower work.
All the instructions are written in your heart.

So opens this beautifully lyrical book which follows a young girl over the course of a growing season as she plants, tends, enjoys and then warmly remembers the sunflower she grows in her garden. It is my pick! Then any of these stories:

• Measuring Angels  by Lesley Ely and Polly Dunbar

• Sunflower House  by Eve Bunting and Katherine Hewitt

• Sunflower  by Miela Ford and Sally Nicoll

• Secret in the Mist  by Margaret Nash and Stephen Lambert

• Bodge Plants a Seed  by Simon Smith

• Gift of the Sun  by Dianne Stewart and Jude Daly

• Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers by Uma Mishra-Newbery, Lina Al-Hathloul and Rebecca Green

• The Sunflower Sword  by Mark Sperring and Miriam Latimer

• I'm a Warrior Goddess by Jennifer Adams and Carme Lemniscates

• Lottie and Dottie Sow Sunflower  by Claire Burgess

Minimal text perfect for preschoolers:

• Sam Plants a Sunflower by Kate Petty and Axel Scheffler

• What's That?  by Caroline Mockford

• Tilda's Seeds  by Melanie Eclare

Some nonfiction:

• A Seed Grows  by Antoinette Portis

• Seed to Sunflower  by Camilla de la Bedoyere 

• From Seed to Sunflower  by Sally Morgan

• Sunflowers Don't Grow in Winter  by Emily Holdaway and Craig Phillips

• Seed to Plant by Kristin Baird Rattini

• Ready, Steady, Grow! by DK

And if you want to explore Van Gogh's sunflowers try:

• Katie and the Sunflowers by James Mayhew

• Camille and the Sunflowers  by Laurence Anholt

• Vincent van Gogh Sunflowers and Swirly Stars by Joan Holub

30th July National Tree Day

 

I know I'm a day a late but I have been away, busy helping a friend in her garden which will be part of an open gardens weekend very soon. Yes, we did plant some trees! Yes, I did get my hands dirty. I also went to a Camellia Show and saw some amazing blooms.

I am mad about trees, have always been and I even plan holidays during Autumn to places where there is changing foliage whenever I can. There are so many magnificent picture books about trees and their role in the natural environment that it is hard to any out. My Pinterest is a good place to start.

Three books you could look at though are:

• Trillions of Trees  by Kurt Cyrus because it is about planting large numbers of trees.

• Some Questions about Trees  by Toni Yuly because the text of this book asks lots of questions about how trees feel.

• All About Trees by Polly Cheeseman because this book explains why trees are so important to people ... they provide the food we eat, the air we breathe and shelter.

28th July World Nature Conservation Day

World Nature Conservation Day acknowledges that a healthy environment is the foundation for a stable and healthy society and therefore we are tasked with the need to leave a healthy planet for those coming after us to enjoy.

Mahatma Gandhi famously said, “The world has enough for everyone’s needs, but not everyone’s greed.” We should take an inspiration from this saying and start using natural resources judiciously without being greedy and selfish. What else could we do?

1. Plant trees where they are needed

2. Reduce Reuse Recycle

3. Grow our own food

4. Volunteer in the community for projects that advocate for the environment

5. Educate ourselves about what is happening and what we can do

Whatever you decide to do on this day, your celebrations need to emphasise keeping the various components of nature such as flora, fauna, energy resources, soil, water, and air intact and preserving the environment for future generations. In addition, World Nature Conservation Day underlines the need for preserving the environment for future generations. 

All of these things are being practised by the school community I work in. The library displays often focus on something to do with the environment. Because of the Book Week theme this year Read Grow Inspire, the library is saturated at the moment with books about growing, in particular...trees, seeds, flowers, gardens, fruit, vegetables, the list goes on.

This new title, The Story of Conservation which is part six of a series The Story of ... by Catherine Barr and Steve Williams is an ideal place to start. It will educate teachers and their students.

The authors explain that Earth’s natural resources include air, minerals, plants, soil, water, and wildlife. Conservation is the care and protection of these resources so that they can persist for future generations. 

As well as discovering the effects conservation could have across the world, this book also helps us discover practical ways we can work together to help protect our resources for our future generations.

A book, that I hadn't seen till very recently is E is For Environment  by Lucy Curran and Francesca Rosa. It appears deceptively simple, but it does give you all the terminology.

A is for Atmosphere, B is for Biodiversity, C is for Conservation, and so on in this delightful concept book that teaches young readers the ABCs of the natural world around us and how to protect it.

And lastly, Caring Conservationists Who are Changing Our Planet by Kate Peridot and Sarah Long. This book is about 20 conservationists from around the world and the endangered animals and ecosystems they work so hard to protect. These incredible people who through their amazing conservation efforts have changed the world for the better, show children that no one is too small to make a difference.

28th July Talk in the Elevator Day

Talk In An Elevator Day tells us to break that awkward silence that exists when you are in a lift with other people. You never know you may make a new friend or two in the lift. Who knows what can come of just speaking up and introducing yourself?

Not something you would usually do? Me neither, but a few years ago, in 2020 one of the books on the Early Childhood shortlist for Book Week was We're Stuck! by Sue deGennaro and it was about exactly that. A group of characters who all live in the same apartment block are trapped in the lift, what Australians call an elevator, and because they are there for quite some time they do finally speak to each other. It is Turtle's birthday and the other occupants in the lift contribute to the makeshift celebrations for his special day.

When I read the book initially, I thought it was quite lightweight, but the more I read it with classes and saw how the students reacted, the more I warmed to this book. The students wanted to share their own experiences in lifts and apartment blocks. They wanted to talk about what they had learned about each of the characters and they wanted to use clues in the book to match each character to where they lived in Building 24. This book is the perfect book to share on this day whether you call it a lift as this book does or an elevator which it will use if the book is available in the USA.

There's not a lot of children's books that feature elevators, but these will be easy to locate in a library.

• Eloise by Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight tells the story of a small girl who lives at the Plaza Hotel in New York. She goes up and down all day in the elevator and there is a full page diagram of her travels in the book.

• LIFT  by Minh Le and Dan Santat Meet Iris, the big sister in a family, with a very important job — to push the elevator buttons every time her family rides the elevator. Until, that is, the day that her little brother usurps her place in the family, not only stealing her beloved tiger toy, but also… pushing the elevator buttons! Iris’s way of expressing her jealousy and frustration (pushing every single elevator button the next time they ride…) doesn’t go over very well with her family.

• Elevator Magic  by Stuart Murphy and Brian Karas This is a book about the maths concept subtraction. As the elevator goes down, the subtraction starts, and so does the magic. Ben sees crazy things every time the door opens. Ride along as he subtracts his way down to the lobby, and decide for yourself if it’s elevator magic. 

• Going Up!  by Sherry J. Lee and Charlene Chua It is Olive's birthday party, and Sophie and her dad have baked cookies. Sophie's dad holds the platter so Sophie can push the elevator button for the tenth floor. But on the way up, the elevator stops to let others get on. As the elevator ascends, it keeps stopping, and more neighbours squeeze in to the crowded space.

• Elevator Bird  by Sarah Williamson It takes a strong team to keep the Hotel running smoothly, and Elevator Bird is at the centre of it all.  He helps guests get to their rooms and gives great advice about all the best sights in town. He helps the staff get where they need to go, and always has an encouraging word. Elevator Bird makes everyone's day brighter. 

• Charlie and the Great  Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl

10th July Capybara Appreciation Day

I can't believe I missed posting this, but given I'd done it I will post it now.

Capybaras are the largest rodents, living exclusively in South America, near water. They are semiaquatic like beavers, but twice as big. They even have partially webbed toes. They are herbivores with large front teeth that are continuously growing.

You can even see capybaras at Taronga Zoo which I think is exciting given South America is far away.

The reason for including this blog entry is because believe it or not there are picture books that feature capybaras!

Start with some nonfiction so you learn all about these unfamiliar animals.

Then have fun with these stories:

• Untitled by Timothy Young. This book will really make you smile. A coatimundi, another South American animal and a capybara are stuck in a book with no plot, wishing they had a title, a better author, and a better illustrator, and hoping something exciting will happen.

• The Capybaras by Alfredo Soderguit . To the hens, capybaras are too hairy, too wet, and too big. They don’t even follow the rules! But it’s hunting season, and the capybaras need refuge. A tale of friendship, acceptance, teamwork and compassion.

• Capybara is Friends with Everyone by Maddie Frost

My name is Capybara and I think it’s important to be a great friend. Take it from me, I have 4,382 friends!

Capybara will do anything for his friends. But it’s exhausting—and when Capybara meets a potential new friend who doesn’t seem to be responding to his advances, Capybara learns a valuable lesson. Just perfect for social and emotional learning.

• I Am a Capybara  by Michela Fabbri

A capybara is not a mouse or a beaver or a bear and has all sorts of surprising traits to discover. this capybara speaks candidly about his experiences and feelings, and he likes to find common ground with others, like his best friend, a little bird. He may appear to be a tough guy, but he still likes cuddles and affection. This tale reveals the wonders to be discovered by trying new things, learning about someone you don't know, and embracing community and family.

25th July Threading the Needle Day

Threading the Needle Day is celebrated on July 25, 2023. It's a day for sewing and those who sew, but it also has a second meaning. The phrase "threading the needle" generally (metaphorical) means to find a path through two opposing views. Therefore, you can train your skill on Threading the Needle Day to find harmony or strike a balance between conflicting forces, interests, etc. 

With the young children I teach it is easier to talk about needles as something we use to do sewing. Generally children are not great at threading needles, but once the needle is threaded they are keen to now up, down and through the fabric with it. I've even got children attaching buttons to their works of art.

I would put these books from the library out on display for this topic.

Adeline's beloved Bunnybear goes with her everywhere, but one night he is damaged by the dog. Nanna sews Bunnybear back together, but this new Bunnybear is stiff and strange and Adeline puts him on a shelf and leaves him there. Then Nanna goes away, and Adeline realises it is not just stitches and stuffing that holds Bunnybear together … it is love. 

Chloe is very good at sewing and crafts and when her best friend's birthday approaches, she not only creates a fabulous gift, she also saves the day for a classmate who had been unkind to her.

Open up a fresh and stylish story about growing up and keeping hold of your favorite memories. Assisted by her patient and crafty mama, as the year passes, the narrator’s favourite dress goes through a series of creative changes, from dress to shirt to tank top to scarf and so on, until all that’s left of it is a good memory. 

A story about sewing and sharing, recycling and remembering, this book follows a special party dress a grandmother makes for her granddaughter. When her granddaughter grows taller, new fabric is added. The next year, the dress is ingeniously turned into a sleeveless jumper. 

 

Maxine loves making new things from old things. She loves tinkering until she has solved a problem. Finally, after trying, trying, and trying again, she discovers just the right combination of recycled odds and ends to create a fun, functional–and absolutely fabulous–solution to her predicament.

How many presents can be made from a big roll of cloth that is red and soft and Christmassy? The king buys a ‘huge roll of beautiful bright red cloth’ perfect for a cloak for his daughter, the princess. The leftovers get put outside on the doorstep, only to be found by another character who declares it ‘just right’ and subsequently takes it home to ‘snip’ and ‘sew’. Once again the leftovers are put on the doorstep. The cloth turns out to be just right for Jenny the kitchen maid, Bertie Badger, Samuel Squirrel and finally Milly the mouse.

The kids and grown-ups at a community centre begin with lots of colourful fabrics and an idea. Then step by step they make that idea a reality. They design, cut, stitch, layer, and quilt. It's the work of many hands, many hours, and many stories. And the result is something warm and wonderful they all can share.

Lady Hahn is a seamstress, and her seven friends are the tools she uses to sew―Mrs. Ruler, Newlywed Scissors, Young Bride Needle, Young Bride Red Thread, Old Lady Thimble, Young Lady Flatiron, and Little Miss Iron. When Lady Hahn's friends start boasting about how important they are, Lady Hahn turns her back on them. But it's not long before she realizes how much she needs her friends as every one of them contributes in an important, special way.

"Goodness!" the little seamstress said. "I've killed seven flies with one blow." And to mark the event, she took out her favorite coat and stitched on the back: 
SEVEN WITH ONE BLOW! 

Far to the north by the great Arctic Sea, where the winter sun barely rises above the horizon, lives Teune, the finest robe maker. One night while Blizzard rages outside, the sparks from Teune's fire accidentally set fire to Blizzard's magnificent robe and consume it. She goes to great lengths to make amends.

Picture book biographies:

All of these are still in print.

• Sewing Stories: Harriet Powers' Journey from Slave to Artist by Barbara Herbert and Vanessa Brantley-Newton

• Dressing Up the Stars:The Story of Movie Costume Designer Edith Head by Jeanne Walker harvey and Diana Toledano

• The Spacesuit: How a Seamstress Helped Put Man on the Moon  by Alison Donald and Ariel Landy

• Sew Sister: The Untold Story of Jean Wright and Nasa's Seamstresses by Elise Matich

• Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909  by Michelle Markel and Melissa Sweet

• Stitch by Stitch: Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly Sews Her Way to Freedom by Connie Schofield-Morrison and Elizabeth Zunon

• Rose's Dress of Dreams  by Katherine Woodfine

• Coco and the Little Black Dress  by Annmarie Haeringen      

 

22nd July Rachel Morrisoe

At the beginning of the year I bought a picture book called The Drama Llama by Rachel Morrisoe and Ella Okstad for the library.  I bought it because it is about llamas which are popular in our library and because it was one of the books shortlisted for the Early Childhood section of the  Spark! School Book Awards, 2023 prize. These awards are voted for by young children, so I know that the books on this shortlist will appeal to my young students. When I read the blurb and saw that it was about a child who worried I knew it would also be read by teachers. Win win!

In fact the book won its category. I knew of Ella Okstad, but I had not heard of Rachel Morrisoe, so I went looking for more books by her. She is an English children's author. She is fairly new at this writing gig so she only has four books so far. I bought How to Grow a Unicorn and How to Grow a Dragon because they were cheap paperbacks, illustrated by Steven Lenton of Shifty McGifty fame, and I thought they fitted the Book Week theme well, Read, Grow, Inspire. They certainly do that.

In these rhyming stories we meet Sarah and Mr Pottifer's Parlour of Plants, a magical shop with the most surprising plants you'll ever see! Sarah goes to the shop to buy the perfect gift for her grandmother who loves gardens. When she gets to the shop, everything grows wildly out -of-hand and the plants grow magical creatures. This hilarious book will inspire young readers to live their own unicorn fantasy.

Sarah ends up working for Mr Pottifer and then in the second book, an unexpected delivery of dragodil seeds provides the perfect chance for Sarah and Mr Pottifer to grow helpful dragon pets for their customers - or does it? It turns out that these fiery dragons are not very well-behaved at all... and everything soon spirals into smoke-filled, out-of-control DRAGON CHAOS!

I'm not sure if there's more to come, but there is certainly room to be inspired by other magical creatures that Sarah and Mr Pottifer could organise. What would you buy at Mr Pottifer's Parlour of Plants? Why is it called a parlour and not a shop?

The fourth Rachel Morrisoe book, The Truth About Yeticorns  which is also illustrated by Ella Okstad has just been released and this time the focus is on telling fibs.

Meet Sarah

22nd July Ratcatchers' Day

Ratcatchers Day is celebrated on the 26th June or the 22nd of July, more commonly on the 22nd July. 

Ratcatchers Day commemorates the Pied Piper of Hamelin, the most infamous of rat catchers. Today is the anniversary of the legendary event of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. I find this illustration by Emma Chichester Clark from Michael Morpurgo's retelling of the tale quite scary. She certainly has rats in plague proportions.

Should The Pied Piper of Hamelin be a children's story, given what happens to the children? Read this summary of the story.

One of the most well-known German folklore is the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Hamelin, Germany was infested by rats. So, the mayor promised to handsomely pay the Pied Piper if he rid the town of rats. The Pied Piper played his flute. Lured by the magical music, all of the rats left town and followed him. He played his music all the way down to the Weser River. He waded into the river. When the rats followed him they drowned.

The mayor refused to pay him. So, one night when the townspeople were asleep, the Pied Piper played his music again. This time, the children of the town followed him into a cave. Some versions of the legend vary here. One version says the Pied Piper kept them there until he was paid by the town for his services. In most versions, the children were never to be seen again.

In addition to the Pied Piper of Hamelin, this day recognises the hard work of all Ratcatchers. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it. So, if you see a hardworking Pest Control Professional, let them know you appreciate the work that they do.

The poet, Robert Browning told this story in a long poem, not necessarily intended for children, but this story has been included in fairy tale anthologies and made into picture books so it is now considered a children's story. In the current time of childhood I don't think parents would think the historic version appropriate, but many of the more recent publications have sanitised it somewhat and usually the children survive.

The version I enjoy sharing the most is The Pied Piper  by Ayesha L. Rubio. On the cover you will read 'adapted by' because in this modern version of the tale Rubio has an imaginative twist at the end. It's lighter tone has the mayor still refusing to pay and the piper taking the children away, but when the children disappear, the mayor is run out of town by their parents and the piper brings the children and the rats back. 

When this book was published, I remember reviewers saying that they found the ending less than satisfactory, but as my students are all under 8 years old and this is a much more reconciliatory ending I think this works well with young children.

Rubio's illustrations are a delight and each rat is imbued with mischief, right up to the last page.

The Child's Play version The Pied Piper of Hamelin  by Natalia Vasquez is also suitable for younger readers. Jane Ray's The Pied Piper of Hamelin is wordless so it allows for readers to tell their own story.

If you want to read a more traditional version with more text look for:

• The Pied Piper of Hamelin  by Michael Morpurgo and Emma Chichester Clark

• The Pied Piper of Hamelin  by Maren Briswalter

22nd July Mango Day

This day was first celebrated in the late 1990s to honour one of the world's most beloved fruits. Mangoes are tropical fruits, sweet and flavoursome, full of fibre and vitamins. They're also incredibly versatile - you can add them to salads, smoothies or even make your own homemade mango ice cream! They are readily available in Summer so that is why it is being celebrated in the Northern Hemisphere now.

People either seem to love mangos or hate them. My mother loved them so for Christmas each of her four children bought her a mango. They were quite expensive when I was a child. A good friend hates them and can't even stand to be where she can smell them let alone eat them.

I eat them, but I do find them messy and needing extra care. Best way to celebrate? Eat one. not easy here as it's winter. You can get frozen mango. Second best read a book about mangos. There's not a lot to choose from. Here's two to look for:

Just published, Farah Loves Mangos tells the story of Farah who loves mangos. She could eat them all day long. Every summer she visits her grandfather and helps him pick the fruit from his tree. This year the tree is empty and Farah learns that there is more to a mango tree than the fruit it bares.

A Mango in the Hand: A Story Told in Proverbs tells a tale about Francisco who is finally old enough to go to the mango grove by himself to get the mangos for a special dinner. He is scared off by bees and goes home empty handed. Each time his father shares a different proverb to encourage him to keep trying such as 'where there's a will there's a way'. Finally he successfully picks the mangoes, but on his way home he visits his uncle, grandmother, aunt and shares his mangos so by the time he gets home he hasn't any!

And I haven't seen this but it looks interesting and this review says it is a beginning novel for the age group I teach.