1st March World Seagrass Day

World Seagrass Day occurs on March 1st, becoming Seagrass Awareness Month.  Raising public awareness of the importance of seagrass is crucial to promoting biodiversity and the conversation of seagrass meadows. Unlike seaweeds, seagrass is a grasslike plant that lives in or close to the sea and forms dense meadows. Saving seagrass means saving our seas, as these areas host a myriad of animals species, including supplying 20% of the world's fisheries, sequestrating carbon, supporting communities by providing livelihood, and more. It's estimated that an area large as two football pitches is lost every hour globally.

https://rachelhudsonillustration.com/illustration/wildlifewatchmagazine

https://www.dugongconservation.org/media/2016/06/Seagrass-infographic-edited2.png

Seagrasses are one of the most widespread marine ecosystems on Earth, covering around 300,000 square kilometres of seabed in 159 countries, including Australia.

Here are 10 facts about this essential plant.  

Observing this day is the result of a decision made by the UN General Assembly (UNGA)  on 23 May 2022. I haven't written about it before or thought much about it till yesterday when I saw that it was coming up and I then began to think about books that I could use to promote this day.

The CSIRO are well ahead of me, as in the last few years they have published some wonderful books, including The Great Southern Reef  by Paul Venzo, Prue Francis and Cate James and The Way of the Weedy Seadragon by Anne Morgan and Lois Bury. While not only about seagrass, they do include sea ecosystems that children will want to know about. The authors of The Great Southern Reef, were also involved in putting together a comprehensive guide for primary school teachers, called Over and Under the Waves of the Great Southern Reef:Using children's literature to teach marine science in schools. This resource also focuses on  the following picture books:

1. The Hidden Forest by Jeannie Baker (2005)

2. The Underwater Forest by Rebecca Morris and Matt Howorth (2020)

3. The Way of the Weedy Seadragon by Anne Morgan and Lois Bury (2021)

4. With a Little Kelp from Our Friends by Mathew Bate and Liz Rowland (2021)

5. Sea Country by Aunty Patsy Cameron and by Lisa Kennedy (2021)

6. The Great Southern Reef by Paul Venzo, Prue Francis, and Cate James (2022)

7. Giinagay Gaagal Hello Ocean by Melissa Greenwood (2023)

8. Secrets of the Saltmarsh by Claire Saxby and Alicia Rogerson (2023) 

   
   

   

    
   
   
   
   
   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   Back to seagrass...the dugongs in Australian waters rely very heavily on the seagrass meadows so look for these books as well

   • Dugong Meadow  by Naomi Mairou

   • Dugong Dreams  by Deborah Kelly and Lisa Stewart

   • Stay Close by Kerrie Uren and Leanne Argent

   • Sea-grass Beds  by Kimberley Jane Prior 

   • Seagrass Dreams by Kathleen Hanes and Chloe Bonfield

4th March Pancake Day

I love celebrating Pancake Day at school! The students love telling me about making pancakes, their favourite toppings and size. I have Kindergarten and preschool classes on Tuesdays so I always start with Christina Rossetti's poem Mix a Pancake. I have a very old poster of it, but there are plenty online if you don't know it. We do the actions and pretend to make pancakes and then we sit down for a feast and a chat about the pancakes we made. Good fun. Then I read a book. With the kindergarten classes I usually read my favourite pancake book, Princess Priscilla. I love the main character, the language, the repetition and the circular plot. Wiith the preschool classes I read a different book.

My library has a multitude of pancake books to display and I like to put out some recipe/cooking books with pancakes in the index as well,  as the students like to borrow cook books. Below is a collection of stories to look for:

 

23rd February Play Tennis Day

A few years ago I would not have been able to celebrate this day in our library, because I did not have many books about tennis, but with the advent of Ash Barty there are now a lot more books about tennis and interest in tennis for younger readers.

Going to tennis camp is a popular holiday pursuit among my young students, so they now come and say they are looking for books about tennis. Once I would have given them

• Tennis School  by Naia Bray-Moffatt or Let's Play Tennis  by Kate Simkin

but, now we have

Several short chapter books from series

Biographies about famous players

Enough for a display!

6th March National Dentist's Day

It is National Dentist's Day here in Australia  as well as in the USA on the 6th March.

It is a day to recognise and appreciate the important work dentists do in promoting oral health and hygiene.

Parents often come to the library to get a book about visiting the dentist, either because their child hasn't been before or because they are worried about visiting the dentist.

When this day came up I began to think about a display. What would I include in it? Dentists, teeth, toothbrushes? The catalogue revealed we had enough books to do all three.

Nearly every picture book series has a book about visiting the dentist. See Peppa Pig, Maisy, Curious George, Arthur, Topsy and Tim, Berenstain Bears, Pout-Pout Fish, Max and Zoe, Harry and the Dinosaurs.

Then there are several nonfiction books about dentists which range from the very simple first experiences up to a more detailed description of what a dentist does.

But, the dentist and teeth can also provide us with humour.

 

If you want to do something before the 6th March, it is Tooth Fairy Day next week on the 28th February. I have written about Tooth Fairy Day before and here is a Pinterest page with lots of books to explore.