How to Move a Zoo by Kate Simpson and Owen Swan is another book that I am super happy to see on the shortlist. This book has been a very big hit at school, possibly because school and the students' homes are very close to Taronga Zoo where Jessie, the elephant is moved to across Sydney Harbour. Year 2 thoroughly enjoyed the story and then set about plotting the route on a map from Moore Park, through the city, the Botanical Gardens and down to the harbour to be ferried to the new locationt. We worked out which structures existed then, but not now, and now, but not then. The students then wanted to find out more about the Harbour Bridge's and the Opera House's construction. We researched more on iPads to see if the plot details in the story coincided with what the Internet had to say. We found more photos. The learning was memorable, pertinent and led by the students. Perfect from my point of view. I also love it when a book initiates so much interest. This happened the year Phasmid by Rohan Cleave was on the shortlist too. The students became fascinated with stick insects and we ended up having some in the library. This book was once again popular when the two Asian elephants at Taronga Zoo moved to South Australia onto a safari park this year and students who go to the zoo often had very mixed feelings about it. They did want to know though how they travelled there.
While planning mini displays to go with books on the shortlists, I had so many ideas for this one. I let books be the focus of my displays because they will then be borrowed and take the students on an adventure and I have had to do very little work.
1. elephants, especially elephants who are part of true animal stories.
2. books about zoos, in particular Taronga Zoo.
3. books set in specific locations in Sydney.
4. any other books by Kate Simpson and Owen Swan.
Display 1 True animal stories about elephants (not all of these are suitable for early childhood students, but the book How to Move a Zoo is not only for early childhood students either.) Each of these books will take your students on an adventure to places they don't know, create empathy for the situation the elephant finds itself in and curiosity to learn more about elephants or the place. Perhaps students need a bit of background on elephants such as their excellent memory or their adorable sense of humour? Did you know that they actually walk on their tippy toes? Provide books such as Extraordinary Elephants or Elephants a book for Children.
There was a time when for tuppence you could ride on the back of an elephant at a zoo. Queenie was one such elephant. Until her death in 1945, she patiently carried up to 500 people a day. This story is set at Melbourne Zoo.
As bombs begin to fall and huge blasts echo around the zoo, a baby elephant and her keeper sneak to the safety and comfort of the keeper's home. Here, they weather out the worst of the war together in secret. But what will happen when their secret is found out? Based on the incredible true story of Denise Weston Austin at Belfast Zoo.
A zookeeper recounts the story of John, Tonky, and Wanly, three performing elephants at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, whose turn it is to die, and of their keepers, who weep and pray that World War II will end so their beloved elephants might be saved.
It’s unbelievable but true! Born on the same day in the same small, German circus town, young Bram and his elephant, Modoc, had a lifelong friendship that spanned over eight decades. But it was never easy. From the breakup of the circus to the shipwreck in the Indian Ocean that nearly cost them their lives, the bond between the boy and the elephant survived the most unimaginable trials. This true story of their adventures together, and eventual rise to circus stardom in the Ringling Brothers Circus.
After fourteen years of construction, the Brooklyn Bridge was completed, much to the delight of the sister cities it connected: Brooklyn and New York City. Fireworks and top hats filled the air in celebration when the magnificent bridge opened in 1883. But some wondered just how much weight the new bridge could hold. Was it truly safe? One man seized the opportunity to show people in Brooklyn, New York and the world that the Brooklyn Bridge was in fact strong enough to hold even the heaviest of passengers.
• The Day of the Elephant by Barbara Ker Wilson
Set in Thailand and based on reports of incidents that occurred during the tsunami, this story centres around the elephant Mae Jabu, who visits a small town. After becoming restless Mae Jabu gently lifts a group of small children on her back and takes them to safety.
• One Step at a Time by Jane Jolly and Sally Heinrich
Tells a touching story about the relationship between a young boy, Luk, and his elephant, Mali. On the border of Thailand and Burma, Mali steps on a landmine. Luk supports her during her recovery. Mali is eventually fitted with a prosthesis and gets a second chance at life.
When Chhouk, an Asian elephant calf, was found, he was alone, underweight, and had a severe foot injury. Conservationist Nick Marx of Wildlife Alliance rescued the baby elephant.
After retiring from the circus, Tarra became the first resident of the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. When other elephants moved in and developed close friendships, only Tarra remained alone-until the day she met a stray mixed-breed dog named Bella. From then on, the two were
When teenaged Aaron discovers a baby elephant nearly drowning in the swimming pool at the guest lodge where he works, he acts quickly and manages to save the animal just in time. The rescued baby is brought to an elephant orphanage for care, and given the name Zambezi. Though Aaron has been raised to think of elephants as dangerous to humans and their crops, on a visit to the orphanage, he learns that illegal poaching of these animals is threatening them with extinction, and the orphanage is trying to prevent that from happening. And when Aaron is offered a job at the orphanage, his life is suddenly transformed, as he discovers a bond of friendship with Zambezi and his lifelong vocation as an elephant keeper.
Who would have thought that the emperor Charlemagne would make friends with an albino elephant, a gift from the caliph of Baghdad? Told from the fictionalized point of view of a monk who set down the actual story in 883–884 CE, the book follows the elephant’s journey through Egypt, across the Mediterranean to Italy and across the Alps to Germany. When the elephant finally reaches his destination, Charlemagne is so delighted with his exotic new pet that he introduces him to his many children and bathes with him in the hot springs near his palace.
And if you are looking for a short chapter book
Display 2 Books set at Taronga Zoo
This is easy. Put Taronga Zoo in your catalogue or favourite book site and see what comes up.
Display 3. Picture books set in Sydney (coming tomorrow)
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