15th October Barry Moser (1940) Emma Chichester Clark (1955)

Barry Moser is a much revered American artist who also illustrates children's books . I first met him through his books about his dog Rosie and granddaughter Isabelle. These three books ( My Dog Rosie; My Cats Nick and Nora and Our New Puppy) have simple text, but radiate with love for both the small girl, the dogs and cats. His more recent books, especially the three he has done for Margie Palatini's texts continue this perfection when drawing animals. I have written about Lousy Rotten Stinkin' Grapes (see 23rd June), we used The Three Silly Billies (a spoof which begins with the billy goats gruff but includes other fairytale characters) for a teacher's readers theatre performance during Book Week and Year 1 have fun with Earthquack! during their unit of inquiry that looks at under the ground.

Emma Chichester Clark is a British illustrator who also has a large list of publications, including anthologies, classics, fairytales and books for other authors, but she seems to have many titles for very young children which she has authored herself. She is responsible for three popular series, one about a small girl, Lily and her beloved Blue Kangaroo, another about Melrose, a dog and his friend Croc, a crocodile, and now a new one about Humber and Plum who are bear siblings. Her books are quickly recognizable, with bright colours and her trademark pink and blue.

23rd June

I haven't got a birthday listed for today so instead I need to tell you about a book that I shared with my Year 1 classes today. What a huge success it was! The book was Lousy Rotten Stinkin' Grapes by Margie Palatini and Barry Moser. I don't have either of their birthdays so I can't feature it at another time. As well as its predictable plot this wonderful story which supports the sour grape fable is humorous, has very rich language and vocabulary, has characters with distinct voices and personalities, expressive dialogue, onomatopoeia, repetition and illustrations that show the characters personalities and mannerisms so acutely. Yes, a perfect book. The children laughed as I hammed up the fox's dialogue, joined in with the 'voila' with exaggerated hand gestures, giggled as the beaver said 'indeedy', commented upon the number of different words used for 'friend', asked about 'tantalizing' and 'scooch' and just loved the facial expressions on the porcupine and bear in particular. This book would make a wonderful reader's theatre script. I have a Folkmanis fox puppet and the children had fun giving fox monologues about his plan and how it was going to work. This is a 'must buy' book if you haven't got it.

Now on a much more serious note, the refugee story that I want to highlight today is The Colour of Home by Mary Hoffman and Karin Littlewood. This is the story of Hassan, a small boy from Somalia who starts a new school in a new language in England. The school environment is so different from his outdoor classes in hot, sunny Somalia. Hassan does a painting that leads his teacher to worry about Hassan and thus find a way to learn more about Hassan's experiences in Somalia and his trip to England. This story has a positive message about resettlement and being cared for in a new home.