18th October World Okapi Day

World Okapi Day is observed on October 18th. What's an okapi like? Imagine a zebra mixed up with a giraffe, and you've got it. Only found in Congo's rainforests, the okapi is a solitary,  herbivorous animal whose existence is threatened by illegal gold mining, poaching and the burning forests plants for agriculture purposes. This day aims to raise awareness of the need to protect forest ecosystems, as loss of habitat is directly linked with wildlife extinction. 

Many children won't know what an okapi is, but once they do they will be fascinated. See this short video. 

In 2020 when the Book Week theme was Curious Creatures Wild Minds I had lots of fun with my students identifying many of the less common animals, such as pangolins, aye-ayes, axolotls, tapirs etc and was surprised to find so many books sources which featured theses animals. See my entries from 2020 which feature curious creatures and this book:

• Weird and Wonderful Animals  by Rosella Trionfetti and Cristina Banfi

Once you have introduced okapis to your students, they will begin to find them in the index of many animal books and be bringing you the books to show you.

Two stories that specifically feature okapis are:

• Okapi Loves His Zebra Pants by Terri Tatchell and Ivan Sulima

• Okapi Tale  by Jacob Kramer and K-Fai Steele

17th October Pasta Day

 
Let's celebrate pasta, a food that children love and a popular topic for picture books!

 

16th October National Fossil Day

It is National Fossil Day in the USA, not here in Australia. Our National Fossil Day is on 26th June, but whenever it is, fossils fascinate children . This day encourages people of all ages to discover the ancient history preserved in fossils, appreciate the work of palaeontologists, and learn about Earth’s prehistoric past.

Recently, a Year 1 boy told me he had read all the fossil books and mammoth books in the library and he didn't want to borrow anything else. I have tried rocks, dinosaurs, bones, all to no avail, but I do have him reading about Mary Anning, a fossil hunter and other palaeontologists.

We had four picture book biographies about Mary Anning

    

But then when I saw the shortlist for the Klaus Flugge Prize, I saw The Fossil Hunter by Kate Winter and bought it. I was even more pleased when it won. It is a beautiful book. 

• Barnum's Bones by Tracey Fern. P.T. Barnum, was a palaeontologist for the American Museum of Natural History. He discovered the first documented skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, as well as most of the other dinosaurs on display there today.

• Fossil Huntress: Mary Leakey, Paleontologist by Andi Diehn. 

Mary Leakey, was a palaeontologist who lived and worked for much of her life in Africa, making discoveries that changed the face of palaeontology forever. 

• When Sue Found Sue by Toni Buzzeo. Sue Hendrickson was meant to find things: lost coins, perfume bottles, even hidden treasure. Her endless curiosity eventually led to her career in diving and palaeontology, where she would continue to find things big and small. In 1990, at a dig in South Dakota, Sue made her biggest discovery to date: Sue the T. Rex, the largest and most complete T. Rex skeleton ever unearthed. Named in Sue’s honour, Sue the T. Rex would be placed on permanent exhibition at the Field Museum of Natural History in ChicagoI haven't seen these two books, but you may have them in your library.

I haven't seen these two, but they may be in your library.

• The Bone Wars: the True Story of the Epic Battle to Find Dinosaur Fossils by  Jane Kurtz. 
A scientific battle between two palaeontologists O. C. Marsh and Edward Cope who had met in 1863 and bonded over their shared love of fossils, becoming the best of friends…until the day Marsh discovered an error in Cope’s work, and the Bone Wars began.

 

• A Dinosaur Named Ruth: How Ruth Mason Discovered Fossils in Her Own Backyard  by Julia Lyon

16th October International Bread Day

It is a day to celebrate everything to do with bread and bakers. I have written about this day before, but it was a long time ago in 2012. This is a day dedicated to a very traditional food all over the world, in order to raise awareness of its nutritional value and its great importance in our diet.

Like most things, it is easy to celebrate this day with reference to picture books. Here's some good ones to start with:

   
• Hooray for Bread  by Allan Ahlberg

• The Only Way to Make Bread  by Cristina Quintero

• Toasty  by Sarah Huang

• Tony's Bread  by Tommy dePaola

• Nanette's Baguette  by Mo Willems

• Monsieur Saguette and his Baguette by Frank Asch

• Mr Balinsky's Bagels  by Ellen Schwartz

 

• Fry Bread by Kevin Noble Maillard

• Mr McGee and the Big Bag of Bread by Pamela Allen

• Round is a Tortilla  by Roseanne Greenfield Thong

• Chapati Moon  by Pippa Goodhart

• Walter the Baker  by Eric Carle

15th October Mushroom Day

October 15th marks International Mushroom Day. Originating in Australia, Mushroom Day is particularly meant for mushroom farmers, restaurants, cafes and health professionals to enjoy and celebrate everything related to growing and eating mushrooms.

I have already written about mushrooms this year on April 14th The Day of the Mushroom, and there isn't much more to say other than to remind you that there are plenty of picture book sources in the library and lots of ideas for what to do with them here.