SDG 1 No Poverty

 

Goal 1 - End poverty in all its forms everywhere.

It is not my aim to scare my students or give them reason to be overly anxious. I will not be showing them endless filmclips, quoting large numbers or showing an abundance of graphs. I just want them to be aware that not all children enjoy a life such as theirs and that can be done by reading a picture book with a trusted adult who is there to answer questions and to clarify thinking. In this way they can empathise and consider ramifications. It could be as simple as them realising that there are people in the world who do not have enough money for food, housing or even beds and that this could be closer to where they live than they think.

Obviously, some goals were easier to find picture books for than others, so the list is not always long and of course some books will create more discussion than others, but all of the listed books will do that to some degree. The list of picture books in my school library to choose from is here. The Junior School Library at my school has a larger number of nonfiction titles, but I usually prefer to read stories.

I think Kate Milner's It's a No-Money Day is a book every school library should have and a good place to start because it is not heavy-handed and the child in the story remains positive.

Here's the blurb:

Mum works really hard, but today there is no money left and no food in the cupboards. Forced to visit the local foodbank, Mum feels ashamed that they have to rely on the kindness of others, but her young daughter can still see all the good in her day like reading and drawing, and even the foodbank. Maybe one day things will be different but for now together they brighten up even the darkest of days. A moving insight into the sad rise and necessity of foodbanks from the perspective of society's most vulnerable, and an essential book to help develop empathy in younger readers. 

After reading the book, I do not want the students to feel that they have a chore to do. This should be an enjoyable reading experience first and foremost. In my booklet, there are just three things to do:

* Before reading: Ask what is poverty? What does it look like? Feel like?

* Write the title of the book you read.

* Complete this sentence: This story made me feel ....

The adult or the child can do the recording. If a teacher is reading the picture book to the whole class, they may choose to have a class recording using something like sticky notes or padlet or fill in the booklet for the class.

31st December United nations Sustainable Development Goals

As this year draws to an end and our lives are still dominated by the Covid pandemic, it is easy to think about how restricted our lives have become, but while I have had time at home I have researched the Sustainable Development Goals as a way of putting together a book club/wide reading list for my young students to explore during 2022 and I have realised that my life is just fine. Acting on these goals is even more important than ever if the world is is to recover from the pandemic.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are a call for action by all countries – poor, rich and middle-income – to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognise that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection. More importantly than ever, the goals provide a critical framework for COVID-19 recovery.

What are the goals?

What do I plan to do?

I plan to do what many other schools and teachers have already done and use picture books and reading as a means to create discussion of the goals. As my students are young, under eight years old, I plan to do this with the aid of adults, either the students' teacher or a parent. The parents can borrow from our school library and many of the teachers already ensure that sustainability is a perspective when planning units of inquiry. I have combed through the catalogue looking for suitable books for each of the goals and I will affix a sticker to the book with the icon of the apt goal. I have put together a booklet that will serve as a reading record and then it is 'Let's read and discuss 17 books'.  It could be a book a week, a book a fortnight or as the UN SDG Book Club suggests one a month.

The SDG Book Club aims to use books as a tool to encourage children ages 6-12 to interact with the principles of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through a curated reading list of books from around the world.

I will share my booklists with you over the next 17 days, so that you too can use these books to start something similar with your students.

3rd December International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD)

International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD) is held on 3rd December each year.  The UN give it a theme, which this year  is ‘Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 world’.

School with students has finished for me this year, but this is a day well worth sharing with classes and picture books. Many disabilities have a day of their own, but here is a smattering of books worthy of a display in your school library. I have listed books that are in my library, but you will find others, I'm sure.

Books with a focus on children who have mobility difficulties or wheelchairs.

• What Happened to You?  by James Catchpole & Karen George

• Hello Goodbye Dog by Maria Gianferrari & Patrice Barton

• Susan Laughs by Jeanne Willis & Tony Ross

• I Will Dance by Nancy Bo Flood & Julianna Swaney         

• Woodpecker Girl  by I-Tsun Chiang & Chingyen Liu  

• King For a Day  by Rukhsana Khan & Christiane Kroemer 

• Seal Surfer  by Michael Foreman 

• Arabella  by Wendy Orr & Kim Gamble (OOP but probably in the school library)

• All the Way to the Top  by Annette Bay Pimental & Nabi H. Ali (a biographical episode from the life of Jennifer Keelan)

Books with a focus on children who are dealing with sight issues 

• The Patch  by Justina Chen Headley & Mitch Vane

• Lucy's Picture by Nicola Moon & Alex Ayliffe (OOP Lucy's grandfather is blind)

• The Black Book of Colours  by  Menena Cottin & Rosana Faria 

• Six Dots:  A Story of a Young Louis Braille  by Jen Bryant & Boris Kulikov

• Annie and Helen by Deborah Hopkinson & Raul Colon

• Helen's Big World by Doreen Rappaport & Matt Tavares 

• Yuko-Chan and the Daruma Doll  by Sunny Seki

• Looking Out for Sarah  by Glenna Lang

Books with a focus on children dealing with deafness

• Can Bears Ski?  by Raymond Antrobus & Polly Dunbar

• Freddie and the Fairy by Julia Donaldson & Karen George 

• Hands and Hearts  by Donna Jo Napoli & Amy Bates

•  Moses Goes to a Concert  by Isaac Millman

• The Boy in the Jam Jar  by Joyce Dunbar & John Shelley

• Boy by Phil Cummings & Shane deVries

• The Race by Christobel Mattingley (OOP but probably in the school library)

Of course there are other disabilities, but this is a good start and enough for a display!

 

20th November Matisse: Life & Spirit, Masterpieces from the Centre Pompidou

The Art Gallery of NSW is holding an exhibition of art by Henri Matisse from 20th November until March and it will be something truly special! In preparation I have taken all the books about this French artist off the library shelves in order to start next year with a display celebrating his life and work. Many of the teachers at school focus on his work in art lessons during the year, but given that some students will visit the gallery in their school holidays and some others might be inspired to go in Term 1 after reading about him, a display in the library is warranted. We have over thirty books  about his work so it will look good. We can cater for the preschooler, the artist and the readers! Here is some of what will be in the display:

Blue and Other Colours with Henri Matisse

A Magical Day with Matisse by Julie Merberg & Suzanne Bober

   Oooh! Matisse by Jean-Yves Verdu & Mil Niepold    

         
Matisse's Magical Trail by Tim Hopgood & Sam Broughton

How the Snail Found its Colours by Haneul Ddang & Mi-Ran Yang

Henri's Scissors by Jeannette Winter

Matisse King of Colour by Laurence Anholt

Henri Matisse: Cutting with Scissors by Jane O'Connor & Jessie Hartland

Cut-Out Fun with Matisse by Nina Hollein & Max Hollein

Colourful Dreamer: The Story of Artist Henri Matisse by Marjorie Blain Parker & Holly Berry

Matisse's Garden by Samantha Friedman & Cristina Amodeo

The Mermaid and the Parakeet by Veronique Massenot & Vanessa Hie

Two picture books to read:

A Bird or Two by Bijou Le Tord

When Pigasso Met Mootisse by Nina Laden

and the piece de resistance

The Iridescence of Birds by Patricia MacLachlan & Hadley Hooper

For lunchtime cut and paste sessions a la Matisse which I will do with the students who choose to be in the library at lunchtime, inspiration will come from

The Swimmers by Ana Bianchi

30th October World Teachers Day and Halloween

Yesterday it was World Teachers Day in Australia and tomorrow it will be Halloween, two things that involve children, one because there would be far fewer teachers in the world if there weren't children who need teaching and the other because it is something that really revs up the children I teach. They have been full of tales about how they have decorated their homes, what they are wearing and who they are celebrating it with. My children used to love it too, because we had a Canadian neighbour who used to organise the fun for the neighbourhood children in the way she experienced Halloween as a child. Now all of those children are adults, some with children of their own who no doubt will become keen about Halloween in the years to come.

Last night I went to Book Club, which is made up of teacher friends that I have taught with in the past and one of them told us about a young girl in her class who'd given her a card and coffee voucher for WTD and how touched she was because it was from a family who could least afford it. Isn't that always the way? My school shouted us pastries at morning tea which was a first! Given all the remote learning of the last few months they were appreciated. I haven't had lots of time to reflect upon remote learning now that the mayhem of school is on again, but one thing I do know after this week, is that I spent a lot more time planning lessons for remote learning than I have this week for face-to-face. Nevertheless it is great to see the students, interact with them and have them share their thinking with you.

A book I added to the library this week was Ten Delicious Teachers just perfect for WTD and Halloween!

Other great teacher picture books depending upon the age of the children you want to share them with:

                        

The list of Halloween titles is far too great to list here, but I always enjoy reading Miss Smith's wonderful storybooks, by Michael Garland.

11th October Freedom Day

Freedom Day is what everyone in Sydney is calling the 11th October because it means strict lockdown is over and you can now do more. For many people this seems to mean 'shop' with queues outside shops such as Kmart. Shopping is not something I'll be rushing off to do. It does mean most of my students will be back at school from the start of next week so my life will change. 

When I think of 'freedom', I am much more likely to think of walls, barriers and metaphorical means of corralment. That got me thinking about how many picture books feature 'walls' and how I hadn't done a post or a book display at school about walls, and there are certainly many books without even collecting the ones about the Berlin Wall or the Great Wall of China. 

I do not have this one, but would really like to see it based on its blurb

Walls  by Brad Holdgrafer

Walls of all sorts: social walls, border walls, political walls, emotional walls, big walls, old walls, and small walls. Speaking to today's critical political issues, this playful and encouraging story about breaking down barriers helps children learn about inclusivity, equality, openness, and kindness while also reminding grown-ups of the same values. Walls is a timely and timeless story, told with bold and colourful illustrations. 

I like to read Sheep, Goat and the Creaking Gate by Claire Saxby to my preschool classes because it allows for great discussion about the gate and the grass being greener on the other side of the fence and what can be done about it.

Some that I like and that are in the library are:

A great place to start is the timeless fable about unity and breaking down barriers,

• Tillie and the Wall by Leo Lionni and 

• Little Mouse and the Red Wall  by Britta Teckentrup

about facing fears, discovering hope and coping with change.  

Then

• Suri's Wall by Lucy Estela and Matt Ottley

• The Wall in the Middle of the Book by Jon Agee

• Sometimes a Wall by Dianne White and Barroux

• The Chickens Build a Wall by Jean- Francois Dumont  

• What is a Wall After All? by Judy Allen and Alan Baron

• The Wall: A Timeless Tale by Giancarlo Macri

• Through the Wall by Jonathan Standing (graphic novel)

• Beyond the Fence by Maria Gulemetova  

• Go Away War! by Elzbieta 

Next specific walls

• The Soccer Fence by Phil Bildner (what apartheid meant for children in South Africa)

• Hey, Wall by Susan verde and John Parra ( the wall being a place for a community art project)

• Banksy Graffited Walls and Wasn't Sorry  by Fausto Gilberti (an artist who spray paints on walls while noone is watching)

Two books about the Vietnamese Veteran's Wall

• The Wall  by Eve Bunting and Ronald Himler; and 

• Maya Lin: Artist- Architect of Light and Lines  by Jeanne Walker Harvey and Dow Phumiruk

The Great Wall of China

• The Seven Chinese Brothers by Margaret Mary and Jean Tseng

• Ming's Adventure on the Great Wall of China by Li Jian and Yijin Wert

• The Emperor Who Built the Great Wall by Jillian Lin and Shi Meng

The Berlin Wall

• The Wall;Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis

4th October International Zookeeper Day

It is Zookeeper Day. They ask us to please take the opportunity on October 4th to stop and reflect on the huge contribution zookeepers make to the care and conservation of all species great and small. So what more of an excuse do I need than to put together a display of all the books in the library that celebrate zookeepers and what they do.

Let's start with the humorous ones that dwell on too much poo, escaped animals and absent zookeepers.

• Poo in the Zoo by Steve Smallman & Ada Grey, and its sequel

• Poo in the Zoo; the Great Poo Mystery

Here Zookeeper Bob has to deal with just  too much poo!

• What Do They Do With All that Poo from all the Animals at the Zoo by Ann Do & Laura Wood

• Poo at the Zoo by Sarah Eason & Kirsten Collier

• Hungry Roscoe by David J. Plant

Roscoe is a hungry raccoon fed up with eating rotten junk out of the bins. What he wouldn't give for a lovely bit of fish or some fresh, juicy fruit -and where better to find food than at the zoo! An excellent idea, except for the grumpy zookeeper who's intent on keeping Roscoe OUT.

• Something's Amiss at the Zoo  by Jen Breach & Douglas Holgate

Two zookeepers just can't figure out what's wrong at the zoo. The spider monkey won't spin a web, and he seems scared of the other spiders. The tiger shark doesn't seem comfortable in the jungle enclosure, and the elephant beetle is in danger of being crushed by the other elephants. Only one person can help: the kid! He soon sets the zookeepers straight, but one mystery remains: how did these two ever manage to pass zookeeper school?

• A Sick Day for Amos McGee  by Philip Stead & Erin Stead

Every day zookeeper, Amos McGee  spends a little bit of time with each of his friends at the zoo, running races with the tortoise, keeping the shy penguin company, and even reading bedtime stories to the owl. But when Amos is too sick to make it to the zoo, his animal friends decide it's time they returned the favor. 

• Good Night, Gorilla  by Peggy Rathmann

Good night, Gorilla, says the zookeeper. But mischievous Gorilla isn't quite ready to go to sleep. He'd rather follow the zookeeper on his rounds and let all of the other animals out of their cages.

• What's That Noise?  by Mary Roennfeldt and Robert Roennfeldt

A zookeeper hears strange noises at night and searches in vain for the source.

Then there's some more serious reads:

• Juliet Nearly a Vet : Zookeeper for the Day! by Rebecca Johnson

• Yasmin the Zookeeper by Saadia Faruqi         

• Zookeeper by Heather Miller

• I Want to Be a Zookeeper by Dan Liebman

• Zookeeper  by Marne Ventura

I'm sure there's more!

                      

October International School Library Month

International School Library Month (ISLM) is an opportunity for those in charge of school libraries around the world to choose a day, week, or the entire month in October to celebrate the importance of school libraries and to celebrate everything great about them.

Here in Australia, ALIA is proud to celebrate International School Library Day. This day celebrates school libraries and their staff and the work that they undertake to support students. This year we are celebrating on 19 October with the theme 'Growing Global Citizens'.

Given that the students at my school have not had access to their library while we have been in lockdown due to COVID, when they are all back at school on Monday 18th October, many of them will be super keen to borrow books. During Zoom sessions there has been a constant lament...I need something new to read.

Yes, my students did have access to online reading resources, plenty of them, 'but it's not the same' they kept saying. Also every time I thought of something I wanted to use or recommend I couldn't just leap up, find it and give it to them. The libraries at the school I work at are very well-resourced and the students have plenty of choice, but they did take it for granted and so did their parents. Students under 8 years old need books! It is very important when learning to read to be able to touch the words, turn the pages, examine the illustrations closely and just 'soak' in the book.

I have been putting together a poster for the pinboard just inside the door , something to this effect. Once before I collected all the library toys together and sat them on the mat reading, took a photo and told the students that this is what happens in the library when you're not here. For some of my avid Year 1 and Year 2 readers I will put a post-it heart and their name on the book with a suggestion from the book saying that they might like to read it.

Another interesting outcome from Covid is the number of parents who emailed me saying I want  to order some books for my child, what would you recommend? Parents borrow a large number of books from the school library to supplement their child's reading or as bedtime reads for their children, so as soon as the library is staffed again we will be putting together book bags for parents. We do this in two ways. They either email us with requests or we supply a 'lucky dip' bag of ten books where we include a selection of picture books, together with a chapter book, a nonfiction information book, a biography, a graphic novel, a textless book, an indigenous title and a poetry book. In this way they get to sample things that they might not otherwise choose to borrow.

To match the theme of 'Growing Global Citizens' we will make sure that the choice is very international. We have a large collection of books that are translations from other languages. We can provide books by authors and illustrators who do not live in Australia and who do not write about Australia. We could highlight some picture books that show children using libraries that are nothing like theirs. They would need to make a bigger effort to access these:

 My Librarian is a Camel by Margaret Ruirs The Book Boat's In by Cynthia Cotten & Frane Lessac That Book Woman by Heather Henson & David Small Biblioburro  by Jeannette Winter

 Waiting for the Biblioburro by Monica Brown & John Parra Planting Stories  by Anika Aldamuy Denise & Paola Escobar

 Inside Books  by Terri Buzzeo & Jude Daly

The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter

     The Library Bus  by Bahram Rahman & Gabrielle Grimard

And for fun

  

Leilong the Library Bus by Julia Liu & Bei Lynn

Now back to thinking about my school library, what can we do to make it more flexible, innovative and contemporary?