23rd March Rain and Floods

So much of the east coast of Australia is experiencing heavy rainfall and we have been stuck in classrooms now for over a week. Australian children are not used to being outside in all weather. They do not have good wet weather gear so instead they stay inside and go 'crazy'. In the library I've had a lot of fun supplying students with books about rain and floods. They are preoccupied with it, especially the boys. There is not a flood book left in the library and once I looked I was surprised just how many we did have.

My favourite flood story is The Useless Donkeys by Lydia Pender and Judith Cowell. Of course its out of print, but the artwork showing the continuous rain is so good. It is set on a farm where the family keep two  donkeys, that the children love but dad wants to get rid of. When the floodwaters rise the donkeys end up on an island in the paddock. The oldest two children row to the   island to rescue the donkeys.

Another favourite that is also out of print is Children of the Yangtze River by Sven Otto S. In this story children need to vacate their school because the river is rising. They move animals and families to higher ground and once the river abates they help rebuild a village. 

Here's some other books about floods that are in the library and more easily sourced:

• Flood by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley

• Flood  by Alvaro F. Villa

• Flood  by Gillian McClure

• Flood Warning  by Katharine Kenah and Amy Schimler Safford

• Elmer and the Flood by David McKee

And some that just highlight incessant rain without a flood:

• Rain School by James Rumford

• Home in the Rain  by Bob Graham                                                                

• The Rhythm of the Rain by Grahame Baker-Smith

• Rain by Sam Usher

• Singing in the Rain by Tim Hopgood

• Rain!  by Linda Ashman and Christian Robinson                                                

• Rain Rain Rivers by Uri Shulevitz

• Who Likes Rain? by Wong Herbert Yee

• This Beautiful Day by Richard Jackson and Suzy Lee

• Float by Daniel Miyares

And when a child asks where do the animals go when it rains?                                

• Where Do They Go When it Rains?  by Gerda Muller

• Where Does Kitty Go in the Rain?  by Harriet Ziefert and Brigette Barrager

And you'll need to share some poetry:

• It's Raining, It's Pouring by Peter, Paul and Mary and Christine Davenier

• Talking Like the Rain by X.J.  and Dorothy M. Kennedy and Jane Dyer

• Listen to the Rain by Bill Martin Jnr and John Archambault

15th March Favourite Folktales

As it is Folktale and Fable Week and I wrote about fables yesterday, I thought I'd share a few favourite folktales today. What is a folktale? A definition I have borrowed

Books in the folktale genre contain stories that have been passed down from generation to generation, often by oral telling. The folktale genre includes, but isn’t limited to: myths, tall tales, legends, fables, and fairy tales.

The stories have often been passed down from one generation to the other until no one remembers who first made up the tale. They tend to focus on broad themes and there may be multiple versions of the tale.

There's so many to choose from, and I have not included any fables, fairytales or myths.  The following are culture-based and are ones that I love to share with classes. Quite a lot has been written for teachers about being careful not to read a folktale to students and let them believe that it is indicative of the culture today. For this reason many teachers will not share Tikki Tikki Tembo. I think it is better to share good stories and talk about there place in time and culture.

Here's ten I love!

• Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema and Leo and Diane Dillon (African)

• Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe (African)

• The Seven Chinese Brothers by Margaret Mahy and Jean and Mou-Sien Tseng (Chinese)

•Two of Everything by Lily Toy Hong (Chinese)

• Why Ducks Stand on One Leg by  Sherry Garland and Jean and Mou-Sien Tseng  (Vietnamese)

• The Old Woman and the Red Pumpkin by Betsy Bang and Rachel Merriman or No Dinner! by Jessica Souhami (Indian)

• The Talking Eggs by Roberts D. San Souci and Jerry Pinkney (Creole)

• The Princess Mouse by Aaron Shepherd and Leonid Gore (Finnish)

• Anansi and the Spider by Gerald McDermott (African)

• The Green Frogs by Yumi Heo (Korean)

14th March Folktales and Fables Week

The third week of March is always Folktales and Fables Week, a time to enjoy a new story or an old favourite from the folktale genre, stories which have universal appeal due to their simple storylines, talking animals and magical scenarios. The tales may differ from culture to culture but they have common characters, themes and morals. They are usually short, but do all the things that good stories do so they are ideal ways to teach story grammar, problem/solution, theme, conflict resolution, good versus evil, stereotype, tension and other literary devices such as symbolism, juxtaposition, satire and foreshadowing.

Of course, I have favourites among the plethora that are available. This week at school I have given each class a wrapped surprise parcel to read sometime during the week. I gave each class a fable, and yes they may know the story, but there are so many wonderful versions where the author or illustrator has added so much texture to the story and my aim first and foremost was to ensure that the message was 'reading is fun'. There are 13 classes to provide books for in the Prep School, but I had so many books to choose from that the difficult part was narrowing the books down to that number. I chose picture books which only had one story, no anthologies or themed collections.

Among them were these favourites:

• the three by Jerry Pinkney: The Lion and the Mouse; The Grasshopper and the Ants and The Tortoise and the Hare.  These for the superb illustrations that tell the story often without words.

• two by Brian Wildsmith: The Lion and the Rat and The Hare and the Tortoise. Who can resist Wildsmith art?

• two by Ed and Rebecca Emberley:  The Ant and the Grasshopper and The Crocodile and the Scorpion. As well as the quirky collaged illustrations these have vocabulary that heightens the experience for any reader.

•  Hare and the Tortoise  by Alison Murray. This takes this story to new heights. See the character's names, labelled illustration of each of the two competitors, the maps, instructions...

• The Hare and the Tortoise by Helen Ward. This is a long retelling of this story, but the additions mean there is even more to spot in the illustrations and talk about.

• The Tortoise and the Hare by Angela McAllister. The retelling is delightful but the woodcuts by Jonathan Heale are exquisite.

• Mouse and Lion  by Randy Burkert and Nancy Ekholm Burkert. This mother and son collaboration is outstanding.

• Lion and the Mouse by Jenny Broom. The paper engineering and die-cuts add a new dimension to this version.

• The Lion and the Mouse  by A.J.Wood and Ian Andrew. This is my all time favourite and unfortunately out of print. The illustrations are rendered in lead pencil on white paper. The size of each frame differs depending upon the character's role in the story at that particular time and there is just so much here 'to soak up'.

• The Cardinal and the Crow by Michael Moniz. This thoughtful picture book, inspired by Aesop's fables, reminds us all that 'pride and foolishness often go hand in hand.' 

For a more comprehensive list of fables in the library see
here.