4th December World Pear Day

Happy World Pear Day, everyone! Today marks a very special occasion – the day that we all come together to celebrate pears! This fruit is enjoyed by people all around the world, and there’s no better way to celebrate than by enjoying some delicious pears while reading a story. Are there any stories about pears? You might be surprised to learn that pears do feature in some picture books. See:

• The Pear in the Pear Tree by Pamela Allen

When John and Jane went out walking what did they see? They saw a pear in the pear tree. This humorous rhyming story tells of their attempts to reach the pear. 

• Too Many Pears! by Jackie French & Bruce Whatley

Pamela the cow absolutely loves pears - fresh pears, pear pie, stewed pears, any pears - they are all irresistible to Pamela. Finally it takes a clever little girl to convince Pamela that there is more to life than pears... 

• A Pair of Pears and an Orange by Anna McGregor

An adorable story about making new friends and finding creative solutions to playground problems.
A pair of pears rocked on a seesaw.
A pair of pears played ping-pong.
A pair of pears rode their tandem bike.
Until one day, someone new wanted
to join their fun.

• Orange Pear Apple Bear  by Emily Gravett

By rearranging just four words, Emily Gravett creates a series of playful images which are a sheer joy - and intensely satisfying.

• Little Pear Tree  by Rachel Williams and Jenny Bowers

Watch as a tiny seed grows through the seasons into a fine pear tree in this beautiful book. The charming text makes this the perfect interactive primer to a key scientific topic. 

• Parker and the Pear  by Jim Pluk

Parker gets puzzled after a strangely shaped green thing drops from a tree and plops at his feet. He has never seen a pear before, much less tasted one. What will happen when he tries to return the fruit to its place high in the tree? 

And my favourite

•That Fruit is Mine! by Anuska Allepuz

One day, deep in the jungle, five elephants discover a new tree - a tall tree - and, atop that tree, the most mouth-wateringly delicious fruit any of them had ever seen. "MINE!" each elephant cries. "Mine, mine, mine, mine, MINE!" But who will get there first? And will the elephants spot the five tiny mice, planning and plotting, slowly approaching that tip-top branch?  

Pears were cultivated in China as early as 2000 BC. Pears were also cultivated by the Romans, who ate the fruit raw or cooked. Romans introduced the fruit to Britain. Pears became a much-desired commodity among the the trading routes of the ancient world. In the 18th Century, the pear tree was included in the famous carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas.  Here's some picture books of the carol by well-known illustrators, Jan Brett, Anna Wright, Lara Hawthorne and Jane Ray.

1st December Happy Antarctica Day

Antarctica Day falls on the anniversary of the adoption of the Antarctic Treaty, which took place on 1 December 1959.

Australia was one of 12 original signatories to the Treaty and continues to play a leading and influential role in international Antarctic affairs. The number of parties to the Treaty has grown to 53 today, reflecting the increasing international recognition of the scientific and environmental values of Antarctica.

The Year 2 children I teach are fascinated by Antarctica because I often read Jill Tomlinson's novel 

The Penguin Who Wanted to Find Out

which follows the life of an emperor penguin chick named Otto, and then we do some research on emperor penguins to see if Jill Tomlinson had researched them before including the factual detail in the book. While Year 2 are doing a unit of inquiry on water we also look at Antarctica as being a desert and why that is.

If you are celebrating Antarctica Day in your library there are so many books for a display.

Great picture books:

• Sophie Scott Goes South  by Alison Lester

• One Small Island  by Alison Lester and Coral Tulloch

• Antarctica  by Helen Cowcher

• Antarctica by Moira Court

• Iceberg by Claire Saxby and Jessica Racklyeft

• My Uncle Lives in Antarctica by Aimee Chan and Angela Perrini

• One Day on Our Blue Planet ...in the Antarctic by Ella Bailey

• Dreaming of Antarctica  by Jane Godwin and Terry Denton

• My Antarctic Dad  by Hazel Edwards and Kevin Burgemeestre

• Solo by Paul Geraghty

• The Penguin Who Wanted to Find Out by Jill Tomlinson and Paul Howard

• Antarctic Journal by Meredith Hooper and Lucia deLeiris

Some more factual books and some books with photographs:

• Here in Antarctica  by Madeleine Dunphy and Tom Leonard

• Antarctica: the Heart of the World by Coral Tulloch

• Let's Save Antarctica  by Catherine Barr and Jean Claude

• Antarctica (Usborne Beginners) by Lucy Bowman

• Emperor Penguin (Young Zoologist)  by Dr LaRue

• The Big Book of Antarctica  by Charles Hope

• The Antarctica Book: Living in the Freezer by Dr. Mark Norman

• The Penguin Book: Birds in Suits by Dr Mark Norman

• Antarctica: A Continent of Wonder by Mario Cuesta Hernando and Raquel Martin

21st November World Television Day

In recognition of the increasing impact television has on decision-making by bringing world attention to conflicts and threats to peace and security and its potential role in sharpening the focus on other major issues, including economic and social issues, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21st  November as World Television Day. 

World Television Day is not so much a celebration of the tool, but rather the philosophy which it represents. Television represents a symbol for communication and globalisation in the contemporary world.

Because of the increasing impact television has on the process of decision-making, television was  acknowledged as a major tool in informing, channelling and affecting public opinion. Its impact and presence and its influence on world politics could not be denied.

The theme this year is:  Recognising the impact television has had on decision-making by bringing world attention to conflicts, threats, peace and security.

For those of us who grew up in western countries, the television is almost taken for granted; it has always been there in the corner of the front room, entertaining us or satisfying our need to learn something new. The television, invented by an assortment of individuals in the late 19th and early 20th century, but often attributed to John Logie Baird, has revolutionised the world. Now televisions are computers and we can watch anything at anytime. My parents talked about 'too much television', but parents today are more likely to say 'too much screen time'.

How could we celebrate this day? We could watch television! Start by watching this short film which summarises the evolution of television and demonstrates the rapid development of technology. The webpage outlines the major milestones.

Evolution of Television 1920-2020

Then as this blog is about using books and reading with everything, look for some of these:

• Mr T.V.  by Julie Fulton and Patrick Corrigan

• John Logie Baird  by Nicola Baxter

• The Boy Who Invented TV: The story of Philo Farnsworth by Kathleen Krull and Greg Couch

• Who Invented Television? Philo Farnsworth  by Mary Kay Carson

• The Invention of the Television  by Lucy Beevor

• What Did We Do? Before Television  by Lisa J. Amstutz

Then of course you need some stories:

• Mouse TV by Matt Novak

• The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV by Stan and Jan Berenstain

• SOS Television  by Germano Zullo and Albertine

• Square Eyes by Craig Smith and Scott Tulloch

• When the TV Broke  by Harriet Ziefert and Mavis Smith

• Arthur's TV Trouble by Marc Brown

• Mama Rex and T Turn Off the TV by Rachel Vail and Steve Bjorkman

21st November World Hello Day

World Hello Day is observed annually on November 21, to express that conflicts should be resolved through communication rather than the use of force. Participants verbally greet ten people or more on that day as an expression of the importance of personal communication in preserving peace. The annual global event began to be celebrated in 1973 as a response to the Yom Kippur War.  

On this day, people are encouraged to participate by simply greeting 10 people. Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize are among the people who have noted World Hello Day’s value as an instrument for preserving peace and as an occasion that makes it possible for anyone in the world to contribute to the process of creating peace.

So on this day do try to greet at least 10 people. You might also make a point of 'saying hello' to some of the Nobel Peace Prize winners by reading 'their' picture books. Our library has biographies of

Jane Addams (1931)

• The House That Jane Built 

Martin Luther King (1964) 

• Martin Luther King Jnr

• Martin's Big Words

Mother Teresa (1979) 

• Mother Teresa 

• Mother Teresa

Nelson Mandela (1993) 

• Nelson Mandela

• Long Walk to Freedom 

• Nelson Mandela 

Wangari Muta Maathai (2004) 

• Wangari Maathai

• Planting the Trees of Kenya

• Mama Miti

• Planting Peace

• Wangari's Trees of Peace

Barack Obama (2009)

At the moment there are not any biographies about Obama in the library, but students know who is and there is one about his wife Michelle Obama.

Malala Yousafzai (2014)

• Malala: Activist for Girls' Education

• Malala Yousafzai

• Malala's Magic Pencil

• The Right To Learn 

Another way to celebrate this day is one we have done before. Look in your catalogue and collect together all the books that have the word 'hello' in the title. We displayed them for borrowing and asked the students who were browsing the books to say why all these books were there together? The children love guessing what all the books have in common. We had more than twenty books with 'Hello' in the title. Here's some:

15th November Clean Out Your Fridge Day

Once you've met Chilly Billy and heard of his adventures inside the refrigerator, you'll never open the fridge door in quite the same way again! Chilly Billy is a fun and lovable character you won't forget.

Today is the perfect time to share Chilly Billy  with your class. This classic is about a small man who lives in the fridge. It makes a great read aloud. I did read it aloud during lockdown and drip fed it the the students. And, if your school has a long-established library they might also have the sequel Footprints in the Butter.

If you don't have Chilly Billy  you might have these very different books about fridges

A hilarious story with a surprise twist at the end. Noah discovers a mammoth in the fridge. At first, his father doesn't believe him - but the evidence is too strong. It's sitting in the fridge! They call the fire department, but the mammoth slips past their net and hides in a tree. But where did the mammoth come from? Only Noah's little sister knows the true answer.

Who knew that monsters crave raspberry jelly? 

Josh Funk has a series of fun food books called Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast  and one of these titles 

Mission Defrostable  takes place in a fridge.

There's a frost in the fridge--and it's hardened Pudding Pond and frozen Yogurt Falls! Agent Asparagus is on the case, and she begs Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast to join her superspy team. But when Asparagus is captured, Pancake and French Toast have to turn to someone unexpected for help: the evil Baron von Waffle! Will he help them save the fridge... or are they doomed to become frozen food? 

A romance that starts in a refrigerator!

Once upon a time, in a refrigerator not too far away, a jug of milk and a bottle of juice fell in love. All was bliss until Juice was taken away from its one true love and . . . recycled.

Thus begins Milk and Juice's humorous journey through many incarnations around the world. Will they ever be reunited? Or will they stay star-crossed lovers for all eternity?

And empty fridges:

It seems everyone in Andrew's block has been so busy during the day, they've forgotten to buy anything for dinner. Their fridges are empty... almost.

With only three carrots to eat, Andrew decides to go upstairs to ask his neighbour Nabil if he's got anything in his fridge. Nabil's not doing much better: he only has two eggs and small piece of cheese. Together, they decide to try the family on the second floor.

As they ascend each floor of their block of flats, they gather more ingredients from more neighbours until they reach the top floor and everyone finally has enough for a meal. But what to cook?

With humour and warmth, this children's picture book raises awareness about poverty and hunger. Best friends Sofia and Maddi live in the same neighborhood, go to the same school, and play in the same park, but while Sofia's fridge at home is full of nutritious food, the fridge at Maddi's house is empty.

PS. Today I took a book off the shelf to read and guess what there is a fridge in it! If it is in your library, have a read. It will make you smile.

A thrilling story in just twelve sentences? Impossible, you say? Think again! Marvellously fresh text, cheeky illustrations, and a surprise ending are all served up in this wonderfully concise tale of a dog, a cat, and three mice...