Did you know that dandelions are the only plant found on every continent in the world?
This blog entry has disappeared into the ether and I haven't got time at the moment to redo it.
Most of the books I talked about, however are on my Pinterest page.
This day celebrates those mythical creatures that have captured our imagination for centuries. The earliest stories of mermaids can be traced back to ancient Assyria and Greece, and they have appeared in various forms throughout history – from folklore to literature to pop culture. My young students, especially the girls are certainly enamoured with mermaids so celebrating Mermaid day for them would be easy. Make everything mauve or aquamarine, provide mermaid tails and mermaid tales!
The mermaid tales that are popular with my under eights are:
• Mermaid Day by Diana Murray
• All About Mermaids by Izzy Quinn
• Mermaid's Tail by Beatrice Blue
• Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet by Jane O'Connor
• The Mermaid Moon by Briony May Smith
• The Little Mermaid by Sarah Gibb
• Lily the Pond Mermaid by Lucy Fleming
• The Singing Mermaid by Julia Donaldson
• Mermaid Dreams by Kate Pugsley
• How to Catch a Mermaid by Adam Wallace
• Oona the Brave Mermaid by Kelly DiPucchio
• Mermaid School by Joanne Stewart Wetzel
• Mermaid and Me by Soosh
• Harmony and Echo by Brigette Barrager
• Part-time Mermaid by Deborah Underwood
• Can You Catch a Mermaid? by Jane Ray
Do you have these? They will offer a different perspective on mermaids.
• Nen and the Lonely Fisherman by Ian Eagleton
• Mariana and the Merchild: A Folk Tale from Chile by Caroline Pitcher
And look out for these new ones that are coming
• The Girl and the Mermaid by Hollie Hughes
• Mermaid Lullaby by Kenneth Kraegel
• How to Grow a Mermaid by Rachel Morrisroe
Still need more or a chapter book then look here.
My school always makes a big effort for Harmony Week and Harmony Day, whereas I do think it should be every day. That aside, our school library has a very diverse collection of picture books suitable for 3 to 8 year olds and when I am purchasing books or planning wish lists I do have specific things I look for. I want the book to be representative of the school population and the population beyond the school. I ensure that things such as the main characters' gender, ethnicity and values are in line with what we want to espouse. I find the website for Inclusive Children's Books for Children particularly helpful for this. They have put together age appropriate booklists and then for each book on the list they have listed the criteria that pertains to the book. They use great criteria such as, 'own voice'; 'challenges stereotypes'; 'disabled representation' and 'female lead'.
Another source I use for decision making is the Empathy Lab booklists. The books they list for the year, together with lists from other years means that you will have a very inclusive and diverse set of books to choose from on days like these.
I have just been putting a bundle of books together for my Preschool and Kindergarten classes. This is what I put in the pile. They all address diversity, empathy, inclusion and harmony.
• Wide Big World by Maxine Beneba Clarke
• I'm Australian Too by Mem Fox
• Room on Our Rock by Jol and Kate Temple
• Everybody's Welcome and Everybody's Equal by Patricia Hegarty
• This Love by Isabel Otter
• Hello by Tony Flowers
• Same, but a Little Bit Diff'rent by Kylie Dunstan
• Mixed by Arree Chung
• Hello! A Counting Book of Kindness by Kurman Hollis
• We Are Together by Britta Teckentrup
• There's Room for Everyone by Anahita Teymorian
• All Are Welcome and We Are All Neighbours by Alexandra Penfold
We all know about Oscar Wilde, C.S. Lewis, John Boyne, Roddy Doyle and Eion Colfer, but there are many more. I'm sure I will have missed some, but wander around a library and look for these and you will have made a good start. Also dip into the website Discover Irish Kids Books.
If you don't use this now, come back in October when it is Irish Book Week.
Oliver Jeffers is Irish, but he was was born in Australia!
P.J.Lynch (Patrick James Lynch)
and if you haven't yet read any Bear and Rabbit books by the Irish musician and poet Julian Gough, or Dave Pigeon books which are illustrated by Irish-born Sheena Dempsey rush out and do it now!
Celebrating St Patrick's Day in schools is not like it was when I started teaching in a Catholic School that revered saints and celebrated the cultures that made up the school population. Then, that was a large number of Irish families. The school went 'green' for the day and celebrated everything Irish and St Patrick.
These two classics are in our library.
This timeless book from bestselling author-illustrator Tomie dePaola recounts the storied life of Ireland’s patron saint. From his noble birth in Britain to his six-year captivity to the legend of how he banished snakes from Ireland.
Of course the library also has other books that could be used to celebrate this day, but instead we have chosen to put together a display that celebrates everything 'green'. Walk around any library and you will see just how many book covers are predominantly green. Start with the ones that have 'green' in their title and keep going.
