Read Grow Inspire Book Week Slogan 2023 (Part 6) IMAGERY and SYMBOLISM

“You cannot transmit wisdom and insight to another person. The seed is already there. A good teacher touches the seed, allowing it to wake up, to sprout, and to grow.” ~ Nhat Hanh

Connotation, imagery and symbol enrich a text by making words and images mean more than one thing. They invite students to consider the habitual in terms of the new and so are important to creative and critical thought. Figurative language has social consequences as it influences the ways we conceptualise people, information and ideas. Critical analysis brings to light these associations and strands of meaning. (K -12 English)

READ GROW INSPIRE allows for figurative language and the exploration of connotation, imagery and symbol. Think of the growing process with plants: from seed to seedling, to sprouting to a sapling and then to a tree. It starts with a seed! Brainstorm how many well known sayings, adages, aphorisms, proverbs etc that you can think of that have the word 'seed' in them. When you have a list hand them out to groups of students and see if they can say what they mean.

So many well known authors even have quotes that refer to seeds attributed to them.

• “Before the seed there comes the thought of bloom.” ~ E. B. White

• “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.” — Robert Louis Stevenson

• “I know it may seem small and insignificant, but it’s not about what it is, it’s about what it can become. That’s not a seed, any more than you’re just a boy.” ~ Dr. Seuss

• “Nature varies the seed according to the variety of the things she desires to produce in the world.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci

• “Each day of my life I am sowing seeds that one day I will harvest.” ~ Gautama Buddha

• “Knowledge cultivates your seeds and does not sow in your seeds.” ~ Khalil Gibran

• “Your thoughts are seeds, and the harvest you reap will depend on the seeds you plant.” ~ Rhonda Byrne

• “Flowers and fruit are only the beginning. In the seed lies the life and the future.” ~ Marion Zimmer Bradley

Traditional symbolic meanings for 'seeds' include: Potential, Trust, Hope, Nourishment, Sacred, Earthiness, Initiation, Reproduction, Cycles, Time, Provision. Did you find these symbols in what you brainstormed?

Probably the most obvious seed as imagery or symbol story is the Parable of the Seeds from the bible. If you read the bible story or a picture book version of it such as The Tiny Seed by Katie Warner to your class you can explain that a parable is a type of narrative with an emotive or moral significance which initiates comparison.  If you then go on to read The Tiny Seed  by Eric Carle your astute students will recognise very quickly that this story is just like the parable. Seeds fall where it is difficult for them to grow.

One seed flies too close to the sun.

One lands in ice that never melts. 

Another seed falls into the ocean. 

A hot dry desert is too much for one seed. Meanwhile, the tiny seed is pushed on with the others. 

When the seeds fall to the ground, one is eaten, but not the tiny seed. It is so small. It isn't seen. If you stop here while reading, the students will be able to tell you what happens next.

Yes this story elucidates the plant cycle from seed to flower, but when compared to another book such as  A Seed Grows suchby Antionette Portis, it is easy to show your students how the imagery works. You could also compare it to It Starts with a Seed by Laura Knowles. 

If you read The Seedling that Didn't Want to Grow  by Britta Teckentrup you will see that it is early spring and below the earth's surface seeds are just starting to sprout. All except for one seedling, who isn't quite ready. As most of the seeds transform into strong flowers, they block out the sun from the one left behind. But the little seedling persists, twisting and turning until, with the help of bird and insect friends, it finds its own place to grow and blossom. This story about the resilience and the will to grow that exists in the natural world can be seen as a metaphor for late bloomers who blossom and thrive with the support and love of others.

If You Hold a Seed  by Elly MacKay

As a young boy holds the seed, followed by sowing it in the ground, readers will not only journey through the rainy seasons of spring, the bright sunny days of summer, the windy days of fall, and the cold wait of winter, they will also visualise the growth from sprout to flourishing tree, and from little boy to young man. Two things compared once again and a good way to discuss comparison with students. 'Something magical can happen.' the text says. What is magic in this context? Did magic happen?

Miss Maple's Seeds by Eliza Wheeler                                   What happens to seeds that don't sprout? Fortunately, they have Miss Maple to look after them. Every year, she rescues orphan seeds, taking them to her cozy maple tree house. All winter long, she nurtures them and teaches them the ways of seeds and the paths by which they might find their new homes. And come spring, she sends them off to take root out in the wide world and to sprout into the wonderful plants she knows they'll become. Full of whimsical imagery and a positive message. There's activity sheets on Eliza Wheeler's website.

2nd February Hedgehog Day

 

Hedgehogs are cute and resourceful. We don't have hedgehogs in Australia and that is why we think they are special, endearing and a novelty. They are covered with stiff, hollow hairs they use to defend themselves. When they sense danger, they roll into a ball so that their hairs stick out like spines, causing pain to anyone silly enough to touch. They have an amazing sense of smell and can find food buried under an inch of soil. 

They are very popular characters in stories, especially stories set in England. Recently I highlighted all the series of books about rabbits with my students and many of them were borrowed. So where to next? There are some very good book series that do feature hedgehogs!

• There's the series of picture books by M. Christina Butler and Tina Macnaughton. They are about Little Hedgehog which preschoolers love because he has the same concerns as them and many of the pages have 'flock' where children can experience the texture of his red hat.

• There's the three books by Rosie Wellesley, that started with The Very Helpful Hedgehog.

• There's five books in the Hedgehugs series by Lucy Tapper and Steve Wilson

• There's the series Hedgehog and Friends by Eoin McLaughlin and Polly Dunbar that began with The Hug  and now has five books.

• There's the new books by Britta Teckentrup about Big Hedgehog and Little Hedgehog that look like they are going to be a series.

• Then there's the lovely Acorn Hello Hedgehog! series about two friends, Hedgehog and Harry by Norm Feuti. There are now six books in this series and they are perfect for beginning readers.

• There's a small step up in difficulty then to these two full colour short chapter book series Our Friend Hedgehog by Lauren Castillo and Sydney and Taylor by Jacqueline Davies and Deborah Hocking.

• For more able readers or as a class serial there's always the classic, The Hodgeheg  by Dick King Smith and its sequel King Max the  Last.

So masses of hedgehog books to choose from. If this is not enough check out Pinterest here.

4th July World Firefly Day

Scientists have carried out extensive studies on fireflies. Some have been relating to their unique feature of emitting energy in the form of light, while other studies revolve around the deteriorating population of fireflies. In 2022, the theme of the event is 'Watch Us, Don't Catch Us'. This is done to raise awareness about the depletion of the firefly population. Like other natural resources, the firefly can become extinct too. The event can be celebrated by taking care of fireflies, watching and admiring their beauty from afar, and building a better environment to sustain a firefly's life in the future.

There are more than 2,000 described species of Lampyridae fireflies, 25 of which are found in Australia. The fireflies, which are actually bioluminescent beetles,  inhabit the forests and mangroves of coastal New South Wales, Queensland, and the Northern Territory. The sole firefly species in the Sydney area is the Blue Mountains firefly (Atyphella lychnus). Not a lot of people are aware this country has fireflies, let alone two dozen different species, because they’re not in places commonly seen by the public and they are normally seen for only a short period during spring and summer.

We mightn't see real fireflies very often, but we certainly can read about them in books.

The library has these:

• The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle

• Sam and the Firefly  by P.D. Eastman

• Fireflies!  by Julie Brinckloe

 • Fireflies in the Night  by Judy Hawes & Ellen Alexander

• Daddies Are for Catching Fireflies  by Harriet Ziefert and Cynthia Jabar

• Firefly Home  by Jane Clarke and Britta Teckentrup

• Follow the Firefly  by Bernardo Carvalho

• Among a Thousand Fireflies  by Helen Frost and Rick Lieder

• Fly Firefly!  by Shana Keller and Ramona Kaulitzki

• How the Firefly Got Its Light  by Pradyumna Kumar and Urvashi Butalia

• Good Night Firefly by Gabriel Alboroza

• Leo the Lightning Bug by Eric Drachman and James Muscarello

• Light the Sky, Firefly! by Sheri Bestor and Jonny Lambert

Others slightly off topic, but worth a look at or put out as part of a display

• Glowing with Electricity: Science Adventures with Glenda the Origami Firefly by Thomas Kingsley Troupe and James Robert Christoph

• Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems  by Paul B.Janeczko and Melissa Sweet 

20th May World Bee Day

To raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development the UN designated the 20th May be World Bee Day. In Australia World Bee Day is celebrated by getting as many children as possible to be involved in the Waggle Dance.

World Bee Day theme 2022 is “Bee engaged: Build Back Better for Bees”

In the library we have a 'bee' book display and there is so many really good books to choose from. See my Pinterest page here, but if you don't have many in your library and you are looking for some more, these five are outstanding, fairly recent and in print.

• Bee by Patricia Hegarty & Britta Teckentrup

• The Bee Book by Charlotte Milner

• When the Bees Buzzed Off by Lulu Bell & Stephen Bennett

• 1001 Bees by Joanna Rzezak

• If Bees Disappeared by Lily Williams

23rd March World Meteorological Day

 

On the 23rd March last year, and then again on the 2nd March this year, ironically I wrote about the flooding here on the East Coast of Australia. Had I known then that that was World Meteorological Day, on the 23rd March,  the heading would have been very different. I did mention it in 2010, but it is so much more relevant now so I am writing about it late, but so as I do remember next year. 

In the library we have two very good picture book biographies about people who had a big role in meteorology.

• The Man Who Named the Clouds  by Julie Hannah and Joan Holub and Paige Billin-Frye

This is the story of Luke Howard, the man who named the clouds and we are still using those names.

• Breaking Through the Clouds by Sandra Nickel and Helena Perez Garcia    

This is the story of Joanne Simpson the first woman to get a doctorate in meteorology and who helped us understand how weather works today.

Of course we also have a considerable number of weather books which also deal with weather forecasting (it is weather forecasters day on 5th February) and meteorology.

• What Will the Weather Be? by Linda Dewitt and Carolyn Croll

• Shapes in the Sky  by Josepha Sherman and Omarr Wesley

• Weather Words by Gail Gibbons

• Weather  by Catriona Clarke and Kuo Kang Chen

• Weather by Kristin Baird Rattini

• Curious Questions and Answers about Weather by Philip Steele

• What's the Weather? by Fraser and Judith Ralston

• Look at the Weather by Britta Teckentrup

• Weather Robots by Christine Zuchora-Walske

Plenty to start working out what meteorology is! And, for something a little different, this book 

Feelings Forecasters: A creative approach to managing emotions  by Maria Merce Conangla and Jaume Soler will give you much food for thought and some fun activities to do with students. It likens emotions to the weather and presents parallels or analogies between the world around us and our inner world.

9th January Word Nerd Day

My siblings think I'm a word nerd! The teachers at school think I'm a word nerd! So I guess I am. I prefer to say that words really interest me, their origins, purpose and power. I love picking up a picture book and reading sections to my colleague in the library. We both revel in great vocabulary and lyrical text. At the end of last year Britta Teckentrup's new book When I See Red  was being catalogued and we stopped to chat about it. I buy Britta's books because they never seem to disappoint. The illustrations are always stunning and we marvel at her output, but this book has an accompanying text which is also outstanding.

The heroine of this beautifully illustrated story feels her anger like a storm in a dark forest. It sweeps her away, and she thunders and howls. She pours down her emotions like sheets of rain; rage surges like a wind whipping angry waves. Her anger takes her on a wild ride.

The size of the font changes as her anger grows and abates. It is just so powerful. The words themselves tumble down the page, and their placement and size, as well as their meaning, effectively at generates the girl's spirit of rage and anger.

So many picture books have words that paint pictures just as much as the illustrations. I should make a bigger effort to record books that do this for me. I remember reading Ed and Rebecca Emberley's The Ant and the Grasshopper  and being astounded by the opening word image.

Somewhere on the boulevard of backyards an ant was struggling with the remnants of a picnic.

I doubt that many of my early readers would fully understand the meaning of the words 'boulevard' and 'remnants' within this context, but would I therefore not read the book to them, or worse still stop to explain what it means. Of course not. I would read the story and allow them to hear amazing vocabulary and maybe unpack it much later when we have enjoyed the story and the illustrations as a whole.

I have a box of 'word' books in the library for teachers and students to borrow for their reading and writing mentor lessons, but many of these books are more about collecting words and varying words than the beauty of them. See what is in the box here. This Pinterest page is obviously about more than just sharing picture book titles, but in amongst other things there are plenty of books to hunt out.

Among my favourites:

Phileas's Fortune  by Agnes de Lestrade and Valeria Docampo

The Word Wizard by Cathryn Falwell

The Word Collector  by Peter Reynolds 

One Word Pearl by Nicole Groeneweg and Hazel Mitchell

It is such a shame we are on holidays and I cannot do a display or plan a lesson. I would read 

One Word From Sophia  by Jim Averbeck and Yasmeen Ismail.

What is the 'one word'?