13th January Michael Bond (1926) Rubber Ducky Day

Michael Bond is the English author who gave children Paddington Bear. The first story A Bear Called Paddington was published in 1958 when Bond was a cameraman with the BBC. The idea for the story started with a bear that Bond had bought his wife because it looked lonely on a shelf in a London shop. Paddington became very popular and a merchandising phenomenon. Paddington is easily recognisable no matter who illustrates him, and there have been many, and whether he has a red, blue or or even yellow hat. The toys and books seem to go through phases. They are either in big demand or sitting idle. Maybe it depends upon whether he is on television at the time and whether or not new editions have just been released.

However in my library, Michael Bond is better known for his series about a guinea pig called Olga than for a bear called Paddington. More readers become addicted to these books. Once a child, usually a girl, reads The Tales of Olga da Polga she usually comes back wanting another book about Olga and then she works her way through all six of these, and then often moves on to Betty G. Birney's series about Humphrey.

Rubber Ducky Day seems like an unusual day to be marking, but when you read about all the uses rubber duckies have assumed since they were invented it is little wonder that they have a day of their own. Sesame Street character, Ernie has a rubber ducky that is immortalised in song. Charities have races where they are purchased, let loose and then observed over a distance to see which one wins. This idea probably comes from an incident that occurred in the Pacific Ocean during a storm on January 10th, 1992. A cargo ship transporting them for a Chinese company lost 29000 rubber ducky toys overboard. Months later these ducks began to turn up all over the place. Some even made it to Australia. Eve Bunting used this event as the impetus for her book Ducky, illustrated by David Wisniewski and then Eric Carle also used it as the impetus for his book 10 Little Rubber Ducks. Obviously rubber ducks should have a high profile!

during a Pacific storm on January 10, 1992, over 29,000 rubber ducky bath toys from a Chinese company were during a Pacific storm on January 10, 1992, over 29,000 rubber ducky bath toys from a Chinese company were washed off of a cargo ship.washed off of a cargo ship.during a Pacific storm on January 10, 1992, over 29,000 rubber ducky bath toys from a Chinese company were washed off of a cargo ship.

21st March Margaret Mahy (1936) Michael Foreman (1938) David Wisniewski (1953 - 2002) World Poetry Day

Too much on today to do any of them justice, and each of them is very important in the world of children's literature and needs their own entry!

Firstly, Margaret Mahy. She is probably New Zealand's best-known children's author and she deserves to be. She won the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2006, she has a sculpture in her honour in Christchurch and she has won numerous writing awards such as the Carnegie medal. She writes fantastic novels and short stories , but the children I teach know her because of her picture books, especially The Great White Man-eating Shark and The Man Whose Mother Was a Pirate. Have you read The Great Piratical Rumbustification? The story is great fun and the children love saying 'rumbustification'.

Secondly, Michael Foreman who is one of Britain's best-known author/illustrators. His first book was published over fifty years ago. The General has just been republished so that it can be enjoyed again. A lot of Foreman's books after this one continue to have war and conflict as themes. Last year he published A Child's Garden: A Story of Hope which also continued this theme, but that is not to say his books are depressing or unneccessarily negative. Three of his more popular books in my library, One World (1990), Seal Surfer (1996) and Wonder Goal (2002) have very positive messages.

Foreman has won the Greenaway medal twice, in 1982 and 1989. He has collaborated with Michael Morpurgo on many books (see Dolphin Boy), likes to do biographical-type stories and often sets his books in Cornwall. His illustrations are usually luminous, very blue, with vast skies and watercolour washes. Their lightness and colour are not something I immediately associate with the weather in Britain. He needs to paint in Australia!

And thirdly, an American author/illustrator who was born in England, David Wisniewski who did amazing illustrations with layers of cut paper. His book Golem won the Caldecott medal in 1997, but my favourite of his is Rain Player where Mayan boy Pik meets the rain God and is challenged to a ball game.

World Poetry Day can wait till tomorrow. We are celebrating it at school tomorrow so I should have some photos!