25th March Crane Day

Crane Day (Trandagen) is a traditional holiday that is still celebrated in some parts of Sweden on March 25. It is believed that around this date cranes return to Sweden from their wintering grounds; thus, Crane Day symbolises the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

Cranes are not common birds in Australia and when we think of Australian Cranes, we are more likely to be talking about brolgas.

The brolga is a bird in the crane family. It has also been given the name Australian crane, a term coined in 1865 by well-known ornithologist John Gould in his Birds of Australia.

Brolgas can be found across tropical northern Australia, throughout Queensland and in parts of western Victoria, central NSW and south-east South Australia. They feed and breed in open wetlands, coastal mudflats and irrigated croplands, occasionally visiting estuaries and mangrove creeks.

The Australian population of Brolgas is considered ‘secure’, with somewhere between 20,000 to 100,000 birds in northern Australia. But the southern population – estimated at 1,000 birds – is dwindling, and the species is listed as vulnerable in NSW, South Australia and Victoria.

Brolgas are best known for their intricate and ritualised dance. Partners begin by picking up grass, tossing it into the air and catching it again in their beaks. The birds then jump up to a metre in the air with their wings outstretched, before performing an elaborate display of head-bobbing, wing-beating, strutting and bowing. Occasionally they stop to trumpet loudly – a spectacular sound!

It is hard to find books about brolgas so any research students want to do will probably be done on line, but it is a good time to revisit Rod Clement's classic Olga the Brolga.

There are other books in the library about cranes though. I have a student who is fascinated by them and reads whatever I can feed him. Surprisingly, his favourite is Lotus and Feather, but he is particularly interested in the natural environment and justice and extremely empathetic for such a young child. He's currently working his way through the books in the library that have a UN sustainability goal sticker affixed to them.

Try these:

• Hello I'm Here by Helen Frost & Rick Lieder

Follow a newborn sandhill crane as it takes its first steps into the world. Will my legs hold me? What if I fall? Peek in as a sandhill crane hatchling makes its first wobbly stand and takes its first steps alongside its brother.

• Utterly Lovely One by Mary Murphy

So opens a glorious praise song from a parent crane to her little cranelet -- drawing many other species into the circle of love as she sings. Warm, funny, and full of energy and affection.

• Crane & Crane by Linda Joy Singleton & Richard Smythe

A sandhill crane lifts a stick. A construction crane lifts a log. The two cranes grab, stretch, and stack, working through bad weather and difficult obstacles toward their end goal: building a home for a new family. Told in a simple sequence of verbs, this colorful picture book demonstrates how the mechanical world mirrors the natural world. 

• How Do You Do? by Larissa Theule & Gianna Marino 

Water Buffalo and Crane's field is dry, empty, and hot--so hot that they can barely think of anything else. Every day is the same . . . Until one day, they hear something new. This beautiful story is about widening your horizons and making new friends.

• Lotus and Feather  by Ji-Li Jiang & Julie Downing 

Inspired by the true story of a crane that rescued a Chinese village, and graced with sensitive watercolor illustrations, this lovely book about respecting nature offers deep emotion and delightful surprises. 

• Grandfather's Dream  by Holly Keller

The Vietnam war is over, and Grandfather and young Nam dream that the new dikes will restore the wetlands, bringing home the beautiful cranes that once filled the winter sky. But other villagers think that growing rice is a more practical use for the land. 

• The Crane Wife  by Odds Bodkin & Gennady Spirin

When Osamu, a lonely sail maker, nurses an injured crane one blustery night, he never suspects that this simple act of kindness will change his life forever. 
This retelling of a traditional Japanese folktale teaches readers young or old a lesson about life and love. 

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pu4YtQs080

• The Crane Girl by Curtis Manley & Lin Wang

A boy helps an injured crane, that then returns in human form to weave silk and save the boy and his father from poverty. Adapted from Japanese folktales and told in alternating prose and haiku.

• Crane Boy  by Diana Cohn & You Landowne

In this empowering picture book about arts, activism, and the environment, Kinga and his classmates create a dance to honour the cranes of Bhutan and raise awareness of their plight.

• Lord of the Cranes  by Kirsten Chen & Jian Jang Chen

In an uplifting folktale of virtue rewarded, Tian, the Lord of the Cranes, comes down from his home in the clouds to test the people, but when only Wang the innkeeper passes the test, Tian rewards him with a gift that brings him fame and fortune. 

• Luck by Jean Craighead George & Wendell Minor

After a girl saves his life, Luck, a young sandhill crane, begins the long migration north to Siberia with his parents. Luck and his parents use a special song to find one another: Crackaarr! While his parents depend on rivers, lakes, and mountains to guide their way, Luck memorises man-made objects -- windmills, sunglasses, and a baby carriage.

• The Heron and the Crane by John Yeoman and Quentin Blake

Crane is lonely at his end of the swamp. Heron lives on the other side, and Crane decides that they would be perfect for each other. However Heron isn't sure she agrees. Proposals and rejections, arguments and reconciliations - will Heron and Crane ever come together and overcome their differences? 

• The White Crane  by Junko Morimoto

An old childless Japanese couple unexpectedly acquire a daughter after they rescue a lovely white crane trapped in a forest during a storm.

Long out of print, if your library doesn't have a copy, there is a lovely reading on Youtube.

Part 1  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqESisE4H1Y

Part 2  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAwxgGtV3MM

And although these are about paper (origami) cranes they are worth searching out as they show how important cranes are in some cultures.

• The Tree of Cranes  by Allen Say

• The Paper Crane  by Molly Bang

And of course there's the fables:

• The Peacock and the Crane

• The Wolf and the Crane

• The Geese and the Cranes

• The Farmer and the Cranes 

which made me also think of the fables with storks, but I now know that cranes and storks are not the same or from the same family so I haven't listed them.

13th May World Migratory Bird Day

This year the theme for World Migratory Bird Day is “Birds Connect Our World” and it was chosen to highlight the importance of conserving and restoring the ecological connectivity and integrity of ecosystems that support the natural movements of migratory birds and that are essential for their survival and well-being. What a great theme!

I have written about this day before, but wanted to write about it again because lately I have been reminded of so many beautiful books that do this topic so well.

Mike Unwin and Jenni Desmond's wonderful book Migration gives many examples of birds that do these great migrations, but it is the individual picture story books that heighten our awe and empathy for both the birds and the sheer vastness of the journeys.

Jeannie Baker's Circle  tells the migration story for the Bar-tailed Godwit which makes the longest unbroken migration of any bird, a total of 11000 kilometres, all the way from Alaska to New Zealand. The illustrations allow the reader to follow the journey very closely and to marvel at the ingenuity and tenacity of such a small bird. New Zealand authors have also written about this bird and a new book  Little Godwit Finds His Wings was published this year.

Two books that look at migrating cranes are Grandfather's Dream by Holly Keller and Lotus and Feather by Ji-Li Jiang. Holly Keller's book, set in Vietnam tells the story of Nam and her grandfather who is constantly harking back to the days when the cranes came to the delta as part of their migratory journey.  Jiang's story, set in China tells of a crane that fails to finish a migration because of a hunter's bullet. The discussions elicited by classroom readings of these two books. Lotus and Feather could be read along side Rechenka's Eggs by Patricia Polacca as there are similarities in that Rechenka is an injured goose who also needs to be nursed back to health.

Another two books for comparison are about hummingbirds. Look for Tiny Bird by Robert Burleigh and Wendell Minor and Hummingbird by Nicola Davies and Jane Ray. Both of these chart the long journey from Mexico to Canada that this tiny bird that is smaller than you thumb makes each Spring.    

In Is this Panama? by Jan Thornhill and  Soyeon Kim,  a young Wilson's warbler wakes up one day knowing this is the day to start a long journey from the Arctic Circle to Panama and because this bird is named, Sammy you cannot help but get involved in his plight. He is no longer, just any bird!

I noticed there is a new book coming called The Sea Swallow and the Humpback Whale by Catherine Barr and Gerry Turley which tracks two migratory journeys across sea and sky. I look forward to seeing this.

While each of these books tells an amazing story of persistence, resilience and sheer determination it is the illustrations in each that make them very special. The illustrations do much more than give a map or track a journey. They personalise, imbue wonder and allow the reader to marvel.

Water (Part 2)

You certainly could travel the world while doing a unit of work on water using picture books. You could use a globe or world map and locate the places. The books also provide ample opportunities to use text-to-text and text-to-world activities. In this blog I want to highlight books that look at people and their relationship to water or a life-changing event that water features in.

First to Africa:
• Limpopo Lullaby by Jane Jolly and Dee Huxley. This very moving story, which is based on a real incident in Mozambique tells of how Josette, a mother has to climb a huge milkwood tree with her two young children during a flood caused when the Limpopo River bursts its banks.
• Rain School by James Rumerford tells the story of starting school at the beginning of the year and having to build the school, only to see it fall apart again when the rain comes.
• Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema and Beatriz Vidal is a cumulative tale that concentrates on breaking a drought.
• When the Rains Come  by Tom Pow and Malika Favre is really two stories. One is about how difficult life can be for some children in Africa and as they are cared for by Grandmother Rose she tells them the story of Tortoise and the Drought. Money from the sale of this book helps mothers in Malawi.
• The Day the Rains Fell by Anne Faundez and Karin Littlewood. This is a creation story set in Africa. Lindiwe takes her daughter to Earth to show her beauty but finds drought and thirsty animals so has to find a way to make the Earth well again.

Asia
• Children of the Yangtze River by Svend Otto S. This book is old but a gem. It should be republished. I have never shared this with a class without them being in total awe. Great for teaching empathy. It tells the story of Mei Mei who lives in China on the banks of the Yangtze River. The river breaks its banks and the whole village is involved in moving stock and belongings, but much was lost..."now all the houses and fields had disappeared...all the crops had washed away." As the river subsides Mei Mei and her family begin the massive clean up. The ending is joyous.
• Grandfather's Dream by Holly Keller is set in the delta of the Mekong delta in Vietnam, where canals built during the Vietnam War affected the wetlands and the natural flow of water. In this story a grandfather tells his granddaughter, Nam about the effects of this and about the loss of habitat for cranes. The library's copy of this book has been so well read it is about to fall apart.
• Monsoon by Uma Krishnaswami and Jamel Akib is like many of the books set in Australia. It tells of a family waiting for rain in India and then the pleasure that comes with it. There is an interesting afterword explaining monsoons and their role in South East Asia.
• Trishna and the Dream of Water by Carole Douglis and Adrienne Kennaway is also set in India. It is the time of Diwali and Trishna is sent to the well to get water. She dreams of living somewhere where there is water all year long.
• The Flute by Rachna Gilmore and Pilak Biwas. This story needs discussion. It is also set in India and it starts with a catastrophic flood that sweeps away Chandra's parents. She finds solace in her mother's flute music and never gives up hope that her life will improve. She is extremely resilient The endpapers are very special and should inspire some interesting artworks.

Europe
This was harder, I only could only think of one, the story of the boy who put his finger in the dike to stop his low-lying village in Holland from flooding. Here are two versions of the longer Mary Mapes Dodge's story that I know of:

• The Hole in the Dike by Norma B. Green and Eric Carle.
• The Boy Who Held Back the Sea by Thomas Locker and Lenny Hort.

America
• Come on, Rain! by Karen Hesse and Jon J. Muth. Like so many of the others, this is the story of a young girl who desperately wants it to rain and then it does and she celebrates by dancing with her friends... "wet slicking our arms and legs, we splash up the block, squealing and whooping in the steaming rain."
• Flood by Mary Calhoun and Erick Ingraham tells the story Sarajean who lives through the 1993 Midwest floods when the Mississippi damaged homes and sent inhabitants to higher land.
• Flood by Alvaro F. Villa This wordless book is new and I haven't yet seen it, so I have linked you where I learned of it. I have ordered it and I am waiting...a bit like waiting for rain!

14th May International Migratory Bird Day

International Migratory Bird Day or World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated on the second Saturday of May, to draw attention to the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats.

This year’s theme is ‘Land use changes from a bird’s-eye view’ and aims to raise awareness of the effects of human land use on migratory birds. There is a trailer and a copy of this year's poster here.

I can think of many books that feature bird migration. Colin Thiele does Australian birds very well for Australian children's literature. Mary Small's Night of the Muttonbirds is worth a read too. When I was a child Dutch author Meindert de Jong, won the Newbery Medal with The Wheel on the School a wonderful story about migrating storks. Holly Keller's Grandfather's Dream has a similiar migrating stork theme to the De Jong story but is a picture book. And of course there is Paul Gallico's Snow Goose. Two other picture books about migrating geese that come to mind are John Birmingham's Borka and Father Goose by William Lishman.

11th February Holly Keller (1942) National Inventors Day

Of course it is Jane Yolen and Mo Willems birthday, but I wrote about them last year and they are very well known. Today I want to focus on Holly Keller. She is an American author and a prolific illustrator, having illustrated so many books for other authors, especially science titles. When she also does the writing she tends to choose to have animal protagonists who deal with family issues such as sibling rivalry, adoption, fitting in and coping with a change like the death of a pet. There's a series of stories about each of these, Geraldine, a piglet, Henry, a possum, and Horace, a leopard who is adopted by tigers. But, my favourite of her books is Grandfather's Dream, a story set in the ricefields of a river delta in Vietnam. Nam's grandfather has told her stories about the cranes who frequented the area before the war and they would like them to return. This beautiful story has many layers of meaning and an important message which is accessible to a large age range. The book could be used with children from four to twelve, whereas many of Holly's other books are for a much younger audience.

National Inventors Day commemorates the birth of Thomas Edison (1847 - 1931). While there are many information books which feature him such as Marcia Williams's Three Cheers for Inventors! I thought it would be fun to read a book to younger children that features an inventor. Louise Yates has a new book Frank and Teddy Make Friends in which Frank, a mouse is always inventing things including a new friend, Teddy.