19th June Are You Sitting Comfortably?

"Hello there! Are you sitting comfortably? Are you sure? Have you found the perfect snuggle-up-and-lose-yourself-in-a-book place? Somewhere comfy, NOT itchy-fuzzy? Somewhere quiet, NOT buzz-buzzy? You have? Great! Unfortunately the little chap in this book isn't having quite as much luck as you are ...Join one small book lover's search for the perfect place to sit (just for a bit!) in this beautifully illustrated and designed picture book by the talented Leigh Hodgkinson."

This is the blurb for this new book that we added to our library collection last week. We loved its quirkiness and illustrations and decided to make it the centrepiece for a display, first of all for books that feature chairs, but then better still to start a discussion with the children about where they most like to read. They drew themselves reading in their favourite places. We also read There's a Bear on My Chair, a really good read that is on the shortlist for the Kate Greenaway Medal.

See all the books in the library that made their way to the display: 

16th - 22nd February Chip Week

Only in Britain could they celebrate chips, but I'm sure Australians probably eat just as many chips, so we too, could celebrate Chip Week. We have more books with 'chip' in the title than I thought we would too. We have two picture books:

• The Best Chip by Kate Leake
• Don't Dip Your Chips in Your Drink, Kate! by Caryl Hart & Leigh Hodgkinson

And two chapter books, both from popular series:

• Super Cat and the Chip Thief by Jeanne Willis
• Monster and Chips by David O'Connell

So tomorrow in one part of the library there will be pancake stories for Pancake Day and elsewhere chip books for Chip Week.

Let it Rip Potato Chip!
 

15th June The Power of a Smile Day

This week I have put together a small display highlighting how important it is to smile and the effect it can have because I wanted to celebrate Smile Power Day. I thought about doing this display after reading David Ezra Stein's book Because Amelia Smiled which tells about the pay forward concept that came about in New York when a small girl, Amelia smiled and this smile precipitated events all around the world. Walker Books says of it, 'David Ezra Stein's charmingly illustrated story reminds us that adding even a little kindness into the world is sure to spur more and more kindness, which could eventually make its way back to you!'

When I looked I found the library had all these other books about smiles too, among them:
• Augustus and His Smile by Catherine Rayner
• Smile! by Leigh Hodgkinson
• It's Lovely When You Smile by Sam McBratney and Charles Fuge
• Where's Your Smile, Crocodile? by Claire Freedman and Sean Julian
• The Girl Who Lost Her Smile by Karim Alrawi and Stefan Czernecki
• Melrose and Croc Find a Smile  by Emma Chichester Clark

And at school this morning when I got the books off the shelves to display I shared Taking a Bath with the Dog and Other Things that Make Me Happy by Scott Menchin and talked about what did make us smile. The opening words ...'I miss your smile today, Sweet Pea. What would make you happy?' asks the mother and then by the end Sweet Pea tells her  'I'm happy when I ...' and she lists off all the things that make her smile. I also read the afterword where Scott Menchin talks about his motives for writing the story and how he came to realise that 'what made me happy was doing what I enjoyed most.' Such a great book to get children thinking about the small things in life and how to make lists.

Remember to give everyone a big smile today as smiling can be contagious! Just watch this trailer and you'll see the power of picture books to make you smile.