17th November World Peace Day

I struggle to see exactly what the difference is between this day and International Day of Peace which is held on 21st September, but I guess it really doesn't matter how many Peace Days there are, it is something we should be thinking about on a daily basis. World Peace Day requests that each person take a moment to fold a couple of paper cranes and mail them to a world leader or hang them in a place that is visible to the public. One of the Kindergarten classes at school did this just this week. One of the students had learned to make origami cranes and she taught her peers to do it. The teacher took the opportunity to send to the library for the picture book version of Sadako by Eleanorr Coerr and Ed Young.  She read it to the class and of course it is a lot for six year olds to take on board, but there were plenty of questions and because of the paper folding they will remember the story.

When I read the poem, Peaceguy's Prayer by Don Morris that is posted on websites about World Peace Day I can't help but think about how powerful these lines from the beginning of the poem are.

May the people on this planet be changed
Changed from hatred to love,
Changed from greed to giving,
Changed from selfishness to selflessness,
Changed from apathy to action,
Changed from jealousy to joy over someone's accomplishments,
Changed from intolerance to acceptance,
Changed from being destructive to being constructive,
Changed from fighting to peace,
Changed from killing to protecting life,
Changed form censorship to freedom,
Changed from ignorance to education,
Changed from fearing our differences to rejoicing our variety.


Of course there are many picture books that you could choose to illustrate the ideas presented here, but immediately I thought of these. They may not be easy to buy, but search them out in the library because you will not be disappointed. Lessons planned with these and class discussions on these are always rewarding.

* Feathers and Fools  by Mem Fox. This wonderful book about a fight among birds allows children to step back initially because the protagonists are not people, but they are quick to draw parallels after the story is finished. (Please note if you are in Australia this book may have a different illustrator. It has a blue cover.)

* Milo and the Mysterious Island by Marcus Pfister. This story is the sequel to Milo and the Magical Stones, but this time the cliff mice sail off on a raft  to explore a tropical island. Here they meet a tribe of striped mice. Like its predecessor this book also has two endings offering two resolutions to the  conflict between the mice.

* The Sea People by Jorg Muller and Jorg Steiner is a magnificent book. It is larger than most picture books, has amazingly detailed illustrations and deals with the meaty themes of greed and conflict and it is truly awe-inspiring.

30th July Peter Gouldthorpe (1954) Marcus Pfister (1960) Anna Pignataro (1965) Jane Cabrera (1968)

As four is a lot to write about at once, I wrote about the Australians Peter Gouldthorpe and Anna Pignataro yesterday and will write about the other two now.

Marcus Pfister is the Swiss author of the very well-known Rainbow Fish series of books. The first of these was translated from German into English in 1992 and has been popular ever since. His books are illustrated in beautiful watercolours and his books always seem to favour blue. They explore themes such as sharing, co-operation, courage, dependability, independent thinking and acting responsibly all of which are highly relevant to the classroom and young children. As well as the Rainbow Fish there are other series, one about a small penguin, Penguin Pete, another about a white hare named Hopper and the two books about Milo, a small mouse. The Milo books are unique in their format, having two possible endings, a happy one and a sad one. The Rainbow Fish and Milo books were among the first books to have 'foil' (silver and gold) in their illustrations and while this certainly attracted children, the books would still standout as good stories without this 'gimmick'. Pfister has said, "For me, there is one major criterion in determining the value of a book: if it brings adults and children together and makes them interact intensely, then it has achieved its purpose. A good book acts as a bridge between a child and an adult, sparking lots of questions, and expanding the imagination of the child."

Jane Cabrera is an English illustrator who seems to specialise in books for very young children. They are either concept books or well known songs or rhymes. Her pictures are bright and the animals endearing. Her first book Cat's Colours is a favourite with the preschoolers who visit my library.

7th June

Tomorrow isWorld Oceans Day. Visit the website to glean very quickly what it is about. Here there are a number of facts to get you inspired and for you to use to initiate discussion with your children. There is also activities relating to the 50th birthday of Dr Seuss' One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. I have covered the desktops with books about the ocean for borrowing today. In this way the children will be immersed in the beauty and colours of the ocean during library time. I have put out all of Kim Michelle Toft, all the Marcus Pfister Rainbow Fish titles, all the Ruth Galloway sea creature titles, Steve Jenkins Down Down Down and Into the A, B, Sea, Guundie Kuchling's See Food!, Jeannie Baker's Where the Forest Meets the Sea and The Hidden Forest and an assortment of non-fiction titles with large photographs.