31st March Crayon Day

It's Crayon Day!   

I felt sure I had written about this day before, but I can't find where. Because we put together a creative display for Scribble Day many of our crayon books are already on loan or on display. 

Origin of Crayons

Unfortunately, the origin of crayons is somewhat blurry when looking at pertinent historical accounts. However, the word itself came from the combination of two Latin words which are “crale” (chalk) and creta (earth). Crayons are made by combining different pigments with oil. This practice has been done for thousands of years. It has been done by different cultures including Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians. However, such crayons were used only by artists and not by children at home and at school. The reason is that such crayons made before contain compounds that may be harmful to children, especially when ingested. The breakthrough in crayons came with the crayon produced by Joseph Lemercier back in 1828. Instead of using oil, he used wax for producing crayons.

During the 20th century, more and more crayons were produced in the USA. In 1902, Edwin Binney and Harold Smith invented the Crayola brand of crayons and now children have access to a number of different types of crayons.

If you want to find out more about crayons, the library has these books:

Here's the true story of an inventor who so loved nature's vibrant colours that he found a way to bring the outside world to children - in a bright green box for only a nickel! With experimentation, and a special knack for listening, Edwin Binney and his dynamic team at Crayola created one of the world's most enduring, best-loved childhood toys.

How does wax turn into a colorful crayon? Follow each step in the production cycle--from melting wax into a liquid to coloring a fun picture.

Join Buddy, every first-grader's favorite Weekly Reader pal, as he goes behind the scenes at interesting real-life places where people do interesting real-life work. What Happens at a Crayon Factory? takes readers inside a real factory to see how crayons are made. 

There are lots of stories, starting with the ever so popular series about crayons by Drew Daywalt that started with The Day the Crayons Quit and the ubiquitous Harold's Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson Here's some others:

• Red: A Crayons Story  by Michael Hall

• Frankencrayon  by Michael Hall

• The Crayon Box that Talked by Shane Derolf and Michael Letzig

• Creepy Crayon  by Aaron Reynolds

• My Crayons Talk by Patricia Hubbard and Brian Karas

• A Day With No Crayons by Elizabeth Rusch and Chad Cameron

• The Magic Crayon  by Amy Sparkes and Ali Pie

• Pete the Cat; Crayons Rock  by James Dean and Kimberly Dean

• Crayon  by Simon Rickerty

• Gurple and Preen  by Linda Sue Park and Debbie Ridpath Ohi

• Crayon Road  by Joni Jong and Joy Cowley

• The Last Crayon by Fifi Colston

• The Life of a Crayon: A Colourful Story of Neverending Beginnings  by Christopher Willard and Holly Clifton-Brown 

• Blackie, the Crayon by Miwa Nakaya

• Allie All Along by Sarah Lynne Reul

• How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow by Monica Sweeney and Feronia Parker-Thomas

16th May International Day of Living Together in Peace

Unesco instigated this Day which aims to uphold the desire to live and act together, united in differences and diversity, in order to build a sustainable world of peace, solidarity and harmony. The Day invites countries to further promote reconciliation to help to ensure peace and sustainable development. 

Living together in peace is all about accepting differences and having the ability to listen to, recognise, respect and appreciate others, as well as living in a peaceful and united way and how pertinent is this for this time during COVID 19 when we begin to be given less imposed constrictions but continue to be asked to practise self distancing, continue to wash hands and be mindful about hygiene and to be careful when in public spaces. Can we all do that? We will have to wait and see.

As school goes back here, being considerate of others, patient with others, tolerant of others and most importantly accepting of others self-imposed limits is going to matter more. Maybe it is time to look at picture books that look at these values and what constitutes living peacefully together.

The Peace Book  by Todd Parr is a good place to start because it is simple and for a very young audience. It  delivers a timely and timeless message about the importance of friendship, caring, and acceptance. 

Peace is an Offering by Annette Le Box  is a warm comforting poem where a group of neighbourhood children find love in everyday things--in sunlight shining through the leaves and cookies shared with friends--and learn that peace is all around, if you just look for it.


A Little Peace by Barbara Kerley is a  book that juxtaposes photographs from around the world with simple, reflective messages about our responsibilities for finding and keeping peace on the planet. 

And at school on Monday perhaps reading these two books will remind students to be accepting of difference, to stand up for each other and yet encourage peaceful problem solving.

One by Kathryn Otoshi. You may recognize Red, the bully of this story, who picks on Blue for looking different; you may recognize the other colours, who stay quiet as red becomes more and more antagonistic. I hope you also recognize One, who finally stands up for Blue, and Blue itself who shows Red kindness and acceptance despite their past actions.

Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall. Here Red is expected to draw fire trucks and strawberries, but he is a blue crayon in a red wrapper,  and everything he draws comes out blue. At first Red is misunderstood, but he is soon accepted and respected for who he really is. This simple story is so heartwarming; it teaches us not to judge by first impressions and expectations, but to accept and respect however a person wants to define themself.

1st February Wear Red Day

The first of February is Wear Red Day, a day to think about our hearts and the blood that makes them healthy, but to celebrate,  the books I recommend here have nothing to do with hearts and much more to do with the colour RED. School starts this week for the students I teach and the kindergarten teachers this week have been collecting books for their classroom libraries. Each of the classes has a colour, KRed, KYellow etc and each teacher has a small collection of books about that colour to read and talk about. Some colours are easier to find books about than others, but Red was easy. As well as The Red Book, Clifford, Little Red Riding Hood and The Little Red Hen, here's what I put in their box:

12th November WOW (Wear Orange Wednesday)

It is Wear Orange Wednesday in celebration of everything the SES (State Emergency Services) do to help those in need. The children I teach have probably had little to do with the SES, but I thought it a good excuse to look for ways of celebrating 'orange' through books. This is what I found:

• The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Pinkwater is an oldie but goodie that explores the themes of creativity and individuality.
• An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco is perfect for this time of year as it is a Christmas story based on the traditions of Polacco's own family.
• Otto's Orange Day by Jay Lynch is one of the very popular titles from the Toon series of books.
• It's an Orange Aardvark by Michael Hall. A fabulous new book, it explores colour, has great holes and lends itself to lots of creative fun.
• Big Wolf and Little Wolf, Such a Beautiful Orange by Nadine Brun-Cosme. One in a series of three books about a great friendship between two wolves who share adventures.
• Once Upon an Alphabet, Short stories for all the letters by Oliver Jeffers. This is not about anything orange, but it has a spectacular orange cover and it is an absolute wonder.

22nd June Michael Hall

I have just found a new birthday to celebrate courtesy of Eric at Happy Birthday Author. Today is the birthday of  Michael Hall, the author/illustrator responsible for  Perfect Square and Cat Tale, two wonderful and popular picture books in our library. I have also just found out he has a new book, It's an Orange Aardvark! which I will need to order!