12th April Teddy Bears in Every Window

I've just come back from walking round my neighbourhood (exercise) and I couldn't help noticing how many teddy bears are out and about too. They are sitting in windows, on doorsteps and in the rear window of cars. What are they doing you might ask?

They are part of a worldwide teddy bear hunt designed to distract children while they are homebound because of Covid 19. this hunt is said to be inspired by Michael Rosen's classic book, We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Whether it is this book or others, there are so many great  bear books to choose from. Strictly speaking, Rosen's bear is not a teddy, so here I am only going to mention books with teddy bears. I was weeding in the library and while scanning the shelves I pulled out some of my favourites, all of which have a teddy bear as a main character.


Firstly, The Beginner's Guide to Bears by Gillian Shields. Here's the blurb:
Ever wondered what kind of teddy bear is right for you? Or what you could do together with your bear? Then THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO BEARS is the perfect read for you. From the types of bears, "big and cuddly" or "small and fuzzy" to what foods bears like eating most, this is one children's book sure to entertain. With cute illustrations, and even a mirror to peek in with your own bear at your side, this is sure to quickly become a favourite.

Secondly, Old Bob's Brown Bear by Niki Daly. I love the premise of this story. Bob is given a teddy, but his granddaughter, Emma doesn't like the way he cares for it and thinks she can do a better job...

Thirdly, Baggy Brown by Mick Inkpen reminds us that being scruffy and worn is a sign that you are loved. There is a similar theme in Kym Lardner's Arnold the Prickly Teddy  and in James Stevenson's The Night After Christmas. All sadly out of print but gems, that you may find in your library.

Fourthly, bears have dreams of their own, I'm sure. If they could get  out and about what would they do? In Julia Donaldson's The Everywhere Bear the teddy belongs in Class One and he goes home each weekend with a different member of the class and has a myriad of adventures. In Bear's Dream by Janet Slingsby, bear dreams of meeting all the varieties of real bears. In A Bear's Adventure by Benedict Blathwayt, Bear is left behind at the seaside and has a great adventure endeavouring to get back home. Similarly, the bear in Teddy Took the Train  by Nicki Greenberg is left behind when Dot accidentally leaves him on the train, but ...
Teddy is a brave bear. What wonderful adventures will he have when he rides away on the train? Will there be picnics? Will there be parties? Will he have time for a nap? And most importantly, will he find his way home to Dot - or will she never see him again?  

I hope all of these teddies get to meet up and have one big enormous Teddy Bear's Picnic when Covid 19 allows!

Christmas Books for Under 6s

I have been really enjoying following quite a few bloggers who have been highlighting an advent book each day in the lead up to Christmas. Some have done one a day since the beginning of December. Others such as my friend at Momo Celebrating Time to Read have chosen twelve books. Two teacher friends with young children and another with grandchildren have been enjoying opening a book parcel each day during advent for a shared reading experience. This got me thinking about which books I would put on an advent list or wrap for my advent reading. As the teacher librarian in a school I find myself constantly thinking about what to read to whom. When I read to my preschool and Kindergarten classes in Term 4 as a lead up to Christmas, I read from these books. All have been very successful. You will notice how many of them are either very well known or are by authors who write prolifically for this age group.




1. The Christmas Book by Dick Bruna. I chose this one because it tells the Nativity story chronologically and simply but uses lovely language and is illustrated in the typical Bruna manner, that the children recognise from the Miffy books.

2. How Many Sleeps Till Christmas? by Mark Sperring and Sebastien Braun. This is about waiting patiently, not something children find easy to do at this time of the year. The title question is one that children ask every day as they are counting down.

3. What Do You Wish For? by Jane Godwin and Anna Walker. This book is especially pertinent to Australian children as it depicts a summer Christmas and a typical Australian child's street. Ruby needs to write a wish, but she struggles to decide upon one. Such a good thing to be talking to children about at this time of giving as well as receiving.

4. Max's Christmas by Rosemary Wells. I chose this one because I am the mother of a Max and a Ruby. My children loved this and all the Max and Ruby stories. Max's droll questions make everyone laugh. I also like this story because Santa appears in it, but without a huge emphasis on presents.

5. Angel Mae and the Christmas Baby by Shirley Hughes. This is the story of many children under six. Mae's mother is pregnant and tired. Her brother wants the baby to be a boy and Mae wants a girl, so squabbles ensue. It also features the school nativity play which is something most children will experience at some point in their schooling.

6. The Gift of Christmas  by Christine Leeson and Gaby Hansen. I have two copies of this story in the library. They have different titles, but are the same text and illustrations. The Very Special Christmas came with flashing fairy lights on the tree in the book, so you can imagine how much the children like it when we get to the decorated tree at the end. Molly Mouse collects a variety of decorations for the tree and the lights finish it beautifully.

7. Jingle Bells by Nick Butterworth. This is not the Christmas carol. Lottie and Jack are mice and they are having problems with the cat. The bell is part of the solution. When I bought this book for the library it was tied closed by beautiful red satin ribbon which had two bells on the ends, which is extremely fitting when you know what Mrs Mackie finds addressed to the cat.

8. Threadbear by Mick Inkpen. A story about a well-loved toy bear whose squeaker does not work. The bear thinks Santa will be able to help him. It has large fold out pages that the children love, even if they don't wear well.

9. Baboushka (various available) or The Legend of Old Befana by Tomie DePaola. I would choose one of these because they are folktales specific to either the Russian or Italian Christmas tradition that relate the story of the Three Kings going to Bethlehem.

10. Dream Snow by Eric Carle. This one because none of the other stories have snow and as with many of Carle's books it has paper engineering and music, a novelty which will keep everyone interested.


Then 11. and 12. would come from:
Wombat Divine by Mem Fox and Kerry Argent; Doing Christmas by Sarah Garland; The Snowman (show the filmclip) by Raymond Briggs; The Silver Christmas Tree by Pat Hutchins and Summer by June Factor and Alison Lester.

6th January Bean Day (Part 2)

Why is Bean such a common name in the world of children's books? It's not like it is this common in real life!

All of the books pictured above are part of a series of books except Bella and Bean by Rebecca Kai Dotlich.  This is a sweet picture book which certainly appeals to my pink-loving girls. It tells the story of two mice or rats, Bella, a moody poet and Bean, who is energetic and interrupts Bella's quiet constantly wanting her to join in some fun rather than composing. These two mismatched friends do influence each other though and by the end of the book they are writing a poem together. Lots of good vocabulary and lots to talk about especially in regards to friendship.

In the picture book series Zoe and Beans by father and daughter team Chloe and Mick Inkpen, Beans is a dog. Zoe and Beans do things that all preschoolers do but they also find themselves in adventures with pirates and on the moon which adds an element of creative play.

Beandog and Nugget by Cherise Mericle Harper is a series of easy graphic novels about two friends.
In The Ball, the first book in this series, Bean Dog and Nugget lose Bean Dog's shiny new ball in a bush. They dream up elaborate and silly ways to get it back while they argue about who is actually going to go and get it. Enter Superdog and Ninja Nugget for a hilarious ending that kids will love and relate to. Then in The Cookie the two think up ways to share the cookie. I am always looking for cartoon-style easy to read books for the library and these are perfect.


Ivy and Bean don't need an introduction. These two girls and their series of books are among the most borrowed early reader series in my library. Here Bean, short for Bernice is the tomboy, green- loving, anti-dress wearing half of the dynamic duo. Her friend Ivy is the more intellectual, quiet, pink-loving is the other half. In each of the ten books about them they cause much mischief and humour that 6 to 9 year old girls seem to really enjoy.



Beany  is a character who is brought to life in a series of books written by Susan Wojciechowski. Book one of five, Beany (Not Beanhead) introduces Bernice Lorraine Sherwin-Hendricks, aka Beany, a girl with twenty-three freckles, a bossy best friend, and a tendency to worry over just about everything! Bean is based on Susan's daughter Mary and in each of the books Beany tackles school anxieties 'with grit and fortitude'.  A good step up from Ivy and Bean!
Now for the three protagonists who have Bean as a surname!
Harriet Bean is a series of three books by Alexander McCall Smith. Harriet Bean, the heroine of each loves nothing more than a good mystery so together with her five extraordinary aunts (Veronica, Harmonica, Majolica, and twins Japonica and Thessalonika), she is always ready to take on a new case.
The Clarice Bean  series is a mixture of picture books and novels. The picture books are popular in my library but the chapter books are beyond the majority of my eight year olds. Lauren Child's wit is sophisticated, but like the other heroines listed above Clarice also has childhood worries, has to deal with unwanted changes, family and sibling issues and finding friendships.


Willa Bean is a lovable curly-haired cupid. She is very different from other cupids with her 'milli-bajillion' freckles, crazy mess of hair and purple wings. She attends the Cupid Academy and lives on Nimbus. There are five books in the Little Wings series about Willa Bean and they are easier to read than Jill Murphy's Worst Witch series and deal with similar school and friend problems.

6th January Bean Day (Part 1)

The 6th January is Bean Day.  I was surprised to find that such a day existed. Websites say it is a day to celebrate beans of every sort in any way you want or can think of. So obviously I thought about books and then realised that I could think of four different 'bean' ways to do this:
1. Look at books, fiction and non fiction books that are about the vegetable, beans.
2. Look at all the books where a character has 'Bean' as a name.
3. Look at stories such as Jack and the Beanstalk where beans or beanstalks appear. There are so many versions of and spoofs of this story, and
4. Look at the books by author/illustrator Jonathan Bean.

See I told you. I could have fun with 'beans' for  a whole week and I haven't even looked at jellybeans. I would also want to grow some beans because they are so easy to grow and children love watching the changes. You might have Amanda Graham's Five Beans big book in your school and be able to put the procedural text into reality. This book, part of the Wings series of books for young readers is ideal for 5-6 year olds. Otherwise there are quite a few very good expository texts about the lifecycle of a bean that you could follow. My school also has a big book of Nick Butterworth and Mick Inkpen's  Jasper's Beanstalk and the children love laughing at Jasper's antics as he waits for his beanseed to grow.

Other than growing beans, there is always cooking with beans, say Mexican-inspired wonders or soup, craft with beans or just reading good stories such as the very funny Bean Thirteen by Matthew McElligott or Mice and Beans by Joe Cepeda and Pam Munoz Ryan. Skippyjon Jones has quite a cult following in my library too so this title could be fun too.

Tomorrow Part Two will cover all the book characters who have Bean as a name.