SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

 

Goal 11 - Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Did you know that more than half of the world’s population lives in cities? Even though cities only make up 3% of the earth’s land, more than 3.5 billion people live in cities today, and that number is only growing.

As more people make cities their homes, it is very important to focus on making cities safe, inclusive, and sustainable. Are there footpaths in your city? Are there enough jobs and homes for everyone? Is it safe for your family to walk at night? Is the air in your city clean? Are the parks taken care of?

Select a book from here.

This book, Out of the Way! Out of the Way! by Umi Krishnaswami appears on many reading lists so if your library has it, it is a very good place to start.

Here's the blurb:

A young boy spots a baby tree growing in the middle of a dusty path in his village. He carefully places rocks around it as the local mango seller rushes past shouting, "Out of the way! Out of the way!" As the tree grows bigger, people and animals traverse the path until it becomes a lane, flowing like a river around the tree -- getting out of its way. Over time, the lane becomes a road, and a young man crossing the road with his children remembers the baby tree from long ago. By the time he is an old man, the tree has become a giant. The city traffic continues to rattle past, noisier and busier than ever, but sometimes the great tree works its magic, and people just stop, and listen. 

Two other books that allow for discussion of life in a city are these two by Sydney Smith.

Small in the City      and              Footpath Flowers

       
                   

And lastly, perhaps look at a book that is about greening the city or growing things. These two both work well.

The Curious Garden  by Peter Brown   and   Errol's Garden    by Gillian Hibbs

                           

  Tasks  for the booklet: 

Before reading, say: How we live affects the city. Ask: What do we do that hurts the city? What do we do that helps the city?

 

• We read...

 

• This story made me want to ...

 

                  

5th June Hot Air Balloon Day

Did you know that the hot air balloon is the oldest form of flight technology used for carrying humans? The first manned flight occurred in 1783. The balloon itself consists of an envelope, which is used to contain the hot air, and a gondola, where passengers and a means of creating hot air are typically housed. 

Recently a popular television program started its new season with a harrowing scene which involved a hot air balloon. My husband and son think this show is very humorous, but often I find myself squirming. A book I really enjoyed, Enduring Love began with an awkward hot air balloon incident too. It was made into a movie and I had to cover my eyes at the beginning of it while the hot air balloon scene was playing. You guessed it, there is absolutely no way I would ever get in a hot air balloon. I do think they look good sailing across the sky. They are beautifully bright and demand your attention, but my attention is from the ground with my feet touching the dirt.

Today I collected up some books to put together a display. We had a Donut Day display out for the 2nd of June, but it had been decimated so I had to find something to replace it. Obviously donuts are popular. I could have had several copies of the Mr Panda books. I have a Mr Panda toy and together with the books he is popular. 

Hot air balloons has proved an ideal replacement ...there are plenty of books across a wide reading range. Some special books worth mentioning are:

Picture books:
• The Great Balloon Hullaballoo by Peter Bently
• Flight of the Dodo by Peter Brown
• Miranda the Explorer by James Mayhew
• The Cloudspotter by Tom McLaughlin
• Hot Air: the Mostly True Story of the First Hot-air Balloon Ride by Marjorie Priceman
• Hot Air by Sandrine Dumas Roy (about global warming really...wonderful art)
• Sebastian and the Balloon by Philip C. Stead

Nonfiction:
• Hot Air Balloons by Joanne Mattern
• How Do Hot Air Balloons Work?  by Buffy Silverman

Novels:
• Emily Eyefinger and the Balloon Bandits by Duncan Ball
• Fortunately the Milk by Neil Gaiman
• Meerkat Madness Flying High by Ian Whybrow

and two that are worth searching out in a library because they are out of print :
• Cinderella and the Hot Air Balloon by Ann Jungman
• The Balloon Farmer by Geoffrey Lehmann

29th July International Tiger Day

International Tiger Day is held annually to raise public awareness of tiger conservation issues. It is becoming more important each year as the number of tigers are decreasing quite rapidly. Recently I heard the tiger keeper from Australia Zoo interviewed on Conversation Hour on the ABC and I found what he had to say fascinating. It lead to me doing a bit of research and thinking it would be a fun topic to explore with students at school.

The fiction tiger titles are borrowed, but the nonfiction books on tigers (in fact any big cats) are very popular in my library. Whenever we put together a display and include a few cuddly toy tigers the books walk out the door. So having a global celebration of tigers is a good excuse to put together a display this week. What is in our library is here on pinterest.

Do a quick survey to see which is the most popular tiger book in your library. I love The Tiger-Skin Rug  by Gerald Rose. The librarian I share the library with loves Augustus and His Smile  by Catherine Rayner. One of the preschool teachers constantly has The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr on loan to her. One of the Kindergarten teachers has become a fan of The Rat and the Tiger by Keiko Kasza since doing a philosophy PD course and the students have become loyal fans of two newer books Mr Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown and The Sea Tiger by Victoria Turnbull.

The shortlist for The Environment Award for Children's Literature 2015 was announced in July and Our Class Tiger by Aleesah Darlison is on that shortlist in the non-fiction category. See the full shortlist here.

24th February Peter Brown

Peter Brown is one of the illustrators who has just been honoured in the Caldecott Medal list for his illustrations in the book Creepy Carrots written by Aaron Reynolds, and today is his birthday. His website offers so much information that can be used with children and I can't wait to share his first book about his dog that he wrote and illustrated when he was six. This will be so inspiring for children who see themselves as writers. Also in an interview here, about his book The Curious Garden, Peter Brown's  answer to the question, 'Do you have any advice for you readers?' is 'Be curious'. What a great focus for a study of his books? I want to put all of his books out for my book club  and then send them off to read and peruse them with that instruction, 'be curious'. Then I would show this video and this one too. When we get together to discuss what they have found I will be able to see where their curiosity has taken them. It would be wonderful to use the See Think Wonder questions as a focus.

What I find admirable from the interviews is that Brown’s goal is simple, “to make books that kids really want to read, to help prevent reluctant readers like myself.”

“I try to make stories that are really fun, but there’s also a bit of a lesson in there, secretly,” Brown admits. “I don’t want to turn kids off, but a story without a lesson is not really a story.” For Brown, it’s connecting with his readers that’s important. “I spend a lot of time thinking about my readers when I’m coming up with a story, and I think I know what my audience needs."