21st March Common Courtesy Day

How appropriate at this troubled time in the community. Common courtesy has almost disappeared at the shops when it comes to people wanting something for themselves. How sad. I think we need it more than ever at the moment, so now that we've moved on in the library from hand washing and germs, I'm moving on to Common Courtesy!

What does common courtesy mean?
It is politeness that people can usually be expected to show!


Common Courtesy Day is a great way to remind ourselves that the world is better off when we show gratitude and graciousness in both big and small ways.

So what books to put in this display? I could put any books about manners, but some are definitely better than others because some are far too didactic. Below are some that warrant reading and sharing. The reader will laugh at the despicable behaviour but once recognised they will know it is inappropriate.

Magic Little Words by Angele Delaunois and Manon Gauthier is the gem to get you started. It presents one word and its meaning on each double-page spread and because there is not  much text it allows for lots of talk.

Hello, Goodbye  by David Lloyd and Louise Voce is very simple and for very young children, but greeting each other  is an important concept.

The Elephant and the Bad Baby  by Elfrida Vipont and Raymond Briggs is a classic that many children will know but will be happy to tell you what the baby and the elephant did wrong.

Please Mr Panda by Steve Antony has a storyline similar to Elfrida Vipont's but has other concepts to explore besides manners.

"Say Please, Little Bear" by Peter Bently and Rob McPhillips. Daddy bear is the kind of parent you hope every child has. He enjoys having fun with his child, but expects exemplary behaviour.

The Magic Word  by Mac Barnett and Elise Parsley. Here humour takes over, but the underlying message isn't lost.


One Word from Sophia  by Jim Averback and Yasmeen Ismail. Sophia tries all sorts of negotiations, but in the end only needs one word.

My Little Gifts  by Jo Witek and Christine Roussey.

Norris the Bear Who Shared by Catherine Rayner.

Betty Bunny Wants Everything by Michael Kaplan and Stephane Jorisch

Rude Cakes by Rowboat Watkins

Yuk! said the Yak by Alex English and Emma Level

Tea Party Rules by Ame Dyckman and K.G. Campbell

We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins

No Slurping, No Burping! by Kara LaReau and Lorelay Bove

You're a Rude Pig, Bertie by Claudia Bolt

All Mine! by Zehra Hicks

How Do You Do, Mr Gnu? by Billy Coughlan and Maddie Frost

Me First! by Michael Escoffier and Kris di Giacomo

Give Me Back My Book! by Travis Foster and Ethan Long

Plankton is Pushy by Jonathan Fenske

6th January Bean Day (Part 3)

Now for having fun with Jack and the Beanstalk. When I survey my four kindergarten classes to see which fairytales they know, unlike many others, they do know this story. When questioned further they know there is  a giant, magic beans and a beanstalk. A few children will know Fee Fi Fo Fum, but not many. So they are very happy to read and compare versions and then look at 'corrupted' modern retellings. If you know the original well then it is easy to laugh at the spoofs. Many of the spoofs are in small chapter book format too, so they are ideal for my budding readers.

I love Raymond Brigg's Jim and the Beanstalk. Mary Pope Osborne has swapped Jack for Kate in Kate and the Beanstalk. Who can resist a book with the title Jack and the Baked Beanstalk? It has a modern twist where the beans come in a can, but still Jack's mother throws the can out the window in disgust. Jack  by Liesl Shurtliff is a novel length 'true story of Jack and the Beanstalk' which takes the concept of fractured fairytale to its full extent and makes a good serial. It's Not About the Beanstalk by David Parkin is a short chapter book which is part of a series about three friends who explore fairytales from around the world. Collect together all the versions of the beanstalk story you can find and have some fun!

22nd September Elephant Appreciation Day

I can't believe I haven't written about this celebration before. There are just so many wonderful books for young children about elephants or which have elephants as main characters. I have a pinterest page for elephant books so I don't intend to list all of these. Instead as part of my elephant appreciation I have decided to categorise and then tell you my favourites. Here they are!

Picture Book:
My favourite to read to preschoolers is The Elephant and the Bad Baby  by Elfrida Vipont and Raymond Briggs. While not really about elephants one of the main characters is an elephant and the children find him a loveable villain.
My favourite picture book about elephants, which also has a loveable main character is Little Elephant, Thunderfoot by Sally Grindley and John Butler.

Novel:
It is a toss up between two, both of which I have had success with reading to classes.
1. Tua and the Elephant by R.P. Harris
2. Akimbo and the Elephants by Alexander McCall Smith

Non-Fiction:
With amazing photographs: Elephants a Book for Children by Steve Bloom
With illustrations: Grandma Elephant's in Charge by Martin Jenkins and Ivan Bates
This title is part of the wonderful Read and Wonder series which intersperses story with facts.

Folktale:
The Elephants' Ears by Catherine Chambers and Caroline Mockford
This story explains the differences between African and Indian elephants.

Biography/True story:
Queenie: One Elephant's Story by Corinne Fenton and Peter Gouldthorpe
This story is sad, but shows children a problem that may come with keeping wild animals in captivity.

Series:
Elephant and Piggie by Mo Willems

18th January A.A.Milne (1882 - 1956) Raymond Briggs (1934) Catherine Anholt (1958)

You don't need an excuse like Alan Alexander Milne's birthday to read Winnie-the-Pooh! You could do it any day just because you want to. Similarly you don't need an excuse to read his poetry. The children at school love it when I recite Missing or parts of Disobedience or Rice Pudding.

A.A. Milne was already a writer, when his son Christopher Robin was born in 1920. In 1924 he published a book of verse called When We Were Very Young. Included in this collection was a poem about a teddy bear, the first reference to Winnie-the-Pooh. Milne went on to write a book about this bear, other toys and a boy with the same name as his son. Winnie-the-Pooh was published in 1926 and another book about them and another book of verse followed later. The characters in the Pooh stories were inspired by stuffed toys of Christopher's. These original toys can be seen in the Children's Room in the New York Library. I have seen them. They look sad, as if they are waiting for Christopher to return and play with them. I also think it is because they belong in England amongst original artwork by Ernest Shepherd and early editions of the books. They would then not look out of place.

Milne's widow sold the book rights to Disney and that is why when you see Winnie-the-Pooh these days in picture book versions of the stories, he is more likely to be a very golden colour with a red jacket than to look like the loveable gentle creatures that Ernest Shepherd created.

Another English author, but with a completely different oeuvre is Raymond Briggs. For me he is the original graphic novelist. The children in my library know his work because of The Snowman and Father Christmas in both book and video format. Both get used extensively in the lead up to Christmas. Jim and the Beanstalk, a fractured version of Jack and the Beanstalk is also well-borrowed.

Catherine Anholt, also English, is the author illustrator with her husband, Laurence of the picture books about those mischievous chimpanzees, Chimp and Zee among other wonderful books for preschoolers.

3rd July Elfrida Vipont (1902 - 1992)

Elfrida Vipont is the author of the classic The Elephant and the Bad Baby. I love this book! It has never 'flopped' with any Kindergarten class I have read it to. It does everything an early childhood book should do. It has rhyme, rhythm and repetition. It has a plot, improbable main characters and it finishes with everyone having tea, as all good children's books should! (Well they often did, when this one was written.) It is easy to plan response activities for (see class mural) and it always makes for good discussion too, about manners and stealing, two things 5 year olds definitely have an opinion on. And it has the added bonus of Raymond Briggs' illustrations.

Other than this book, I knew nothing about Elfrida Vipont, but with what I have just said in mind, I was not surprised to read that she was a teacher and a Quaker.