12th July Paper Bag Day

Paper Bag Day 2022: It is celebrated on 12 July annually to make people aware of the pollution caused due to plastic and the serious threat that it poses to the natural environment. Plastic waste takes thousands of years to decompose. Therefore, it is important to understand the ill effects of single-use plastic bags.

Paper bags are made from renewable raw materials, are recyclable and biodegradable.

In 1852, an American inventor, Francis Wolle, established the first paper bag machine. Further in 1871, Margaret E. Knight designed another machine that can produce flat-bottom paper bags. She became famous and came to be known as "the mother of the grocery bag". In 1883, Charles Stilwell invented the machine that can produce square-bottom paper bags with pleated sides making them easier to fold and store. In 1912, Walter Deubener used a cord to reinforce paper bags and add carrying handles. Over the years, several inventors came and improve the production of paper bags.

One of Margaret Knight's best known inventions is a machine that could make flat-bottomed paper bags of the kind used in American grocery stores. Her invention meant that the bags could be produced efficiently and as a result they became hugely popular. 
Interestingly, when Knight went to patent her invention she found that someone else had got there first - a man, she had shown the invention to named Charles Annan tried to steal Knight's idea and receive credit for the patent. Knight did not let him get away with it. She proved that the invention was hers and won the patent.

Margaret Knight wrote in a letter to a friend, "As a child I never cared for things that girls usually do; dolls never possessed any charms for me…the only things I wanted were a jack-knife, a gimlet, and pieces of wood. My friends were horrified. I was called a tomboy; but that made little impression on me. I sighed sometimes because I was not like other girls; but wisely concluded that I couldn’t help it and sought further consolation from my tools. I was always making things for my brothers: did they want anything in the line of playthings, they always said, “Mattie will make them for us.” I was famous for my kites; and my sleds were the envy of all the boys in town" Source

If you want to know more about Margaret Knight or if you want your female students to feel inspired about STEM, read:

• Marvellous Mattie by Emily Arnold McCully

• Margaret Knight: Girl Inventor by Marlene Tang Brill

• In the Bag! Margaret Knight Wraps It Up by Monica Kulling

• Margaret Knight and the Paper Bag  by Virginia Loh-Hagan

If you just want to read about paperbags for fun, try:

• One Little Bag: An Amazing Journey by Henry Cole

• The Paperbag Princess  by Robert Munsch

Paper Bag Princess Day was held on Saturday, March 5, 2022

• Baghead by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

• Courage Hats by Kate Hoefler

I don't know this book, Benjamin Brody's Backyard Bag but even without owning the book its premise would make a great activity to do with a group of children. In this story Benjamin conducts a playful experiment to find out how many things he can do with an empty paper bag.

1st March Pig Day

In the USA today it is National Pig Day. Dick King Smith would be pleased, because as a pig farmer he thought all pigs were beautiful and wrote a book saying so. Even if you don't think they are beautiful  you do have to wonder why they are so endearing in so many children's books. Take the phenomena of Peppa Pig.  The three and four year olds just cannot get enough of her. The box that houses her books is always empty. Wibbly Pig  is another favourite with the preschoolers and we have a box full of them as well. Then the preschoolers start school and the boxes of Elephant and Piggie  become the new favourites.  By Year 2 , a new series about pigs becomes a favourite - Mercy Watson by Kate DiCamillo. See, pigs everywhere! Year 2 also love Wilbur  from Charlotte's Web  and Babe or The Sheep Pig, as Dick King Smith's book was called long before the movie popularised it.

Walking through Big W yesterday I saw a large print,  hardback Charlotte's Web with Garth William's illustrations coloured in. Such a bargain at $18.00.

Added to these books are other series such as Laura Numeroff's If You Give a Pig ..., Colin McNaughton's Preston Pig, Kristi Yamaguchi's ice-skating Poppy  and the numerous versions of The Three Little Pigs  and the myriad of spoofs or fractured versions of it. And how many children's books are called Pigs Can't Fly? Obviously we should be celebrating Pigs!

6th March Michelangelo (1475 -1564) Chris Raschka (1959) Dentist Day

Lots to celebrate. Firstly the great Michaelangelo, painter of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. There are not a lot of books about him that are suitable for very young children. Diane Stanley's is worth a look though.

Secondly, today is the birthday of American author/illustrator, Chris Raschka, this year's Caldecott Medal winner. He won this time for his book A Ball for Daisy. Chris is the master of the powerful story with minimum text. Here he explores the joy and sadness that having a special toy can bring. It will be good to share when children are dealing with the loss of a special possession.

And thirdly, Dentist Day. Is it coincidence that it comes so soon after Tooth Fairy Day? Nearly every favourite character that has a series of books has a dentist story. See Dora, Berenstain Bears, Maisy, Curious George and Peppa Pig! But, there are stories with much more to marvel at and ponder on. Look for:

• Margaret Mahy's The Dentist's Promise

• Robert Munsch's Andrew's Loose Tooth

• Judi Barrett's Never Take a Shark to the Dentist and there is always

• Shel Silverstein's poem The Crocodile's Toothache

11th June Robert Munsch (1945) Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Although two of his books The Paperbag Princess and Love You Forever are well-known and widely read, I knew little about Robert Munsch. When my children were small a friend came back from Canada with a gift for them, four Robert Munsch books. At that time I had never heard of him or seen his books, but my friend knew I loved children's books and she said, "These are everywhere in Canada. He seems to be their most popular children's author." I now know that she was right. Robert Munsch is the best selling children's author in Canada. The books were popular bedtime read-alouds in our house and I subsequently bought some of his books for the library. Because of the age of the children I teach, losing teeth is a big issue, so the ideas in Andrew's Loose Tooth always make the children laugh.

Reading Robert's website I love the fact that he worked in Daycare for so long. There needs to be more males in Daycare and preschools! I also like the fact that he drops in unannounced on classes that have written to him when he is travelling in that area. What a thrill for those teachers and children!

It is also Laura Vaccaro Seeger's birthday. Like Munsch she was born in the USA, but she still lives there. While not as prolific, each of Laura's books is well known and available here. The first book that I purchased for the library was the award-winning First the Egg, but we have since got her Dog and Bear series (see the irresistible accompanying toys at her website) and Lemons Are Not Red.