30th September Save the Koala Day

 

I have written about koalas before here and here, but there's a new book just published by Stephen Michael King, Koala Ark  which is a book every library should purchase to add to their stock of koala books. On his website Stephen has written about the impetus for this book. There are published teaching notes and these discussion starters.

The library has these other koala books.

21st June Dog Tales

 

I have just come back from a weekend in Canberra. Despite the cold, blustery weather I walked and saw two exhibitions. My colleague and I went to visit Dog Tales: Dogs in Australian Children's Literature because we both love picture books and illustrations. We knew it featured illustrations by Bob Graham, Alison Lester and Ann James. We speculated about who else would feature because most Australian illustrators have books that feature dogs, the quintessential family pet in Australia. 

The most famous Australian picture book dog at the moment is probably Aaron Blabey's Pig the Pug, but there have been others such as Amanda Graham's Arthur, Colin Thompson and Sarah Davis's Fearless, Andrew McLean's Josh, Matt Ottley's Faust, Margaret Wild and Stephen Michael King's Pocket Dogs and more recently Annie White's Clementine.

The exhibition featured the three authors listed and Andrew McLean mainly. I was pleased to see Andrew McLean there because his dogs are especially endearing. His book Dog Tales which may have triggered the exhibition name features so many dogs and Josh  who has  books of his own featured here first.

      

Other dogs illustrated by him that 'shine' are 

• Bob the Railway Dog by Corinne Fenton

• Reggie,Queen of the Street by Margaret Barbalet

• Oh, Kipper! by Janet McLean

• My Dog by John Heffernan

Alison Lester featured in the exhibition because of My Dog Bigsby  who has a book of his own and appears in the Noni the Pony books as well.

Bob Graham has a dog in so many of his books, but in the exhibition we saw the wonderful dog from Queenie, the Bantam and  the dogs from Let's Get a Pup and The Trouble with Dogs. I particularly like the dead-weight dog Bob Graham did in Nigel Gray's books My Dog, My Cat, My Mum and Me! and Come On Everybody, Time to Play!

     

     

Ann James is a dog expert! I love her dogs. See The Way I Love You by David Bedford and Dog In, Cat Out by Gillian Rubinstein among others.

            

Stephen Michael King has illustrated many dogs and he did not feature in the exhibition, some that spring to mind are:

• Mutt Dog

• Three 

• Barney by Catherine Jinks

Books that feature dogs are often winners! They appeal to readers, they are shortlisted and they linger in our minds.

I still cannot read Toby by Margaret Wild and Noela Young without crying. Oh Albert! by Davina Bell and Sara Acton makes me smile. So too, do all of Nina Rycroft's dogs. See Pooka, by Carol Chataway; Good Dog Hank by Jackie French and This is the Dog by Maura Finn. Bruce Whatley's dogs make me laugh, they have so much personality. See Little White Dogs Can't Jump; The Magnetic Dog  and The Ugliest Dog in the World. Tom Jellett's dogs have attitude. See The Twelfth Dog by Charlotte Calder; Seadog by Claire Saxby and The Bad Bassinis by Clair Hume.

Last year My Friend, Fred by Frances Watts and A. Yi won Book of the Year for Early Childhood and When Billy Was a Dog  by Kirsty Murray and Karen Blair and Three were on shortlists. This year We Love You, Magoo by Briony Stewart and Seven Seas of Fleas by Dave Petzold are both on shortlists and could be winners! Australians certainly love picture books about dogs! And if we added all the beginning novels about dogs this would be a very long blog!

24th May Escargot Day

Escargot Day is observed each year on May 24th. This day is in honour of the famous French dish of cooked land snails. Escargot is French for edible snails, an acquired taste that was popular in French restaurants in the past, but not so much now. I couldn't find when Snail Day was celebrated so decided to put together a display of 'snail' books to honour the 24th. The students at my school learn French and we have an abundance of wonderful books which feature snails, so why not?

If you are doing this too, start with these picture books:
• Escargot by Dashka Slater & Sydney Hansen. This is such fun and can be found here on Youtube if you don't have a copy of the book.
• Snails Legs by Damian Harvey and Korky Paul
• Super Snail by Elys Dolan
• Snails Are Just My Speed by Kevin McCloskey
• Snail Trail by Ruth Brown
• The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
• The Story of Fish and Snail by Deborah Freedman
• The Biggest House in the World by Leo Lionni
• Snail and Turtle Are Friends and Snail and Turtle Rainy Days  by Stephen Michael King
• Matisse's Magical Trail by Tim Hopgood and Sam Boughton 
• Snippet the Early Riser by Bethanie Deeney Murguia
• Clementine by Sebastian Loth
• Sylvia  by Christine Sharp


Just a few information books:
• Watch Out Snail! by Gail Hay
• Let's Look at Snails by Michelle Levine
• Snail-Snaily-Snails by Bonnie Bader
' Here are some chapter books worth looking for:
• Snail and Worm by Tina Kugler (this is a series)
• Annie's Snails by Dianne Wolfer
• The Adventurous Snail by Dick King Smith
• Sophie's Snail by Dick King Smith (this is one of six Sophie adventures)
• The Worst Child I Ever Had  by Anne Fine
• The Story of a Snail Who Discovered the Importance of Being Slow by Luis Sepulveda



And for fun look for these two art books
• Snail Trail: A Journey through Modern Art by Jo Saxton
• How the Snail Found It's Colours by Jeong-Yi Kee

28th September Good Neighbour Day

There are not a lot of picture books with 'neighbour' in their title, but nevertheless it is easy to define what a neighbour is and does using stories in picture books, and what better way to celebrate Good Neighbour Day than by reading with your neighbours, even if they are school 'neighbours'. Many of the books I like to share are now old, but that doesn't mean they aren't still good and worth sharing. These will probably be in your school library too, and they are perfect for giving that sense of neighbourliness and community.

    Read:

    • Rose Meets Mr Wintergarten by Bob Graham. Here Rose and her                                                      family move into the house next door to a recluse whose yard has become overgrown. Rose is determined to befriend him.


• A Bus Called Heaven by Bob Graham. Here a young girl called Stella creates a haven for her neighbourhood in a dumped bus.

• Amelia Ellicott's Garden by Liliana Stafford and Stephen Michael King. Here a storm damages Amelia's garden and chicken coop and the neighbours rally to help her recoup her belongings and restore them.

• That's Not a Daffodil by Elizabeth Honey. Here Tom's elderly neighbour gives him a bulb that they plant and watch grow.

• Nobody's Granny by Tessa Brady. Here the children in an elderly lady's neighbourhood collaborate to build her a fence in exchange for playing in her garden.

• Leaves for Mr Walter by Janeen Brian and David Cox. Here Emilia befriends grumpy Mr Walter who lives next door and together they create a treehouse.

And if you do want a book with 'neighbours' in the title, dig out  Mum, Midge and the Neighbours by Phil Cummings and Ritva Vitoula.

13th - 19th May National Volunteer Week

National Volunteer Week is Australia's largest celebration of volunteers and volunteerism. There are over 6 million people volunteering in Australia, which represents 36% of the adult population. Volunteering Australia values the contribution that each individual makes by offering their time, skills and passion. They feel that Australia has a proud culture of giving.

Unfortunately sometimes at school I feel my clientele have a tendency towards ego-centricism and self absorption so I take every opportunity to talk about the importance of community and helping each other and I find it easy to do this through books and book discussion.  Luckily this is the theme of many early childhood picture books and here's five that do it very well. Each has an adult helping a child or children helping an adult to see the power of communication and thus community in a neighbourhood setting. These books were the first to come to mind and I think it fitting that they are all Australian titles.
If I thought for longer I'm sure there would be more titles, but  here's these books with authors:
• Nobody's Granny  by Tess Brady tells of a lonely old lady who has her garden tidied and a fence built by scouts.
•  Amelia Ellicott's Garden by Liliana Stafford & Stephen Michael King shares the story of how the neighbours help Amelia after her garden and chicken coop have been damaged in a storm.
• Rose Meets Mr Wintergarten by Bob Graham tells of how when Rose's family move to a new house they make an effort to meet their neighbour and to involve him anew in the life of the neighbourhood.
• That's Not a Daffodil by Elizabeth Honey tells the story of neighbours Tom, a small boy and Mr Yilmaz the wonderful gardener who lives nearby and is constantly giving of his time and produce.
• Leaves For Mr Walter by Janeen Brian & David Cox which shows how young Emilia helps grumpy Mr Walter rake up his leaves and in doing so brings about a change in his disposition.

7th January Bushfires

Once again parts of Australia are being ravaged by bushfires. It feels as if there have been so many years in my teaching career when I have gone back to school at the end of January to talk of bushfires and children asking questions about them. There are resources such as this put out by the Victorian Education Department to help teachers and students who have been 'touched' by the fires, but for children who know they have occurred but haven't experienced them first hand what do you give them to read?
I have used these picture books:
• Bushfire by Marguerite Hann Syme and David Cox. This is a picture book for 5 to 8 year olds showing very evocatively a hot blustery day when the sky fills with smoke and bushfires break out. Marguerite lived through the Ash Wednesday fires in 1983 and has relived her experience through this book and a novel for older children called Burnt Out.
• Applesauce and the Christmas Miracle by Glenda Millard and Stephen Michael King. This gives children a clear picture of the aftermath of fires, but also shows the sense of community that can develop during and after a crisis.
• Where There's Smoke by Robin Lovell and David Miller. This picture book comes with notes. See here for a clear precis and what can be done as follow up.
• Fire Engine Lil by Janet and Andrew McLean. This is old, but gives children an accurate picture of the urgency involved.
• Bushfire by Tricia Oktober. This too is old, but may be in your library. Here you get the animals' point of view of bushfires.

I am sure there is more, but as I teach very young children I am not as familiar with books for older children. I thought I could use this newspaper-like article and I can also use other books about firefighters and fireman such as these that I have written about before.

13th December

An Australian Christmas Part 2.

Two Australian books that look at the nativity story:

1. The Nativity by Julie Vivas

In this book Julie Vivas has illustrated the nativity story using the Gospel of St Luke from the King James Bible version with characters who look very human and earthy. There is no mistaking Mary's pregnancy and there is no doubt that Julie Vivas is the illustrator. This book was first published in 1986 and has had many reissues with numerous covers. The biblical language is old fashioned and may be hard for very young children to understand but those who know the story are more than absorbed by the illustrations and the lull of the reader's voice. Who can resist an angel in Dr Martens? What joy!

It is interesting that a new, albeit not illustrated by an Australian, nativity story has been issued this year (The Story of Christmas by Pamela Dalton), so many years later, that also uses the King James version and relies on its amazing illustrations to relay the magic and awe of the birth of Jesus. Publishers must still think it is relevant.

2. Applesauce and the Christmas Miracle by Glenda Millard and Stephen Michael King

This is a modern twist on the nativity story set in Australia among droughts and bushfires and told from a pig, Applesauce's point of view. The text is so far removed from that in the Julie Vivas story, but the analogy is not missed by very young children and we had fun listing the similarities and differences.

8th September International Literacy Day Byron Barton Jack Prelutsky (1940) Jon Scieszka (1954) Stephen Michael King (1963) Emily Gravett (1972)

Wow five birthdays on International Literacy Day! These authors and illustrators chose the 'right' day to celebrate their birthday. The UN has literacy high on its list of priorities. On their website for this day it says

Literacy is a cause for celebration since there are now close to four billion literate people in the world. However, literacy for all – children, youth and adults - is still an unaccomplished goal and an ever moving target. A combination of ambitious goals, insufficient and parallel efforts, inadequate resources and strategies, and continued underestimation of the magnitude and complexity of the task accounts for this unmet goal. Lessons learnt over recent decades show that meeting the goal of universal literacy calls not only for more effective efforts but also for renewed political will and for doing things differently at all levels - locally, nationally and internationally.

I am fortunate to have been born into a literate family, in a country that is wealthy enough to provide education for boys and girls alike, and I spend my working day imbuing very young children with a purpose and an environment conducive to learning to, not only read and write, but to love doing so. I want the children I teach to be readers who choose to read not only to learn, but also for pleasure. I want them to be readers for life. The five birthday authors want children to read their publications too, but more than that they want them to enjoy the experience and to want to repeat it. They love it enough to repeat the publication process. As there are so many and each of them is outstanding at what they do and deserves to have reams written about them, I feel I cannot do them justice in such a short space and time. Where they have a website I will send you there and the five titles illustrated are a very arbitrary choice because each has so many titles that could have been chosen.

Jack Prelutsky is an American poet who has so many anthologies of poems it is hard to pick just one that is a favourite. I have chosen Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant only because I have only recently been introduced to Carin Berger's illustrations and I love them. When I think of Jack's poems I think funny, foolish or frightening, because they are the three things I think he does well in poetry.

Jon Scieszka deserves to be mentioned on this day because he is instrumental in making sure that boys read. His website Guys Read outlines what he has put in place to encourage boys to get involved in reading by finding books that they like. One of the Kindergarten classes at school had fun a few weeks ago with Jon's new picture book Robot Zot! There were robots everywhere in that room for a couple of weeks!

Stephen Michael King is a very well known Australian illustrator. He has picture books of his own, such as the wonderful Leaf, illustrates for other authors and does many book covers. His cover for the fifth Kingdom of Silk book (called Plum Puddings and Paper Moons) by Glenda Millard is about to be available and I cannot wait.

Emily Gravett is my current favourite illustrator of all time. I love the way each of her books is unique, nothing like the one before, or the one to come. I am always amazed at her ideas. I love Wolves and each time I pore over it I find something new to be in awe of. I especially like the way she combines pencil with other media and the way she uses white.

Byron Barton doesn't appear to have a website and I don't know when he was born, but what I do know is that his book Boats was my son's favourite book as a toddler and he still has a great love of boats and wants to make a career working with them. His other non fiction titles such as Dinosaurs Dinosaurs, Trucks, Trains and Airport are popular with the preschoolers who use my library too.

P.S. Byron Barton was born in 1930.