August Platypus Month

Happy Platypus Month! This August, let’s celebrate this unique, egg-laying mammal and support national initiatives to reintroduce the platypus in their natural habitats. in Australia, the end of winter is typically the best time to catch a glimpse of platypus as they forage for food and seek out a mate. That’s why the Australian Platypus Conservancy is urging all Australians to Report a Platypus Sighting to help build a better understanding of the status, distribution and conservation needs of these animals! 

The platypus is one of Australia’s most iconic native animals! Platypuses are elusive, skittish, and nocturnal. They’re difficult to see, and even more difficult to monitor! New evidence is suggesting that platypus numbers are declining throughout Australia. If people report a platypus sighting it will help researchers build a better understanding of the status, distribution and conservation needs of these animals! 

To know what you are looking for and where to find one, it would be a good idea to do some research of your own. Unfortunately many of the nonfiction books written for children about platypus are not Australian and we find that while not factually incorrect the wording is strange to our ears. 

In the library start with these:

• Platypus by Sue Whiting and Mark Jackson. This is Australian and part of the Nature Storybook series from Walker Books where there is factual information and a story using different fonts.

• The Story of the Platypus  by Anita Ganeri. This is not Australian but written by a highly respected writer of nonfiction books for children.

This book looks at the platypus: the first time it was reported to the Western world, the public and scientific community's reaction to it, the search for evidence, how the animal was finally recognised as a real species, and its current status today. There is also some information about the platypus's life and what makes it special or different. 

• Beneath the Trees by Cristy Burke who is a science writer.  This is a short Australian novel, but it gives information .

Cam and Sophie feel like they've been travelling forever to get to the rainforest and the river and their cousins. They just want to see a platypus in the wild, but with the rain tipping down and the river turning wild they can't see a thing. Until suddenly, they can. A platypus is just below them, and it needs help! 

 Then try these:

• A Platypus, Probably by Sneed. B.Collard

• Platypus! by Ginjer L. Clarke

• Platypuses by Sara Louise Kras

• The Platypus What is It? by Jo Brice and Gregory Rogers (Australian)

• Echidnas and Platypuses  by Debbie and Brendan Gallagher (Australian)

• Little Platypus: A Day in the Life of a Platypus Puggle  by Anna Brett

And then here's some stories to enjoy:

• Little Platypus  by Nette Hilton and Nina Rycroft (Australian)

• Pugsley Platypus  by Jessica Keating and Caroline Hazell (Australian)

• Oi Duck-Billed Platypus! by Kes Gray and Jim Field

•  Sleep Tight, Platypup by Renee Treml (Australian)

• The Silver Stream  by Robert Roennfeldt (Australian)

• Platypus Deep by Jill Morris (Australian)

3rd November Jellyfish Day

Jellyfish Day is  not  a day many people will be celebrating, I'm sure, but at school the Kindergarten classes spend the term exploring things that live in the sea and one of the Kindergarten teachers really has 'a thing' about jellyfish and wanted her class to do some 'jellyfish art'. There is so much on pinterest and the web suggesting art projects for young students and she had decided what she wanted to do, but we had very few books in the library that she could use to research jellyfish with her class. So three years ago I was on a quest to find some. Now the library has these four and all are worth having. The photos in Jellies: The Life of Jellyfish by Twig C. George are superb. Jellyfish  by Mari Schuh has just the right amount of reading for Kindergarten and the the other two Jellyfish by Louise Spilsbury and Jellyfish by Valerie Boden are good examples of information texts for young children.

While looking for jellyfish books though I was surprised to find the library already had five books where a main character was actually a jellyfish. Who would have thought to choose a jellyfish as a character? Not me!

August Platypus Month

If you live in the Australian Capital Territory during August you can be on a platypus watch. How exciting. These animals are  special, but elusive, so to see one in its natural habitat would be so memorable. There is a good summary of what to know about platypuses here.

There is not an abundance of picture books about the platypus. Unlike echidnas, possums, wombats, kangaroos, bilbies and koalas who feature in stories and expository texts, platypus don't  and when they do they are often not written or illustrated by Australians.

Sue Whiting and Mark Jackson's  Platypus  is the most recent and the best. This book is part of the wonderful Nature Storybook series where there is two fonts, one telling a narrative and the other giving facts about the animal.  These other three are older, but they will add to your knowledge and allow the reader to see the platypus as a story character and learn some of the Aboriginal Dreamtime connection it has and they are published in Australia.

• Little Platypus by Nette Hilton and Nina Rycroft
• The Platypus What is it? by Jo Brice and Gregory Rogers
• The Little Platypus and the Fire Spirit by Mundara Koran

4th May International Firefighters' Day Greenpeace launched 1971

On this day in 1971 Greenpeace was launched so what better day to share Simon James' Dear Greenpeace. In thispicture book Emily corresponds with Greenpeace about a whale in her pond. Read it and then bounce off into a bigger discussion of what Greenpeace does.

May 4th is also International Firefighters' Day, a day to remember all the good things that firefighters do to help people and communities. This is extremely important in Australia given the number of serious bushfires we experience. There are a large number of nonfiction books about firemen and they are always popular with young boys who think that is what they want to do when they grow up. As soon as the firetruck visits the preschool or school I have lots of children asking for books about firemen. Some picture books in the library that feature firemen and firetrucks are:

• The Firefighters by Sue Whiting and Donna Rawlins. Here a group of preschoolers have fun playing firefighters with their teacher.

• Tito, the Firefighter by Tim Hoppey is the story of a New York firefighter who gets help from a Spanish speaking boy when he attends a fire.

• A Day in the Life of a Firefighter by Linda Hayward is part of the DK series of books about Jobs People Do so perfect for that unit of work many classes do on Community Helpers.

• Firefighters by Katie Daynes is one of that wonderful series Usborne Beginners.

• Where There's Smoke by Robin Lovell and David Miller is the story of an Australian bushfire.

• Flick the Fire Engine by Jamie lawrence and Mark Russel. There is a series of three adventures about Flick, a fire engine from New Zealand.