4th October World Animal Day

 

World Animal Day is celebrated annually to

 •   Highlight the plight of endangered species, farm animals, and pets facing abuse or neglect.

Acknowledge that animals are living beings capable of feeling pain and emotion.
Encourage schools and communities to teach kindness and respect toward animals.
Inspire people to adopt rescue pets, support shelters, and choose cruelty-free products.




October 4th was chosen because it is the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology.The theme chosen this year by Zoe, from submissions in the UK, 'See the World Through Their Eyes' invites us to step beyond the human-centred view we often see from and consider how animals experience our changing world. To bring it to life, illustrator Emma Jayne Allsup has created a breathtaking design, inspired by the incredible Coral Triangle surrounding Papua New Guinea. It's one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, and the artwork reminds us what is at stake.Emma says "There is a huge amount of sea life to be found there. The coral reefs are some of  the planet’s richest and most important ecosystems, supporting around 25% of all marine life, in an area covering just 1% of the ocean floor.”

The region is home to:

• Around 3,000 species of fish – the greatest reef fish diversity in the world
• Approximately 600 types of reef-building coral
• 131 documented species of sharks and rays
• 6 of the 7 species of sea turtles

Yet these extraordinary ecosystems are under increasing threat. Rising global temperatures and human impact are causing coral bleaching, a process in which coral lose their symbiotic algae partners. When this happens, the ripple effects are devastating, impacting not just reefs but the countless species and communities that rely on them.

This is a day to celebrate all animals, but it might be fun to look at books that focus on animal eyes:

22nd January Chinese New The Chinese Zodiac (Part 1)

Chinese New Year 2023 falls on Sunday, January 22nd, and celebrations culminate with the 

Lantern Festival on February 5th, 2023. January 22nd, is the first day of the Lunar New Year, 

beginning fifteen days of celebrations in many South-East Asian and East Asian countries and 

communities around the world. There are different traditions associated with the festival, 

including different zodiacs for the Chinese and Vietnamese calendars. For most people, it's a 

time to spend with their families and eat delicious food.  

As the Year of the Tiger comes to an end on Jan. 21 and the Year of the Rabbit begins, we say goodbye to the roaring tiger and hello to the milder rabbit. The rabbit is historically known as the gentlest and most tender of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, the traditional classification scheme based on the lunar calendar that assigns an animal and its attributes to each year.

The Chinese year of the Rabbit is the fourth year of the 12-year cycle of Chinese Zodiac animals. These twelve animal cycle exists because there is an old Chinese story  that the says the Jade emperor ordered a race to select the 12 animals to be his personal guards. The animals arrived in the order of the cycle. There are many picture books that describe this race. Here are some good ones to look for in the library:

•  The Race for the Chinese Zodiac by Gabrielle Wang & Sally Rippin

This retelling of a classic Chinese legend by the current Australian Children's Laureate tells how the Jade Emperor has declared a great race: the first animals to cross the river will win a place in the Chinese Zodiac. Thirteen animals line up along the shore. But there are only twelve places to be won. Who will miss out?

• The Great Race: Story of the Chinese Zodiac by Christopher Corr

Celebrate Chinese New Year and learn how every animal earned its place in the Chinese zodiac by taking part in the Great Race! Discover who will come first to win the ultimate prize, and find out why Cat will never forgive his friend Rat in this ancient folk tale that has been passed from generation to generation. 

• The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac by Dawn Casey & Anne Wilson

Which animal will win the race and get the first year of the Chinese calendar named after them? Race along with Rat, Monkey, Dragon, and their companions while discovering the origin of the Chinese Zodiac. This bright and colourful book includes intriguing notes about the Chinese calendar, the festivals, and the animal that rules each year. 

• What the Rat Told Me: A Legend of the Chinese Zodiac by Marie Sellier & Catherine Louis

A wonderful introduction for young readers to the Chinese zodiac adapted from a Chinese Buddhist legend dating from the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). One day, the Great Emperor of Heaven invited all the animals to visit him on the Jade Mountain. Twelve animals came, and they became the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac. What really happened on that day so long ago? The rat, who was there, knows the true story. 

• Cat and Rat: the Legend of the Chinese Zodiac by Ed Young

According to Chinese legend, the twelve animals of the zodiac were selected by the Jade Emperor after he invited all the animals to participate in a race. This is the story of that race, and why cat and rat will always be enemies. 

• The Great Race by Emily Hiles

As the new year approaches, each animal wants it to be named after them, but no one can agree. The Jade Emperor decides there should be a race to decide the winner, but who will win? 

• The Legend of the Chinese New Year by Susan Whitfield & Philippa-Alys Browne 

This is one of several legends used by the Chinese to explain the origins of their 12-year calendar. The author includes a list of dates, so that the reader can see which animal governs the year of his or her birth.  

• No Year of the Cat by Mary Dodson Wade & Nicole Wong

The Emperor has a problem. He wants his people to remember the year in 

which his son was born. But there is no way to keep track of the years. 

So the Emperor devises a race in which animals will cross a river. The first twelve 

animals to reach the opposite side will have a year named after them. Thus, the people will be able to remember the years and the events that occurred. And so the race is set. Rat, knowing he is no match for the rushing water, schemes with Cat on how to cross the river. Together the two convince Ox to carry them across. But halfway across the river, Rat shows his true colours. Will Cat make it to the other side? Which animals will have a year named after them? 

• Ruby's Chinese New Year by Vickie Lee & Joey Chou

Ruby has a special card to give to her grandmother for Chinese New Year. But who will help her get to grandmother's house to deliver it? Will it be clever Rat, strong Ox, or cautious Rabbit? Ruby meets each of the twelve zodiac animals on her journey. This picture book includes backmatter with a focus on the animals of the Chinese zodiac. 

See how many you have to choose from! Of course there are are picture books for each of the animals and I will write about them tomorrow.

16th December A Donkey's Christmas

This morning when I checked in at my friend's blog: Momo Celebrating Time to Read, I saw that she has written about the donkey's view of Christmas because of this lovely book The Little Donkey. This reminded me of the year at school where one of the Year 1 teacher's favourite Christmas book was that version of the nativity told from the point of view of the donkey. It started the library staff on a mission to find other donkey books and other nativity stories told in first person from an animal's point of view. We were surprised to find that we had quite a lot of both, so the Christmas display that year ended up being about the animals at the birth of Jesus. It looked wonderful with all the books and soft animal toys out to accompany them. As well as the many donkeys  there were cows, sheep,  a dog, (Room for a Little One),  a cat (Cat in the Manger), a camel (The Last Straw), a hare (Hare's Christmas Gift), and even birds (The Birds of Bethlehem) and spiders (Spider's Gift: A Christmas Story).

Today I had a catch up with the donkey-mad teacher and her two small girls and we talked about Christmas books as she is doing the 25 days till Christmas with her girls, unwrapping a book to read each night. She said that she had tried to buy the donkey book but it was out of print and then she wanted to know the name of a book to buy about the origin of tinsel and we had a chat about Cobweb Christmas  and the other versions of this story. There are just so many wonderful picture books about Christmas and it does seem such a shame that they only really get an airing (reading) at Christmas. Our school year finishes so early in December that for some books that means they're only read once.

Here's what the library has about donkeys that were present at Christmas:
• The Little Donkey by Gerda Scheidl and Bernadette Watts
• The Lion, the Unicorn and Me by Jeanette Winterson and Rosalind MacCurrach
• Ruby the Christmas Donkey by Mirabel Cecil and Christina Gascoigne
• Father Christmas and the Donkey by Elizabeth Clark and Jan Ormerod
• The Donkey's First Christmas by Susanne T. Schroder
• The Ox and the Donkey by Gunter Spang and Loek Koopmans
• Little Donkey's Wish by Udo Weigelt and Pirkko Vainio
• The Donkey's Dream by Barbara Helen Berger
and some newer ones still available to purchase
• Father Christmas and the Donkey by Elizabeth Clark and Ari Jokinen
(the same story as above but with new illustrations instead of Jan Ormerod's)
• The Christmas Story as Told by Assellus the Christmas Donkey by Janet Duggan and Catherine Robertson
• Mary's Little Donkey by Gunhild Sehlin and Helene Muller

And stories about the spider and the origins of tinsel
• Cobweb Christmas by Shirley Climo and Jane Manning
• The Christmas Spider's Miracle by Trinka Hakes Noble and Stephen Constanza
• The Spider's Gift: A Ukranian Christmas Story by Eric A. Kimmel and Katya Krenina

4th October World Animal Day St Francis of Assisi

 World Animal Day is an international day of action celebrated annually on October 4, the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. It started in 1931 at a convention of ecologists in Florence, Italy who wished to highlight the plight of endangered species.

"Saint Francis of Assisi has always held a fascination for members of all faiths, and his story continues to inspire and motivate us more than seven hundred years after his death. Born into a wealthy family, he led a dissolute life as a young man. Then one day he had a conversion experience while passing a poor leper's hut. From that day on, Francis dedicated his life to helping the poor and outcasts of society and to teaching respect for all living things. He was joined by a noblewoman, Clare, who was soon known as Sister Moon to Francis's Brother Sun." (Amazon) He is responsible for the famous prayer that begins, "Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.", the Canticle of the Sun and many stories about how he tamed a wolf and talked to animals. 

Below is a collage of all the wonderful picture books that feature Saint Francis. Lots of well-known authors and illustrators have presented their view of this favoured saint. See Tomie dePaola, Brian Wildsmith, Fiona French, Pat Mora, Demi, Margaret Mayo, Reeve Lindberg and Katherine Patterson. You might even be able to find a favourite of mine, the very old and now out-of-print How St Francis Tamed the Wolf by Gerald Rose.

There are so many wonderful books about animals, including Walker's wonderful Nature Storybooks, anything by Steve Jenkins, those large, beautifully illustrated books with flaps by Francesco Pittau Gervais, anything fro National Geographic... World Animal Day is such a good excuse for a display in the library.