5th August Sunflower Day

Sunflowers are said to be a symbol of adoration, loyalty, and longevity. Their bright yellow colour is a sign of happiness, friendship, and intelligence. Much like the sun, sunflowers mirror vibrancy and give off the energy of life. Some websites say it is National Sunflower Day in the USA on the first Saturday in August. Others say it is the 21st August. Here in Australia it is  Sunflower Day on the 28th September. Whenever it is celebrated this day reminds us to show our inner sunshine, while taking the opportunity to share one of the earth’s most beautiful flowers.

It is fitting to celebrate Sunflower Day in our library now as the library is decorated for Book Week where the theme is Read Grow Inspire. Sunflowers are so easy to grow and so inspiring because of their size, the way they turn their heads to the sun, and their cheery disposition. So let's read about them. There are so many picture books about growing them.

• To Be Like the Sun  by Susan Marie Swanson and Margaret Chodos- Irvine

Hello, little seed,
striped gray seed.
Do you really know everything
about sunflowers?

My hoe breaks apart
the clods of brown earth,
but you do the real work
down in the dark.

Not radish work or pumpkin,
not thistle work –
sunflower work.
All the instructions are written in your heart.

So opens this beautifully lyrical book which follows a young girl over the course of a growing season as she plants, tends, enjoys and then warmly remembers the sunflower she grows in her garden. It is my pick! Then any of these stories:

• Measuring Angels  by Lesley Ely and Polly Dunbar

• Sunflower House  by Eve Bunting and Katherine Hewitt

• Sunflower  by Miela Ford and Sally Nicoll

• Secret in the Mist  by Margaret Nash and Stephen Lambert

• Bodge Plants a Seed  by Simon Smith

• Gift of the Sun  by Dianne Stewart and Jude Daly

• Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers by Uma Mishra-Newbery, Lina Al-Hathloul and Rebecca Green

• The Sunflower Sword  by Mark Sperring and Miriam Latimer

• I'm a Warrior Goddess by Jennifer Adams and Carme Lemniscates

• Lottie and Dottie Sow Sunflower  by Claire Burgess

Minimal text perfect for preschoolers:

• Sam Plants a Sunflower by Kate Petty and Axel Scheffler

• What's That?  by Caroline Mockford

• Tilda's Seeds  by Melanie Eclare

Some nonfiction:

• A Seed Grows  by Antoinette Portis

• Seed to Sunflower  by Camilla de la Bedoyere 

• From Seed to Sunflower  by Sally Morgan

• Sunflowers Don't Grow in Winter  by Emily Holdaway and Craig Phillips

• Seed to Plant by Kristin Baird Rattini

• Ready, Steady, Grow! by DK

And if you want to explore Van Gogh's sunflowers try:

• Katie and the Sunflowers by James Mayhew

• Camille and the Sunflowers  by Laurence Anholt

• Vincent van Gogh Sunflowers and Swirly Stars by Joan Holub

22nd July Rachel Morrisoe

At the beginning of the year I bought a picture book called The Drama Llama by Rachel Morrisoe and Ella Okstad for the library.  I bought it because it is about llamas which are popular in our library and because it was one of the books shortlisted for the Early Childhood section of the  Spark! School Book Awards, 2023 prize. These awards are voted for by young children, so I know that the books on this shortlist will appeal to my young students. When I read the blurb and saw that it was about a child who worried I knew it would also be read by teachers. Win win!

In fact the book won its category. I knew of Ella Okstad, but I had not heard of Rachel Morrisoe, so I went looking for more books by her. She is an English children's author. She is fairly new at this writing gig so she only has four books so far. I bought How to Grow a Unicorn and How to Grow a Dragon because they were cheap paperbacks, illustrated by Steven Lenton of Shifty McGifty fame, and I thought they fitted the Book Week theme well, Read, Grow, Inspire. They certainly do that.

In these rhyming stories we meet Sarah and Mr Pottifer's Parlour of Plants, a magical shop with the most surprising plants you'll ever see! Sarah goes to the shop to buy the perfect gift for her grandmother who loves gardens. When she gets to the shop, everything grows wildly out -of-hand and the plants grow magical creatures. This hilarious book will inspire young readers to live their own unicorn fantasy.

Sarah ends up working for Mr Pottifer and then in the second book, an unexpected delivery of dragodil seeds provides the perfect chance for Sarah and Mr Pottifer to grow helpful dragon pets for their customers - or does it? It turns out that these fiery dragons are not very well-behaved at all... and everything soon spirals into smoke-filled, out-of-control DRAGON CHAOS!

I'm not sure if there's more to come, but there is certainly room to be inspired by other magical creatures that Sarah and Mr Pottifer could organise. What would you buy at Mr Pottifer's Parlour of Plants? Why is it called a parlour and not a shop?

The fourth Rachel Morrisoe book, The Truth About Yeticorns  which is also illustrated by Ella Okstad has just been released and this time the focus is on telling fibs.

Meet Sarah

Read Grow Inspire Book Week Slogan 2023 (Part 4) GROW

GROW    HOW?

Back to the definition of 'grow'... to become larger or greater over a period of time. How does this happen? Lets read to find out...

Grow: Secrets of Our DNA  by Nicola Davies and Emily Sutton

This book begins with the statement, "All living things grow."

The corresponding illustrations show that plants, animals, and humans do just that. 

This understanding is further refined by the next observation: "The way living things grow helps them to survive in different places." Complementary illustrations depict plants and animals that grow quickly or slowly depending on their location.

Beautifully lucid, engaging sentences blend with detailed, informative illustrations that artfully extend big ideas about growth and the role of DNA. 

Something simpler that looks at how young animals — and people — grow into unique individuals is 

Grow by JoAnn Early Macken and Stephanie Fizer Coleman

As We Grow  by Libby Walden and Richard Jones 

No one knows what lies ahead or who they’ll grow to be, It’s all a part of growing up.

In this stunning picture book, Richard Jones’ enchanting illustrations sensitively depict each stage of life and the journey of transformation that we undergo as we grow up. 

The Growing Story by Ruth Krauss and Helen Oxenbury

A little boy, some chicks and a puppy live on a farm. They see the first signs of spring growing in the fields and the little boy asks his mother if he and the puppy will grow too. Of course you will, she assures him, and as spring turns to summer he sees his dog growing taller and the chicks become chickens. But as the seasons change and everything grows around him, the little boy feels like he has stayed the same. Can he really be growing too?

Now to the most obvious way to celebrate growing...look at books about, plants, gardens and growing things for yourself. (Pinterest on Gardening)

Grow! by Rizanino Reyes and Sara Boccaccini Meadows 

Here we meet  fifteen plants and fungi with incredible powers, then learn how to grow them.

Beginning  by   Shelley Moore Thomas and Melissa Castrillon

A father and child see all the wonders and connections in nature and in life as they go about their day.

From a seed to a plant, from an egg to a chick, from a caterpillar to a butterfly, a child and father observe the cycles of nature and come to see that as each journey ends, new adventures begin.

You will not have any trouble finding five books on growing for a book a day!

SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

 

Goal 11 - Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Did you know that more than half of the world’s population lives in cities? Even though cities only make up 3% of the earth’s land, more than 3.5 billion people live in cities today, and that number is only growing.

As more people make cities their homes, it is very important to focus on making cities safe, inclusive, and sustainable. Are there footpaths in your city? Are there enough jobs and homes for everyone? Is it safe for your family to walk at night? Is the air in your city clean? Are the parks taken care of?

Select a book from here.

This book, Out of the Way! Out of the Way! by Umi Krishnaswami appears on many reading lists so if your library has it, it is a very good place to start.

Here's the blurb:

A young boy spots a baby tree growing in the middle of a dusty path in his village. He carefully places rocks around it as the local mango seller rushes past shouting, "Out of the way! Out of the way!" As the tree grows bigger, people and animals traverse the path until it becomes a lane, flowing like a river around the tree -- getting out of its way. Over time, the lane becomes a road, and a young man crossing the road with his children remembers the baby tree from long ago. By the time he is an old man, the tree has become a giant. The city traffic continues to rattle past, noisier and busier than ever, but sometimes the great tree works its magic, and people just stop, and listen. 

Two other books that allow for discussion of life in a city are these two by Sydney Smith.

Small in the City      and              Footpath Flowers

       
                   

And lastly, perhaps look at a book that is about greening the city or growing things. These two both work well.

The Curious Garden  by Peter Brown   and   Errol's Garden    by Gillian Hibbs

                           

  Tasks  for the booklet: 

Before reading, say: How we live affects the city. Ask: What do we do that hurts the city? What do we do that helps the city?

 

• We read...

 

• This story made me want to ...

 

                  

29th August More Herbs Less Salt Day

This morning one of the Kindergarten teachers came into the library to get books about growing herbs. Her class had grown bulbs successfully and their daffodils had been harvested so they were looking to start the growing process again. We have an abundance of gardening and 'growing' books so it wasn't hard to satisfy her request. I was amazed to read this afternoon, though that it was More Herbs Less Salt Day. What a coincidence! This day sounds like it was instigated by the Heart Foundation, but whoever it was it is a good plan. Here are some of the books that helped this morning.