16th May International Day of Living Together in Peace

Unesco instigated this Day which aims to uphold the desire to live and act together, united in differences and diversity, in order to build a sustainable world of peace, solidarity and harmony. The Day invites countries to further promote reconciliation to help to ensure peace and sustainable development. 

Living together in peace is all about accepting differences and having the ability to listen to, recognise, respect and appreciate others, as well as living in a peaceful and united way and how pertinent is this for this time during COVID 19 when we begin to be given less imposed constrictions but continue to be asked to practise self distancing, continue to wash hands and be mindful about hygiene and to be careful when in public spaces. Can we all do that? We will have to wait and see.

As school goes back here, being considerate of others, patient with others, tolerant of others and most importantly accepting of others self-imposed limits is going to matter more. Maybe it is time to look at picture books that look at these values and what constitutes living peacefully together.

The Peace Book  by Todd Parr is a good place to start because it is simple and for a very young audience. It  delivers a timely and timeless message about the importance of friendship, caring, and acceptance. 

Peace is an Offering by Annette Le Box  is a warm comforting poem where a group of neighbourhood children find love in everyday things--in sunlight shining through the leaves and cookies shared with friends--and learn that peace is all around, if you just look for it.


A Little Peace by Barbara Kerley is a  book that juxtaposes photographs from around the world with simple, reflective messages about our responsibilities for finding and keeping peace on the planet. 

And at school on Monday perhaps reading these two books will remind students to be accepting of difference, to stand up for each other and yet encourage peaceful problem solving.

One by Kathryn Otoshi. You may recognize Red, the bully of this story, who picks on Blue for looking different; you may recognize the other colours, who stay quiet as red becomes more and more antagonistic. I hope you also recognize One, who finally stands up for Blue, and Blue itself who shows Red kindness and acceptance despite their past actions.

Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall. Here Red is expected to draw fire trucks and strawberries, but he is a blue crayon in a red wrapper,  and everything he draws comes out blue. At first Red is misunderstood, but he is soon accepted and respected for who he really is. This simple story is so heartwarming; it teaches us not to judge by first impressions and expectations, but to accept and respect however a person wants to define themself.

13th May World Migratory Bird Day

This year the theme for World Migratory Bird Day is “Birds Connect Our World” and it was chosen to highlight the importance of conserving and restoring the ecological connectivity and integrity of ecosystems that support the natural movements of migratory birds and that are essential for their survival and well-being. What a great theme!

I have written about this day before, but wanted to write about it again because lately I have been reminded of so many beautiful books that do this topic so well.

Mike Unwin and Jenni Desmond's wonderful book Migration gives many examples of birds that do these great migrations, but it is the individual picture story books that heighten our awe and empathy for both the birds and the sheer vastness of the journeys.

Jeannie Baker's Circle  tells the migration story for the Bar-tailed Godwit which makes the longest unbroken migration of any bird, a total of 11000 kilometres, all the way from Alaska to New Zealand. The illustrations allow the reader to follow the journey very closely and to marvel at the ingenuity and tenacity of such a small bird. New Zealand authors have also written about this bird and a new book  Little Godwit Finds His Wings was published this year.

Two books that look at migrating cranes are Grandfather's Dream by Holly Keller and Lotus and Feather by Ji-Li Jiang. Holly Keller's book, set in Vietnam tells the story of Nam and her grandfather who is constantly harking back to the days when the cranes came to the delta as part of their migratory journey.  Jiang's story, set in China tells of a crane that fails to finish a migration because of a hunter's bullet. The discussions elicited by classroom readings of these two books. Lotus and Feather could be read along side Rechenka's Eggs by Patricia Polacca as there are similarities in that Rechenka is an injured goose who also needs to be nursed back to health.

Another two books for comparison are about hummingbirds. Look for Tiny Bird by Robert Burleigh and Wendell Minor and Hummingbird by Nicola Davies and Jane Ray. Both of these chart the long journey from Mexico to Canada that this tiny bird that is smaller than you thumb makes each Spring.    

In Is this Panama? by Jan Thornhill and  Soyeon Kim,  a young Wilson's warbler wakes up one day knowing this is the day to start a long journey from the Arctic Circle to Panama and because this bird is named, Sammy you cannot help but get involved in his plight. He is no longer, just any bird!

I noticed there is a new book coming called The Sea Swallow and the Humpback Whale by Catherine Barr and Gerry Turley which tracks two migratory journeys across sea and sky. I look forward to seeing this.

While each of these books tells an amazing story of persistence, resilience and sheer determination it is the illustrations in each that make them very special. The illustrations do much more than give a map or track a journey. They personalise, imbue wonder and allow the reader to marvel.

1st May National Banana Day

Yesterday at school we made a wonderful display of books that feature bananas on their covers. We did this because we seem to have some new 'banana' books. The children are beginning to come back to school so it felt good to put together a display.

Then this morning my husband made banana bread and I thought about bananas again. When I looked online to see when it was Banana Day I saw that here in Australia it is National Banana Day today and that the farmers have issued a baking challenge to see who makes the best banana bread.

So I have made a Pinterest page with books that feature bananas. It includes these four new books:

• The Day the Banana Went Bad by Michelle Robinson and Tom Knight

• One Banana, Two Bananas by Charlotte and Adam Guillain and Sam Lloyd

• Iguanas Love Bananas by Jennie and Chris Cladingbee and Jeff Crowther

• Would You Like a Banana by Yasmin Ismail

16th April Pyjama Day or Wear Your Pyjamas to Work Day

Wear Your Pyjamas to Work Day is so apt for this time when many are working from home anyway. As I've marked online school work I have seen some fantastic pyjamas, Cat in the Hat ones, skeleton ones, onesies with animal fur and ears... Pyjama Day is a day when children wear their pyjamas to school and celebrate slothliness.

They certainly were the cat's pyjamas! What does that idiom mean? Well it is a terrific thing, something worth seeing or having, something highly enjoyable, desirable, or impressive, especially in a fancy or elaborate way. 

'Pyjamas'  is an unusual word and spelled in an unusual way, so I often wondered where the word originated. Now I know pyjamas can be traced back to Persia hundreds of years ago. Then during the 17th Century, British colonials adopted this clothing in India and then brought it back to England. Eventually pyjamas went to the United States, but as they are much more actively involved in spelling reform, they became 'pajamas'.

I won't be doing a display in the library, but I was surprised how many books were in our library about pyjamas. See here. Three of the most popular titles are       displayed here.

When staying home with friends is an option again there will be sleepovers and pyjama parties, but for now only with your siblings!

12th April Teddy Bears in Every Window

I've just come back from walking round my neighbourhood (exercise) and I couldn't help noticing how many teddy bears are out and about too. They are sitting in windows, on doorsteps and in the rear window of cars. What are they doing you might ask?

They are part of a worldwide teddy bear hunt designed to distract children while they are homebound because of Covid 19. this hunt is said to be inspired by Michael Rosen's classic book, We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Whether it is this book or others, there are so many great  bear books to choose from. Strictly speaking, Rosen's bear is not a teddy, so here I am only going to mention books with teddy bears. I was weeding in the library and while scanning the shelves I pulled out some of my favourites, all of which have a teddy bear as a main character.


Firstly, The Beginner's Guide to Bears by Gillian Shields. Here's the blurb:
Ever wondered what kind of teddy bear is right for you? Or what you could do together with your bear? Then THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO BEARS is the perfect read for you. From the types of bears, "big and cuddly" or "small and fuzzy" to what foods bears like eating most, this is one children's book sure to entertain. With cute illustrations, and even a mirror to peek in with your own bear at your side, this is sure to quickly become a favourite.

Secondly, Old Bob's Brown Bear by Niki Daly. I love the premise of this story. Bob is given a teddy, but his granddaughter, Emma doesn't like the way he cares for it and thinks she can do a better job...

Thirdly, Baggy Brown by Mick Inkpen reminds us that being scruffy and worn is a sign that you are loved. There is a similar theme in Kym Lardner's Arnold the Prickly Teddy  and in James Stevenson's The Night After Christmas. All sadly out of print but gems, that you may find in your library.

Fourthly, bears have dreams of their own, I'm sure. If they could get  out and about what would they do? In Julia Donaldson's The Everywhere Bear the teddy belongs in Class One and he goes home each weekend with a different member of the class and has a myriad of adventures. In Bear's Dream by Janet Slingsby, bear dreams of meeting all the varieties of real bears. In A Bear's Adventure by Benedict Blathwayt, Bear is left behind at the seaside and has a great adventure endeavouring to get back home. Similarly, the bear in Teddy Took the Train  by Nicki Greenberg is left behind when Dot accidentally leaves him on the train, but ...
Teddy is a brave bear. What wonderful adventures will he have when he rides away on the train? Will there be picnics? Will there be parties? Will he have time for a nap? And most importantly, will he find his way home to Dot - or will she never see him again?  

I hope all of these teddies get to meet up and have one big enormous Teddy Bear's Picnic when Covid 19 allows!

4th April School Librarian Day

It is School Librarian Day! Great! There should be one, but it should say School Teacher Librarian Day so that it acknowledges the difference between what a librarian does and what a school librarian might do that is different from the usual job description of a librarian.

There are masses of picture books celebrating libraries,  librarians and their virtues and they start with a very young audience. See Lola at the Library and Carlo and the Really Nice Librarian, but there's not as many that celebrate librarians in a school setting.


My Library has two series and really the school teacher librarian is a bit 'scary' in both.
There's The Library Dragon by Carmen Agra Deedy where Miss Lotta Scales is a dragon who protects the Sunrise Elementary School's library books from the children, but when she realises the books are meant to be read, she turns into Miss Lotty, librarian and storyteller. I have a doll of the dragon who when turned upside down and her dress is repositioned turns into Miss Lotty. The students like the doll more than the stories but are happy to borrow the book in order to take the doll! In the sequel Return of the Library Dragon, just as in real schools now, someone orders that the books in the library could go and be replaced by computers. Miss Lotty bursts into a fiery rage in order to ensure that the books will remain and children will be able to READ. This book's story creates 'fiery' discussions among the students.

 The other series about a school librarian, Mrs Skorupski and her fourth grade class, starts with Our Librarian Won't Tell Us Anything. It is written by Toni Buzzeo who is a School Teacher Librarian. There are four books in the series covering all aspects of her job. To all my fellow teacher librarians have a wonderful day!

While weeding the shelves, I found another teacher librarian this week in Mary Ann Fraser's series about I.Q. the pet mouse in Mrs Furber's classroom. In I.Q.Goes to the Library the class go off to the school library and Mrs Binder the teacher librarian introduces the class to all that is on offer at the library.

School Libraries Matter

3rd April Find a Rainbow Day

How appropriate that there is a day such as this when we are in the middle of a crisis.

Rainbows are symbols of many things, peace, hope, prosperity, new beginnings and good luck, so no wonder  the Irish believe there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The rainbow is a comprised of seven different colours.  Each of these colours is vibrant and beautiful, and each one is different than the next. This conveys a beautiful message of inclusiveness and cohesion. It demonstrates how beautiful diversity can be, but these colours work together to make a new beautiful whole so it can also be about working together.

Rainbows are often seen after a storm when the sun breaks through the clouds. This provides us with a very powerful message. Good and beautiful things often follow the darkest storms. We need to remember this right now!

I walked up my street (exercise) and counted how many rainbow paintings were affixed in windows. I counted eight in my neighbourhood. These children have done these paintings to thank all the health workers who are at work saving lives . In fact it was this that sent me looking for rainbow stories for a virtual display. It has to just be a pinterest page  because I'm not at school in my library for a while.

While looking I learned that it was Find a Rainbow Day!  this week, which gave me another reason to put together the list of books.

Thinking of rainbow stories, the first one I thought of was Annie's Rainbow by Ron Brooks. It is old and long out of print, but a real favourite when I first started teaching. Annie loves rainbows and whenever she sees one she tries to catch it. She just wants one of her own. What a wonderful thing to think you could do! What else is there?

I remember reading Esther's Rainbow by Kim Kane and Sara Acton to a preschool class last year and they really enjoyed it. It is a joyous story about a girl who also sees colours everywhere and goes looking for them.

A parent came to the library last week when we were still open wanting The Rainbow Plate a story by doctor Preeya Alexander, which she wrote to encourage children to eat fruit and vegetables of a variety of colours. There are other books too about eating the rainbow.

I like the concept and the fun of How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow by Monica Sweeney. Just like the children around here, the crayons draw rainbows all over the place. There are so many versions of this on Youtube!

And then for older students there is the colorful picture book biography Newton's Rainbow by Kathryn Lasky that celebrates Newton's discoveries that illuminated the mysteries of gravity, motion, and even rainbows, discoveries that gave mankind a new understanding of the natural world, discoveries that changed science forever. 

So lots of avenues to explore while you're looking for rainbows and hoping for an end to the isolation of Covid 19.