15th March Favourite Folktales

As it is Folktale and Fable Week and I wrote about fables yesterday, I thought I'd share a few favourite folktales today. What is a folktale? A definition I have borrowed

Books in the folktale genre contain stories that have been passed down from generation to generation, often by oral telling. The folktale genre includes, but isn’t limited to: myths, tall tales, legends, fables, and fairy tales.

The stories have often been passed down from one generation to the other until no one remembers who first made up the tale. They tend to focus on broad themes and there may be multiple versions of the tale.

There's so many to choose from, and I have not included any fables, fairytales or myths.  The following are culture-based and are ones that I love to share with classes. Quite a lot has been written for teachers about being careful not to read a folktale to students and let them believe that it is indicative of the culture today. For this reason many teachers will not share Tikki Tikki Tembo. I think it is better to share good stories and talk about there place in time and culture.

Here's ten I love!

• Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema and Leo and Diane Dillon (African)

• Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe (African)

• The Seven Chinese Brothers by Margaret Mahy and Jean and Mou-Sien Tseng (Chinese)

•Two of Everything by Lily Toy Hong (Chinese)

• Why Ducks Stand on One Leg by  Sherry Garland and Jean and Mou-Sien Tseng  (Vietnamese)

• The Old Woman and the Red Pumpkin by Betsy Bang and Rachel Merriman or No Dinner! by Jessica Souhami (Indian)

• The Talking Eggs by Roberts D. San Souci and Jerry Pinkney (Creole)

• The Princess Mouse by Aaron Shepherd and Leonid Gore (Finnish)

• Anansi and the Spider by Gerald McDermott (African)

• The Green Frogs by Yumi Heo (Korean)

14th March Folktales and Fables Week

The third week of March is always Folktales and Fables Week, a time to enjoy a new story or an old favourite from the folktale genre, stories which have universal appeal due to their simple storylines, talking animals and magical scenarios. The tales may differ from culture to culture but they have common characters, themes and morals. They are usually short, but do all the things that good stories do so they are ideal ways to teach story grammar, problem/solution, theme, conflict resolution, good versus evil, stereotype, tension and other literary devices such as symbolism, juxtaposition, satire and foreshadowing.

Of course, I have favourites among the plethora that are available. This week at school I have given each class a wrapped surprise parcel to read sometime during the week. I gave each class a fable, and yes they may know the story, but there are so many wonderful versions where the author or illustrator has added so much texture to the story and my aim first and foremost was to ensure that the message was 'reading is fun'. There are 13 classes to provide books for in the Prep School, but I had so many books to choose from that the difficult part was narrowing the books down to that number. I chose picture books which only had one story, no anthologies or themed collections.

Among them were these favourites:

• the three by Jerry Pinkney: The Lion and the Mouse; The Grasshopper and the Ants and The Tortoise and the Hare.  These for the superb illustrations that tell the story often without words.

• two by Brian Wildsmith: The Lion and the Rat and The Hare and the Tortoise. Who can resist Wildsmith art?

• two by Ed and Rebecca Emberley:  The Ant and the Grasshopper and The Crocodile and the Scorpion. As well as the quirky collaged illustrations these have vocabulary that heightens the experience for any reader.

•  Hare and the Tortoise  by Alison Murray. This takes this story to new heights. See the character's names, labelled illustration of each of the two competitors, the maps, instructions...

• The Hare and the Tortoise by Helen Ward. This is a long retelling of this story, but the additions mean there is even more to spot in the illustrations and talk about.

• The Tortoise and the Hare by Angela McAllister. The retelling is delightful but the woodcuts by Jonathan Heale are exquisite.

• Mouse and Lion  by Randy Burkert and Nancy Ekholm Burkert. This mother and son collaboration is outstanding.

• Lion and the Mouse by Jenny Broom. The paper engineering and die-cuts add a new dimension to this version.

• The Lion and the Mouse  by A.J.Wood and Ian Andrew. This is my all time favourite and unfortunately out of print. The illustrations are rendered in lead pencil on white paper. The size of each frame differs depending upon the character's role in the story at that particular time and there is just so much here 'to soak up'.

• The Cardinal and the Crow by Michael Moniz. This thoughtful picture book, inspired by Aesop's fables, reminds us all that 'pride and foolishness often go hand in hand.' 

For a more comprehensive list of fables in the library see
here.

6th February Chopsticks Day

Put away your knives, forks, spoons, sporks or whatever other eating utensil you favour because the 6th of February is Chopsticks Day, so it's a day to eat with chopsticks. If you aren't good at it you need to practise! Do you have to be eating Asian food? Probably not, try eating whatever is on the menu today. My children are quite adept at using them because they started using children's plastic ones that were joined together at the top when they were very young and were super keen to try wooden ones.

We have put together a display of books in the library. I should take some chopsticks into school to put with them. The library has these books which feature chopsticks:

* Chopsticks by Amy Krause Rosenthal   

* Cleversticks by Bernard Ashley

* I Can Eat With Chopsticks by Lin Xin

* The Pandas and their Chopsticks by Demi 

*  The Runaway Wok by Ying Chang Compestine

* Home for Chinese New Year by Wei Jie  

And I see that we might choose to buy these to find out about the history of these eating utensils:

* The Story of Chopsticks  by Ying Chang Compestine

* What You Never Knew About Fingers, Forks and Chopsticks by Patricia Lauber

28th January First Day of School Display 3: Raccoons

Today was the first day back at school for students and my first day with classes in the library. Because of Kindergarten and The Kissing Hand we had put together a small display of the Audrey Penn books, some other raccoon titles and two lovely plush raccoon toys ready for when Kindergarten came to visit. Well I've never had a display where every book went on one day and it was year 2 borrowing, not kindergarten. Raccoons obviously interested the students, despite the fact that they are not likely to ever see one in Australia.

To see some of the books we used for the display look here. These two books were brand new and went home for the first time.

• Mine  by Frederica Muia. This book is nearly textless, but it has a wonderful message about sharing and teamwork and how much better they are than being greedy. Fits in well with the fruit and vegetable display as well.

• Little Juniper Makes It Big by Aidan Cassie. This book is perfect for the start of school...

"What Juniper lacks in size, she makes up for in heart. And her heart is dead-set on growing up and getting taller. Juniper is industrious, however, and builds several silly contraptions to help reach her goals. But it isn't until she makes a fun new friend at school, Clove, who is even smaller than Juniper, that she is able to see her world from a new perspective - and appreciate all sizes, big or small."

27th January The Chinese Zodiac

The Chinese zodiac, known as Sheng Xiao or Shu Xiang, features 12 animal signs in this order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Originated from ancient zoolatry and boasting a history of more than 2,000 years, it plays an essential role in Chinese culture. The 12 Chinese zodiac animals in a cycle are not only used to represent years in China, but also believed to influence people’s personalities, career, compatibility, marriage, and fortune.

When I first became a teacher librarian I don't think there was one book about the Chinese zodiac or Chinese New Year let alone Chinese culture or folktales in the library I inherited. Over the years though there has been so many quality titles published and there need for themes increased so now the library is extremely well-equipped to cater to all readers' needs.

It's a mystery that which country created the zodiac first. According to the historical literature, the 12 animals in China used today including the animal selection and their orders were originated in the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD). The order of the animals is most explained with a folk-tale about how the animals were summoned to heaven by the Jade Emperor who ruled the heavens of China.

There are many different versions of stories and folklores related to Chinese zodiac. The most popular one is about the race between the animals. Legend said the Jade Emperor held a race and asked all the animals to participate. The first 12 could be given a place in the calendar. Although the Rat is small, it won the first place by riding on the Ox’s back. The pig got the last one because of stopping to eat.

Chinese zodiac is represented by 11 animals which are quite familiar to us in daily life and the legendary creature Dragon. Cat is also very common in our daily life, but why is it excluded in the 12 Chinese zodiac signs? The folktales about why there is no cat in Chinese zodiac are numerous as well.

There are some amazing picture books highlighting the animal race and then many of the animals have books of their own as listed below.

The Race

• The Great Race by Dawn Casey

• The Great Race  by Christopher Carr    

• The Great Race  by Emily Hiles

• The Great Race by Ling and Eric Lee

• The Race for the Chinese Zodiac by Gabriel Wang

• The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac by Susan Whitfield

 Rat

• The Little Rat and the Golden Seed  by Li Jian

• Cat and Rat by Ed Young (this is also about the race)  

• What the Rat Told Me  by Marie Sellier (the story of the race from the rat's point of view)

• The Year of the Rat  by Charles Hope  

 Ox

• The Little Calf by Dong Hu and Li Jian

 Tiger

The library doesn't have any specific books about the role of the tiger. I'm guessing Li Jian will bring one out in time for next year.

 Rabbit

• Rabbit's Year by Melissa Keil (or the same story different title)

• Rabbit's Zodiac Friends by Melissa Keil

Dragon

• The Water Dragon by Li Jian    

• Are You a Dragon? by Di Wu

• The Dragon's Tale  by Demi

Snake

• The Snake Goddess Colours the World  by Li Jian

Horse

• The Horse and the Mysterious Drawing by Li Jian

• The Lost Horse  by Ed Young

Sheep

• The Sheep Beauty by Li Jian

Monkey

• The Little Monkey King's Journey by Li Jian

Rooster

• The Magical Rooster by Li Jian      

Dog

• The Bronze Dog by Li Jian     

• The Year of the Dog by Charles Hope

Pig

• The Little Pigs and the Sweet Rice Cakes by Li Jian

• The Year of the Pig by Charles Hope

No Cat

• No Year of the Cat  by Mary Dodson Wade  

When I do a display in the library I include other relevant tiles such as those on celebrating Chinese New Year, dragon dancing, Chinese animal folktales and non fiction books about that particular animal. Next year the students of my school will love the tiger display because the books on tigers are borrowed.

 

January 26th New School Year Display 2: The Year of the Ox

 In the Chinese Zodiac, 2021 is The Year of the Ox and as Chinese New Year falls on the 12th February, very early in the school year and many of the students celebrate this festival, it is a good topic for a display at the beginning of the school year. We have a large collection of books on the Chinese Zodiac and the story of each of the animals and they are always popular with both teachers and students. I will write about these in my next blog, but today I want to focus on a display of what the library has to offer for oxen.

Of course there are only a few books that are strictly about oxen, but I have broadened it to include other bovines such as cows, bulls, buffaloes, yaks, gnus and bison and once I started collecting together books for a display I found quite a lot. See Pinterest page here.

As for previous years there is  a new book illustrated by Li Jian The Little Calf,  which tells the story of how the kind ox earned his place as one of the Chinese Zodiac Animals. From there it's just a matter of collecting lots of your favourite 'bovine' books such as these stories:

• Xo, Ox: A Love Story by Adam Rex

• Click, Clack, Moo - Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin and the rest in this series          

• The Cow that Laid an Egg by Andy Cutbill and its two sequels

• Cow by Malachy Doyle

• Kiss the Cow by Phyllis Root

• The Cow Who Fell in the Canal by Phyllis Krasilovsky

• Myron's Magic Cow  by Marlene Newman

• The Cow Who Fell to Earth by Nadia Shireen               

• Clancy the Courageous Cow  by Lachie Hume

• The Story of Ferdinand  by Munro Leaf

• The Littlest Yak by Lou Fraser

• Yak and Dove by Kyo Maclear

• Yak and Gnu by Juliette MacIver

• Gnu and Shrew by Danny Schnitzlein

• Bumping Buffalo by Mwenye Hadithi

• The Buffalo Storm by Katherine Applegate

• There's a Bison Jumping on the Bed by Paul Bright

And then add all the expository bovine books you have and you have a wonderful bovine
display!

23rd January New School Year Display 1: The International Year of Fruit and Vegetables

The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, QU Dongyu, launched the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables on the 15th of December 2020, with an appeal to improve healthy and sustainable food production through innovation and technology and to reduce food loss and waste. 

At the beginning of the year we often use whatever year the UN designates as our first display of books. This is an easy topic for Prep school aged students as there is a large number of books in our library on the topic of fruit and vegetables. It is also a popular topic now for fiction as well as nonfiction. In fact the picture book series about Supertato by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet is one of the most borrowed set of books in the library. If you haven't seen them, rush out and get some to try with your under sixes. They love how Evil Pea is always causing trouble for Supertato. There are now six books:

1. Supertato

2. Superato Veggies Assemble                                       

3. Supertato Run,Veggies, Run!

4. Supertato: Evil Pea Rules!

5. Supertato Veggies in the Valley of Doom

6. Supertato Carnival Catasto-Pea!

Other fun stories you might have:

* Fruit in Suits by Jared Chapman

* Vegetables in Underwear by Jared Chapman    

* Oliver's Vegetables by Vivian French

* Oliver's Fruit Salad by Vivian French

* Handa's Surprise by Eileen Browne

* How Are You Peeling?  by Saxton Freymann                             

*  Fruit Bowl by Mark Hoffman   

*  The Runaway Pea by Kjartan Poskitt (this is Bk 1 of 4)

* Veg Patch Party by Clare Foges

* Runaway Tomato  by Kim Cooley Reeder

                

If you have these non fiction books they do a wonderful job of introducing young children to the abundance of choice there is when selecting fruit and vegetables.

* Fruit  by Woody Brambles

* Fruit  by Pascale de Bourgoing 

* Veggies by Woody Brambles

* Vegetables by Gilbert Houbre

* I Eat Fruit  by Hannah Tofts

* I Eat Vegetables  by Hannah Tofts

* Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert 

* Rah, Rah, Radishes! by April Pulley Sayre

* Go, Go, Grapes!  by April Pulley Sayre

* Eat Your Greens, Reds,  Yellows and Purples , A Rainbow Cookbook for Australian Children  is the version we have. It has a different cover.

If your school has a garden, teachers find these books helpful:

* Eddie's Garden by Sarah Garland

* Grow it, Eat It 

* How Does My Fruit Grow? by Gerda Muller                
* A Patch From Scratch  by Megan Forward

* Grow Your Own  by Esther Hall

* Anywhere Farm  by Phyllis Root

For more fruit and vegetable books for a display look at the library's Pinterest page here.

Lastly if you are game enough to do some fruit and vegetable art or printing :

* Hello Fruit Face  by Claudia Strand

* Arcimboldo's Portraits by Claude Delafosse

* What is Still Life?  by Ruth Thompson                     

* One Potato by Diana Pomeroy