27th April International Hyena Day

April 27th is International Hyena Day which advocates for changing the public's perspective on hyenas, and seeing their importance on Earth. 

Hyenas don't have the greatest reputation due to centuries of bad publicity through literature and folklore. 

Spread through Africa and Asia, hyenas are intelligent mammals living in clans of 10 to 120 animals. They are skilled hunters, and not only scavengers which still makes them essential to prevent the spread of disease. They have highly acidic stomachs to break down their food, even though it isn't the freshest quality.

Hyenas are vulnerable to extinction because of habitat loss and persecution by farmers and poachers.

When I share any book about African animals with students they like the 'big ones' and the scavengers...the hyenas, jackals and vultures. Our library doesn't have many books on the scavengers. It only has four information books, but we do have some stories that are worth a look:

• Hungry Hyena by Mwenye Hadithi and Adrienne Kennaway

• Pinduli by Janell Cannon

• The Ugly Five by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

• Hey! What's that Nasty Whiff? by Julia Jarmin and Garry Parsons

• Henry Hyena, Why Won't You Laugh? by Doug Jantzen

• Noka's Surprise Party by Fiona Moodie

• That's Not Funny! by Jeanne Willis and Adrian Reynolds

27th April World Veterinary Day

World Veterinary Day was instigated by the World Veterinary Association (WVA) in 2000 to be celebrated annually on the last Saturday in April.

The day honours the lifesaving work performed by veterinarians around the world. If you have a pet, there is a good chance you have a veterinarian or vet for short.

Not many of the children I teach own a pet dog or cat, but some of them have a farm they visit on weekends or school holidays. When we share books about pets it is often hard to get them interested. In the past when teaching point of view, I have had fun reading A Boy in the Doghouse by Betsy Duffey. Not so long ago I shared it with a Year 1 enrichment group and they didn't enjoy it nearly as much. They had so many questions and not one of them had a dog at home. There is a scene in the book where the boy, George who is the owner of the dog, Lucky takes him to the vet. It is a very funny scene, but I realised it is only funny if you have an animal or if you have visited the vet. This is such a shame because Betsy Duffey's series of stories which begins with this book is such a gem to read. (This book has been republished several times with different covers.)

In the past teachers have done a Unit of Inquiry which looks at People in the Community or People Who Help Us, so the library has four or five nonfiction books about vets and what they do.

There's a few picture book stories:

But it is in the series of short chapter books for young readers that vets come into their own.

The series about vets probably started with Animal Ark  by Lucy Daniels. These books tell stories about Mandy, the daughter of the local veterinarian, who finds animals in trouble and tries to help them with the assistance of her best friend James, and other people in the village. Animal Ark is the name of the vet surgery. There are still some Little Animal Ark stories in my library and they are in poor condition now because they are still being read. They are the perfect length for Year 1 and 2  readers.

Magic Molly by Holly Webb

There are six books in this series about Molly who loves animals and wants to be a vet when she grows up just like her dad.

Lulu Bell by Belinda Murrell

These twelve books feature Lulu Bell who is a fun-loving, adventurous eight year old girl who is growing up in a vet hospital.

Juliet Nearly a Vet  by Rebecca Johnson.

Juliet is a ten year old girl whose mother is a vet and she spends many hours watching her so she thinks she's nearly a vet. There are twelve books in this series.

Pet Vet  by Darrell and Sally Odgers

In this series of six books, Trump, a dog is the narrator and she lives with vet Dr Jeanie behind the Pet Vet Clinic. It is her job to help the sick animals.

Zoe's Rescue Zoo by Amelia Cobb

When Great-Uncle Horace brings back lost and homeless animals from his travels around the globe, it falls to Zoe, and her mum, the zoo vet, to settle them into their new home. She's good at this, because she can understand what they say and talk to them, too. There's at least 24 of these.

Magical Rescue Vets  by Melody Lockhart 

Kat and Rosie, best friends have been helping out at Calico Comfrey's Veterinary Surgery ever since they stumbled across its secret door. Join them as they rescue and care for the incredible, enchanted creatures of Starfall Forest. There are 6 titles.

 

Hattie B. Magical Vet by Claire Taylor Smith

On her tenth birthday, Hattie B is swept into the magical Kingdom of Bellua where she meets a little pink dragon who needs her help.  There are 6 titles.

Vet Volunteers by Laurie Halse Anderson. This series I do not have but one of my students said I should. The children in these stories are older and they volunteer at Dr Mac's Wild at Heart Animal Clinic. There's at least 17 of these.

I'm sure to have missed some series! You have probably noticed that there is an abundance of girls wanting to be vets!

17th April Bat Appreciation Day

Bat Conservation International (BCI) was founded in 1982 by a group of concerned scientists who recognised the importance of protecting bats. Bats contribute towards controlling pests, create rich fertiliser for landowners, and pollinate fruit and flowers. BCI aims to conserve bats and their habitats through a combination of education, conservation, and research. Human activities such as deforestation, mining, and irresponsible tourism have caused a substantial decrease in the bats’ population.

I have very mixed feelings about bats. There is a colony that live very close to where I live that certainly make a mess and lots of noise, but I'm sure that they were here long before people and houses because we have some very large Moreton Bay fig trees also in the area. Sadly, our council allowed one of these figs to be removed by a new home owner recently. 

One good thing about bats is that they make great book characters and being nocturnal and hanging upside down fascinates children. Any display of bats in the library is always a hit whether we do it for this date or more commonly at Halloween when we can decorate the library with lots of bats.

Amara and the Bats by Emma Reynolds would be a good book to start with because here is a Citizen Science-type story. Read the blurb:

Amara loves bats! Her favorite thing to do is to collect bat facts and watch the amazing mammals fly at night by her house. But when Amara moves to a new town, she learns that her beloved bats no longer roost nearby because so many trees are being cut down. 

Amara is upset. What can she do to help? She’s just one person, and the problem feels so much bigger than her. But after doing some research, she discovers that there are many young people making big changes all around the world. Inspired to take action, Amara gathers her new friends to help save the bats. Together, she knows they can make a difference! 

Often in bat stories the main bat character is young and afraid of the dark or flying which is the case in these:

• Scaredy Bat by Jonathan Meres and Anders Frank

• Fiona the Fruit Bat by Dan Riskin and Rachel Qiuqi

• Little Bat  by Tania Cox and Andrew McLean

• Nightsong  by Ari Berk and Loren Long

Or others are scared of bats as in 

• I'm Not Scary by Raahat Kaduji

Wanting information?

• The Bat  by Elise Gravel

• Bats by Elizabeth Carney

• The Bat Book by Charlotte Milner

Just for fun:

• Superbat  by Matt Carr

• Bats in the Library (plus other titles) by Brian Lies

• I Am Bat  by Morag Hood

• If I Had a Vampire Bat  by Gabby Dawnay and Alex Barrow

• Batty  by Sarah Dyer

And if all else fails...you can't go past

• Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

10th April National Farm Animals Day

Each year on April 10th, National Farm Animals Day focuses attention on the humane care of farm animals. This is a day celebrated in the USA, but it is pertinent here too, as we are in the midst of The Sydney Royal Easter Show (6th to 17th April), Australia's largest annual event.

Here, the country and the city join together to enjoy animal experiences, produce competitions, rural past times and carnival fun. This show was first held in 1823. It is run by the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW which rewards agricultural excellence and invests in agricultural programs and rural communities, so of course supports humane care of farm animals.

While there is not an abundance of books about the Royal Easter Show, there are these books: Show Day by Penny Matthews and Andrew McLean, The Show  by Nan Hunt and Bettina Ogden and A Day at the Show by Gwyn Perkins,

and of course, there are books about dog shows, cat shows and pony competitions a plenty.

A fun way to talk about how farm animals are cared for might be to look at books where the animals demand to be treated differently as they do in Farmer Duck  by Martin Waddell and Betty Cronin's series that started with Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type. 

Many of my Year 2 girls get hooked on the Juliet Nearly a Vet series by Rebecca Johnson because there is lots of animal care and competitions.

And these, just because they feature farm animals who triumph and are favourites!

14th April Dolphin Day

National Dolphin Day is celebrated on April 14th. On this day, we celebrate dolphins — one of the most intelligent and friendly mammals in the world. Dolphins are cetacean mammals that belong to the same family as whales and porpoises. Dolphins are not only intelligent but are also very social and have both astute hearing and eyesight.

There are 36 different species of dolphins. Four species live in the fresh water of the Amazon River. The largest dolphin is the Orca—otherwise known as the killer whale.

Dolphins use echolocation to navigate the ocean. They can put one half of their brain to sleep so they can literally sleep with one eye open.

Noise pollution in the sea and trawlers fishing nets are dangers that dolphins are contending with.

Dolphins, like whales fascinate children and any book display featuring them is very quickly denuded.

Here's some books from our library that are frequently borrowed:

And look out for this new one!