10th June World Doll Day

 CELEBRATE WORLD DOLL DAY ON JUNE 10, 2023 BY GIVING A DOLL TO SOMEONE SPECIAL

This was the invitation Mildred Seeley extended when she started World Doll Day on the second Saturday in June in 1986. She was a doll collector and writer. She felt the common doll could be an instrument of world understanding.

Dolls have been a part of human civilisation for thousands of years, with archaeological evidence indicating that dolls are the oldest known toy.  Archeologists found the oldest dolls in Egyptian tombs from 2000BC, but they didn’t clearly determine what they were used for. Children likely played with dolls as toys dating back to 200 BC.

Dolls have been made of wood, soapstone, cornhusks, dried apples, paper, in fact whatever was easily found at the time they were made. Wooden dolls were found in Egyptian tombs.  Clay dolls were found in the graves of Ancient Greek and Roman children as well. Like children today, Roman, Greek and Egyptian children dressed their dolls according to the latest fashions.

Ragdolls are traditionally home-made from spare scraps of cloth material. Ragdolls dating back to the 5th century AD have been found in Great Britain.

In modern times, Mattel’s Barbie has become one of the world’s most popular dolls. First created in 1959, the Barbie doll has continuously strived to adapt to the ever-changing markets. 

Whichever kind of doll you prefer, find a doll or some dolls and read to them. What will you read? A story about a doll of course.

Ragdolls

Perhaps you have an old book about Raggedy Ann and Andy, but a 100th Year Anniversary edition was published in 2015 with five stories illustrated by Jan Palmer.

• Sophie and Rose by Kathryn Lasky

In the attic, Sophie discovers an old doll that once belonged to her mother and grandmother. She loves her and names her Rose. As time goes on the doll becomes more battered and gruuby, but Sophie's attachment is unwavering. This is the story of a special relationship between a girl and her doll.

• Lili and Pickle: Lili's Wish by Emma Thomson

Lili the rag doll would love to have a birthday party, but she doesn't even know how old she is! Lili's best friend, Pickle, is determined to find the answer and make Lili's birthday wish come true . . .

•  Babushka's Doll by Patricia Polacco

When Natasha plays with the her grandmother's doll while Babushka goes to the store for groceries, she discovers why once is enough with Babushka's doll...

Home-made dolls

• Fanny  and Fanny and Annabelle by Hollie Hobbie

Fanny asks for a Connie doll like those of her friends, and when her mother says no, Fanny tries to make one for herself. In the second book, Fanny decides to make her very own picture book, starring her homemade doll, Annabelle.

Nesting dolls 

• The Littlest Matryoshka by Corinne Demas

Nina, the smallest of a group of Russian nesting dolls, is separated from her sisters and swept along on a dangerous journey that eventually brings her back home.

• The Magic Nesting Doll   by Jacqueline Ogburn and Laurel Long

Katya's grandmother took a little matryoshka, a nesting doll, out of a small box. "If your need is great, open the doll and help will come. But you may only do so three times. After that the magic will be gone."

Japanese dolls 

• Anna's Kokeshi Dolls by Tracy Gallup

Anna is a Japanese-American girl whose grandparents live in Japan. They have been sending her kokeshi dolls made of painted wood each year for her birthday since she was very small. The dolls, like people, are all different - and beautiful. 

• Aoki and Yumi by Annelore Parot

 Aoki and Yumi are kokeshi dolls from Japan. They have a book each.

• Yuko-chan and the Daruma Doll  by Sunny Seki

Seki, takes readers on a journey into ancient Japan and the story behind the famous Daruma Doll.

Other doll books

• The Paper Dolls by Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb

• Little One  by Jane Godwin and Gabriel Evans

Pippi loves her special Little One: she's soft like mist and always warm, and she's there for Pippi through night and day, but one day, Little One goes missing.

• Elizabeti's Doll  by Christy Hale and Stephanie Steve-Bodeen

When a young Tanzanian girl gets a new baby brother, she finds a rock, which she names Eva, and makes it her baby doll.

• Penny and her Doll by Kevin Henkes

Penny instantly loves the doll her grandmother sends her, but finding the perfect name for her is a challenge.

• Pearlie and the Big Doll by Wendy Harmer and Mike Zarb

One evening, Pearlie the park fairy finds a lost doll sitting under a bush. What can Pearlie do?

• Doll-E 1.0   by Shanda McCloskey

Charlotte has a talent for anything technological, so when she receives a doll as a present, she upgrades it with a few spare parts and some code to create a new and improved friend.

• The Doll Hospital  by Kallie George and Sara Gillingham

When toys need a little TLC, they head to the Doll Hospital where Dr. Pegs will have them feeling better in no time!

• Hazel's Amazing Mother  by Rosemary Wells

Hazel is out for a walk with her beloved doll Eleanor. But when she makes a wrong turn, she encounters some kids who are up to no good. 

These are good as conversations about gender and who can play with dolls:

• William's Doll    by Charlotte Zolotow and William Pine Du Bois 

More than anything, William wants a doll. “Don’t be a creep,” says his brother. “Sissy, sissy,” chants the boy next door. Then one day someone really understands William’s wish...

• Teddy's Favourite Toy by Christian Trimmer and Madeline Valentine

A mum goes to great lengths to rescue her son’s favorite doll in this delightful tribute to treasured toys—and mothers.

• Want to Play Trucks?   by Ann Stott and Bob Graham

Jack and Alex meet almost every morning in the sandbox at the playground. Jack likes trucks — big ones, the kind that can wreck things. Alex likes dolls — pink ones, with sparkles. And tutus.

• Dolls and Trucks are for Everyone by Robb Pearlman and Eda Kaban

Dolls and trucks are for boys and girls and everyone, as are fabric and wood, flutes and drums, hockey and figure skating, and many more.

Rumer Godden wrote many short chapter books which feature dolls. My favourite is The Story of Holly and Ivy. Our library has an illustrated picture book version by Barbara Cooney.

Ivy, Holly, and Mr. and Mrs. Jones all have one Christmas wish. Ivy, an orphan, wishes for a real home and sets out in search of the grandmother she's sure she can find. Holly, a doll, wishes for a child to bring her to life. And the Joneses wish more than anything for a son or daughter to share their holiday. Can all three wishes come true? 

Natalie Jane Prior has also written a series of four chapter books called The Dolls. The Dolls series features a household of fashionable dolls and their friends and deals with classic female themes of friendship, jealousy, fashion, fun, love and, of course, drama. 

And coming in October

•  Nesting Dolls  by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

10th June Dragonfly Day

National Dragonfly Day is on the second Saturday in June. It is interesting that this beautiful insect has a day of its own. There's dragonflies in your backyard. Since the floods in Australia there has been many more dragonflies than usual!

Evidence shows dragonflies are nearly 300 million years old. Paleontologists have discovered dragonfly fossils with 3-foot wingspans. Interestingly, some scientists say dragonflies may have been just as large as the size of an eagle today.

Watch the beginning of this National Geographic film to see a fossil.

There are around 5,000 species of dragonflies around the world. Dragonflies are expert fliers in comparison to any other insect. The average dragonfly has the ability to fly like a helicopter. In fact, they fly straight up or down, forward, and even hover keeping perfectly level. In addition, the dragonfly is extremely fast and agile.

Many people believe dragonflies bring good luck, so because of this and their beauty they feature in art, jewellery and homewares.

The library does not have a lot of dragonfly books, but the ones we do will give you lots of information as a starting point for your research.

• What's It Like to Be a Dragonfly? by Jinny Johnson

• Are you a Dragonfly?  by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries

• Dragonflies  by Valerie Bodden

• Darting Dragonflies  by Robin Nelson

• Dragonflies by Margaret Hall

And two stories

• Eliza and the Dragonfly by Susie Caldwell Rinehart

• Dragonfly Dance  by Rebecca Johnson

8th June World Oceans Day

'The ocean covers over 70% of the planet. It is our life source, supporting humanity’s sustenance and that of every other organism on earth.

The ocean produces at least 50% of the planet’s oxygen, it is home to most of earth’s biodiversity, and is the main source of protein for more than a billion people around the world. Not to mention, the ocean is key to our economy with an estimated 40 million people being employed by ocean-based industries by 2030. 

Oceans absorb about 30% of carbon dioxide produced by humans, buffering the impacts of global warming.

Even though there are all of these benefits, the ocean is now in need of support.

With 90% of big fish populations depleted, and 50% of coral reefs destroyed, we are taking more from the ocean than can be replenished. We need to work together to create a new balance with the ocean that no longer depletes its bounty but instead restores its vibrancy and brings it new life.'

These are the opening paragraphs at the United Nations World Oceans Day site.

The Australian Marine Conservation Society is holding a Giving Day to help ensure we are all aware of what is happening to our oceans. 

'Our oceans face more threats today than at any time in the past. The health of Australia’s oceans lies in our hands, in our actions and in our decisions.'

It is hard to miss this fact when you peruse the number of picture books that have been published in recent years about oceans and garbage, oceans and pollution such as oil spills, and about oceans as  ecosystems.

Unlike Mountain Day or River Day, other international days highlighted by the UN, this day covers so much more and it is hard to choose what to focus on. At the age that my students are at, they worry most about the animals that live in the sea and the beaches because that is what they experience regularly. 

Some students in Year 2  get very preoccupied with the difference between an ocean and a sea. This probably occurs because Australia is an island and when they are leaning about its geography they notice the number of oceans and seas listed on the map...Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, Arctic Sea, Arafura Sea, Timor Sea, Tasman Sea, Coral Sea! Australia does certainly need to be concerned about the oceans and seas around it.

Many of the picture books my students read originate in Britain or America so they read about other oceans and seas as well. When they read Caryl Hart and Beth Woollvin's Meet the Oceans, a fun, colourful, rhyming book which allows for a submarine expedition through the oceans. This picture book makes an ideal introduction to the importance of caring for the ocean. Then once you have initiated a discussion you can almost pick up any ocean book to share.

Here's some more recent ones from the school library.

Over and Under the Waves  (2022) by Kate Messner and Christopher Silas Neal

A Turtle's View of the Ocean Blue  (2021)  by Catherine Barr and Brendan Kearney

Earth's Incredible Oceans  (2021) by Jess French and Claire McElfatrick

Save the Seas (2022) by Liz Gogerly and Sr Sanchez

The Big Book of Blue (2018) by Yuval Zommer (not new, but amazing)

Do You Love Oceans? (2023) by Matt Robertson

I Love You, Blue by Barroux

Ocean! Waves For All by Stacy McAnulty and David Litchfield

For primary school students the series Protecting the Oceans  (2021) by Natalie Hyde would be a good starting place.

For more books see lists on Pinterest UN-SDG 14 Life Below Water; Under the Sea.

8th June Empathy Day What is the Role of Literature in Schools?

Empathy Day is a focal point for celebrating and growing empathy's power to create a better world in the UK. It aims to develop an understanding of books' role in raising an empathy-educated generation.

Each year Empathy Lab publish a new list of books suitable for each age group, run courses for teachers to prepare for the day and provide activities for children. 

Research tells us that children's literature has a big role to play in allowing children to live vicariously or to put themselves in others' shoes, but as educators we know students are reading less, that teachers' knowledge of children's literature needs extending, and the curriculum is becoming more crowded with less time for impromptu or sustained  reading. Here in NSW the English curriculum has become very driven by published online units which do 'use' literature, but there is always a specific teaching focus such as 'character', 'narrative' etc and there is little time for discussion of other nonrelated themes in the book. What happens to all the good books that are not referenced in the syllabus?

Yes, the literature could be read as part of a 'wellbeing' session, but often what is read in these sessions is a much more didactic text specifically on a topic such as responsibility, sharing, reconciliation etc. Teachers want to be able to tick off outcomes and they do not want to have to read the book beforehand.

If this continues we will need the equivalent of an Empathy Day here more than ever! Our students are missing out on what literature is all about - relationships, what it is like to be human, understanding how to  relate to others who've had experiences similar to their own, and different to their own. And one of the purposes of children's literature should be to give pleasure. Doing activities that are not about the text but rather are about how the text does a particular thing do not always give students pleasure and it is questionable whether  the students are transferring this knowledge to other books read. 

Nothing gives young children pleasure more than being read to, talked to and allowed to be involved in the choice of reading material. The  teachers that use our very well-stocked school library tell me they do not have time to serialise a book, time for students to read freely for a sustained length of time or time to have fun with books. One said to me...that's what Book Week's for. How sad. It should be Book Week every week. Even library sessions have been shortened so that there is barely time to read and borrow books. Just borrowing does not make the most of the knowledge a teacher librarian has of books, students and reading. I pride myself in my ability to match a student to a book. It is so important to know the students as individuals as well as readers and it is important to know what resources the library can offer each child.

The 2023 Read for Empathy collection is based on scientific research showing that empathy is learnable, and that books and stories are an important empathy-building tool: identifying with fictional characters’ feelings helps build real-life empathy.

6th June National Day of Sweden

June 6th is the day when Swedes celebrate their country – normally with a sea of blue and yellow flags! The tradition of celebrating this date began in 1916 at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium, in honour of the election of King Gustav Vasa on 6 June 1523, as this was considered the foundation of modern Sweden. Midsummer Eve is also celebrated in June on the 23rd and this is considered a much more important holiday.

It doesn't matter which day is celebrated, but here in Australia either is a good excuse to look at any Swedish children's books that have been translated into English and are available in libraries here.

Many Australian children will have met Pippi Longstocking and Moomins, but they might not recall the author's name or know of any others.

Astrid Lindgren (1907 - 2002) wrote Pippi Longstocking  in 1945 and it is still easy to find copies of this classic.The Lauren Child illustrated version is popular with my students. In 2021 many of Lingren's other books were newly illustrated by Mini Grey and published by Oxford University Press in the UK. These include the Noisy Village stories, the Emil stories and the Lotta stories.

If you want to know more about the influence Astrid Lindgren has had on Children's Literature, read her  picture book biography from the Little People Big Dreams series by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara.

Fantasy writer, Tove Jansson (1914 -2001) was from the Swedish-speaking minority of Finland and her Moomin  stories were published in Sweden.  Moomins are trolls that live in an economically and politically independent state, without any material necessities. She wrote and illustrated both novels and picture books about moomins. Occasionally I can convince a student or parent that Finn Family Moomintroll is worth a read and makes a good serial.  Then sometimes they come back for another in the series.

Following are other authors that I know of and who you will find in our school library.

Findus and Pettson  a picture book series by Sven Nordqvist (1946 -) has also been translated into English and available in Australia. The first book in the series Pancakes for Findus which introduces Farmer Pettson and his cat Findus is a favourite.

Ulf Stark (1944 - 2017) has several books translated into English and Can You Whistle Johanna?  even made it to the Premier's Reading Challenge list.

Rose Lagercrantz (1947 -) has had her wonderful series of books about Dani translated and marketed by Gecko Press and there is a complete set in the library.

Ulf Nilsson (1948 - 2021) is another Swedish writer we can get to know because his books have been published in English by Gecko Press.  His Detective Gordon  series are very popular with Year 2. Detective Gordon is a mystery-solving toad who loves cake.

Lena Anderson (1939 - ) first gained international success for her illustrations in the 1985 picture book Linnea in Monet's Garden, which was translated into English in 1987 and we have two of her Linnea books and another two books about an intrepid young girl Stina,  Stina and Stina's Visit in our school library which she illustrated.

Brita Granström (1969 - ) is a Swedish artist and illustrator who lives and works in the UK and in Sweden. Together with her partner Mick Manning she has a large number of books to explore.

Frida Nilsson (1979 -) is a younger author worth watching out for. She has written four junior novels.

5th June Gingerbread Day

It is Gingerbread Day! Not Gingerbread House Day. That is on 12th December. Gingerbread is 

often associated with Christmas because it is ideal in cold weather, but really you can cook, 

decorate and eat it any time of the year.

Gingerbread is a sweet and spicy cake-like biscuit that is traditionally made with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and molasses. It has a rich and warm flavour. Gingerbread has a long history and has been enjoyed for centuries in many different cultures. If you can find First Catch Your Gingerbread by Sam Bilton you will be well informed about all things - gingerbread.

My children loved making gingerbread men or gingerbread shapes. I think they just enjoyed using rolling pins and cookie cutters. If you have a young child raid your Maisy collection for:

So now to celebrate find a recipe for gingerbread and read The Gingerbread Man or any other book with gingerbread. 

From Minds In Bloom

You should have no trouble locating a traditional version of  The Gingerbread Man.

Our library has these:

What ever you choose, make sure it has all the great repetitive refrains and onomatopoeia so the children can join in.

Now you can explore all the 'spinoffs'!

There is a series by Laura Murray and Mike Lowery which includes:

• The Gingerbreadman Loose in the School     

• The Gingerbreadman Loose at Christmas

• The Gingerbreadman Loose on the Firetruck

 • The Gingerbreadman Loose at the Zoo

 • The Gingerbreadman and the Leprechaun Loose in the School

Another gingerbread series by Lisa Campbell Ernst includes:

• The Gingerbread Girl

• The Gingerbread Girl Goes Animal Crackers 

Author illustrator Jan Brett has three books:

•Gingerbread Baby; Gingerbread Friends  and Gingerbread Christmas. 

Online there is a myriad of activities to accompany these books.

And all the extras:

•  Georgie the Gingerbread Fairy by Tim Bugbird

• The Library Gingerbread Man  by Dotti Enderle

• Tough Cookie  by Edward Hemingway

 • How to Catch a Gingerbread Man  by Andy Eckerman

•  The Gingerbread Man 2 : What Happened Later?  by Stephen Dixon

• Hansel and Gretel's Gingerbread House  by Sue Nicholson

• Everyone Wants a Bite of the Gingerbread Man by Anthony Pinto

• Little Robin and the Delicious Gingerbreadman  by Elaina Moon

• The Gingerbread Star by Anne Fine

And if that's not enough, explore the ninjabread man...

• Kick! Jump! Chop! The Adventures of the Ninjabread Man by Heather Ayris Burnell

• Nanny Pastry and the Nimble Ninjabread Man by Gemma Clatworthy

• The Ninjabread Man by C.J.Leigh and Chris Gall