7th March Clean Up Australia Day

No birthdays today but as it is Clean Up Australia Day I thought I would look at two books with an environmental theme. Keep Out, a picture book by Noela Young, is very old, published in the 1970s, but tells the story of a group of children who find a yard filled with discarded building rubbish. They use it (recycle it) to make a playground for themselves to play in. While this would not happen to our 'cottonwool' kids who wouldn't be out playing in the streets, it provides a lovely solution to the problem of nowhere to play! It also allows for some lively discussion with children so dig it out if your school library is a long-established one.

The other book is new. The Tomorrow Book by Jackie French and Sue de Gennaro tells a lovely story of a prince planning the world he wants to live in. His world has solar power and many 'green' features. The book is printed on recycled paper reflecting its message.

And if you haven't these, there is always:

• 10 Things I Can Do To Help My World by Melanie Walsh

• George Saves the World By Lunchtime by Jo Readman & Ley Honor Roberts

• Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel

• Litterbug Doug by Ellie Bethel

• Rubbish and Recycling by Stephanie Turnbull (Usborne Beginners)

6th March Rose Fyleman (1877 -1957) Chris Raschka (1959)

Mice

I think mice

Are rather nice.

Their tails are long,

Their faces small,

They haven't any

Chins at all.

Their ears are pink,

Their teeth are white,

They run about

The house at night,

They nibble things

They shouldn't touch

And no one seems

To like them much.

But I think mice

Are nice.

~ Rose Fyleman

Rose Fyleman has always fascinated me. She seemed to be so good at so many things. She sang professionally, studied singing in France and Germany, translated German and French books into English and wrote very rhythmic poetry. She is probably best known for her fairy poems, but I love her poem Mice even though I don't like mice. The children are always amazed when I can recite it without the words in front of me. Does it really hurt to know a few poems off by heart? Maybe it is because my teachers made me learn poems off by heart and have a separate poetry exercise book that I love poetry!

Chris Raschka wasn't born until after Rose Fyleman had died, but he has already made his mark, and like her is multitalented. He plays the viola, writes and illustrates, and his book A Poke in the Eye is an anthology of concrete poetry so there is a poetry connection as well. He won the Caldecott Medal in 2006 for Norton Juster's The Hello, Goodbye Window. It is not one of my favourite picture books, but if you haven't seen The Purple Balloon it is worth a look. This book has a simple text and very gentle illustrations but it tackles a difficult theme in a way that offers reassurance to children dealing with death and illness. It is always hard to talk to young children about difficult times in their lives so it is good to have a few good resources that you can use as starting points.

5th March Errol Le Cain (1941 - 1989) Mem Fox (1946) Jack Bedson (1950)

Three birthdays! Errol Le Cain I have mentioned before for his fairytale illustrations. They are very special. Unfortunately his books are very hard to find now. You can't buy them new and library copies are often in very poor condition. Such a shame. They need reprinting as they bring a wonderful richness to fairytales that no Disney or Brimax edition will ever be able to do. I'd love to have a copy of Molly Whuppie for use during Book Week. It has a 'bridge' in it! To learn more about Le Cain and see his exquisite artwork see Tania Covo's very informative website about him www.errollecain.com .

Jack Bedson is hardly famous, but two of his books, Don't Get Burnt! and Sheep Dogs are iconic Australian picture books and well worth a look. They too are probably out of print.

Mem Fox's books aren't out of print. They are so popular. A Year 2 girl who is a very good reader and who can read nearly anything in the library said to me just this week, "Green Sheep is still my favourite book. I've loved it since I was three! And now I read it to my little brother."

Another favourite with especially Year 2 is Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge. They do a unit of enquiry where they look at the past and where they interview their parents and grandparents and write their autobiography. This book elicits discussion about memories in a very warm way. My favourite book is Hattie and the Fox. It is so easy to read exuberantly! Not as exuberantly though as Mem reads herself. She is the epitome of reading aloud and storytelling.

Other wonderful things about Mem, besides her books are her storytelling and what she has to say to teachers and parents. Whenever I want to be reminded about why I believe a particular thing or if I am struggling to convince parents as to why something is a good idea I visit Mem's website and reread her articles. I especially like the one on the Folly of Phonics which she gave to principals in NZ because it reminds me about why I believe so strongly in children's literature and tradebooks rather than reading schemes and isolated skills.

4th March John Ryan (1921 - 2009) Peggy Rathmann (1953) Dav Pilkey (1966) World Book Day (UK)

John Ryan created that wonderful character Captain Pugwash. Pugwash started life as a comic strip and then became wonderful picture book stories and television shows. The picture books have been reissued and as our old ones looked very tatty I bought the new ones and they have undergone a new phase of borrowing. Funny how the children think they are new, just because the book is new! There is so much Captain Pugwash on the web, that even if you don't have the books you can introduce your children to him. See Captain Pugwash and the Sea Monster at

http://www.outpost221.com/pugwash/pugwash.htm.

Peggy Rathmann won the Caldecott medal in 1996 for Officer Buckle and Gloria, but she is best known in my library for Good Night, Gorilla. The children love the secret going-ons behind the zookeeper's back. Share it with a group of children and watch them point and giggle.

What do I say about Dav Pilkey? He would probably be the proud creator of the most borrowed, most in need of replacing books in the library - Captain Underpants! Captain Underpants, Super Diaper Baby and Ricky Ricotta books and toys are much loved, even by some girls. And just as popular is his series of beginning chapter books about Dragon. What a pity there isn't more than five titles, because many of my reluctant Year2s have discovered Dragon and then haven't looked back! Reading Dav Pilkey's biography and seeing how much school didn't suit him, but then reading on to find out how he found his niche as the result of a university professor's praise for his writing, makes me all the more determined as a teacher to cater to children who do not 'fit the box'.

So all in all a good day for cartoonists and captains!

3rd March Patricia MacLachlan(1938) World Read Aloud Day World Maths Day

Many things to celebrate again today. Firstly Patricia MacLachlan. Years ago while teaching Year 5 I was smitten by her novels. I couldn't read enough of her books. I especially loved Baby and Journey but now that I teach younger children I have discovered her picture books. Two that are in my library are Painting the Wind and Who Loves Me? They are very different and for different audiences. The first, illustrated with oils by Katy Schneider is a the story of a young boy who loves painting. Each summer he goes to an island and observes four painters who also go to the island each summer and this summer is revelatory for him. The second is a gentle bedtime book about love and as a cat owner the reassurance of the cat resonates with me. It is the only book illustrated by Amanda Shepherd that I know. I need to track down some more.

While there are many children's books with a maths focus I am not going to 'do' maths today.

Today is the first World Read Aloud Day. It is a day initiated by LitWorld. Visit their website http://www.litworld.org/ and watch the videos, read the articles and decide what you might do next year.

I read aloud nearly everyday and not just because it is my job. I love to be read to too. My second class teacher read The Adventures of the Faraway Tree and I was hooked. Unfortunately she followed it up with The Hobbit and I haven't read any Tolkien since. My elderly Year 7 English teacher serialised The Wind in the Willows and I was transported to the riverbank. I have had great success reading serials to classes. I love to read Jill Tomlinson books, especially The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark and Penguin's Progress, Morris Lurie's The 27th Annual African Hippopotamus Race and Pearl S. Buck's The Big Wave.

Still need convincing? See Caroline Grant's Four Reasons We Need to Read to Our Kids; Mem Fox's Ten commandments for reading aloud; Jim Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook; Daniel Pennac's Right Number 9 from The Rights of the Reader .

2nd March Dr Seuss (1904 - 1991) Leo Dillon (1933) P.J. Lynch (1962)

I had fun today with my library classes. We worked out how old Dr Seuss would be today? "Is he still alive?" I asked. "Of course," said one Year 1 boy emphatically. "Of course not," said another. "How do you know?" I asked each of them. "Dr Seuss will live forever," said the boy who was sure he was alive. Whether he is or is not alive physically, and he isn't, the first boy is right. He will live forever because his books are still as popular as ever nineteen years after his death and over fifty years since some of them were published. I wonder if Spaulding, the publisher at Houghton Mifflin got what he expected when he gave Theodor Seuss Geisel the list of 300 or so commonly used words to make into a book suitable for Year 1 readers. The Cat in the Hat came back using only 236 of the words and it was a huge success and the beginning of a large number of books that many children have learned to read with.

I went to Springfield last year on my way back from the Eric Carle Museum to Boston because I had to change buses there. I wish I knew then that the Seuss Memorial Sculpture Garden was there. What a shame I missed it because the bronze sculptures look as exciting as Boston's ducks, hare and tortoise and New York's Alice in Wonderland.

1st March

Wow, I've been doing this for a whole month. I have managed to do an entry every day and only eleven months to go! I do not have a birthday listed for today, but as there are so many for tomorrow and one of them is Dr Seuss, I thought I would do the other two today.

Firstly, Leo Dillon who is half of the the wonderful Leo and Diane Dillon collaboration. Both these illustrators were born in 1933, just thirteen days apart, Leo on the 2nd and Diane on the 13th March. They met while studying art and have worked together since. They illustrated Verna Aardema's Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears which would definitely be on my top-ten list of picture books. In fact in 1976 they won the Caldecott Medal for their illustrations and in doing so, Leo became the first African-American artist to win the Caldecott. They followed this award up, by winning it again the next year with Margaret Musgrove's Ashanti to Zulu.

Secondly, Patrick John (P.J.) Lynch, the Irish illustrator was born on the 2nd March, 1962. He too, has won a prestigious picture book prize, the Kate Greenaway Medal twice. Like the Dillon's first winning book, his The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey would be on my list of favourites. A Christmas would not pass without me reading it to a class or small group of children. The story is heartwarming and the warming of the pictures match the theme beautifully. His second medal was for When Jessie Came Across the Sea written by Amy Hest. He has also illustrated many fairytales and his style of illustration works well for these. See his Oscar Wilde collection and his Snow Queen.