Archive | November 19, 2013

Seadog

Nov19
Seadog

Seadog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SeaDog

Claire Saxby

Tom Jellett

Random House Australia, 2013

hbk., RRP $A19.95

9781742756523

9781742756523 (ebook)

 

“Our dog is not a work dog, a round-’em-bring’-em-home dog. Our dog is a SEA DOG. A run-and-scatter-gulls dog.”  So begins the most delightful little story about a most unusual dog that is not like any other dog in any way, except for one thing… 

With language that just drips off the tongue in delightful phrases, so much so that it was the winner of the Best Book for Young Children 2013 from Speech Pathology Australia, this is a great story for the very young that just begs to be read aloud, joined in with and acted out.  Everyone who has ever had a dog will relate to it, and the humour in the text and illustrations will resonate with every dog lover.  You can hear yourself reading it aloud and see the children engaging with you.

And just in case you’re wondering, my dog is not a round-’em-bring’-em-home dog either.  Nor is she a Sea Dog.  She’s a sook dog, a chased-by-the-chooks dog, but, just like Sea Dog, there is one thing that she shares in common with all the other dogs in this story…

Loved it!

To Get To Me

Nov19
To Get To Me

To Get To Me

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To Get To Me

Eleanor Kerr

Judith Rossell

Random House, 2013

hbk., RRP $A19.95

9781742758831

“Hi Ahmed.  It’s me, Peter.  I’m going on an excursion to visit the animals at the zoo. Do you want to come with me?”  A common request that most would not see as the foundation for a delightful children’s picture book.  BUT there’s a twist- Ahmed lives in Morocco and Peter is in Sydney and so there’s quite a journey to make. But Peter knows just what Ahmed has to do starting with riding his favourite camel through the desert, he gives Ahmed the directions and through a series of charming illustrations accompanied by simple but engaging text, he gets to Sydney, finally hopping on the ferry and the chairlift to take him to the zoo.   

On the surface, this appears to be a simple picture book about transport for the preschool child, but there is much in both the text and the pictures that make it so much richer with lots of new things to be discovered with each reading.  There’s the onomatopoeia of the transport words which the young child can both suggest and make with enthusiasm; and details in the pictures such as the text which transitions from Arabic to English; opportunities to identify modes of transport, symbols, colours; things to count and so it goes on, making this a new favourite with Miss 2 but still engaging for Miss 7 who got out her globe and tracked the journey, learning much along the way.

A great introduction to the world beyond our shores which could kickstart any number of investigations for our youngest readers.