Archive | February 2021

Poo and Other Words That Make Me Laugh

Feb28
Poo and Other Words That Make Me Laugh

Poo and Other Words That Make Me Laugh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poo and Other Words That Make Me Laugh

Felice Arena

Tom Jellett

ABC Books, 2021

40pp., hbk., RRP $A19.99

9780733341427

There are some words that toll off the tongue so smoothly that you just want to say them again and again for the sheer joy of it.  My own two favourites are mugwump and ragamuffin, and in this hilarious book, Felice Arena has collected a whole lot more. Words like bumbershoot and wishy-washy and hullabaloo and, of course, poo!

Accompanied by Tom Jellett’s bold illustrations, this is a book that celebrates the sounds of our language as well as introducing a whole range of vocabulary for each word is real and has its definition included at the end. It invites the reader to contribute their own favourites and this, in turn, sets up the opportunity to play with rhythm with a voice orchestra.  Have small groups of children repeat a word over and over -its syllables will give the rhythm – and then combine them to make something magical.  Imagine the combinations if your EALD students added their favourite words in their language – and taught the others what they meant.

Books should be entertaining and this is indeed, that!

The Tram to Bondi Beach 40th Anniversary Edition

Feb27
The Tram to Bondi Beach 40th Anniversary Edition

The Tram to Bondi Beach 40th Anniversary Edition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Tram to Bondi Beach 40th Anniversary Edition

Libby Hathorn

Julie Vivas

Angus & Robertson, 2021

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781460759660

Sydney in the 1930s and Kieran is fascinated by the trams as they rattle past his house and down the hill to Bondi Beach.  But even moreso, he loves to watch Saxon the paperboy swing his way along the running board, deftly selling papers and giving change as he goes.  He is determined that he too will be a paperboy and finally, when he is 9, Mr Francis gives him a job. The only trouble is, when the newsagent hires him,  Saxon tells the younger Keiran this tramstop is his territory.

Keiran is determined and tries to copy Saxon’s technique on the trams. It all ends in a fall and his dad’s fury and the threat of losing his first job. Are Keiran’s dreams shattered before they have really formed?

This is a classic story from one of Australia’s most established children’s authors that has lasted the test of time as it takes the reader back to an era barely recognisable in today’s hustle and bustle.  The lives of Keiran and Isabelle are quite different from that of today’s 9 year-old – could having a job as well as school be a normal thing today? The signature style of Julie Vivas’s illustrations add a richness that demand a compare and contrast that will show that while there are many outward differences as time has moved on, not just between 1931 and now but also 1981 when it was first published and now. that inner strength of family remains unchanged. 

It also highlights the current controversy of the delivery of news, including the situation with Facebook withdrawing access to news sites, setting up an investigation into how people have got their news over time, its integrity and its relevance, making it a book that could be used at any level across the school. 

 

My Favorite Memories

Feb26
My Favorite Memories

My Favorite Memories

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Favorite Memories

Sepdeh Sarihi

Julie Völk

Blue Dot, 2020

32pp., hbk., RRP $A27.99

9781733121248

When her parents tell her that the family is moving to another country, the little girl is quite excited particularly as she is allowed to take her favorite things.  But she changes her mind when she discovers that she cannot fit her aquarium, her wooden chair that her grandpa made, the pear tree that was the exact same age as she is, her bus driver and her best friend into the small suitcase her parents give her.

“In that case, I cannot come,” she tells her mother and wanders down to the ocean, another of her favourite things.  But there, she has an idea and discovers a way that perhaps she can go with her family and have her favourite things. And it takes sharp eyes to see her solution!

Moving to a new place, even if it is not a new country, can be a tough time for children as they don’t yet have the knowledge and wisdom to understand that while it may mean leaving the old and familiar, it is also an opportunity to explore the new and unknown so this touching story, translated from the original German is one that will resonate with many of our students. It will also help them understand that while we may have to leave some things behind physically, there is always the memory that we can revisit when we want to remember them.

With illustrations as gentle as the text and its message, this is something new and different to share and talk about.  If they were asked to pack their favourite things, what would they be? what would they do with those things that are too big for the suitcase?

 

Learning to Count (series)

Feb25
Learning to Count

Learning to Count

10 Naughty Numbats

9781922265616

10 Bush Babies

9781922265623

10 Lively Lorikeets

9781922265630

Grace Nolan

Nancy Bevington

Big Sky, 2021

32pp., pbk., RRP $A14.99

Learning to count, add and subtract is one of the key reasons little children believe they go to school and so this new collection of three readers endorsed by Australian Geographic will be a welcome addition to the resources to assist this . 

Focusing on 30 signature Australian creatures, each book encourages little ones to count, add or subtract as they use the rhyming text and charming illustrations for cues and clues.  Each illustration has a humorous twist to add to the fun of learning  and the concept for each page is clearly displayed as a conventional number story.  As well, there are extra activities at the end to reinforce the concepts and encourage the 1:1 matching and conservation of numbers that are the foundation skills of early maths.  

Never underestimate the power of these sorts of texts to encourage our little ones to learn much more than we ever set out to teach!

The Book of Hopes

Feb24
The Book of Hopes

The Book of Hopes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Book of Hopes

Bloomsbury, 2021

400pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781526629883

Even though much is being made of the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine rollout and the messages of hope and optimism that are being spread with it, Australia, although in a “comfortable” position, is not out of the woods and the effects of lockdowns, job losses and uncertainty, and the breakdown of family relationships is still affecting many families at a personal level. 

And as has been shown in other crises like floods and bushfires, the adults get busy doing adult things as they must and sometimes the children are left to sort their own feelings and emotions and imaginations. 

When the UK went into lockdown, recognising that in difficult times, what children really need is hope. author Katherine Rundell emailed some of the children’s writers and artists whose work she loved most:
‘I asked them to write something very short, fiction or non-fiction, or draw something that would make the children reading it feel like possibility-ists: something that would make them laugh or wonder or snort or smile. The response was magnificent, which shouldn’t have surprised me, because children’s writers and illustrators are professional hunters of hope … I hope that the imagination can be a place of shelter for children and that The Book of Hopes might be useful in that, even if only a little.’

First published online to comfort, entertain and inspire the children, this print collection, packed with short stories, poems and pictures from the very best children’s authors and illustrators, aims to provide just that. Within its pages you’ll find animal friends from insects to elephants, high-flying grandmas, a homesick sprite, the tooth fairy, and even extra-terrestrial life.

There are 133 contributions from authors and illustrators, including Anthony Horowitz, Axel Scheffler, Catherine Johnson, Jacqueline Wilson, Katherine Rundell, Lauren Child, Michael Morpurgo and Onjali Q. Raúf. There is also a reading list so the reader can explore more books by the contributors thus offering not only comfort (and often a laugh) now but also a pathway forward for more entertainment. who could resist wanting to find out about the washing machine that went to the moon (David Solomons) or the hungriest caterpillar (Isabel Thomas).

Proceeds from this book will be donated to NHS Charities Together, but regardless, it is a wonderful new addition to the teacher’s toolbox for those times when you want to fill both a few moments and a little heart.

My Spaghetti ABC

Feb23
My Spaghetti ABC

My Spaghetti ABC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Spaghetti ABC

Deborah Niland

Puffin Books, 2021

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781760897253

Is there anything more delicious, more fun and more messy than a big bowl of spaghetti with a rich tomato sauce? Spaghetti that can be twisted into glasses, butterflies, a giggly face with wiggly feet and anything else that grabs the imagination?  How about the entire English alphabet?

i love spaghetti with heaps of sauce
and always make a mess, of course!
I use my fork, my spoon, my hands.
It’s so much fun to twirl the strands!

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

Perfect for kids (but perhaps not for parents) this is a delightful romp through the messiest, yummiest tea ever that culminates in a four-page spread of just how versatile wriggly spaghetti can be.

And what story about spaghetti would be complete without learning the classic children’s song On Top of Spaghetti?

Just for the joy of it.

 

 

Moonlight Mums

Feb22
Moonlight Mums

Moonlight Mums

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moonlight Mums

Laura Stitzel

Puffin, 2020

24pp., hbk., RRP $A19.99

9781760895792

Bedtime and time to snuggle down. But in this family, like so many others, it is dad who is putting the little one to sleep because her mother is still at work. 

And as he acknowledges that her mum misses her too, he tells her of other mums like the owl, the frog and the wombat who must also be awake and alert at night so they can keep their babies safe and snug.

This is one of those gentle stories that help little ones understand that there are many different types of family circumstances and each family works out just which is right for them. There is no right or wrong, just different. My own granddaughters were tucked up and in by their dad every night because of the different shifts their parents worked and they just accepted it for what it was.  Of course it was a treat to have mummy home to read the bedtime story when she could but otherwise, life went on to its own rhythm.

The gentle rhyming text and soft palette add to the atmosphere of drawing the curtains on the day…

Mums with many things to do
All miss their little ones, like you.

As well as reassuring little ones that Mummy will be home and will kiss them goodnight, using the creatures as illustrations opens up ideas to explore what other creatures are awake at night and why they are.  Why is the dark the safest cover for some? 

Reassuring, restful and recommended for families whose working hours are not the conventional. 

Into the Wild

Feb21
Into the Wild

Into the Wild

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Into the Wild

Robert Vescio

Mel Armstrong

New Frontier, 2020

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

 9781921928789

Roman was in his happy place when he was free to explore the wild, following the grasshopper’s chirp or the seagull’s flight or exploring the hidden depths of the rockpool. He was tuned into the sights and sounds of nature but then he wonders if that is enough. What if he had someone to share his discoveries with?  And then he finds an unexpected surprise…

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

With its stunning illustrations by Mel Armstrong, once again Vescio has encouraged the young reader to step outside and view the everyday, the ordinary, the take-for-granted as a whole new world to explore. But as well as encouraging them to appreciate what Mother Nature lays out for us for free, there is the subtle reminder that there are some things that are even more important and which enrich and enhance the experience – the sharing of it all with a special friend. Because it is that human need for companionship and understanding and sharing that lifts the experience to something special and memorable. 

Over the Moon

Feb20
Over the Moon

Over the Moon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the Moon

Wendy Wan-Long Shang

HarperCollins, 2021

208pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9780063002432

 

Fueled with determination and a passion for science, a bright young girl named Fei Fei builds a rocket ship to the moon to prove the existence of a legendary Moon Goddess. There she ends up on the adventure of a lifetime and discovers a whimsical land of fantastical creatures.

Based on the Netflix original animated film, this illustrated novel retells the story of Over the Moon and includes original concept art!

Directed by animation legend Glen Keane, and produced by Gennie Rim and Peilin Chou, Over the Moon is an exhilarating musical adventure about moving forward, embracing the unexpected, and the power of imagination.

Although I am unfamiliar with the screen version of this story, this novelisation offers an engaging tale of a modern young miss who likes both sides of the story – the one her mother used to tell her of the fantasy and the scientific explanation of the same phenomenon given by her father.  Does the moon change its shape because the Space Dog bites chunks from it until the Moon Goddess Chang-e makes him spit it out, or is there another explanation? There is a delicate balance that keeps the reader entertained as Fei Fei fulfils her quest, at the same time as offering the reader another, deeper layer to accompany the screen version.  

Just as very young readers like to connect with the print versions of their favourite screen characters, so too those who are older and independent.  The subtle nuances of the written word add substance to what might be lost in the whizbangery of the animation. 

This will be a great addition to those who have a focus on screen-print matches this year while offering a quality read to take our girls to new worlds. It also opens up the world of traditional tales that have carried the stories of generations over generations.

100 Things to Know about Saving the Planet

Feb19
100 Things to Know about Saving the Planet

100 Things to Know about Saving the Planet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

100 Things to Know about Saving the Planet

Usborne, 2020

128pp., hbk., RRP $A19.99

9781474981835

There has been a plethora of books about how individuals can save this planet recently and so adding another to the mix seems almost superfluous.

However, this one is for slightly older readers who have a broader perspective than just the regular reducing, reusing, recycling of household goods and changing personal practices.  It’s cover is intriguing with statements such as “recycled jeans can keep houses warm’ and “eating less beef saves water” so the reader is enticed to look inside to discover more.

And inside are even more intriguing tidbits set out in a colourful appealing way that make a provocative statement followed by an easily accessible explanation. How could plastic-eating bacteria help reduce waste? Can a river be given human rights? Could we generate all the power we need from the sun and the wind? How do woolly sweaters help penguins in peril? Would building a giant sunshade in space stop the world from overheating?

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

The environment and its sustainability permeate our lives in a way that makes even the youngest reader aware of the consequences of their actions so books like these that open up new ideas such as joining a jeans library so fewer pairs have to be made or knowing that making one hamburger actually uses more water than a person drinks in three years are an integral part of our understanding and actions.  While each article offers its explanation, there is scope for an interested student to engage in a deeper investigation to explore, expand and explain the particular phenomenon.  

As well as all the usual supports for locating, selecting and using the information, there are also the popular Quicklinks that take the reader beyond the text to new knowledge.