Puffin Littles (series)
Little Environmentalist: Gardening
9781761041709
9781761041716
Puffin, 2021
96pp., pbk., RRP $A12.99
Joining this popular series for young readers wanting to know more about their world, are two new titles. Gardening joins its earlier companion Composting to help young readers learn about plants, their needs and how they can care for them, while Dinosaurs is the latest in the Little Historian collection.
A familiar symbol in and on children’s literature for over 80 years, Puffin has developed this series to introduce our young readers to a whole range of interesting information in the perfect size and format for little hands. Voiced by Puffin Little and speaking directly to the reader in a narrative style which ensures engagement, there is much to carry interest and open up new fields to explore. The contents page and glossary help develop those early information literacy skills while the quiz on the final page consolidates what has been learned. There has clearly been a lot of thought put into addressing their unique needs as emerging readers as well as tapping into subjects that appeal.
Teacher librarians are reporting a real upsurge in young readers seeking non fiction written for their interests and abilities, particularly if they are collected together in one place in a series box, and so collections like Puffin Little have a significant role to play in helping children understand that books have a role to play in their search for information and understanding of the world, ad that not everything is available on the internet and certainly not at their level of understanding. Allen Lane, the founder of Puffin, began with a dream of establishing a publishing house to produce quality literature for children, beginning with four non fiction titles for children who had been evacuated to the country to keep them safe from German bombing and invasion. Now, 81 years on, his dream is still being realised.
