Archive | November 2021

Each story in this new series for newly independent readers focuses on the plight of one of the ponies… Bess the highway pony is very good at robbing the carriages and loves life just the way it is; Prince the racehorse isn’t as speedy as he used to be and his love of fine dining isn’t helping matters; Sparkle the white pony has been magicked to be messy and can’t stop rolling in mud; and Champ the palomino pony has been magicked to be exceptional – or that is what he is telling everyone! Gus the riding school pony is very grumpy and Margot the dressage pony is getting all the steps wrong. How can Olivia and Eliza help each one?.

With fairly simple plots and capitalising on young girls’ love of horses and magic, this is a new series for those who are moving to reading independently yet who still need the support of short chapters and illustrations to consolidate their skills. With the first two available now, and two more in early July, this is a great series to introduce young readers so they can while away the winter weeks ahead with reading. They will put themselves in the shoes of either Olivia or Eliza or become their friend and be engrossed in the stories and waiting for more.

Bluey: Sleepytime

Nov8

Bluey: Sleepytime

Bluey: Sleepytime

Joe Brumm

Puffin, 2021

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

9781761041198

It’s bedtime in the Heeler household and while Bluey is fast asleep, Mum finishes off the final story with Bingo. As she turns out the light, she reminds Bingo that she is always there if Bingo needs her but Bingo really wants to do a Big Girl sleep and wake up in her own bed. But will she?

Based on the television episode of the same name, this is a story that will resonate so deeply with the adult sharing it as the familiarity of children waking in the night, moving into their bed, wanting water, hogging the blankets, having good dreams and not-so that it will seem like there has been a camera in their own bedroom.

Using a large format including foldout pages, now our young readers can return to their favourite bedtime episode time and again now it is in print format, while parents can use it to remind them that they are going to have a Big Kid night and stay in their own bed. And those that wish can also take their child on a journey through the night sky .

The connection between print and audiovisual versions of the same stories with their familiar characters and settings already in place is strong as children build their knowledge about what to expect from both formats. To have such a superb series such as Bluey available whenever the child wants to return to it is such a bonus.

Mr Men Little Miss in Australia

Nov7

Mr Men Little Miss in Australia

Mr Men Little Miss in Australia

Roger Hargreaves

Mr Men, 2021

32pp., hbk., RRP $A16.99

9781761044342

Mr Topsy-Turvy is very excited – the Mr Men and Little Miss are heading ‘up over’ . Little Miss Somersault is a little confused and then she realises he means Down Under.

There is much to discover when they arrive in Sydney and make their way around the coast to visit the iconic sites, sights and scenery – Little Miss Somersault is excited about a game of cricket, Mr Tall is keen to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Mr Silly thinks he might enter the Melbourne Cup -before they head inland to the centre.

It’s 40 years since little ones were first introduced to these bold characters created by Roger Hargreaves, wrapped in their distinctive packaging of a bold block-colour illustration on a white background in a book the perfect size for little hands. Even after his death in 1988, his son Adam continued what his father started and the characters are as popular now as they were all those years ago. So to have the whole crew come to Australia and go places and do things that will resonate with so many of our young readers is just perfect, setting them up to be fans and ensuring lots of reading ahead as all the previous titles remain available. With the characters being readily recognisable each time because of their consistent shape and colour,,their personalities reflected in their name and the antics they get up to told in a distinctive direct, unfussy narrative style,, even our youngest readers can develop and bring knowledge to new reads, so they will be pleased that Mr Wrong is still getting it wrong when he swims between the wrong flags and Mr Silly ends the story in a silly way.

As parents and grandparents, we must never underestimate the power of sharing stories like this with our littlies, particularly if they are those we ourselves enjoyed. The connections that that makes to the adult, the story and literature is general are multi-faceted. Loving the books our parents loved can set us up for life.

Rosie the Rhinoceros

Nov6

Rosie the Rhinoceros

Rosie the Rhinoceros

Jimmy Barnes

Matt Shanks

Angus & Robertson, 2021

32pp., hbk., RRP $A19.99

9781460758854

Rosie is a rhinoceros But she’s not one of those fierce, scary, armour-plated monsters that amble across the African plains always ready to charge unwary travellers. She’s charming and pleasant and always sees the beauty in her surroundings, including her reflection in the river’s water which tells her she is a unicorn. She has a pretty horn and dainty hooves, beautiful, sleek skin and most of all she was magical.

But as she greets all the other animals each morning, her favourite time of the day, they all return her greeting by calling her Little Rhinoceros. And she can’t understand it. So how was she going to let them know the truth?

It is hard to reconcile that the gravel-voiced rocker who belted out Khe Sanh is the same person who has crafted this beautiful, delicate story about believing in who you are and spreading your joy in that. No one who reads it would ever doubt that Rosie is anything but a unicorn. Unicorns spread joy and happiness and that’s what she does every morning, and the shape of her body has nothing to do with it. What a powerful message conveyed in such an enchanting way, and all wrapped up with delightful illustrations, that we will never view rhinoceroses in the same way again. Because we know that inside every one of them, there is a unicorn trying to come out.

Tala the Bengal Tiger

Nov5

Tala the Bengal Tiger

Tala the Bengal Tiger

Beverly Tatwahi

Sunita Chawdhary

Little Steps, 2021

32pp., pbk., RRP $A14.95

9781912678433

Despite it putting fear into the hearts of others, whenever Veera heard the roar of the Bengal tigers at night or found their pawprints around the village she felt comforted rather than scared. On the day she was born her mother spotted a tiger cub through the window and saw it as a sign, one that has guided Veera as she grew up and launched her own Save the Tigers campaign. And one day the strange connection between the two comes into its own.

This is the second book in the Together We Can Change the World Series, seven stories, covering seven continents, with seven important virtues: Love, Courage, Compassion, Respect, Kindness, Integrity and Gratitude. Each book highlights a fundamental core value, whilst simultaneously encouraging children’s responsibility towards Planet Earth. The books’ protagonists are an endangered or threatened species from each continent, the first being Pedro the Puerto Rican Parrot and the third Wanda the Whale. All author royalties go to Wildlife Vets International.

Climate Action

Nov4

Climate Action

Climate Action

Seymour Simon

HarperCollins, 2021

48pp., pbk., RRP $A16.99

9780062943309

With the world’s leaders, governments and focus on climate change as the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) is in full swing in Glasgow, Scotland, this will be a timely addition to your collection about this topic.

It provides an introduction not only to the dramatic effects of climate change, but to the solutions. It shows how our behaviour and actions have led us to this point, how the children around the world are dealing with extreme storms, wildfires, and sea level rise, and demonstrates what scientists, youth activists, and ordinary citizens are doing to protect their communities.

Divided into eight sections for easy browsing and with over fifty photographs, captions, charts, and graphs, this nonfiction book is ideal to share in the classroom and to answer the questions of our children who are so concerned for their future. It also includes a glossary to supplement the text, author’s note, and index making it easy to navigate and support the locating aspect of the information literacy process.

Let’s Go! On a Submarine

Nov3

Let’s Go! On a Submarine

Let’s Go! On a Submarine

Rosalyn Albert

Natalia Moore

Catch A Star, 2021

16pp., board book., 2021

9781922326270

‘Let’s go on a submarine
And cruise beneath the sea.
Discovering strange creatures
Who swim so fast and free.’

This is a new addition to the Let’s Go series, this one taking our youngest readers under the ocean on a yellow submarine to discover some of the wonders that are usually hidden beneath the waves.

The series focuses on two children enjoying rides on a variety of transport. Familiar topics, catchy rhymes and colourful illustrations not only make for an enjoyable read that they will be able to retell themselves endlessly, but also promote what can be expected from story books. It also helps build vocabulary as not all will be familiar with farm life or riding a train or a ferry, and those like this that take them under the sea or travelling in space on a rocket introduce them to otherwise out-of-reach worlds. Thus, when they encounter other books with those sorts of settings, they are able to bring their existing knowledge to the page, predict what they will see and what might happen so the story makes sense, as well as being in a better position to get their mouth ready for unknown words.

We should never underestimate the role that these sorts of readers have in our children’s literacy as they develop those early concepts about print, and by using sturdy, durable board books we can start that process earlier and earlier. This is just one of a number of series from this publisher that is bringing quality stories to our youngest readers ensuring they develop those vital concepts about print that must be in place long before they embark on trying to master the skills if they are to make connections between what’s in their brain and what’s on the page.

In the meantime, the adults who share this with their little ones will enjoy the memories of that other yellow submarine that it brings back, rather than the current controversy of they said, we said…

I Think That It’s a Monster

Nov2

I Think That It’s a Monster

I Think That It’s a Monster

Steven Krygger

Andrew McIntosh

Little Steps, 2021

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.95

9781925839951

The little boy is looking for a monster, and although several candidates appearing from the ocean, high in the trees and even the depths of the forest, none of them meet the boy’s criteria. Physically they each meet the physical characteristics of a monster…

It’s tall and thin and dark

It’s standing on its hands

and its face looks like a shark!

Its legs are long and skinny

it has a million toes

its mooing and meowing

and dripping from the nose.

but the boy has his own definition and within it is a lesson for all of us who might view strange creatures or those who look a bit different with suspicion There is a lot of truth in the old axiom about judging a book by its cover, the meaning of which is itself an opportunity for discussion by older students.

Told in rhyme accompanied by digital illustrations that give the story the feel of a computer game (the illustrator specialises in pixel art, 3D modelling and UI design, giving it a modern appearance that will appeal to young readers, this is a story for the ages that can offer reassurance to both children and monsters alike!

Where’s Wally? The Super Six

Nov1

Where’s Wally? The Super Six

Where’s Wally? The Super Six

Martin Handford,

Walker Books, 2021

Boxed Set, RRP $A54.99

9781406396744

One of the most recognisable characters in children’s literature with his red and white striped hat and jumper and blue jeans, children have been poring over incredibly busy double-page spreads to find Wally hidden amongst the myriad of characters since 1987. And in my 50+ years of teaching, there have been only a handful of books (the Harry Potter and Goosebumps series are the only ones that spring readily to mind) that have had such a profound influence of children’s desire to learn to read. For even though there is very little text in these books , the powerful messages of books being fun and entertaining, and the essential skills of visual acuity and the perseverance to examine detail are crucial to successful reading development and engagement.

Such was the popularity of the series in my school library 20 years ago, it spawned a year-long activity for which students investigated a popular Australian destination and then wrote clues so their peers could discover where Wally was this week. The display, which included the clues, pictures (scenic calendars are a great source) and a map that tracked his journey) was always ready for the Monday lunchtime crowd and entries were collected with the winner being drawn on Friday. The prize was simply being the contributor to a future adventure within Australia for Wally, a prized reward. And in the meantime I haunted second-hand bookshops constantly looking for copies to replace those that were so loved and used, they just wore out. And there was always a queue of reserves for new releases.

So almost 45 years on, to have a boxed set which includes Where’s Wally?, Where’s Wally Now?, Where’s Wally? The Fantastic Journey, Where’s Wally? In Hollywood, Where’s Wally? The Wonder Book and Where’s Wally? The Great Picture Hunt as well as a puzzle and a poster so another generation can discover and enjoy the delights of books that entranced their parents is wonderful. And at less than $10 per book, it is also a bargain. As lockdowns and restrictions have seen a resurgence in family time with board games, cards and so forth making a comeback, this is the ideal gift to continue that as families pore over the pages together and parents relive memories of fun times at school.

The Bottom Shelf

Great books for little people

Archive | November 2021

Spellbound Ponies (series)

Bluey: Sleepytime

Mr Men Little Miss in Australia

Rosie the Rhinoceros

Tala the Bengal Tiger

Climate Action

Let’s Go! On a Submarine

I Think That It’s a Monster

Where’s Wally? The Super Six