Archive | December 10, 2021

Scaredy Bath

Scaredy Bath

Scaredy Bath

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scaredy Bath

Zoë Foster-Blake

Daniel Gray-Barnett

Puffin, 2021

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

 9781761043475

For most of the day, Bath spends it times worrying about the coming evening when it hears the sound of feet thumping up the stairs it knows that time of the day is approaching and there is going to be piping hot water, gooey much, toys and then children covered in spaghetti and dirt and smells.  They would  yank the plug, whack the tap, thrash and slide and even wee in the water!!! 

And if that wasn’t enough, then the dog would jump in. But when Bath decided enough was enough and tried to leave, it discovered it was anchored to the floor and couldn’t.  As Sink observed, bath time was here to stay and so Bath might as well try to enjoy it while Toilet pointed put things could be worse… And then, when there is no bath time for a few days, Bath discovers something strange…

As well as being an action-packed story with hilarious illustrations that bring usually taken-for-granted inanimate objects to life,  it is also a story about some things being as they are and unable to be changed so we just have to learn to make the most of them. We can choose to let them overshadow our entire day so we miss being in the moment or we can take a different perspective. Our young students have faced some tricky challenges this year, as have we all, so sharing this story could be an opportunity to take some time out to reflect on what being stuck at home allowed us to achieve, rather than bemoaning what we missed or may still be missing.  While we will have missed some important occasions what do we have to look forward to?  Helping our younger ones understand that some things are what they are and to try to view them from a different perspective helps build resilience and like Bath, they can learn to cope with, if not appreciate, what they have.  After all, does anyone really want to be Toilet?  

 

 

John Williamson’s Christmas in Australia

 

 

 

 

John Williamson’s Christmas in Australia

John Williamson’s Christmas in Australia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Williamson’s Christmas in Australia

John Williamson

Mitch Vane

Puffin, 2017

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

9780143507178

Christmas in Australia – time for families to get together and of, course, the perfect family photo for posterity.  But getting everyone together at the same time is not as easy as it sounds. And given the separations of the last few Christmases and the reunions taking place for many this year. family photographs will be high on the agenda so both the book and the song will echo in the minds of many.

This is an hilarious, rollicking tune, probably known to every Australian school student, brought to life in picture book format through the talents of Mitch Vane.  As families gather together as the big day draws closer, no doubt its scenarios will be played out in real life in many backyards and children will be heard singing the song.

A must-have in any Christmas collection and for sending overseas to those who want to know about a summer Christmas as well.