Archive | March 30, 2022

How to Count to ONE

How to Count to ONE

How to Count to ONE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Count to ONE

Caspar Salmon

Matt Hunt

Nosy Crow, 2022

32pp., hbk., RRP $A22.99

9781839941924

You know how to count, right? GREAT! There are LOADS of fun things to count in this book. Whales, baboons, rainbows, pyramids…There’s just rule. You must ONLY ever count to ONE. So don’t even about THINK bigger numbers. OK?!

Following in the footsteps of a number of other books that really engage our youngest readers as they not only learn the concepts that are the book’s focus, but also a host of early reading behaviours, this is a masterpiece that ensures that the reader listens carefully to the instructions and then develops their visual acuity as they follow them, searching for that ONE item on the page they have to find and count.  They can’t be distracted by all the other things going on – there is just one of whatever it might be, such as the one duck rollerblading amongst all the other ducks.  Some are more obvious than others but there are also some tricky ones that will really make the reader focus on the picture’s detail, encouraging them to be discerning and also give illustrations more than just a brief glance.  There are always cues and clues within that enrich and enhance the text.

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

As well as being great fun for the young reader – and there is the chance for them to show their prowess with counting – if your school has a buddy system where older students become the companions of your youngest, this would be a great joint activity with the older kids creating their own page to contribute to a class book to share. Each little one could have their own copy as a memento of the relationship, and perhaps even be inspired to male their own page to share too. 

Books that teach so much in such a fun way are gold; books that keep on giving even moreso!  

Daddy’s Rainbow

Daddy's Rainbow

Daddy’s Rainbow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daddy’s Rainbow

Lucy Rowland

Becky Cameron

Bloomsbury, 2022

32pp., pbk., RRP $A12.99

9781526615787

Erin’s daddy sees the colour in everything. Even on the greyest days, they put on their wellies and go splashing in puddles because, Daddy says, We can’t see rainbows without rain!’

But what happens when the greyest day of all comes, and Daddy isn’t there any more? Can Erin learn to find colour in the world again?

Even though we wish it didn’t happen, there are a number of our students who are going to suffer profound  loss during their time with us, and are going to have to move through their grief.  This is a moving , poignant story that might help them understand that the grey days are normal an natural but, in time, they too will begin to see rainbows again.  But it takes time…