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Amazing Mum

Mar31
Amazing Mum

Amazing Mum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amazing Mum

Alison Brown

Farshore, 2023

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

9780008555467

Mums are amazing people and they do wondrous things, many of which are captured in this clever text-and-illustration picture book for our youngest readers. 

From being “magic lost-and-found mums” to “never-let-you-down mums” mums of all shapes, sizes and species frolic through the pages of this delightful book celebrating these precious people in our lives.

But as well as requiring the young reader to really connect text to picture and articulate what is happening so they understand the story, the final line opens up the opportunity for children to build on the book by thinking of something special their own mum does and then encapsulating that in a picture and the briefest caption to build a book about the class’s amazing mums.  Great for upcoming Mothers Day.

Parcel For Penguin

Mar28
Parcel For Penguin

Parcel For Penguin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parcel For Penguin

Shelley Knoll-Miller

Puffin, 2023

24pp., hbk., RRP $A14.99

9781761046612

Down in the icy wastelands, Penguin and his friends are trying to keep warm when a surprise parcel arrives from Gorilla.  What could be in it?

Young readers will delight in joining Penguin in trying to use the clues to guess what is in it and will be delighted when it is revealed.  

This is the first in a series of stories on the theme that are coming for our littlest readers – Parcel for Gorilla will be out in May, followed by Parcel for Koala in July – each following a similar theme so they can not only predict the plot but also learn about applying what they know to solving the puzzle.  If Penguin’s parcel is too hard to be a scarf, too cold to be a hot water bottle and not boofy enough to be a blanket, what does its shape suggest?  They will love being part of the storytelling showing that they have power over the printed word, a key factor in becoming a reader. 

In or Out: A Tale of Cat Versus Dog

Mar23
In or Out: A Tale of Cat Versus Dog

In or Out: A Tale of Cat Versus Dog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In or Out: A Tale of Cat Versus Dog

Stacy Gregg

Sarah Jennings

HarperCollins, 2023

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

9780008549237

Dog wants in. He’s trying to build blocks, play with his cars and finish his painting masterpiece.  Cat wants in. No, Cat wants out. In. Out. In. Out. It’s enough to drive Dog crazy!

Any child with a cat or a dog is going to relate to this hilarious story as they recognise the familiar situation of their pet not being able to make up its mind about being in or out.  Whether they have the patience of Dog is another matter.

But the power in this story for our youngest readers is that they can tell the story for themselves just by looking at the picture and thus predicting the simple, large text that accompanies it. They can be “real readers”, strengthening their belief that they will master those squiggles on the page by looking at the context and drawing on their existing knowledge to make sense of what is going on. That, in itself, makes this book worthwhile and the underlying themes of friendship and understanding wrapped up in an hilarious, familiar circumstance  just add to the fun. 

One Bird Band

Jan20
One Bird Band

One Bird Band

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Bird Band

Sacha Cotter

Josh Morgan

Little Steps, 2022

32pp., pbk., RRP $A16.95

9781922678485

With its rinky-dink-dink, rat-a-tat-tat, toot-a-toot-toot, and clang-a-clang-CLANG, the little bird really is a one-bird-band, But as it makes its way through the jungle, it discovers other creatures who are really sad and to cheer them up, it gives away its instruments one at a time, until it has none left.  Now it is the sad one!  But then…

While the main focus of the story is the concept of sharing, little readers could have fun deciding which instruments make each sound, and then perhaps even discover what noises other instruments make and suggest vocabulary for them in the style of the author.  What would their one-man-band sound like? While onomatopoeia is a big word for little mouths,  it can be a lot of fun as the child pays attention to the sounds around and increases their vocabulary so this is a charming story to share and build on.

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MONSTER! THIRSTY! DRINK!

Jan19
MONSTER! THIRSTY! DRINK!

MONSTER! THIRSTY! DRINK!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MONSTER! THIRSTY! DRINK!

Sean Taylor

Fred Benaglia

Bloomsbury, 2023

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

9781526606839

It’s a hot summer day at the beach and Monster is thirsty. But when he trips over and spills his own drink, the trouble begins as he hunts for another.  The queue at the juice van is long, only race-runners can have one from Kangaroo and the toilet water is a no-no.  His problem seems to be solved when some penguins having a picnic offer to share theirs – or is it?

This will be a familiar scenario to those with fractious toddlers who demand instant satisfaction and who will see the humour, but it is also one to encourage them to look at the pictures to work out the storyline because the text is minimal.  Then, having read it through with adult guidance they will be able to read it themselves, making up the story as they go and empowering them as readers.  Worthwhile for our youngest readers.

Five Little Penguins

Jan4
Five Little Penguins

Five Little Penguins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five Little Penguins

Lily Murray

Holly Surplice

Templar, 2022

24pp., pbk., RRP $A15.99

9781800782907

Five little penguins went out one day
Over the hills and far away.
Mamma Penguin said “Hurry back to me!”
How many penguins can you see?

Combine a familiar ditty with rhyme, rhythm and repetition, add in bright, appealing illustrations and include the interactivity of a lift-the-flap format and you have the perfect recipe for a book that is going to engage our youngest readers.  Not only will they be taken to a winter wonderland where there is so much to see as Mamma Penguin and her chicks waddle through a frosty forest, skate down an icy river and toboggan down snowy slopes meeting all kinds of festive animals playing in the snow but because both the environment and the creatures are not those they are used to seeing, there is all sorts of scope for discussion and building vocabulary.

Most importantly though, this is one that they can return to again and again independently empowering their independence and consolidating their belief and expectation they they, too, can be “real readers”. 

 

Toodle the Cavoodle: Sniffle Snuffle

Nov23
Toodle the Cavoodle

Toodle the Cavoodle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toodle the Cavoodle: Sniffle Snuffle

Richard Tulloch

Heidi Cooper Smith

Big Sky, 2022

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

9781922765772

Toodle the Cavoodle like to sniffle and snuffle because there were always lots of smells to tickle his nose.  

Sweet smells and sticky smells, muddy smells and messy smells, stink y smells, sweaty smells and could-be-good-to-eat smells…

But now the grandparents of Lillipilly Lane want to clean up the old abandoned scritchy-scratchy grass patch with its rusty cans, plastic bottles and old car and make it a safe play area for the sparkly-sandals girl and the other neighbourhood children.  Smelly sneakers grandpa and grubby-gumboots grandma shoo him away but can disaster be averted when he takes refuge in the old car?

This is a new picture book series for young readers – Whoops-a-diddle is due in December – that will delight dog lovers with its charming artwork and roll-off-the-tongue language that changes a simple story into a family favourite.  

Both the Australian Curriculum  and the new NSW syllabus have a focus on how the use of particular vocabulary promotes imagery and understanding of texts, and this is a perfect example of how the clever use of both alliteration and onomatopoeia combined with inspired design can invoke all the senses to make reading a 3D experience in the way that only print can.  Young readers will love hearing and playing with the language and then making up their own – have a look at their own shoes and think of how they would describe themselves, and then the  two words they would use for their grandpa or grandma or teacher or…? Have them lie in the grass and discuss how it feels or sniff the air and see what they can identify.  Apart from playing with language, there are extensive, AC-linked teachers’ notes available.

Taking it further is the hallmark of a quality read and this does it so well.   

 

The Trip

Nov10
The Trip

The Trip

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Trip

Paul Beavis 

Little Steps, 2022

32pp., pbk., RRP $A16.95

9781922678621

When a little girl and her dog take a trip into outer space in their hot air balloon, they are quite comfortable until they see footsteps in the surface that are not theirs… Are they afraid or do they get together for a picnic?

 This is a deceptively simple book about the nature of inclusiveness because the story is told solely through the use of pronouns – me, you, us, mine, yours, ours,  and so on – and the reader really has to interpret the illustrations to tell the story making it perfect for encouraging those connections between text and picture that are critical early reading behaviours.  It also means they can tell the story using their own language as they expand on the illustrations to explain what is happening , particularly if the astute adult sharing it with them guides their reading with targeted questions to draw out the events. and thus enabling the child to return to the story independently when they wish, helping them to understand that they do have power over print and they can  read. They also learn that print stays constant – they can return to it again and again whenever they wish and take as much time as they like to absorb and tell the story.  

This is another story evolving from The Book Hungry Bears television show in which the main characters share picture books, hungry to learn all they can from those they settle down to share together, encouraging young readers to do the same. 

 

 

Quickly Slowly Day

Oct16
Quickly Slowly Day

Quickly Slowly Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quickly Slowly Day

Martin Baynton

Rob Foote

Little Steps, 2022

32pp., pbk., RRP $A16.95

9781922678515

Slowly up the steep steps, quickly down the slide

Slowly count to twenty, quickly try to hide.

The passage of time is one of the most abstract and difficult concepts for little children to understand, particularly when some things seem to pass quickly while others drag on and on. So this rhyming story featuring Baby Bear and his Mama introduces them to the vocabulary of ‘quickly’ and ‘slowly’ by sharing a day and showing the difference between the two terms.  Not only will young children relate to the activities, but they could also have fun classifying which of their own activities would be in the ‘quickly’ column and which in the ‘slowly’. This could be extended to embrace means of transport or animal movement, all the while consolidating and extending vocabulary in an interactive way.

This is another story evolving from The Book Hungry Bears television show in which the main characters share picture books, hungry to learn all they can from those they settle down to share together. With so much screen-based interaction for our littlies, taking the time to share a story and discuss it with them, is critical so they learn about the constancy of print and the potential that the stories offer, and particularly that they can return to them time and time again and even build their own stories.  

Slowly choose a book, slowly read the pages,

Slowly share the words, Let’s make this last for ages.

 

Peppa Pig: A Trip to the Moon

Sep29
Peppa Pig: A Trip to the Moon

Peppa Pig: A Trip to the Moon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peppa Pig: A Trip to the Moon

Peppa Pig

Ladybird, 2022

28pp., hbk., RRP $A16.99

9780241610664

Prepare for take-off! George and his friend Edmond love pretending to be astronauts.

But what will happen when they go on a trip to the moon?

Familiar characters are back in this print version of a popular episode enabling our youngest readers to put what they already know of the story into a retelling of it for themselves. As our littlest viewers start moving towards preschool and big school and the promise of learning to read, supports such as this go a long way to developing those expectations and early reading behaviours that promote success.  So as well as extending their vocabulary and developing concepts for places they will only know vicariously, but will meet in other stories, we should not under-estimate the role these sorts of cross-overs play as we endeavour to build readers.