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Look Inside Night Time

Jan25
Look Inside Night Time

Look Inside Night Time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look Inside Night Time

Emily Bone 

Brian Lambert

Usborne, 2024

14pp., board book. RRP $A19.99

 9781803701264

As the sun sets and night falls, most little ones are getting ready for bed thinking that it is the end of the day for everyone.

However, for many, the day is just beginning and this beautiful, interactive lift-the flap book explores the “day” of shift workers who keep the city ticking, travellers and transport workers who deliver the things we need,  and the animals in various parts of the world, including under the ocean waves.  Suddenly. the night is as busy as the day.

This is a great opportunity to not only share the busy-ness of the night, but for those who don’t understand the concept, a chance to explore why their world goes dark so regularly, perhaps alleviating any fears of the phenomenon.  Others will like learning grown-up words like ‘nocturnal’ and ‘diurnal’ and using these, maybe even finding pictures of things that fit each category to do some basic classification, or sharing their own stories of their family members who work at night. As usual there are Quicklinks covering a range of activities to explore further such as investigating whether children sleep longer than koalas, and playing the moon maze game but my favourite has always been to be outside and listen to the sounds of night falling.  

Another quality book from Usborne that can be used across a range of age groups.  

 

 

Goodnight, Joeys

Nov29
Goodnight, Joeys

Goodnight, Joeys

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goodnight, Joeys

Renée Treml

Puffin, 2024

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

9781761349096

Whisper goodnight to the land,
where joeys race on cool, soft sand.

Australia is a land with unique fauna, perhaps the most recognisable for our little ones being the kangaroo, and they soon learn that a baby is called a joey.

Yet, all baby marsupials are known as joeys and in this little book, another exquisitely illustrated by Renée Treml, they learn this and to recognise some of those unique creatures.  With gentle, repetitive rhyming text they say goodnight to wombats, numbats,  bandicoots, and many more as they draw the curtains on the day.  

Treml’s name is becoming synonymous with these lullaby-like stories that feature her iconic style, pastel colours and calming verse, and this is yet another gift to our smallest readers.

Nightlife

Sep30
Nightlife

Nightlife

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nightlife

Sandra Kendell

Windy Hollow, 2024

32pp., hbk., RRP $A29.99

9781922081117

“As daylight fades and twilight reaches, here creep and flutter hidden creatures. Nightlife!”

For many young children, once night falls across their part of the planet, and it is time for them to shut their eyes, they don’t realise that for many of Australia’s creatures, it is time to open theirs, and a whole new world comes to life. 

But in this beautiful book with its intricate and accurate illustrations  and lyrical text combined with brief bursts of information , readers are taken on a journey across this country to discover the incredible diversity of creatures that make the night time their time to shine. thrive and survive.  The night doesn’t just belong to the bats and owls – there are mammals,. birds, reptiles, amphibians, arachnids, insects, molluscs, worms and aquatic animals living in habitats as  varied as their species from the deserts and shrublands of the Red Centre to the cool alpine regions of the Snowy Mountains to the rainforests of tropics, and all stops in between.  

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

For them the darkness of night is their haven and as well as learning a little about some of them so  that young readers become aware of their existence and the threats they face, thus being more likely to protect them, there are also new words to learn like nocturnal, diurnal and crepiscular. Each double page spread focuses on one particular habitat –  – the author says her biggest challenge in its creation was choosing which to feature – and just a few of the creatures that call it home; while the last two have a powerful message…

Nightlife in danger from cat, fox and spark – explaining the impact of introduced creatures, deliberate habitat clearing, and bushfires through dramatic artwork; and then the reminder that there are nocturnal creatures even in the urban environment that can be seen by taking a torch outside, so this is a phenomenon that city kids can appreciate too.  

In her bio on her website, Sandra describes herself as “an artist and author based in Darwin, Australia. She works with oils, watercolour, mixed media and words [drawing]. inspiration from the local environment and ecology revealing some of its more elusive inhabitants and portraying their unique personalities in images and stories embellished with a dose of whimsy.” and that is certainly apparent in this book.  She has a number of other books, all published by Windy Hollow and each bringing a lesser-known native creature to life for young readers, especially those of her native Northern Territory, with Saltie Mumma being nominated for a number of popular children’s literature awards. .  

Shadow Play

Sep9
Shadow Play

Shadow Play

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shadow Play

Kate Forsyth

Rosalie Street

Wombat Books, 2024

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

9781925563740

Minnie May is afraid of everything, even her own shadow.  No matter where she goes outdoors it follows her as though it is tied to her heel.  It mimics her every movement  swirls in the water, crouches under her bed, reaches with black claws from the trees and looms large and terrifying in the tall buildings around, and, as the day goes on and it gets larger and linger, it grows more menacing Minnie’s fear and anxiety grow and she believes the only way of escape is to hide, crouching low under a large umbrella until the shadow shrinks away.

But then one day while Minnie is hiding, she spies another shadow-one that is larger than her own. But rather than being threatening, she discovers it belongs to Ziggy. And he is not afraid of it. In fact he celebrates it showing  Minnie many things that can be done with shadows, such as telling the time and casting shadow puppets on the wall., even making it be in front of them as they swing higher and higher. At last,  Minnie isn’t afraid of her shadow any more, in fact, she likes her shadow.

Lots of our littlies are afraid of things they don’t understand and can’t articulate, especially shadows, and that one that occurs every 24 hours – night time.  Even though Rosalie Street has painted Minnie’s shadow as a benevolent fairy-butterfly, the unknown and unexplained still frightens Minnie until she learns the truth from Ziggy.  So, while these fears are common and will resonate with our young ones, there is much we can do as their carers to help alleviate them by taking them outside and making shadows fun and fearless.  Games like trying to jump on each other’s shadow, marking your shadow in chalk on the pavement at different times of the day; making shadow shapes on the wall – the list is endless and as well as having fun and facing their fears, there is also some valuable science and maths occurring as well.  

An ideal introduction to so many areas – emotional connections and recognising our fears and investigating them so their reality is put in perspective through new-found knowledge, not to mention all the maths and science, language and art that permeates the curriculum. Imagine the learning if you put your students in Ziggy’s shoes to devise their own explanation about shadows for a younger child! 

 

Dive, Dive into the Night Sea

Jul28
Dive, Dive into the Night Sea

Dive, Dive into the Night Sea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dive, Dive into the Night Sea

Thea Lu

Walker Books, 2024

32pp., hbk., RRP $A27.99

9781406349993

The world beneath the waves is a wondrous one and the species that inhabit the environment that makes up 70% of this planet are innumerable.  But, just like life on the land, there are those who prefer to venture out after dusk and darkness has fallen, and the magic remains unknown to most people.

But luckily, there are those who put on their wetsuits, scuba gear and lights and dive into those black waters so we can learn about the nightlife of the oceans…

In this cleverly formatted book designed to mimic the diver, young readers share a journey that takes them to the wonders hiding in the coral reef such as swooping manta rays, vibrant coral reefs and sleeping whales and then can lift flaps that are as disguised as the creatures to read the information about what they are seeing.  Using a suitably dark palette with the focus phenomenon spotlighted by the diver’s light, the main text is larger and readily accessible to young readers, whilst the explanatory text is in “adult language” so the   adult sharing the book can explain just what is being seen in a knowledgeable way.

A peek inside...

A peek inside…

As with Oceans at Night this book offers the reader a peek into an unknown but very real world, and offers opportunities to create a display that not only showcases the wonder of the underwater world but also the myths and legends associated with the sea like the kraken, Atlantis, Neptune and Poseidon, mermaids, and all the other people and creatures that populate this watery wonderland, extending and broadening their reading horizons and perhaps even encouraging them to explore it themselves.

When the Lights Went Out

Jul23
When the Lights Went Out

When the Lights Went Out

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the Lights Went Out

Lian Tanner

Jonathan Bentley

A & U Children’s, 2024

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

9781761180019

The night was frosty dark but we were snug and cosy in the kitchen. Then SNAP! The lights went out.

And for the little person, what was familiar suddenly became scary.

Some candles soon offered a bit of light but when it started to get cold and Dad suggested an early night snug under the blankets, Mum had a better idea.  And the magic happened…

As the shadow of night falls, it can be scary for little ones as their memories of stories of “things that go bump in the night” and their imaginations take over. They are used to putting lights on to scare away the monsters and ghosts, but when those lights fail anxiety levels can increase and fear creeps in.

However, in this beautifully illustrated story with its night-time palette reflecting the storyline but with a beacon in each image for reassurance,  it is wonder, rather than fear, that prevails as the family become “explorers of the night country”.  The unknown becomes the known as people venture into the streets, the moon shines, invisible creatures of the night like foxes and owls are seen and shadows become what they really are.  What had been daunting and strange became familiar, even fun, and what was, to the adults, an inconvenience, became an adventure for the young.

Parenting styles have changed over time, and terms like ‘helicopter parents’ describe what many of our young people experience- kept protected and safe from anything that has the potential to disturb them in any way – and while it is natural for children to have concerns about the dark and the unknown when they are very little, normally this is quickly outgrown as they explore the world around them and learn such things have explanations.  Yet the levels of anxiety and mental health issues amongst today’s youngsters suggest that while keeping their kids safe is a parent’s primary role, this can be overdone.  Thus, this book has a message for parents as well as the young reader – by making the unknown known through conversations, connections and experiences fears can be allayed and comfort restored.  In this case, it is the community coming together, getting to know each other and celebrating that through music and dance, that dispels the little one’s anxiety, but there are strategies that can be implemented to ease the uncertainty of almost any situation.  The unexpected can become the expected – the reader has a good idea of what will happen the next time the lights go out for both adults and children.  

As winter tightens its grip on much of the country, and “snug and cosy in the kitchen” – literally and metaphorically – is not guaranteed, this is one to share and reassure our young readers that eventually the lights will come on again, especially if we can face the adventure together.  In the meantime, have fun exploring and explaining why the world is plunged into darkness on such a regular basis – lights or no lights! 

Oceans at Night

Jun9
Oceans at Night

Oceans at Night

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oceans at Night

Vanessa Pirotta 

Cindy Lane

CSIRO Publishing, 2024

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

9781486317233

For many young readers, when they pack up the buckets, spades and surfboards and head home after a day at the beach, that’s the last they think of the ocean until they visit it again.  But as the sun sets on their day, a new world starts to come alive beneath the waves and in this stunningly illustrated book the reader is introduced to just a fraction of the nightlife that emerges when dusk and darkness fall.

And believe me, it is a world that is very different from the daytime with creatures not normally seen coming to life.  How well I remember putting my brave on and with only a cyalume stick strapped to my wrist, stepping into the inky black waters off Heron Island for my first night dive.  But it was worth the fear because the world we went into was so different from that which we had dived a few hours before, even though it was the same location.  Not only was the resident moray of the bommie out and about but my enduring memory is that of the beauty of the Spanish Dancer nudibranch swimming along, skirts dancing like a flamenco dancer, brilliant colours brought to life by the light of our sticks.

11,100+ Sea Slug Stock Photos, Pictures & Royalty-Free Images - iStock | Blue dragon sea slug, Green sea slug, Blue sea slug

As the world celebrates World Ocean Day and we have a particular focus on the environment that makes up 70% of our planet, this is an outstanding first look at those creatures who prefer dark to light – even those who never see light so deep do they live – and even includes the strange collection of plankton that, in certain conditions, turns the foaming waves blue and attracts sightseers whenever it is spotted. 

When I was a kid it was a television show called Sea Hunt starring Lloyd Bridges that sparked my desire and determination to become a scuba diver, perhaps these days it is the feats of James Cameron and his Deepsea Challenge or other movies that take viewers to depths that modern technology allows. but whatever the inspiration, it is books like this that ignite the thirst for knowledge.  Written to inform the young independent reader and encompassing creatures from little penguins returning to feed their youngsters to the almost-mythical giant squid, this is one that could begin a journey that will last a lifetime.  

Night Watch

Feb19
Night Watch

Night Watch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Night Watch

Jodi Todering

Tannya Harricks

Walker Books, 2024

40pp., hbk., RRP $A26.99

9781760655310

As Sun’s final flames linger in the sky and Dusk whispers, Tawny Frogmouth wakens and with a drumming noise, calls Moon over the horizon because together they have a journey to make.  It is time for the Night Watch.

And so, over Australia’s vast and diverse landscapes they travel, bidding goodnight to her many creatures with their babies as they settle down…

Over the years I have read and reviewed many books focusing on Australia’s unique wildlife, each special in its own way, but this lyrical, lullaby-like tale is outstanding. With its bold, oil painting illustrations that echo not only the deepening and then lightening of the night but also the strength that is required to thrive in the landscape, the  reader is taken on the same journey as Moon and Tawny Frogmouth with the words calming and gentling as both reader and those in the book settle down to sleep. It reinforces the notion that even though it might be dark, nevertheless someone or something is looking over the sleeper and dawn will come to begin another day, and with all being well, Tawny Frogmouth’ work is done for the night..

Loved it and if ever there were a must-have book to share at a baby book shower to start the little one on their 1000 books before big school,  this is it.  Timeless and one to pass on and on and on… 

 

Nightsong

Oct21
Nightsong

Nightsong

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nightsong

Sally Soweol Han

UQP, 2023

40pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9780702266188

Lewis has been in the noise of the city all day and he is really looking forward to the peace and quiet of his country home.  But on the way home, the bus gets a puncture and they are stranded.  Straight away the adults start to chatter-chatter-chatter so Lewis moves away and as he climbs into a field a whole new world of sound and songs opens up to him…

Anyone who, like me, lives in the country, will empathise with Lewis in his desire to escape the noise and busyness of the city.  Han has used a clever technique of using speech bubbles and words in the illustrations to convey all the sounds in this story, and this emphasises the continual and constant cacophony that we are surrounded by every day, particularly if you live in the city.  So not only is the peace of the countryside so different, it is very welcoming and restful.  And sometimes, even then, it is not until we are forced to listen do we actually hear, as Lewis does.

In her book,  Tiny Wonders, the focus was on the greyness of the city where everybody is too busy to stop and look at the colours in the cracks and crevices, and this is similar as we seem to be so busy making our own noise we don’t hear the songs that nature provides us with. 

Mem Fox once said that reading a story at bedtime is like “drawing the curtains on the day” and this story offers an additional element to that.  By taking the time and having our children listen to the sounds of night falling – the natural sounds of Mother Nature closing some things down while others awake to start their new day – can be very calming and soporific.  What sounds can be heard? What is making the noise?  Why are some creatures waking up when others are going to sleep?  All questions that can be explored in the morning…

 

Sleep Through the Night

Jan14
Sleep Through the Night

Sleep Through the Night

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sleep Through the Night

Byll & Beth Stephen

Simon Howe

ABC Books, 2022

24pp., hbk., RRP $A19.99

9780733342707

Some species sleep wherever they choose to roam,
but human beings sleep the very best when they are home.

Sometimes getting little ones to settle to sleep in the evening can be overwhelming and frustrating, and so this is an interesting book to share with them that shows not only why we need to sleep but that all species do, even if their habits are different to humans.

From the creators of the important books Boss of Your Own Body, it gently explains that sleeping is an important part of growing and thus might be more effective than a brusque goodnight and a firm door-closing. Sometimes knowing why is all the reassurance a child needs.