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Boo Loves Books

Boo Loves Books

Boo Loves Books

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boo Loves Books

Kaye Baillie

Tracie Grimwood

New Frontier, 2020

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

9781922326027

Phoebe is not the most confident reader in Miss Spinelli’s class and does whatever she can to avoid it for fear of showing her inability to both her teacher and her classmates. But Miss Spinelli is smart and knows what is behind Phoebe’s reluctance and so she organises an excursion to the local animal shelter. Phoebe’s tummy is in knots until she meets Big Boo who is just as nervous as she is.  And then the magic happens…

Many of our younger readers believe that “real” reading is making no mistakes at all, and rather than display their lack of confidence, choose not to read at all because they fear being judged by their audience.  So finding someone or something to read to that does not judge, does not comment, but just enjoys the sound and the rhythm of the words can often be the key to unlocking the reader within.  This is a charming story that will not only give many of our students a confidence boost as they relate to Phoebe but also up conversations about what a “real” reader does, including making those inevitable mistakes. 

And while it might not be possible to visit a dog shelter or have a dog visit the classroom, there is always a teddy who is willing to listen! 

I Don’t Want to Be Quiet!

I Don't Want to Be Quiet!

I Don’t Want to Be Quiet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Don’t Want to Be Quiet!

Laura Ellen Anderson

Bloomsbury, 2020

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

9781526602442

Being quiet is not on her agenda.  She wants to be loud.  Chatting, humming, stomping, drumming, slurping, burping – whatever the activity it has to be done at the maximum number of decibels. Until she goes to the library, picks up a book and learns the lessons of silence…

While “put yourself on mute” is likely to be a widely understood and commonly used phrase in the weeks to come, it probably wouldn’t have any effect on the little girl in this rollicking rhyme which is the antithesis of children being “seen but not heard!”  She barrels through her days at the top of her lungs creating the sweet sounds of silence once she has passed but making those around her wish they could mute her while she is there.  She reminds me of me when I was little, the only girl amongst eight boys and needing to be noticed! 

In fact, Laura Ellen Anderson seems to have such a knack of reminding me of my childhood in her stories with I Don’t Want to Be Small  and I Don’t Want Curly Hair that I’m beginning to wonder if she is, in fact, my mum writing using  nom-de-plume. (Only because I know she is no longer with us, am I sure it’s not!)  In the meantime, our young readers are treated to another fast-paced story that will resonate with them, and perhaps they too, will learn the value of listening.  It’s an important lesson to learn.

Willy Wonka’s Everlasting Book of Fun

Willy Wonka's Everlasting Book of Fun

Willy Wonka’s Everlasting Book of Fun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Willy Wonka’s Everlasting Book of Fun

Roald Dahl

Puffin, 2020

144pp., pbk., RRP $A14.99

9780241428139

With the extraordinary chocolate tycoon Willy Wonka as your host, join Roald Dahl’s best-loved characters for a bumper activity book that will keep boredom at bay and chiddlers at play.

Stuffed full of 365 marvellous activities, puzzles and more that will keep entertainment flowing for every day of the year, this book focuses on the characters of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory bringing them to life so that when your child reluctantly finishes reading that story, there is more fun to be had. 

When Miss Nearly 9 discovered Roald Dahl’s The Twelve Days of Christmas in her Santa Sack (as well as a boxed set of all the books) she was beside herself and settled down for an afternoon of reading, regardless of all that was happening around her. So this title will be just as well-received when she opens her birthday surprises in a few weeks.  The activities in the Christmas book not only kept her enthralled but also inspired her to read some of Dahl’s not-so-well-known books and broaden her reading horizons so in contrast, this will help deepen her understanding of Charlie and his family and friends.  Have to be happy with that.

Scoop McLaren: Detective Editor

Scoop McLaren: Detective Editor

Scoop McLaren: Detective Editor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scoop McLaren: Detective Editor

Helen Castles

New Frontier, 2019

135pp., pbk., RRP $A14.99

 9781925594836

Scoop McLaren is the thirteen-year-old news editor of her own online newspaper Click! Her role model is her dad  (who runs his own newspaper too) and he has taught her that delivering the news is an extremely important job because people rely on it so they can be properly informed.  Together with Evie, her roving reporter best friend, the girls strive to keep the residents of their seaside village of Higgity Harbour informed while using their sleuthing skills to solve some curious mysteries along the way.

In this adventure in this new series, an evil reporter Donny Fink is posting the news in his own newspaper at one minute past midnight each night and somehow that news, as disastrous as it is, comes true during the day.  So it is up to Scoop and Evie to investigate what is happening.

This is a series that will hold appeal for newly independent readers who like a solid adventure mystery into which they can project themselves. Complete with tips and tricks for writing from Scoop, it could be the beginning of a new love affair with writing as others are inspired to begin a career in journalism – or at least explore their writing strengths. 

My Book With No Pictures

My Book With No Pictures

My Book With No Pictures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Book With No Pictures

B. J. Novak

Puffin, 2019

40pp., pbk., RRP $A14.99

9780241444177

Following the phenomenal reception to The Book with No Pictures , B. J . Novak now invites the reader  to collaborate in the writing of this new book.  In what has to be one of the most engaging cloze activities ever, the reader has to fill the gaps with the wackiest words they can think of so the story continues.  There are some suggestions offered (and some stickers) all of which are nonsense words, but nevertheless make sense overall.  But the reader can add whatever word they want and when they read it again, change them and have a whole new story.

As well as creating a LOL read,  putting the power in the reader’s hands ensures they will be engaged and entices them to look at the sorts of words that are required such as nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.  Cloze activities were one of the most powerful reading comprehension strategies I used as a classroom teacher but never did I offer one as crazy and inviting as this.  I wish I had.

7 Steps to Get Your Child Reading

7 Steps to Get Your Child Reading

7 Steps to Get Your Child Reading

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 Steps to Get Your Child Reading

Louise Park

Nené May Pierce

Allen & Unwin, 2020

256pp., pbk., RRP $A24.99

9781760524678

As the new school year approaches there is great excitement for new students as well as their parents as one of the biggest milestones in their lives approaches.  And for the little ones, no matter what else is promised, it is the prospect of learning to read that is predominant.  So much so, that for many there is great disappointment because they don’t achieve that goal on the first day!  

After almost 50 years of teaching our youngest readers to master that mysterious code of squiggles on the page, I know that it is imperative to have them able to begin their journey in both the classroom and the library from that very first day. But there is much that can be done at home in preparation for that more formal instruction and this book from author and education consultant Louise Park outlines a series of steps that parents can implement long before the classroom doors open.  

While there are many books written by many people who have experience in the literacy field from all of its diverse angles, this one focuses on the children of the tech generation where there is so much competition from screens.  It combines the traditional thinking while embracing technology so that the two are not mutually exclusive.  The seven steps are 

Step 1: Talking their way to literacy
Step 2: Reading their way to literacy
Step 3: Linking writing and reading
Step 4: Taming the tech and making it count
Step 5: Harnessing the power of book ownership
Step 6: Embracing two reading philosophies
Step 7: Finding just-right books for any age
Difficulty learning to read, write and spell

Each is set out in an appealing format with language that parents will readily understand – it’s not full of the eduspeak that so many teachers favour – yet treats them as intelligent human beings. It clearly explains what the brain is doing when we read and that there is no one-size-fits-all magic bullet simple because every child’s experiences and circumstances are different.

That 50 years of working with little ones and their parents has also taught me that when it comes to reports and interviews, it is the child’s literacy development that parents are most interested in because they know that that is the key that unlocks all the other doors.  But I also know that reading begins long before a child comes to school, that success is a partnership between parent and professional  and so providing books like this either informally or formally as part of a parent participation program can help them enormously.  As the professionals we have the responsibility to do whatever it takes to ensure the children in our care explore and explode their potential so helping their parents help them is an essential foundation. 

Beginning the night she was born!

Beginning the night she was born!

 

The Dragon In The Library

The Dragon In The Library

The Dragon In The Library

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dragon In The Library

Louie Stowell

Nosy Crow, 2019

224pp., pbk., RRP $A12.99

9781788000260

Kit can’t stand reading. She’d much rather be outside, playing games and getting muddy, than stuck inside being quiet with a book. But when she’s dragged along to the local library at the start of the school holiday by her two best friends, she makes an incredible discovery: the local library is run by wizards … and she’s one too! The youngest wizard ever, in fact.

But someone is threatening to tear down the library and disturb the powerful magical forces living beneath it. And now it’s up to Kit and her friends to save the library… and the world.

The first book in an exciting, imaginative and brilliantly funny new series, which Miss 8 curled up with on Christmas afternoon when it was too hot to be outside.  Full of illustrations and written in short manageable chapters, it is a fast-paced story with the perfect mix of reality and fantasy to capture her imagination, It also captured mine and it sheds a new light on the value of both libraries and reading for those who think neither has anything of value for them. 

This is the perfect book to recommend to teachers as the first read-aloud for the new school year to encourage students to investigate the magic in your school library.  

Roald Dahl’s The Twelve Days of Christmas

Roald Dahl's The Twelve Days of Christmas

Roald Dahl’s The Twelve Days of Christmas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roald Dahl’s The Twelve Days of Christmas

Puffin Books, 2019

128pp., pbk., RRP $A12.99

9780241428122

The Christmas song The Twelve Days of Christmas has had many versions and interpretations over the centuries including originally being a game in 19th century to being a catechism song for young Catholics forbidden from practising their faith in England, but one thing is for sure – none is quite like this version that combines the traditional  lyrics with the literature of Roald Dahl. 

 . . on the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . . Three Naughty Muggle-Wumps, Two Smelly Twits
and Matilda in the library!

Focusing on the stories that have been children’s favourites over the years, “This gloriumptious book is packed full of:
– whipple-scrumptious recipes for festive feasting
– tricksy pranks guaranteed to get you on the naughty list
– amazing chrimbo activities to impress (or prank) your family
– jolly jokes that are even better than the ones in the crackers.”

Each day centres on a different book and there are activities, recipes, stories, poems and a host of other things that will keep the Dahl fan fascinated and occupied once the anticipation and excitement of December 25 has passed.  Combine it with a gift pack of the books themselves – Matilda, The Twits, The Enormous Crocodile, The BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr Fox, James and the Giant Peach, The Giraffe, The Pelly and Me, George’s Marvellous Medicine,  Esio Trot, The Witches and a couple of twisted tales – and you have the perfect gift for the fan or to introduce a new reader that will keep them entranced for the whole holidays!

 

 

All of the Factors of Why I Love Tractors

All of the Factors of Why I Love Tractors

All of the Factors of Why I Love Tractors

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of the Factors of Why I Love Tractors

Davina Bell

Jenny Lovlie

Little Hare, 2019

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

9781760501457

Frankie McGee is very excited because today’s the day he goes to the library with his mother and he can borrow another book about tractors – his favourite thing in the whole world.  And no matter how much his mum tries to persuade him to borrow something else – cars, planes, cranes, trains – he is determined and launches into a list of all the factors of why he loves tractors.

Told in a rollicking rhyme that moves both the story and the text along at a great rate, this is the most delightful book that will appeal to a lot of little boys, particularly those in rural areas who are able to tell their John Deeres from their Massey Fergusons. 

But it is the last four lines that are the best and which should put a smile on any parent’s (or teacher librarian’s) face…

“See, Mama?” I say as we check our books out.

“I like books – that’s what matters. Not what they’re about.

And don’t worry, ” I add. “I know this one by heart.

I can read it to you – all the way from the start.”

Reading really is a super power!

The Bookworm

The Bookworm

The Bookworm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bookworm

Debi Gliori

Bloomsbury, 2019

32pp., hbk., RRP $A21.99

9781408893036

 

Max really wants a pet.  But all his suggestions are met with objections from his parents, or indeed, Max himself.  Puppies chew things, kittens make awful smells; penguins melt; sharks have too many teeth and dragons don’t exist.  Goldfish are boring; birds too chatty; wasps unfriendly and flies, while friendly, have revolting habits.

But then Max discovers the ideal pet – one even his parent approve of – or is it?

There are lots of stories about children wanting pets and having to search for just the right one, but this one is a little different with an ending that surprised even me (and I’ve read a lot of endings!) Of course a book with this title is always going to appeal to a teacher librarian, but I also love Gliori’s work and knew it would be more than just an intriguing title. I wasn’t disappointed.

Something quirky and just right for our young readers who want to combine both reading and the perfect pet!