It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

I'm joining in with Jen from Teach Mentor Texts, Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers and other bloggers who share the books they have read the past week.

I haven't read any newly released books this week, I've just been catching up on my "to read" list.



Being Summer in Australia, it is the right time of year to be reading this book about the sometimes heart-wrenching impact of bushfire and the dedication of our firefighters. Jackie French's poetic verse grabs you from the very start:

One small spark brought fire awake,
Winding like a small black snake,
Fire flickered, fire crept,
Flames snickered, fire leapt....

The image of a snake winding and the choice of the word "snickered" are so perfect and Bruce Whatley's illustrations are truly spectacular. The way he catches the translucent colours within the flames is magical. Having been heavily involved with wildfire for many years through my forestry work, I made many personal connections with this book. This subject, which could be difficult for many readers, is treated with the care and respect it deserves. A beautiful book.




Can you believe I'd never read Harold? Now that I have, I can see why it is has been a favourite for so many decades, how clever!




My sister took my littlest to the book store to buy her a gift and she chose Journey. Again, I'd never read it, I knew it was wordless and I'd heard plenty of praise, so I was thrilled with her choice.

How funny to have read Harold then Journey one after the other on the same evening! I enjoyed Harold, but I just adored Journey. We lingered on those beautiful illustrations, taking it all in. Such amazing opportunities for inference, which were still accessible to my 4-year-old. I loved the clever twists in the storyline which tied everything together so neatly. Needless to say, my daughter reached for this one again the following night. More smiles!




I really enjoy Aaron Blabey's books. I like the unusual colour palette and the unique way he draws his characters. This story of a boy and girl who are taunted and teased by their classmates but who become best of friends is inspiring and carries a gentle message for all children to be kind to each other.




The Promise is a thought provoking book with a powerful message. It follows the story of a child living in a dull, bleak city who steals from others to survive. When she steals a bag from a lady she makes a promise to use what is inside. As she fulfills her promise she transforms the world around her, bringing colour to herself and the city.




I know right, how had I not read this before? In a plot reminiscent of Harry Potter, 12-year-old Percy Jackson discovers he is the son of a Greek god he embarks upon a quest to prevent a war between the gods and return Zeus's master lightning bolt. The Lightning Thief is full of action, mythological creatures, exciting duels and narrow escapes.

There is plenty of humour, I was particularly entertained by the odd titles of the chapters and the cleverly written voice of the characters which made this book easy to become immersed in. I enjoyed the incorporation of Greek mythology and the creative way that Riordan integrated the mythology into contemporary society. Overall this was a fun holiday read!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

I've decided to join in with a community of bloggers who share reviews of books they have read in the past week. Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellie and Ricki from Unleashing Readers host this meme which has a kidlit focus. I've been visiting many of the blogs linked in over the last few months to see what everyone is reading. I have found the reviews extremely useful for discovering all the wonderful books I need to add to my "must-read" list. My children and I have benefited enormously from your blogs - thank you! I thought it would be fun to participate too and maybe add a few Australian books into the mix as well!



Bob Graham's story-board style illustrations are absolutely amazing for developing inference. The text is minimal leaving so much of the understanding to be gleaned from those beautiful illustrations. The concept of freedom and the book's endorsement by Amnesty International may provoke some insightful discussions with older readers.



Many children will readily connect with the anxiety that young Joe experiences as he prepares to leave his mother to attend a friend's birthday party. His mother continually reassures him as his imagination runs wild and he voices all his concerns such as "What if he doesn't like the party?" This book is great to share to help children understand that we all worry, even adults like Joe's mum. What if.....? could make a great writing prompt.



This was adorable! Grandpa is coming over to babysit, but according to the grandson, the roles are reversed and it is actually him who is babysitting grandpa! This book provides all the instructions of how you look after grandpa for the day. I loved the explanation of how to take a walk, how to take a nap and particularly how to say goodbye. How to Babysit a Grandpa provides a great example for modelling procedural writing. It's written in present tense, contains lots of transition words and even provides useful tips.



I was instantly attracted by the quirky illustrations and the limited colour palette on the cover of this book when I saw it during this weeks visit to the library. It was written in 2012 by West Australian author Meg McKinlay who also wrote Duck for a Day and No Bears, two other well-loved books in our house. I'm so glad I grabbed it because it was delightful!

Tessa and Zachary usually travel to school in a swift and splendiferous machine...but one day it breaks down and they are forced to walk. A beautiful reminder to slow down the pace of life so you don't miss all the wonderful experiences that might be whizzing past you.



Hank is not just a good dog, he's a very good dog! He doesn't eat from the table (...when anyone can see him that is) and he doesn't chew your socks (he just helps you wash them). A beautifully illustrated warm and funny picture book from well-known children's author Jackie French to share with pre-schoolers or lower-primary groups.

The Kaboom Kid

The Big Switch is the first in new series of chapter books released by Australian cricketer David Warner. The series features Little Davey Warner, a cricket-mad 11-year-old from Sandhill Flats who wants to play cricket with his mates every minute of the day...but there is always something getting in their way.

The brief chapters and cartoon style illustrations make this a book that will appeal to younger readers and any cricket-loving 7-12 year olds. Three books have been released so far and the fourth is due out in March 2015.

Sam and Dave Dig A Hole

Sam and Dave are on a mission to find "something spectacular", so they start digging a hole. This book will leave children squealing with excitement and frustration as Sam and Dave come so close to finding something spectacular, but then change tactics in their search.

Mac Barnett's simple, minimalist conversation between Sam and Dave combines beautifully with Jon Klassen's delightful illustrations to truly engage the reader and make them feel like a privileged observer througout the story.  I love the open-ended conclusion to this book which challenges the reader and leaves them to think about what happened.... probably resulting in them flipping back to the start and reading it through again, studying the illustrations even more carefully the second time. It would be fun to hear all the different explanations the kid come up with!

This book could be read in conjunction with a mathematics unit on directions. Students could blindfold each other and provide directional instructions to help a partner navigate their way to "something spectacular".

Lucky

When mum announces that there will be a surprise at dinner that night her two boys get a little carried away trying to guess what their surprise may be. Perhaps it's a new bike, a swimming pool or a new car? Children will have great fun using their imaginations to suggest what the surprise is. At the end they may also be able to make connections with times when they have jumped to conclusions themselves and then been let down. I really enjoyed the happy, quirky illustrations and the excitement portrayed through the interesting typography, but the real beauty of this book lies in the way that the characters handle their disappointment and the sweet but subtle underlying message that we are already "lucky" and should grateful for the small things we have.

The Listening Walk

The Listening Walk by Paul Showers was originally published in 1961, but it is still relevant today. A young girl takes a listening walk around her neighbourhood with her father and tells about all the sounds she hears on the way. This would be a great anchor book for Year 1 physical science students learning about how sound can be produced by a range of sources and can be sensed (ACSSU020). After reading this book, students could then take a listening walk around their school so they can build their own personal connections. They could also make their own audio recording of sounds for other students to guess the source.

The Boy Who Loved Math

I really love math myself. I'm not brilliant at it, but I do enjoy it. It saddens me greatly to hear children (and adults) say that they can't do math or that math is boring. It inspires me to want to change that perception. Over the last few years I have discovered that there are many wonderful children's picture books, covering an enormous range of mathematical concepts which can be used to gently introduce students to math and help make difficult concepts more accessible. Authors such as Greg Tang, David A. Adler and Dayle Ann Dodds have all written numerous books suitable for primary students, some of which I will share in later posts.

I knew I had to have this book as soon as I saw it. I have a little boy who loves math and he sometimes feels  a bit awkward and different because of it. This is the story of Hungarian mathematical genius Paul Erdos, who might provide an interesting choice for young mathematical enthusiasts studying significant people in Year 4. When I handed my son this book I could see him making connections as soon as he saw the cover and read the title.  He was grinning from ear to ear and asked if we could read it immediately. We spent a couple of delightful hours together, reading and studying the beautiful illustrations, pulling out sheets of paper and carrying out the simple steps described to find all the prime numbers using the sieve of Eratosthenes. We had not previously known that there were different types of prime numbers, but after reading the pages in the back of the book my son was inspired to do some research and find out even more. It can't get better than that!

This is a creative, fascinating book which I am thrilled to have added to my collection!

The One and Only Ivan

Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.

Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he's seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.

Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it's up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.

This gentle story with its readily lovable characters will promote thinking about the relationships between people and animals.  With brief chapters, sprinkling of humour and sweet illustrations, it would be an excellent read-aloud for middle grade and upper-grade students. Written from Ivan's perspective, it is a story of courage and kindness which will have children cheering for Ivan and his friends, as well as humanity. This story is beautifully written and would inspire children to make text-to-world connections about animal rights issues, particularly the treatment of animals in captivity. The One and Only Ivan is fiction, however the author provides notes at the end of the book about the real Ivan who inspired this story. An illustrated picture book version of this text has also been released.

Wonder

"I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse". 

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

Wow, this is a powerful book that will stay with me forever. I actually hugged it to my chest when I finished reading. This book is so thought-provoking, it opens your mind and definitely your heart. It made me laugh and it made me cry (more than once). The characters are described vividly, making them easy to relate to and connect with. I loved how the story begins with Auggie's point of view, but then jumps to the perspectives of the other main characters. I think it is this feature that evokes empathy but enables this book to be transformed into the inspirational story that it is, a story which promotes resilience and kindness.

I've given this book to my 10-year-old daughter to read, she is almost half-way through. She's a sensitive soul and we are having deep discussions about the way people react to others through their words and body language and how sometimes we might hurt other people even when we don't mean to. I can tell she is particularly touched by the morality issues and how difficult it is to stand up for your beliefs when peer-pressure is a major factor. I wish that every upper-primary student would read this book, it is impossible to read without reflecting on your own actions.

One of my favourite features of Wonder was the inclusion of precepts, or rules to live by. The one that spoke to me most was "When given the choice between being right and being kind, choose kind"  - Dr Wayne Dyer. The precepts in the book would provide great conversation starters for deep reflection and discussion. I really liked the teacher, Mr Browne's suggestion for student's to write their own precepts and send them to him.