Category Archives: Themes

Aug8

I’m a Dirty Dinosaur by Janeen Brian and Ann James

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IMG_1307I’m a Dirty Dinosaur by Janeen Brian and illustrated by Ann James, hardback picture book, published by Puffin Books in 2013.

A dinosaur who doesn’t want to wash, splashing in puddles and sliding his tail through the mud. He really is a dirty dinosaur, with dirty feet and dirty tum and dirty snout.

This funny rhyming tale of a dinosaur who loves to get muddy was very well received by my preschooler and toddler. They laughed and pretended to be the dinosaur, they also like to get very dirty and not have a bath! Suitable for preschoolers and early readers with it’s simple language and large text, this is sure to become a quick favourite. I liked the illustrations, which were simple and different, as the illustrator appears to have used actual mud to create the dirt and mud of the story. This technique is very effective. Overall, a good book for young children.

 

* I’m a Dirty Dinosaur was an honour book for the 2014 Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year in the Early Childhood category.

Aug8

Upside Down in the Jungle by Helen Phillips

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IMG_1309Upside Down in the Jungle by Helen Phillips, paperback novel, 333 pages, first published under the title Here Where the Sunbeams are Green by Delacorte Press in 2012, this edition published by The Chicken House in 2013.

Mad and Roo have a famous ornithologist for a father, Dr Wade, also known as The Bird Guy. He travels to find rare and important birds regularly, but when he is asked to track and catalogue rare birds in the jungle by an exclusive resort at the base of a volcano, he doesn’t return. His family begin to worry, and then they receive the Very Strange and Incredibly Creepy Letter that appears to be nonsense, but Roo is convinced it’s a coded message. Their mother, Sylvia, thinks that they are being watched, and a colleague of The Bird Guy has started hanging around the family constantly. The whole situation is very odd, and eventually the family flies to the jungle to find Dr Wade, where things only become stranger. With the help of Kyle, the grandson of the owners of the lodge where the family are staying, Mad and Roo are determined to uncover the truth about their father and just what he is doing in the jungle and why he hasn’t come home yet.

Adventure, mystery, first romance and an incredibly rare bird, believed to be extinct in the jungles of South America, are found in this exciting novel for middle to upper primary and lower high school students. Told from the perspective of Mad, a twelve-almost-thirteen year old, who finds herself unwillingly unravelling the mystery of her father’s reluctance to return from the jungle or to communicate with his family, spurred on by her younger sister Roo. They team up with the charming, yet cheeky, Kyle, who is supposed to be teaching them Spanish, but is much more concerned with locating the rare volcano bird that he knows to exist, though it had previously been reported to be extinct. This novel was fast paced and intriguing, with beautiful imagery. I enjoyed reading it, and had difficultly putting it down. I became involved in the fortunes of the characters, and hoped that they would find the bird and solve the mystery. It was very well written, the characters were well developed, and it was easy to conjure their images in my mind. A fantastic book. I look forward to reading more by Helen Phillips in the future.

Aug6

There’s a House Inside my Mummy by Giles Andreae and Vanessa Cabban

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IMG_1305There’s a House Inside my Mummy by Giles Andreae and and illustrated by Vanessa Cabban, paperback picture book, first published by Orchard Books in 2001, this edition published in 2002.

A young boy is expecting a little brother or sister soon, and he is very excited. He describes what is happening through his experience. He watches his mummy as her tummy grows, when she is tired and sick, and the weird things the baby wants her to eat, as he waits and waits for the baby to arrive.

I first read this book to my eldest child when I was pregnant with my second child. She was only two, and this book was helpful in explaining pregnancy to her. We read it again during my third pregnancy, this time to both my girls. They enjoyed the idea of there being a house inside me where the baby was growing, just like in the story. It described what was happening in a kid-friendly way, with lovely rhyming texts and simple illustrations. It also gave us the opening to talk about pregnancy and how the baby was growing, and what would happen when the baby was ready to be born. The girls asked lots of questions, and asked to read this book repeatedly. Even though their little brother is here now, they still like to read this book sometimes.

There’s a House Inside my Mummy is a unique book about the joyous arrival of a new baby. It is nice to read with expectant big siblings, especially toddlers and preschoolers, in preparation for the baby’s arrival.

Aug5

Wombat Stew by Marcia K Vaughan and Pamela Lofts

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Photos - 14870Wombat Stew by Marcia K Vaughan and illustrated by Pamela Lofts, paperback picture book, first published by Scholastic Australia in 1984, this edition published in 2009.

This classic Australian picture book was a favourite of mine as a child, and now it is a favourite of my own children.

When a very clever dingo catches a wombat and decides to make wombat stew, the other bush animals help him to make the crunchiest and chewiest stew imaginable. They suggest adding mud, flies, feathers and even gumnuts to the billy, but Dingo must taste it before he adds the final ingredient, that lovely fat wombat!

This is a wonderful book to share with preschoolers and primary school children. The story is well told, and funny, with realistic illustrations. My kids particularly like Dingo’s song about his wombat stew as he dances around the billy. They laugh when each new ingredient is added to the billy, and they love it when Dingo tries the stew. A valuable addition to every home library, Wombat Stew is a book that will be read and enjoyed many times!

Aug5

Hand Shadow Show

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One night last week we had a blackout after dinner. The kids were a little frightened to start with, but then we pulled out torches and candles. This led to the kids putting on a shadow puppet show to pass the time.

A shadow bunny.

A shadow bunny.

We set up one of the big torches aimed at a clear space on the lounge room wall. The kids stood off to one side and used their hands and arms to make different shadow shapes on the wall. They mostly made animals, adding sound effects, and telling some short stories. Big L made some shadows too. They had lots of fun performing their shadow show, and sooner than they would have liked the lights came back on.

A making a shadow dog.

A making a shadow dog.

L making a shadow animal.

L making a shadow animal.

Jul31

I Love You, Nose! I Love You, Toes! by Linda Davick

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Photos - 15525I Love You, Nose! I Love You, Toes! by Linda Davick, hardback picture book, published by Beach Lane Books in 2013.

This is a wonderful rhyming book that celebrates the body and all the parts that make it up. These children love their bodies, no matter the shape, size, colour or even if it’s bruised or scratched. And you can too!

This was a fun book that we shared, bringing our attention to different parts of the body. As we read , my preschooler pointed to each part on her own body, and made some comments, like ‘My hair is red!’ and ‘That girl’s reading a book on the potty!’ My preschooler loved the rhyming cadence and the clear illustrations. She laughed most at the picture of a girl sneezing with lots of green stuff coming out of her nose! The part about not quite being able to hug the back, got my preschooler trying to hug her back like the children in the picture, it was quite funny. I really liked that this book got my preschooler thinking about her body and just how wonderful it really is.

Jul31

Yoo-Hoo, Ladybird! by Mem Fox and Laura Ljungkvist

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IMG_1189Yoo-Hoo, Ladybird! by Mem Fox and illustrated by Laura Ljungkvist, hardback picture book, published by Penguin Group (Australia) in 2013.

This cute little ladybird just loves to hide. She is hiding somewhere in each picture, can you spot her?

An engaging book for young readers, it involves the child by encouraging them to find the ladybird in each picture. I like that the pages aren’t so packed with items that the ladybird is too hard to find, which makes it perfect for preschoolers. The illustrations are simple, yet unique, with the ladybird hiding among an interesting array of objects. These objects were also fun to spot and name. The story is simple with rhyming text, and my preschooler loved joining in to call ‘Yoo-hoo, Ladybird!’ We really enjoyed this book, and I think it will quickly become a favourite with my preschooler.

Jul27

My Body by Bloomsbury Discovery

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IMG_1196My Body by Bloomsbury Discovery and illustrated by Joelle Dreidemy, large format non-fiction boardbook with flaps, published by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc in 2014.

Most children love lift-the-flap books, and this one has dozens of flaps that open to reveal lots of fun facts and information about the body. A wonderfully engaging book for preschoolers and children in lower primary, My Body covers human evolution and the various body systems in a detail appropriate for this age group. The main illustrations were plentiful, detailed and clear, showing a good life-like representation of the human body. There were also lots of other illustrations on every page with more facts, and these had more of a cartoon quality about them.

The flaps were a big attraction for my preschooler, but once we started reading, she really got into the information too. She asked a lot of questions while we were reading, she came back to the book later to look through it again herself, and asked me to re-read a few sections to her. We ended up reading the whole book in one sitting as she was enjoying it so much. The information contained within this book was detailed enough that my second grader also found it useful and enlightening. I have heard my preschooler repeat several facts she learnt from My Body, especially that people shouldn’t eat snot because it contains germs!

 

 

Jul27

Ears, Eyes, Nose by Rebecca Bondor

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IMG_1191Ears, Eyes, Nose by Rebecca Bondor, a Rookie Toddler boardbook, published by Children’s Press (Scholastic) in 2014.

This boardbook introduces young children to some of their body parts. It contains clear photographs of children pointing to their own ears, eyes, and other parts. Seeing children just like them can help toddlers and young children to engage in learning new things. And with only one large print word per photo, and a sturdy board construction, this is a great book to start learning body parts with babies and toddlers.

Jul27

Ten Tiny Toes by Caroline Jayne Church

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IMG_1195Ten Tiny Toes by Caroline Jayne Church, boardbook, published by Cartwheel Books in 2014.

A simple and engaging book for toddlers celebrating their bodies. As I read through Ten Tiny Toes with my son (15 months old), I encouraged him to point to each part of his body and do the actions in the book. He liked looking through the book and pointing to the pictures, and especially grabbing his toes when we read ‘and ten tiny toes!’ He did laugh and giggle when we touched his tummy too. The text was large with rhyming language, and the illustrations were simple, yet nice. This story helped us to focus on learning parts of the body in a fun way that many toddlers will enjoy.