fiction | Today We Did

Harry and the Dinosaurs go to School by Ian Whybrow and illustrated by Adrian Reynolds, paperback picture book, published by Koala Books in 2006.

We have been a fan of Harry and his Bucketful of Dinosaurs for some time now, dinosaurs always attract my kids! This Harry installation is a lovely picture book that tells the story of Harry’s first day at school.

Harry is excited to be starting at school, but Stegosaurus isn’t so keen. He meets his new teacher, but the poor dinosaurs are left out in the hall with the coats. School doesn’t seem so much fun without his dinosaurs, but there is a boy that is much sadder than Harry. With the help of his dinosaurs, Harry befriends the boy and helps to make his first day better.

My kids love this book, and my preschooler often asks for it at bedtime. The story is simple, and the kids can relate to it. I also really like the illustrations. Starting school can be a bit scary, but making new friends makes going to school heaps of fun. This is a great book to help ease some of the nervousness of children who are about to start school for the first time.

Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda, paperback, 138 pages, first published in 1993, this edition was published by Omnibus Books (part of the Scholastic Group) in 2005.

Rowan is a young boy, living in the little village of Rin with his mother, Jiller and his younger sister, Annad. Rowan is a caring, quiet, and shy boy, different to the other children of Rin. He is thought of as a weakling by many of the other villagers, who do not understand him. His job is to tend to the Bukshah, the gentle beasts that provide milk and wool to the people of Rin.

When the stream from the mountain that supplies the drinking water for the bukshah ceases to flow, the villagers are concerned, their lives depend on the bukshah. They must climb the mountain to discover the cause of the interrupted flow. Unexpectedly, Rowan must join the party of villagers chosen to embark upon this quest. They have a map to guide them, but it is full of riddles, and the path is full of dangers. And at the top of the mountain there is rumoured to be a dragon. Rowan and his companions have a frightening and arduous journey ahead, but they all must be brave and continue on regardless of any possible obstacles in order to restore the flow of water down the mountain. Rowan doubts he is up to the task at hand, but he sets out on the adventure of his life to save the bukshah and the village of Rin.

While this book is aimed at middle primary school children, I still love this story as an adult. It’s got adventure, fantasy, anticipation, riddles, and a dragon! I read this with my second grader, and she also loved the story. Each riddle gave us a great opportunity to discuss what it meant, and talk about what we thought might happen next in the story, and how it might affect the characters. It is very well written, and it is easy to bring Rowan and his traveling companions to life. I highly recommend this book for any child looking for a good adventure story.

Rowan of Rin won The Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year in the Younger Readers category in 1994.