Melrose and Croc: A Hero's Birthday by Emma Chichester Clark

 

Have you met Melrose (the yellow dog) and his friend Croc (a small green crocodile)?  A Hero's Birthday is the sixth story in this charming series. The first book is set at Christmas. Take a look at Emma Chichester Clark's web pages.

Melrose has plans for a wonderful birthday to his friend Croc. He has prepared all the presents but he wants to include one more perfect surprise - a fresh fish for breakfast. Melrose sets off in a small row boat. He has not noticed "how black the sea was, or how dark the sky had become."

Back at home Croc waits for Melrose. When his good friend does not arrive, Croc sets off to look for him. By now the storm is raging.  Down at the harbour Croc meets Pierre, the boat owner. Out in the stormy sea he sees a tiny boat with a yellow dog inside it. The lifeboat sets off to rescue Melrose but just as they arrive a huge wave sweeps Melrose into the sea. Croc does not hesitate - he dives into the wild waves to save his friend. Croc is a hero!

"A real hero ... And a true friend."

Melrose and Croc Friends for Life

Melrose and Croc Christmas

Melrose and Croc Heros

Melrose and Croc Find a Smile

Melrose and Croc Go to Town

Melrose and Croc Beside the Sea

Whale in a Fishbowl by Troy Howell and Richard Jones

Looking at a whale in an aquarium causes me distress. In this book the feelings are amplified when we see the huge whale, named Wednesday, alone, trapped in a small tank, in the middle of a bustling city. Her name is Wednesday because "like the day of the week, ... was smack in the middle of everything."

In the distance Wednesday can see a tiny glimpse of blue. This causes her heart to leap but she does not know why. To see the sea, Wednesday needs to leap up in her tank. This delights the crowds. They think she is doing a wonderful trick. Leaping makes Wednesday happy but is also makes her sad. One day a small girl arrives and she communicates directly with Wednesday:

"You belong in the sea!"

Things get worse for Wednesday. She cannot sleep or eat and she no longer wants to leap but she aches to see that glimpse of blue. Finally one day, out of utter despair, she makes one final leap. What happens next will astonish and delight you.

This is a book that SHOULD be added to every school and public library collection. Here are two words from Whales in a Fishbowl that apply to the book itself - glorious and breathtaking!

Hauntingly beautiful. I love these sorts of stories for children because the story itself is clear and easily-followed, but it allows for multiple interpretations as to its meaning. Is it a lesson in believing in your dreams? Following your heart? Having the courage to explore the unknown?The Baby Bookworm Blog

Whale in a Fishbowl is a really important children’s book.It is an advocate for keeping wildlife in the wild and teaching children the importance of seeing beyond the leaps and applause to the fact that these animals should be in their own habitats and not inside the glass walls and cages that their parents pay entry fees to visit. W is for Whale

 Take a look at other books illustrated by Richard Jones. In this blog post Troy Howell talks about his book. You can see the whole book here.

Gimmie Cracked Corn and I will share by Kevin O'Malley

You must be yolking.

What are you - a comedi-hen?

This is the perfect book to tickle your funny bone. It is filled with jokes and puns - you will laugh out loud on every page.

When Chicken dreams of buried treasure, he and his pal fly the coop and set out on a journey to find the golden corn, in this scrambled retelling of a classic Eastern European folktale. Their eggs-traordinary adventure takes them across the road, through the woods, and to a distant barn where they hear of pigs that can fly and dreams that can feed the imagination. Packed with word play and over twenty puns, thanks to Kevin O'Malley's trademark humor, Chicken's adventure reminds us that sometimes we need to leave home to realize the things we really treasure can be found right back where we started. Book Depository

Sadly this book is out of print but I just wanted to share it here in case you can find a copy in a library (as I did!). I recommend this for young readers aged 7+ and their adult friends.

Cornball comedy guaranteed to pun-ish your funny bone. Kirkus Star review

The Tiny Kite of Eddie Wing by Maxine Trottier illustrated by Al van Mil

Tuesday Treasure

Eddie loves kites. During the day he works with his parents on their flower stall but his dream is to own and fly a wonderful kite. Unfortunately Eddie's family are very poor. All Eddie can do is fly an imaginary kite up on top of the hill:

"There he would run through the grass holding an imaginary string in one hand. With the other hand he would pull the invisible cord and urge a kite that one he could see up into the cold, blue sky."

Every year his town holds a festival of kites. Old Chan sets the challenge - the fastest kite, the kite with the longest tail. This year the challenge is to make the smallest kite. everyone gets busy buying kite making materials but Eddie cannot afford the paper, silk or cord needed to make the perfect kite. On the day of the competition all Eddie can do is fly his imaginary kite and so he does not win the prize. Old Chan is a wise man, though, and he has been watching Eddie. He takes Eddie into his store and gives the small boy a parcel. Now Eddie can make the kite of his dreams and this time everyone will be able to see it.

The tiny kite of Eddie Wing was the winner of the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year award in 1996. You can see some art by Al van Mil here. Sadly this book is out of print.

I would pair this book with other books about kites and kite flying beginning with another treasure book - The Sea Breeze Hotel illustrated by Patricia Mullins.

Someplace to Call Home by Sandra Dallas

"Hallie wore a new dress that Mrs Carlson had made for her from two feed sacks. ... She'd rubbed her shoes with bacon grease until they shone. She'd braided her hair three times until she was satisfied. She didn't have a mirror so she couldn't see her appearance. Still, she knew she looked her best."

I felt a little restless last night so at 2.00 am I picked up Someplace to call Home. I read 67 pages and then went back to sleep. This morning I decided to cancel my morning plan and keep reading right to the end. I sighed out loud when I reached page 222. This book was such a satisfying and engrossing book to read (I'm happy) but now I had reached the end of a wonderful heartfelt story about a character I really cared about (so I am also sad).

A story of the Great Depression that’s both gritty and gratifying. Kirkus

It is 1933. Three children are all that is left of the Turner family. A sister, Barbara has died and so has their mother. Father set off to find work and never returned. The children tried to survive on the farm in Oklahoma but the crops failed, money ran out and so they set off in the old family car. They are now in Kansas. The old car has broken down. Hallie is twelve, Tom is sixteen and their little brother Benny is only six. The man who owns the land, where the children set up camp, is such a kind man. He and his wife have a little girl called Tessie and she is just like Benny (who has Downs Syndrome). Over the coming months the children are able to settle in. Tom gets some work for a local mechanic at the town petrol station and he is able to also work for Mr Carlson. Mrs Carlson takes care of Benny allowing Hallie to attend school for one or two days each week. The Carlson family show these orphan children such kindness and generosity but this is not true of other people in the town and it especially not true for Hallie at school where she is called "a squatter". With limited food and no money the children begin to carve out a new life for themselves until Tom is accused of stealing the car of a rich kid - Harold Morton. The sheriff believes Tom is innocent but until this car is found it feels as though everyone is against them.

This period in history fascinates me. The setting here is Great Depression of 1929-1933 and in this book a young reader will certainly gain access to a vivid picture of the dreadful struggles of these times. This story also talks about the Dust Bowl. "In the 1930s, a drought caused land in America's midsection to dry up and blow away." The words Dusted out described "farmers who went broke and had to move away from their land during the Dust Bowl."

I have talked previously about shoes and they way they can be used to describe poverty. Hallie's shoes are so worn she has to stuff cardboard inside to cover the holes and even cardboard can be hard to come by. Benny eventually gets new shoes but they are so uncomfortable and on the day Hallie takes him to the school hoping he can enter Grade One.

"When Hallie glanced at her brother, she saw with horror that Benny was sitting on the floor, taking off his shoes."  The school principal goes onto say "we can't allow children such as your brother here in the school. He will be disruptive. We have to think of the other pupils."

If you share this book with a young reader or with a class it would be interesting to map the story plot and to also talk about the importance of quilts, the comfort of simple food, sibling relationships and why Hallie was so determined to complete Grade eight at school. You might also discuss the power of words such as 'stupid' and 'thief'. One more thing be sure to find the music to 'Happy Days'. This song is the sound track of their lives. I've found myself singing it all day.

Sandra Dallas is the author of books for adults and children. I am keen to read her other Historical middle grade titles: Hardscrabble; Red Berries White Clouds Blue Sky; and The Quilt Walk.  Ms Yingling lists some other titles about the Great Depression. I would pair Someplace to Cal Home with these:

Echo Mountain

Letters to Missy Violet

A Year down Yonder

Out of the Dust

Potato Pants by Laurie Keller

Potato Pants!  Wait a minute potatoes don't wear pants or do they?  The title tells you this will be such a funny, funny book and yes it is!!

"Potato is excited because today, FOR ONE DAY ONLY, Lance Vance's Fancy Pants Store is selling POTATO PANTS"

Potato rushes down to the store. There are huge crowds of potatoes outside. Potato rushes inside and then stops. There is an eggplant in the store. This is not Eggplant Pants Day! To make things even worse this is THE eggplant who pushed potato into a trash can yesterday. Eggplant won't leave the store so Potato decides to see if someone else is selling potato pants today or perhaps they might be selling spud slacks, tater trousers or even yam chaps. All of this means Potato has been distracted and so by now there is only one pair of potato pants left on the rack!  Oh no they are gone too. 

THAT EGGPLANT RUINED EVERYTHING IT'S HIS FAULT I DIDN'T GET POTATO PANTS ... IT'S NOT FAIR

Perhaps Potato needs to talk to Eggplant. And wait a minute has anyone bought the display pants from the store window?

In this video Colby Sharp talks about this book. He mentions Seven Habits of Highly effective People and that this book is perfect for "seek first to understand and then to be understood".  Colby says, and I agree, "kids all over the world should read this book" - it is such a laugh. Here is a video of the whole book.

Here are some ideas for class displays and here is the teachers guide from the publisher Macmillan.

This Small Blue Dot by Zeno Sworder

I think to fully appreciate this book you need to know a few things about the author Zeno Sworder. Begin with this video where he shows some pages from his book, then take a look at this interview. Here are some facts I gleaned from this interview:

• Zeno loved to draw from a young child especially with pencil but he didn't own the coveted set of 72 Derwent pencils until adulthood (and even now this is not enough colours)
• One day his, then six year old, daughter told him she couldn't be a Princess because princesses don't wear glasses. Zeno knew he wanted to show this is not true.
• Ms Crayon, the wise young girl in his book, is based on his daughter. After his second daughter was born he spent many nights recalling and writing the wisdom handed down to him from his English father (a lecturer in Greek Philosophy) and his Chinese Grandmother.
• Zeno says: "I also wanted to pass on the important lessons that I remembered from my grandmother and father: lessons about interconnectedness, beauty, the human continuum and how to use an imagination. In short, lessons about how to be in this world."

Here are two quotes from This Small Blue Dot that resonated with me:

"But remember, when it comes to people, there are some things you can't see. Beauty lives deep, deep inside the heart."

"Grandpa keeps telling me life isn't a race."

Image source Thames and Hudson

Do make sure you spend time on the end papers. Here is an activity pack to use with this book. I am quite confident that this book will be a CBCA Notable title in 2021.

Brilliantly conceived artistic images convey a touching and heartfelt story in this wonderfully modern style of picture book. Readers from 3 to 103 will relate to the confident and sassy narrator, who demonstrates the randomness of a young child’s thought processes, reminding us of the free-thinking wonderment of youth. Better Reading

My October reading pile

October in Australia is spring and while some children will "celebrate" Halloween at the end of the month this is actually a month of flowers, two weeks of school holidays and the beginnings of warm weather and longer days. I have a good collection of books to read this month especially some promising Middle Grade novels which I am listing here. But first off a wonderful poetry book.

Tiger, Tiger, burning bright: An animal poem for every day of the year selected by Fiona Waters illustrated by Britta Teckentrup

One of my most treasured books in my own collection is I am the seed that grew the tree: A nature poem for every day of the year selected by Fiona Waters illustrated by Fran Preston-Gannon. I was very excited when Nosy Crow announced the arrival of this new anthology with the bonus of illustrations by the wonderful Britta Teckentrup. Now I have another 366 poems to enjoy over this month and beyond. Watch the trailer. Here is the poem from today (26th September)

At the bottom of the garden by Grace Nicols

No, it isn't an old football

grown all shrunken and prickly

because it was left out so long

at the bottom of the garden.

It's only Miss Hedgehog

who, when she thinks I'm not looking

unballs herself to move ...

like bristling black lightning.

The Someday Birds by Sally J Pla

Blurb: "The Someday Birds is filled with humor, heart, and chicken nuggets. Charlie's perfectly ordinary life has been unravelling every since his war journalist father was injured in Afghanistan. When his father heads from California to Virginia for medical treatment, Charlie reluctantly travel cross country with his boy-crazy sister, unruly brothers, and a mysterious new family friend. He decides that if he can spot all the birds that he and his father were hoping to see someday along the way, then everything will turn out okay."

Someplace to call home by Sandra Dallas

Blurb: "In 1933, what's left of the Turner family - twelve-year-old Hallie and her two brothers - finds itself driving the back roads of rural America. The children have been swept up into a new migratory way of life. America is facing two devastating crises: the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Hundreds of thousands of people across the country have lost jobs. Driven by severe economic hardship, thousands of people take to the road to seek whatever work they can find, often splintering fragile families in the process."

Advance Reader Copies - Books that are coming out soon...

Glassheart by Katharine Orton - due for publication on 5th November, 2020

Blurb: "Through the glass, the magic is waiting... Nona and her uncle travel everywhere together, replacing stained-glass windows in war-torn buildings. When a mysterious commission takes them to the lonely moors of Dartmoor, Nona discovers a wild and powerful magic which threatens everything. Can Nona protect those she loves – even if it means fighting darkness itself?"

I am excited to read this because I really enjoyed Katharine's earlier book Nevertell (although I am not sure why I haven't talked about it here).

The Unexplainable disappearance of Mars Patel by Sheela Chari. Due for publication October, 2020

This book is based on a serialised podcast for children. 

Blurb: "Mars Patel’s friend Aurora has disappeared! His teachers are clueless. His mom is stressed out about her jobs. But Mars refuses to give up—after all, his own dad disappeared when Mars was a toddler, before he and Ma moved to Puget Sound from India. Luckily, Mars has a group of loyal friends eager to help—smart Toothpick, strong and stylish JP, and maybe-telepathic Caddie. The clues seem to point toward eccentric tech genius (and Mars’s hero) Oliver Pruitt, whose popular podcast now seems to be commenting on their quest! But when the friends investigate Pruitt’s mysterious, elite school, nothing is as it seems—and anyone could be deceiving them. Slick science, corporate conspiracies, and an endearingly nerdy protagonist make this first book in the series a fresh, exciting sci-fi adventure"

The Forest of Moon and Sword by Amy Raphael Due for publication January 2021

Blurb: "Twelve-year-old Art lives in a small village in Scotland. Her mother has always made potions that cure the sick, but now the townspeople say she is a witch. One cloudless night, Art's mother is accused of Witchcraft, arrested, and taken from Scotland to England. Art mounts her horse, taking a sword, a tightrope, and a herbal recipe book, and begins a journey through wild forests to find her mother before summer solstice, using nature's signs and symbols to guide her. On her journey, Art will discover what sacrifices she will need to make to be reunited with her mother - and to alter the fate of women everywhere. But will she reach her, before it's too late?"

Amari and the night brothers by BB Alston Due for publication late January 2021

Blurb: "Quinton Peters was the golden boy of the Rosewood City low-income housing projects, receiving full scholarship offers to two different Ivy League schools. When he mysteriously goes missing, his little sister, 13-year-old Amari Peters, can’t understand why it’s not a bigger deal. Why isn’t his story all over the news? And why do the police automatically assume he was into something illegal?  Then Amari discovers a ticking briefcase in her brother’s closet. A briefcase meant for her eyes only. There was far more to Quinton, it seems, than she ever knew."

Huge thanks to Beachside Bookshop for these advance copies.

Sam McBratney 1943-2020

Image source NPR and Candlewick

"I love you right up to the moon AND BACK"

“When writing about the hares, I aim to describe moments of emotional significance but with loads of humour and the lightest of touches. This story is about one of those moments. Little Nutbrown Hare’s world suddenly glows with the discovery of friendship.” Sam McBratney Guardian

I was sad to read that Sam McBratney has died. Just like many many others I have often gifted Guess How much a Love you (1994) to parents of new babies and I treasure my own small toy plush hare based on this book. This famous book is available in 57 languages.

Sam McBratney lived in Northern Ireland and he wrote over fifty books for children. This week I borrowed eight from a school library to share with you. In an interview with Reading Rockets Sam McBratney talked about writing picture books.  

"She did say people think it's easy, Sam, but it's not easy. And it took me six months. ... And for those six months, every word you write is fighting for its place on the page, you know."

But first off I need to mention one of my ALL TIME most favourite little chapter books which, huge thanks to Sam McBratney, I have loved sharing with children for over 20 years:

It is also interesting to note all of the different illustrators who have worked on the books by Sam McBratney. Here are a few: Kim Lewis; Anita Jeram; Charles Fuge; Sebastien Braun; Paul Hess; Jennifer Eachus; Ivan Bates; and Sam Usher.

The Most-Loved Bear illustrated by Sam Usher

Blurb: "Growly Bear and Mary Rose do everything together. Until one day, Growly Bear gets left behind. He's sure that Mary Rose will come back for him. But as the days turn to weeks turn to months, Growly Bear's fur gets worn, his eye comes loose and his growl starts to fade. Then a child picks him up. But this isn't the child he was expecting."

I'm not your friend illustrated by Kim Lewis

Blurb: "The little fox didn't want to wait until tomorrow. He wanted to play another game and he wanted to play it now. "I'm not your friend anymore," he said. "And I'm not going to be your friend again . . . ever."  It's not always easy to stop playing when you are having fun. So when his mother says it's time to go, the little fox insists on staying. But as the meadow grass begins to whisper and the evening stars appear, he starts to think again."

Tell me a story before I go to bed illustrated by Sebastien Braun

Burb: "Anna-Sophia's dad says he will tell her a story when they go up the wooden hill. But where is the wooden hill? Can Anna-Sophia solve the riddle before it's time for bed?"

I'm Sorry illustrated by Jennifer Eachus

Blurb: "Having a best friend makes life so much better. but even best friends fight, and when that happens, I'm sorry is the hardest thing to say."

Jennifer Eachus is the illustrator of the exquisite book The Big big Sea by Martin Waddell.

Once there was a Hoddie illustrated by Paul Hess

Blurb: "Once there was a Hoddie who lived under a hill, and a very fine Hoddie he was. He was happy in his own way, but he didn't have the one thing that makes a Hoddie really happy. Can you guess what it is ... ?"

Yes we can illustrated by Charles Fuge 

Blurb: "An adorable tale of fun and friendship that celebrates how everyone can be good at something."

It's lovely when you smile illustrated by Charles Fuge

Blurb: "When Little Roo wakes up, he just feels grumpy. His mother tires everything she can to make him feel better, but nothing she does makes any difference. So how will a wide, deep and muddy-at-the-bottom home make Little Roo smile?"

You're all my favourites illustrated by Anita Jeram

Blurb: "Mommy and Daddy Bear convince three worried cubs that there's plenty of love to go around in this comforting new tale from the incomparable team of Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram. At night the three baby bears asked their Daddy Bear, "Which one of us do you like the most? Who is your favorite?  We can't all be the best." Every night, while tucking in their three cubs, Mommy and Daddy Bear tell them they're the most wonderful baby bears in the whole wide world. But one day the three little bears start to wonder: How do Mommy and Daddy know this is true? And even more worrisome to each sibling: What if my parents like my brother or sister better than me?"

The sequel to Guess how much I love you will be published at the end of September:

And this new book, Mindi and the Goose no One else Could See illustrated by Icelandic illustrator Linda Olafsdottir, will be published in 2021:

Here are a few other books by Sam McBratney which I have added to my own to read list:

I have loved exploring the work of Sam McBratney. I mentioned my favourite book - Oliver Sundew Tooth Fairy at the beginning of this post. I plan to talk in some detail about this soon. I have now discovered Sam wrote two other titles for the Walker Books Sprinters series and one for the Racers series (Flash Eddie and the big bad wolf):

Sam McBratney also wrote easy chapter books in the Heinemann Bananas series; Collins Colour Jets; and Walker Storybooks. You might be lucky and find a few of these are still in the collection of a well stocked school library.

Outside In by Deborah Underwood illustrated by Cindy Derby

"Outside sings to us with chirps and rustles and tap-taps on the roof. 

It beckons with smells: sunbaked, fresh, and mysterious."

A small girl lives inside but the outside is all around her. Outside can be seen through a car window, a house window. Outside comes inside too. Our clothes were once "puffs of cotton" and the chair you are sitting on was once a tree. Each day outside shows the passing of time from night when we should rest through to a morning sunrise when it is time to begin our day again. Little critters that live outside sometimes sneak inside - a spider, a snail and a boxelder bug.

Image Source American Pest

The art in this book is enchanting. You can see how it was developed in this post at Seven Impossible Things. We talk about the slow food movement. I would like to suggest this book should be part of the slow book movement. I do not mean this book has a slow plot (as in boring or laborious) I mean this is a book to read s l o w l y and a book where you need to linger over every page and each word. This book also falls into the category of quiet books which I have mentioned previously.

I do love the books by Deborah Underwood. Here is a video where you can see Deborah and Cindy talking about their book. Kirkus call this book "a love letter to nature". Cindy Derby's art is very special. 

Outside In is a beguiling, thought-provoking book that thinks outside the box. BookPage

Lushness without sweetness—wild, darkly romantic, and exquisite. Kirkus Star review

Though this book has layers of meaning, a kid will understand instantly what the author is trying to say. The outside wants to play with you. Best that you meet it halfway. Elizabeth Bird SLJ

 

The Biscuit Maker by Sue Lawson illustrated bu Liz Anelli

Benedict Stanley lives alone. He observes his neighbourhood but no one stops to talk to him except for one small boy. The boy shows Benedict Stanley the space where his tooth fell out. That night Benedict Stanley makes some delicious biscuits to celebrate the arrival of the tooth fairy and he quietly places them on a nearby door step. Over the following days other people find biscuits delivered to their doors - shortbread for the triplets, choc-chip for the new neighbours, and football cookies to celebrate the grand final. One day, however, there are no biscuits. 

"Where is the biscuit maker?" "Maybe she's on holidays."

Word placement in a story is so important. Did you notice the word "she"? So much to discuss about assumptions.  

Here are some other words from The Biscuit Maker.

"One evening, an aching and snuffling Benedict Stanley shuffles to bed." 

"Rose petals fall and cabbages wilt."

Benedict Stanley is unwell and I can cope with that but the suggestion that it takes days, weeks or longer for the neighbours to realise he needs help almost made me cry. Rose petals fall and cabbages wilt! Thank goodness again for that small boy.

The emotional arc of this story also affected me. Benedict is deeply lonely; then he finds a joyous, albeit solitary, task baking that brings him happiness; things begin to change in the neighbourhood but Benedict becomes unwell; luckily people now recognise his generosity; they have started to talk to each other and so we watch this community light up as the people join together in a neighbourhood celebration.

Advice for authors often includes the phrase 'show don't tell'.   Benedict Stanley lives alone with only his cat Audrey Mae for company. Where is his wife? Why is he alone? What is the significance of the name 'Audrey Mae'?These ten words provide some of the answers:

"In his kitchen, Benedict Stanley reaches for his wife's recipe book."

It's terrific to see the recipe for basic biscuit dough is provided at the back of the book. Perhaps you could make some biscuits ready to enjoy when you read this book with a young child.  In Australia we use the word biscuit. Sue Lawson also uses the word cookie in her story perhaps cat cookies and football cookies sound better than cat biscuits and football biscuits. Just something to think about along with the American celebration of Halloween which in recent times is celebrated here in Australia even though the season is "wrong". Perhaps these inclusions give this book a wider audience beyond the shores of Australia.

Walker Books describe The Biscuit Maker:

• An important and topical book about how even in the midst of life on a busy street you can feel all alone.
• An inspirational title that demonstrates how simple acts of friendship can bring a community together.
• Demonstrates how the friendship between young children and the elderly members of a community can change lives.

Make sure you spend some time on the end papers which look a little like a street map. Liz Anelli is a master of collage. The cover is also very interesting - think about why we cannot see Benedict's face.

You could design a mini unit for a young Primary class on the importance of community using The Biscuit Maker and these other titles:

I saw Pete and Pete saw Me by Maggie Hutchins illustrated by Evie Barrow

A very wise and observant small boy tells us that he can see things that grown-ups are often too busy to see. The little boy sees Pete, with his dog, sitting on a piece of cardboard and with a container for coins. Pete has a piece of yellow chalk and he draws a beautiful bird on the footpath. This wonderful child asks his mum to buy more chalk for Pete - "rainbow chalk". The compassion and empathy of this child make the stormy night almost unbearable as he worries about Pete outside in the cold, and rain, and dark so the little boy talks to the people who have shops near where Pete sits. Now that this child has opened their eyes, people start to give things to Pete - a blanket, a yellow coat, paper for drawing and warm coffee.

Pete keeps drawing with his chalk and the little boy shares his own drawings with Pete. One day, though, when the boy and his mum walk past, it is clear Pete is very unwell. 

"That night my worries grew like thorns. I drew Pete a house and I wished it was real."

Pete disappears from the streets. The young child is desperate to find him so he puts up a poster- "Pete can you let us know you are okay?" We don't see Pete again but he does leave a small, reassuring gift for his young friend.

In our city, as in many cities around the world, homeless people sit on footpaths often with a sign and a hat hoping kind people will put in a few coins. Many people simply hurry past.

The words in the dedication are so important:

"I write as a grown-up who hopes that change will come, and as a human who believes we can all make a difference if we remember to keep compassion in our hearts and act on it. Last but not least, I wrote this book for my great-great-grandmother Martha, who was homeless and truly special, like Pete."

Here comes another one of my predictions - I really hope this book I saw Pete and Pete saw Me does make our CBCA Notables AND short list for 2021. Here are a set of teaching ideas from the publisher Affirm Press. Read more about Maggie Hutchins and Evie Barrow.

This is an important book which is beautifully expressed. The illustrations are perfect and echo the chalk drawings done by Pete. The end papers (thank you Evie Barrow) show the pattern from the blanket that Pete is given by coffee lady. You could have a discussion with your students about the importance of this blanket, the choice of colours, the work and love that goes into patchwork, and even the limitations of this gift. There is also much to explore in this book around Visual Literacy especially the concepts of "offer"; "vectors"; "salience"; and "colour". While you can read I saw Pete and Pete saw Me to a group of younger students I would suggest it would be even more powerful to read this book to a group of older students and then I would also read these:

The Old Man

Space Travellers

It is good to see $1 from the sale of each copy of I saw Pete and Pete saw me goes to The Big Issue.

The Wolves of Greycoat Hall by Lucinda Gifford

Having travelled to Scotland I found this book just a delight. The kilts, the tartan, the "weird" language, and the castles. Boris Greycoat and his dad Randall and mum Leonora hear that wolves are to be reintroduced into Scotland so they decide to take a holiday to the land of their ancestors. 

Source: Lucinda Gifford on Twitter

"Since 1680, there have been no wolves in Scotland. But now The Scottish Royal Conservation Society wishes to welcome us back. Wolves will be reintroduced, starting with the Highland and Islands. Perhaps one day soon, we wolves ca go about our daily lives in Scottish cities without shrieks of terror from the local population."

So begins the story which feels like an old fashioned melodrama with dastardly baddies and clever heroes (Boris) and an outcome (in the castle) that feels just right! The family board their train in Morovia (Czech Republic) to the coast, then catch an overnight ferry to England and finally they board the train for Scotland - specifically to Inverness. They have a booking at the Highland Hotel. 

Don't read this book if you are feeling slightly hungry because it is filled with delicious food. It is important for wolves to eat consistently throughout the day. "As all respectable wolves know, the best way to get on in society is to not get very, very hungry. A hungry wolf is not a dignified wolf ... As a precaution, a wolf must not appear in society when hungry - as this hunger may result in Undignified Situations and Embarrassing Incidents." Luckily Inverness has cake shops, a fishmonger, restaurants and of course the hotel dining room. 

"The cafe sold nine different kinds of cake: coffee, vanilla, jam, strawberry, chocolate, lemon, caramel, fruitcake and carrot." You do need to know wolves do not eat carrots and so when they leave the cafe they leave plenty of (carrot) cake for the other customers.

The descriptive writing gives a sense of character and place and although some of the vocabulary is challenging, the support of the illustrations makes it suitable for children developing their reading skills.Full of historic castles and mystery, this book is perfect for a 7+ readership and fans of Chris Riddell’s ‘Ottoline’ series. Books and Publishing

If you need more plot details listen to this podcast by Middle Grade Maverns.