Saturday, January 23, 2021

Extraordinary by Penny Harrison illustrated by Katie Wilson

"Perhaps you dream of skipping through stars? 

Of harnessing unicorns, sailing round Mars?"

"But what of the ordinary, everyday thing? 

The soft, quiet moment that makes the world sing?"

When you open this book with your young reading companion sitting beside you take a minute or two to flip between the front and back end papers. What do you see that is different? What are some reasons things might have changed? Can you link these images to the title word - extraordinary? 

I love that this book celebrates:

  • being quiet
  • observing the natural world
  • using your imagination
  • sharing the outdoors with family

"Just remember the ordinary is extraordinary, too."

The soothing rhythmic story would be a great addition to the bedtime reading routine. Book Trust

From the gold foil highlights on the front cover to the whimsical illustrations, the rhyming text and the beautiful story, this story is bound to become a firm favourite for children, parents and carers, educators and librarians. Reading Time

I have a Pinterest of Quiet stories. Many of these would be great to use alongside Extraordinary.

In this video Penny Harrison reads her book (I love her quiet voice and gentle reading pace) and talks about noticing the small things in nature. Here are a set of teaching notes. I found a VERY surprising video of Sarah Ferguson (yes that Sarah Ferguson) reading this book. Here is a web site for the illustrator Katie Wilson and one for Penny Harrison.

I am reading some books that might be selected for our CBCA Notable list. I think Extraordinary could be a contender for the CBCA list. Penny Harrison's rhyming words work really well. This is not always the case when authors choose to write their text using rhyme. Little children are sure to be attracted to the sparkles on the cover too.  

My friend at Kinderbookboard and I have made a Pinterest collection of the Australian children's picture books published in 2020. The CBCA Notables are likely to be found in this collection. They will be announced at the end of February so watch this space.

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