Guess What? by Mem Fox illustrated by Vivienne Goodman

Far away from here lives a crazy lady called Daisy O'Grady. 

Is she tall and thin? 

Guess!

Yes! 

Does she wear a long black dress?

Guess!

Yes!

The illustrations in this picture book are really incredible - weird and quite scary. I would suggest this is a book for readers aged 10+ but I imagine Mem Fox had a younger audience in mind. The design of each page with tiny spotlight illustrations that anticipate the image on the next page give this book a layer of interaction and so I think this book works best when it is read slowly side by side with your young or slightly older reading companion. Then turn to the back to see the list of all the things you might like to spot such as a mandrill, a piranha, a chocolate doughnut, a banana and tawny frogmouth (bird).

Mem Fox said: When you see the astonishing illustrations in this book (I kiss the feet of Vivienne Goodman) you’ll realise why it took almost five years for it to be completed, in spite of the sparseness of my very simple text. There are many hidden bits of hilarious detail that are so clever I asked the Australian publishers, Omnibus, to put a guide to them in the back of the most recent edition (2008).

The pictures are very Australian: the isolated, ramshackle farmhouse amongst brown bushes, the outhouse with graffiti and recognizable product labels such as Vegemite and Defender. ...It is by looking at the illustrations carefully that adults and older children will pick up some of the humour and reality of the book. For instance, a glance at her kitchen shows familiar packets of flour, tomato sauce, baked beans and spices. Reading labels will give a very different view of her cooking! As will a careful inspection of her recipe bookshelf. Aussie Reviews

I do think Halloween is an odd event here in Australia. It is the wrong season and we have no cultural heritage around this event. It is also strange to see how the event seems to grow bigger each year with more and more 'things' available in various stores from pumpkins to costumes, from bags of sweets to decorations. Having said all of that, though, Guess What (1988) would be a perfect book to share in your family tonight. This book is sure to be in many school and public libraries. It was republished in 2008. And this book has been banned in some US States!

It is fairly easy to find picture books about Halloween. This alternate list might interest you. My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything has a Pinterest collection of Halloween chapter books for readers aged 5-8.

I would pair Guess what with Meannie and the Min Min.

The Truck Cat by Deborah Frenkel illustrated by Danny Snell

Yacoub lives in his truck. He drives huge distances carrying many different things. English is not his first language, and he sometimes finds it difficult to talk to the other truck drivers he meets along the way but luckily Yacoub has his little cat named Tinka. Tinka keeps Yacoub company on long journeys and under the stars at night. But then one day Tinka is distracted by a fluttering butterfly, and he accidentally leaves Yacoub behind. Luckily Tinka is rescued by a kind young woman named Mari. Tinka is happy living in htis new place and he enjoys her bakery and the fresh fish she feeds him but he is also worried about his friend. Will Tinka and Yacoub ever be reunited?

Here is the web site for Deborah Frenkel. I previously talked about this book:

Naturoplois

Here is an interview with Justkidslit where Deborah Frenkel talks about The Truck Cat.

Here is the web site for Danny Snell. 

Blurb from the teachers notes (via Pegi Williams): Tinka is a truck cat, travelling the open roads of Australia with Yacoub in his truck. Yacoub doesn’t know many other people, but he and Tinka always have each other. Until one day, Tinka gets distracted chasing a white butterfly and ends up on a busy main road, with cars and trucks separating him from Yacoub. Luckily, Tinka is saved by a kind-hearted baker, Mari, who takes him into her home and her life and feeds him. But Tinka always worries about Yacoub, out there in the silence. Yacoub worries about Tinka too, missing the companionship of his friend … until one day, a smell draws him to the window of a bakery, where a familiar face waits for him.

By chance I borrowed The Truck Cat from the library this week and then today I saw it was announced as the 2025 National Simultaneous Storytime book which is on May 22nd, 2025 at 12:00pm AEST

About National Simultaneous Storytime: by facilitating NSS we aim to: 

• promote the value of reading and literacy, 
• promote the value and fun of books,
• promote an Australian writer and publisher, 
• celebrate and promote storytime activities in public libraries, school libraries, classrooms and communities around the country,
• and provide opportunities to involve parents, caregivers, the media, and others to participate in and enjoy the occasion.

What do we look for in the National Simultaneous Storytime book?

Each year interested publishers send in possible titles. From a practical perspective, the publisher has to be able and willing to provide copyright release for use of the illustrations, book projection, translation into other languages and performance. The publisher also needs to commit to a special print run of several thousand copies. This narrows down the options. The criteria for choosing from the remaining books include: 

• a positive storyline
• appeal to a modern and diverse audience
• suitability for read-aloud (language and length)
• how well the book lends itself to craft and other activities

I was very interested to read the criteria because I had (wrongly) assumed that since (in the past) Scholastic Australia were sponsors of this event the book had to be a Scholastic Australia publication. I am pleased to see I was wrong. The book this year comes from Bright Light which an imprint of Hardie Grant Children's Publishing.

Things to talk about and discuss after reading The Truck Cat:

How do you know the setting for this story is in Australia?

Do you think Yacoub has always been a truck driver? What does it mean 'to make a living'? 

How do you know Yacoub has not always lived in Australia? 

Why is Yacoub thinking about 'the old country'? What does this phrase mean?

Think about the sentence "Until cool hands lifted him from the road, held him gently, and carried him to a car." How does the meaning of this change if you alter the words 'cool' and 'gently'. What emotions do you feel when Mari rescues Tinka.

Tinka cannot tell Mari that he is worried about Yacoub but what might he say if he could talk?

When do we get the first hint that there might be a cultural connection between Mari and Yacoub?

How does Deborah Frenkel give her story a perfect sense of completion? 

The final pages show changes to the lives of Mari and Yacoub - what has happened? Talk about the way Danny Snell has extended the text well beyond the words of the story. How has 'home' now changed for Yacoub?

Discuss the vocab from the book - interloper, mewing, lunged, daintiest, depots, tri-axle, rafters

Older students - read the end notes from the author and research refugees from WWII who settled in Australia. Find other picture books about the modern refugee experience. Here is my Pinterest with some books that are sure to be in your school library. 

Research Polish cakes and biscuits. Check if your family have favourite recipes from other cultures.

Yacoub calls his grandmother Nena. What do you call your grandparents?

Book design - note the changes to the end papers; the consistent colour palette used in the water colour illustrations; the use of framing as a way to sequence the plot.

How does Danny Snell show movement of Tinka and also of the traffic in his illustrations?

A similar thing happens on the page where the truck is carrying eggs - how do we know the truck is moving slowly so the eggs don't get scrambled?

Narrative devices - repeated structures - some cats are house cats, some are apartment cats, some cats live on farms, some live this the city. AND at the end sometimes he's a bakery cat, sometimes a sofa cat; sometimes he's a picnic cat and sometimes a train cat.

What device is Deborah Frenkel using with these phrases - brick motels with beetles in the bathtub; rest-stop huts with rats in the rafters; depots dancing with dragonflies; lorikeets landed in the lemon tree; pigeons pecked in the petunias.

You could make a library display of past NSS titles and even have a mini readathon in your classroom exploring all of these terrific Australian Picture Books.

If you can't read all of these try to find Arthur by Amanda Graham; Edward the Emu by Sheena Knowles; The Wrong book by Nick Bland; Too many elephants in this house by Ursula Dubosarsky; and Mrs Wilkinson's Chooks by Leona Peguero. 

Bear's Adventure by Brian Wildsmith

Bear climbs into an empty hot air balloon basket and so his adventures begin. He is mistaken for a man in a fancy costume, joins a parade and a running race, he's interviewed for a television show, transported by helicopter and fire engine and until he eventually returns home somewhat confused by all of his very strange experiences.

As I read Bear's Adventure I kept thinking of the way it links with Daisy (1984).

Bear's Adventure was first published in 1981 and later went through several reprints up until 1991. It was published again in 2018 with a different cover and I think a slightly different text.

When I visited the Brian Wildsmith exhibition in Barnsely (UK) a few weeks ago Bear's Adventure was one of several books you could pick up and read. One page caught my eye because it mentioned the word video and even more surprising watching a video while riding a bicycle.

The original text says:

"That's a very funny act,' he said to bear. 'I was watching you on my miniature television set."

The updated text says:

"That was a very funny act,' he said to bear. 'I was watching you here, on my phone."

Look closely at this page and you can see the words 'miniature television':

I didn't have the two versions on the text with me at the exhibition so I cannot be sure if other parts of the text have been changed but the words "on my phone" really jumped out at me because I am sure did not write about phones back in 1981 although perhaps Brian Wildsmith did the text update because he died in 2016 and so he may have indeed watched videos on his phone.  

Blurb from the Brian Wildsmith web page: After mistaking the basket of a hot-air balloon for a cozy den, a brown bear goes on an unexpected adventure in a big city. When the balloon lands at the start of a colourful parade, the crowd embraces bear - so very lifelike! - turning him into an instant celebrity. From talk-show hosts to helicopter pilots, everyone wants to meet the funny man in the bear costume. But no-one understands poor Bear! With each new sight and smell, friendly face, and excited crowd, Bear is drawn further from his home and into an adventure he will never forget. Combining elegant writing with gorgeous illustrations, this lively and endearing story will keep readers enthralled to the final pages.

The illustrations are stunning. Each page is like a painting or a one of a kind greeting card, sharing beautiful animals, prints, textures, and colors. ... This picture book has adventure, humor, and reminds us that even a moment spent among chaos, has perfection. Bear just goes along with every unraveling mishap, seeming to be led a step closer to where he is suppose to be- no matter what direction he takes to get there. Read Aloud Literacy

I will share many more parts of the Brian Wildsmith exhibition over the coming weeks.

If you have a group of older students, you could compare Bear's Adventure with this old (sadly long out of print) book:

Caterpillar Hall by Anne Barrett

"Penelope Rose Parfitt ... do you know ...

I believe you've got hold of a magic umbrella?"

When we meet Penelope she has been given five whole pounds from her father to spend on anything. Her father is far away working to restore the family fortunes. Penelope lives with a governess - Miss Pink, a housekeeper - Mrs Prewitt, her husband the gardener William Prewitt and her reclusive Uncle Everard. 

What will Penelope buy with her five pounds? 

"I don't like dolls anymore and I've got a workbox and my old bicycle's quite good enough, so please may I have an umbrella. ... After all her father had said to get what she wanted, and this was it. Why should she get what someone else, and Miss Pink at that, thought she ought to want?"

"How could she explain what she felt about umbrellas to Miss Pink? How could she make her understand the wonderful privateness of being under your own little green tent roof, for it must be green. How the handle would be young own little tree with spreading branches, a palmy oasis in some desolate desert, so that whenever you put up your umbrella in the park or in the road you could suddenly be an explorer, secret and alone, under your own tropical sky. How the rain might beat, and you be snug beneath; or how once it was up, you might be clinging to a parachute journeying upward to the moon."

Illustration from the original edition

Have you read the picture book Billy's Bucket? Just like Billy, Penelope visits a shop. I like to think that she went to James Smith and Son the famous London Umbrella shop, but she and Miss Pink go to a department store called Hargroves. But just like Billy and his plan to find a bucket, Penelope knows she will find the most perfect umbrella even though to everyone else they all look pretty much the same. 

"Penelope had never seen so many umbrellas in her life. They hung from the ceiling, sprouted from the ground, and lay about in heaps on the tables. There were wide open ones, like bright tropical birds in flight, bunches of flower-like ones half open in gay umbrella stands, dumpy, perky ones peeping everywhere, and at the back, rows of stiff sombre ones like people in church."

Penelope does find the perfect umbrella in a container of discarded sale items and she names him Joseph.

A few days later, just like a scene from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911), Penelope, having been allowed to go to Kensington Gardens by herself, discovers a locked gate. Her beautiful new umbrella has sailed over the high wall having been swept up in a sudden gust of wind. 

"She ran along the wall looking for a gap. She must get there quick, perhaps he'd be dragging in the mud or prickled by thorns. Oh, Joseph, Joseph!"

Luckily Penelope does find a way in and yes, she does find her precious umbrella, but she also makes a wonderful discovery. There is a beautiful garden behind this wall and:

"Then she saw the most extraordinary thing. It was a caterpillar house, as she called them, with a long glass passage leading from the gate to the front door, and someone was living in the caterpillar. ... It was the most lovely place to live in she'd ever seen! Bright curtains were drawn back along the sides, cream-coloured with crimson and pale-green flowers on them, and on the floor there was a rich and lovely red carpet."

The owner of this beautiful home is Miss Pellay and she is the person who tells Penelope her umbrella is magic and she explains how the magic works. 

"Next time someone's very upset or angry with you, you must look at them very, very hard, without wavering or moving your eyes off them, and while you do it you must twiddle the gold band till it spins from left to right like the clock goes. And then ... "

I loved the nostalgic feeling I had when reading this book but even more than that I loved that the magic from the umbrella helped each of the people in Penelope's life and the wonderful happy ending simply made my romantic heart sing. 

The way everyone comes together at the end of this story reminded me of other treasured (more recent books) which celebrate community such as Hazel Green; View from the 32nd Floor (this one desperately needs reprinting with a new cover); Because of Winn Dixie; and A small collection of Happiness.

How could anyone resist beautiful expressive writing like this:

"the air smelt of chrysanthemums and frost."

"when suddenly, leaning rakishly at one end of a stand she found him. His head was cocked to one side and out of his bright, beady parrot's eye she could have sworn he winked at her."

"the covering of the umbrella itself was a rich shiny silk, just the right shade of bluey-green .... (and) at the end of each little spoke was a tiny ivory acorn, delicately and wonderfully carved with miniature cup and fairy fruit."

"the wind had blown a rift in the clouds, a fitful sun was shining now and all the panes of glass gleamed and shimmered and cast lovely beams of sunset light on the books and flowers and carpet."

It is interesting in this time when everyone seems to want a 'new book' to be reminded it is important not to lose sight of beautiful stories like Caterpillar Hall written over seventy years ago. 

I have long had a fascination with stories about umbrellas. When I was very young I read a short story in a school reader anthology Travelling On. The story was called The Chinese Umbrella by Dorothy Rowe. Later I read the same story in my own favourite book - The Youngest Omnibus. I talk about this here.  And of course, all children my age were fascinated by the Mary Poppins umbrella. 

Anne Barrett (1911-1986) wrote seven books for children, which in addition to Caterpillar Hall included Stolen Summer (1951), The Dark Island (1952), The Journey of Johnny Rew (1954), Songberd’s Grove (1957), which was a runner-up for the Carnegie Medal, Sheila Burton: Dental Assistant (1956) and Midway (1967).

I read these words in one review of Caterpillar Hall:

• beautiful descriptions of lovely things and places
• an engaging young heroine, with whom I would like to play
• enough time travel magic to be interesting, without being stressful
• a very happy ending

Jon Appleton arranged for Caterpillar Hall to be republished because Jan Mark, one of his favourite authors, claimed it was her own favourite book. Read more about the reissue of Caterpillar Hall here. Caterpillar Hall was first published in 1950. Read this post from Jon Appleton about Caterpillar Hall. Read more here. I was so lucky to meet Jon Appleton in London recently and he generously gifted me a copy of Caterpillar Hall. 

Jon produces a quarterly magazine which explores treasured books and authors from the past. It is such a delightful publication. I have been reading my way through the first three issues on loan from a friend. 

So, I’ve been gathering together essays, articles and profiles from decades past by and about those pioneering creators. I’ve put them together in a little zine which is published quarterly – it’s called the gab, short for ‘the golden age bulletin’. The pieces speak to each other, conjuring the spirit of a fabulous children’s books conference in the 1970s, for example. I’m writing new pieces, too, surveying books and interviewing legends whose stories might otherwise be lost. And readers are beginning to send in contributions, too. I think of The Gab as a kind of publisher agnostic Puffin Post. Jon Appleton

I have previously talked about Jon Appleton and his teenage relationship with the Australian author Robin Klein. 

Letters from Robin

While they are not exactly companion books all through Caterpillar Hall I kept thinking of my own favourite childhood books. Of course these are mostly not the covers of my copies:

IBBY 39th Congress 2024, Trieste Italy

I was so lucky to attend the 39th IBBY Congress in late August. There were 650 delegates from around the world and with keynotes, over 100 Oral sessions, round tables, award presentations, and also over 100 posters to peruse. This reel will give you a flavour of the congress and if you watch it carefully you might spy me and my friend Dr Robin Morrow!

Keynotes: 

• Michael Rosen 'Literature as a Driver of Change' - check out my previous post.
• Roberto Piumini 'The Words to Say'
• Telmo Pievani 'Disseminating Science in Children's Books'
• Stanislas Dehaene 'Reading in the Brain' and Kate Nation 'Reading for the Brain'

Round Table (there were several but this is the one I attended):

• Picturing Picture Books: a conversation about history, critic, censorship and poetic perspectives on the topic - Leonard Marcus

Awards presentations:

• IBBY-Asahi Reading Promotion Award ATD Fourth World’s Street Libraries, nominated by IBBY France. Read more here. 

Over 60 ATD Street Libraries can be found throughout France, the majority being located in “priority neighbourhoods” as defined by the French Government. ATD stands for All Together in Dignity. The programme has grown out of ATD Fourth World's conviction that the most effective way to support children to break out of the cycle of poverty is to nurture their desire to learn, and to assist in the development of their creativity.

• IBBY-iRead Outstanding Reading Promoter Award. Read more here.

The Award aims to encourage further investment by individuals, organizations and governments in the promotion of children’s reading and will stimulate educational innovation, give much greater access to children’s books and an enhanced profile for children’s reading promotion – key tools in global, social, economic and cultural development – all in the context of Article 17(C) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The winners of the 2024 IBBY-iRead Outstanding Reading Promoter Award are: Ms Basarat Kazim from Pakistan, nominated by IBBY Pakistan, and Ms Irene Vasco from Colombia, nominated by IBBY Canada. 

• Hans Christian Andersen Award - Sydney Smith and Heniz Janisch Read more here.

Here is my previous post about the 2024 short listed authors and illustrators. You can read Sydney Smith's acceptance speech here which he presented at the Hans Christian Andersen award dinner in Trieste.

• 2024 IBBY Honour List - this was a terrific part of the congress and I was cheering loudly for our Australian titles but also for the fabulous books from Canada! Read more here. And watch the video.

The 2024 Honour List includes 184 nominations in 52 different languages from 59 countries. Selected for the 2024 list are 68 entries in the category of Writing; 55 in the category Illustration; and 61 in the category Translation. 

Tiger Daughter

My Strange Shrinking Parents

Some personal Oral Session highlights:

• Let Fiction be part of every school subject - Sweden
• The right to remain silent: wordless picture books as drivers of social and linguistic change in an Early childhood setting - Norway
• Respecting children's names and cultural roots - USA
• Museums as actors of change in promoting children's books - Italy
• Parents book-reading to preterm born infants in Neonatal Intensive Care - Italy
• Healing power of literature: encouraging teenage boys in Juvenile Detention in reading and writing - Turkey
• Reading with newcomer children: an IBBY Canada 'Reading Club' for immigrant and refugee children aged 5-12 - Canada

Sadly, there was no bookshop at the congress but there were displays of the Honour books, the silent books, art from Roberto Innocenti (HCAA 2008), books by Gianni Rodari (HCAA 1970). There was also a very moving display entitled "Sailing across oceans of stories".

While the conference was running at the Convention Center there was also a brilliant exhibition to honour Jella Lepman.

Translation from Italian:

The exhibition is a tribute in images to the intuition of Jella Lepman, who after the horrors of World War II was able to see in books a bridge of relationship to set the imagination in motion again and bring together different geographies; was curated by Silvana Sola, Paola Vassalli and David Tolin, who involved twenty illustrators, ten Italians and ten from the rest of the world, who — as Paola Vassalli recalled — "have created works full of life and movement, confirming that all art is a practice of depth and movement even when it speaks to us from the pages of a book, even and especially when he speaks to the youngest." The artists gave substance to all the most important aspects of the life of the founder of IBBY, a true revolutionary: "revolutionary," said Silvana Sola, "was to think that books were bridges, that they were the necessary response to the difficulties of German children who had come out of a devastating war in body and spirit. It was revolutionary to move on an international level, seeking alliances between the powerful of the earth and fellow travelers. It was revolutionary to create, together with others, an association that provided good practices to spread good books and reading. An association that operates in many parts of the world and that today meets in the 39th Congress that opens."

The walls of the exhibition were filled with quotes from Jella Lepman and illustrations described above.

"It became increasingly clear to me that I should not look backwards, but forwards, and that I should start with the children ... what about children's books. Oh there were practically no children's books left at the end; those are needed more than anything else."

Here are a few more:

The other half of this exhibition consisted of book plates with work by contemporary illustrators and their interpretation of classic children's books such as Pinocchio; Pippi Longstocking; Winnie -the-Pooh; Emil and the detectives; Heidi and Little Lord Fauntleroy. You can see a few in this Facebook reel. The books featured in the book plates were the books Jella Lepman displayed in her famous 1946 exhibition.

We are looking for ways to introduce children in Germany to the children's books of other nations. German children have almost no books left after the children's and youth literature of the Hitler era was eliminated. Educators and publishers also need books from the free world for their orientation. Children are not to blame for this war, so let your books be the first messengers of peace! They are to be compiled into an exhibition that will first travel to Germany, and later perhaps to other countries. To overcome foreign language difficulties, we ask above all for picture books and illustrated books. But good narrative literature should also be made accessible to the children in group work. We hope that German publishers will be able to acquire the translation rights to many of these books. We also ask your country for children's drawings and children's paintings. These pictures speak an international language and will delight the children. (Lepman 1964, 51 f.)

Take a look at our IBBY Australia web page. We love to welcome new members.

The 40th Congress will be held in Canada. I love their poster with an image by The Fan Brothers.

The theme of the 40th IBBY World Congress is “Listening to Each Other’s Voices,” expressed as “Écouter la voix de l’autre” in French and “Pizindàdidà Ekidong” in Algonquin. In a world that is often divisive, this theme speaks to IBBY’s core values of plurality and inclusion and will anchor the Congress programming. Diverse voices will engage with six intersectional topics: disability; gender, sex, and sexuality; migrants, immigrants, and refugees; Black, Indigenous and People of Colour; mental health; and sustainability in children’s literature and reading promotions. ... The public will be invited to participate in free events for children’s literature fans of all ages, including an exhibition titled “From Sea to Sea to Sea: Celebrating Indigenous Picture Books,” which will highlight 175 beautiful, thought-provoking Indigenous picture books published in Canada over the past 40 years, and a boisterous book parade followed by a picnic and read-alouds of great books from across the Americas!

“Holding the 40th IBBY World Congress in Canada is fantastic for Canadian creators and publishers,” says Stephanie Wells, Executive Director of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. “Canada is well-situated to act as host to passionate advocates for children’s books from around the globe, as we boast a strong children’s book community that creates world-class books. The Congress will also shine a spotlight on Canadian authors, illustrators, and publishers and amplify the diverse voices that are represented in Canadian books.”

Bilal's Brilliant Bee by Michael Rosen

If I still worked in my school library I would most definitely add this book to my collection because firstly, and this might seem strange, but I love Bilal's name. We had very few children in my previous school with multicultural heritage. Equally this book could be terrific in a school where there are kids with the name Bilal which is an Arabic or Turkish name. Secondly, I do like the moral dilemma layer of this story. Did Bilal cheat and so should he confess? These books (see below) are short with only 90 illustrated pages and short chapters that are sure to keep readers turning the pages guessing how the story could possibly have a happy ending.

Bilal finds schoolwork difficult. He never seems to be able to find the 'right' answer to the questions asked by his teachers but one day a bee arrives in his classroom and, very surprisingly, Bumble the Bee is able to give Bilal answers to those pesky questions. 

After school Bilal watches a television a quiz show What's what? Win the Lot! with his grandmother. Now that he has the help of Bumble he is able to answer any question on the quiz which consists of 101 questions. The winner takes home every prize in the studio. The early questions are easy but of course they get harder and harder. So far no one has ever won this quiz. I am sure you have guessed that Bilal goes on the quiz show and he answers nearly every question with the help of Bumble. 

Then comes questions 101 - What is the barcode on the label on the bottle of water in my pocket? An impossible question and certainly one Bumble the Bee cannot answer but I am certain Bilal will surprise you.

Typical of former Children's Laureate Michael Rosen, this book is funny, sly and gloriously accompanied by Tony Ross' instantly recognisable bold illustrations. Book Trust

This book is one title from a set of eight books by Michael Rosen illustrated by Tony Ross. Strangely one online book seller lists books from this series as over AUS$23 while another lists them at just over AUS$14. It pays to shop around. Bilal's Brilliant Bee was published in 2016 but it is still available. 

I have previously talked about Choosing Crumble.

The Dictionary Story by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston

"It looks like a real dictionary," says Jeffers. 

"But if you pay close attention, you'll see that all of the definitions have been rewritten."

Is a dictionary a story? Does the dictionary want to tell a story? Is that why the title here has been changed from A Dictionary to The Dictionary Story? And who are those characters peeping out at the side? I spy a walrus, an alligator, a ghost, a queen, the moon, a donut, and a Viking. Now flip to the back cover and an alligator is staring at a zebra but the dictionary definitions have been reversed.

Zebra: A wild animal that looks like a small horse with black or brown and white stripes on its body. Likes hiding out at the back of dictionaries. Dislikes sudden surprises (see alligator).

Alligator: A large reptile that looks like a crocodile. Alligators have thick skin with many hard bumps. They live in rivers, lakes and swamps and swim with their babies in their mouths. They also have a special fondness for baked sugary snacks.

Peel back the dust jacket. The blue cloth cover has an embossed alligator on the front cover and an embossed zebra on the back cover. I adore these extra features. So much care has gone into the design of this book and wait until you see the end papers!

At first glance the end papers look like pages from a dictionary but then you realise the words are not in alphabetical order. The bold words actually form a sentence:

The first words were born inside our heads where they wriggled around a long time and slowly crawled out of our mouths and into the ears of other people. Like words writing was a bit hit in no time at all there were secret notes ride jokes and graffiti all over the place. This explosion of words meant we needed to find a new home for all these tiny marks. People soon realised it would be useful to have a book explain this type of thing that book was called a dictionary.

Dictionary: A book full of words and their meanings. The words are set out in alphabetical order and generally stay put, although, when things get a bit dull, they sometimes have a little shuffle and a new story pops out.

Story: A description of events either real or imagined. Some stories are told with words, others use pictures and lots of them get copied into books. Books carry stories around until someone like you finds them a home in their imagination.

There are two layers to The Dictionary Story. The blurb below describes the plot which is presented in a hand-written font and involves all those characters from the cover. Meanwhile each page also has dictionary extracts but these need close reading because they contain way more than usual dry definitions. I can certainly see why this book took seven years to create.

And, by the way, the story itself is fun. While a lot of thought and work and planning went into making it, at its heart The Dictionary Story is just a good old fashioned 

chase story with a lot of chaos and a heartwarming ending 
(can Dictionary put herself back together? Maybe with a little help from some friends!) NPR interview

Here is another example:

Underpants: A piece of clothing that goes from the top of your legs to your waits. Some people decide to wear them on top of heads but that very rarely works out well.

When I saw The Dictionary Story in a London bookshop, I was very keen to buy and read it. Luckily, I had a $10 voucher for one of our Sydney Independant bookstores (Abbeys). Many school libraries here in Australia will now have this book because it was sent out by Australian Standing Orders (Scholastic Australia) as a title in their international pack. You could compare the ASO teachers notes with these from the publisher Walker Books. You can hear Sam and Oliver talking about their book here. 

Bookseller blurb:  Dictionary wishes she could tell a story just like the other books. So one day she decides to bring her words to life. How exciting it is to finally have an adventure on her very own pages! But what will she do when everything gets out of control—all in a jumble—and her characters collide, causing the most enormous tantrum to explode. This isn’t what she wanted at all! How on earth will she find sense in all this chaos? Her friend Alphabet knows exactly what to do and sings a song that brings calm and order to Dictionary’s pages once again.

Unimaginable care has been taken with the very real handmade books that visibly bookend the story (the dictionary is noticeably worse for wear by the end). Meanwhile, pages are filled to the brim with tiny details for eyes both young and old to find and enjoy ... With hijinks and hilarity hidden on every page, this is a sweet, strange, wordy tale bound to delight all who pick it up. Kirkus Star review

Sam Winston’s and Oliver Jeffers’ pictures and storytelling are sublime. This pair’s imagination and presentation are outstanding so that readers need to spend time lingering through the pages before beginning the book all over again. ...  Then again, the quality of this production is gorgeous. It means that The Dictionary Story is a superb choice for reading together, exclaiming and discovering, but alone too. What’s more, it’s a fantastic gift book. Altogether we love and recommend this book wholeheartedly. Bookwagon

Meet Michael Rosen

Michael Rosen Day poster

You can access the full poster as a pdf here

I titled this post Meet Michael Rosen because, well I didn't speak to him, but I did see him in person twice last month so I guess I did meet Michael Rosen. The first time was at the 2024 IBBY Congress in Trieste and then again at the Festival of Words in Jersey (UK). At the Festival of Words Michael spoke to an adult audience about his newest book - Getting Better: Life lessons on going under, getting over it, and getting through it. This morning he popped up on my Facebook page announcing Michael Rosen Day. Read more and sign up here. 

The day celebrates the 50th anniversary of Michael’s first ever book, and the 35th anniversary of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. I did a little digging, and his first book was the poetry book Mind your own Business (1974).

We're going on a Bear Hunt

As you can see from the cover, Mind your own Business was illustrated by Quentin Blake. So I did a little hunting because I was interested to find a list other books Quentin Blake illustrated for Michael Rosen:

• Mind Your Own Business
• Wouldn't You Like to Know
• The Bakerloo Flea
• You Can't Catch Me 
• Quick, Let's Get out of Here!
• Don't Put Mustard in the Custard
• Smelly Jelly Smelly Fish
• Under the Bed
• Hard-boiled Legs
• Spollyollydiddlytiddlyitis
• Tea in the sugar bowl
• Michael Rosen’s Sad Book
• You're Thinking About Tomatoes
• Mustard, Custard, Grumble Belly and Gravy
• Bananas in my Ears
• On the Move: Poems about Migration

Michael Rosen has a very rich website. I suggest you set aside some time to explore all his resources including videos, his book list and events (mainly in the UK).  And my friend from Kinderbookswitheverything alerted me to this video where Micheal Rosen talks passionately about reading and schools and most importantly libraries. 

If you are reading this post and you work in a school, head to your library NOW I am certain they will have many books by Michael Rosen. You could create a fabulous day with your students exploring his poems, picture books, and junior novels. And try to find this joke book:

At the IBBY Congress Michael Rosen based his keynote address "I, Too" by Langston Hughes.

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes,

But I laugh,

And eat well,

And grow strong.

Tomorrow,

I’ll be at the table

When company comes.

Nobody’ll dare

Say to me,

“Eat in the kitchen,”

Then.

Besides,

They’ll see how beautiful I am

And be ashamed—

I, too, am America.

His presentation was a brilliant lesson on how to elicit meaningful discussions with a group of students and how students need time to think about a poem like this. He worries about the UK teaching focus on retrieval of facts and not interpretation. His presentation will appear in full in the IBBY Journal Bookbird. 

And then he had the whole audience of 700 delegates reciting this poem from Michael Rosen's Big Book of Bad Things. In this video you can see Michael talking about and performing his poem:

Hand on the bridge

feel the rhythm of the train.

Hand on the window

feel the rhythm of the rain.

Hand on your throat

feel the rhythm of your talk.

Hand on your leg

feel the rhythm of your walk.

Hand in the sea

feel the rhythm of the tide.

Hand on your heart

feel the rhythm inside.

Hand on the rhythm

feel the rhythm of the rhyme.

Hand on your life

feel the rhythm of time.

hand on your life

feel the rhythm of time

hand on your life

feel the rhythm of time.

Here is one is his newer books:

This is a perfect book to share with a group of older students

Michael’s reading manifesto:

1. Reading books helps children make the most of what school and the world offer them.

2. Books give children language, thoughts, ideas and feelings.

3. Books show them places and times and cultures very near and dear to them.

4. Books show them places and times and cultures they may not have come across before.

5. Books help children walk in other people’s shoes, seeing things from someone else’s point of view.

6. Books help children see that they are not alone.

7. We have to do what we can to put books into children’s hands.

8. We have to do what we can to find space and time for children to talk about books.

9. We have to celebrate children’s books.

10. Children’s books are for everyone because we are all children at some time or another.

On this blog I have previously talked about these books. Pop the name Michael Rosen into my search bar or search for a specific title:

Here is an abridged list of awards given to Michael Rosen:

• Oxfordshire Book Award 2009 for ‘Dear Mother Goose’
• Children’s Laureate 2007-2009
• English Association ‘Exceptional’ Award for Sad Book
• Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor ‘Commended’ Award for Sad Book
• National Literacy WOW Award 2005 Alphabet Poem
• An International Reading Association Teachers’ Choices Winner
1999 (USA) Classic Poetry
• Eleanor Farjeon Award for distinguished services to children’s literature
1997
• National Association of Parenting Pub Best Book Award 1993 (USA) Poetry For The Very Young
• Japanese Outstanding Picture Book from Abroad
1991 We’re Going On A Bear Hunt
• School Library Journal Best Book of the Year 1990 (USA) We’re Going On A Bear Hunt
• Smarties Best Children’s Book of the Year Award 1990 We’re Going On A Bear Hunt
• Signal Poetry Award 1982 You Can’t Catch Me

My own favourite Michael Rosen book that I previously shared with hundreds of children in my school library is Hairy Tales and Nursery Crimes. You can hear Michael reading one of the stories from this book here. And Little Bo Peep;  Jack and the Tin Stalk, Old Mother Hubbard, Hush a bye Gravy, Little Bo Peep.