Merrylegs by Pam Smy

Begin with the wonderful end papers.  You will see six riders prancing across the page. You can almost hear the clip clop of their hooves. Now turn the page. A small white horse stands behind a fence with his eyes cast down. Go back to the end papers. This same white horse is at the end of the line and his head and eyes are down.

"With his head down and his eyes on the ground, Merrylegs plodded and clomped. Round and round, day after day, teaching the children how to ride. ... He just podded and clomped around the stables and wished his life was more exciting."

Merrylegs works at a riding stable carrying children who are learning to ride. He never looks at the children and so he misses their smiles and joy. Instead Merrylegs longs to join the beautiful horses who gallop around the racetrack.

One day his friend, Feathers, rushes into the stable with some big news. The fair is in town. The pair race off to take a look. They see lights, hear music and see children but it is the carousel that fascinates Merrylegs.

"Merrylegs had never seen such beautiful horses. Their eyes flashed. Their manes flowed. And their painted bodies glowed scarlet and gold."

When everyone is gone Merrylegs moves in for a closer look. Merrylegs is so disappointed. He cannot seem to copy the graceful movements of the carousel horses.

"I am not a racehorse, or a carousel horse. I am not tall or beautiful. I am just a stumbling, plodding riding school pony."

During the night the magic happens. Merrylegs opens his eyes and he sees a beautiful carousel horse. He follows his new friend. They race through the town and into the woods. When they reach the top of the hill the pair fly off into the night sky. It is a magical evening, yes it was perhaps a dream but when the next day arrives Merrylegs is transformed.  Yes he is still a riding school pony but he has a new attitude.

"His tail swishes, his hooves lift and his head is held high."  Now he can see and hear the children who love riding this beautiful white horse called Merrylegs.

I have talked in previous post about my problem finding wonderful books for very young horse lovers. Merrylegs is a book that you should definitely consider adding to your primary school library. I am sure it will be a popular.  This book would also be a very special gift for a young horse lover. As a bonus this is a hardcover picture book available for a lower price than you might expect but if you want to wait the paperback edition will be released late this year. I think the title of this book is just perfect - carousel = merry go round! Merrylegs finds his happiness - he is able to be 'merry'.

The horses move across the pages flowing from one spread to another, galloping, flying, following the dream. The storytelling is assured,gently rhythmical, uncluttered, a pleasure to read, the ideal partner for the illustrations. As in the best picture books here the two elements work seamlessly together. Books for Keeps

Pam Smy is the illustrator of Follow the Swallow by Julia Donaldson.

I would pair this book with The Carousel by Ursula Dubosarsky and One Horse Waiting for Me.

The Most Beautiful place in the World by Ann Cameron

An "absorbing narrative, careful use of authentic, concrete detail intrinsic to the story as well as illustrative of the culture portrayed, and sympathetic understanding of a child's world--all in a story that will be enjoyed by younger children"  Kirkus

In 1992 our CBCA slogan was Windows into Worlds.  This slim book (54 pages) The Most Beautiful Place in the World fits that theme perfectly. Even though this is a short story I think it would best suit readers of 9 and older.

Juan lives in Guatemala. Through no fault of his own, life is very hard for Juan. His father leaves the family when Juan is a tiny baby. He moves with his mother into his grandmothers house but when his mother remarries she leaves Juan behind. When Juan is five his grandmother decides he needs to earn money so she sets him up as a shoeshine boy. Juan works hard but he feels resentful when he sees other city children heading off to school. By asking questions he learns the basics of reading and finally when he is seven and a half he gathers enough courage to ask his grandmother to send him to school. He greatly fears she will say no or worse she will also reject him as his mother and step father have already rejected him. Thank goodness he is wrong on both counts.

Here are a few story quotes to give you a flavour of this really special writing:

"But best of all, my grandmother owns her house and the land it's on. She keeps the papers that prove it in an iron box under her bed, and she's sure of what they say because somebody she trusts read them to her ... "

"It got bad when I saw kids who were going past me on the way to school. I was sitting in the dust all smeared up with shoe polish, and they were all neat and clean, with their pencils and their notebooks, going to school."

"School?' She said it like I'd said I wanted to go to Mars. 'You can't go. ... you're too young, you're five.' 'Grandma,' I said, 'I'm not five, I'm seven!"

"And she looked at me as if I were a man already, and said that maybe by studying I could find out why some people were rich, and some were poor, and some countries were rich, and some were poor, because she had thought about it a lot, but she could never understand it."

I first discovered Ann Cameron through her book Banana Spaghetti which features the characters found in her book series about Huey and his brother Julian. I also loved Spunky tells all - take a look at my review.

I would pair this book with The Paper House and for older students Figgy takes the City.  You could use The Most Beautiful place in the World with older students when discussing the Rights of the Child.

Finally from his description Juan does convince me Guatemala is one of the most beautiful places in the world - green hills, lots of flowers, flocks of birds and a happy evenings spent strolling and storytelling.

Frog find a place by Sally Morgan and Kzekiel Kwaymullina illustrated by Dub Leffler

Who am I?

What are my talents?

Can I fly?

Is life better over there?

Where do I fit in?

There are so many children's picture books that explore these questions especially the question about flying.  My favourite also features a frog - Frog is Frog by Max Velthuijs.  Here are some other books that explore this theme and the theme of identity :

"When frog was a tadpole, a moonbeam sliced through the murky water of his pool and lit up his tiny tadpole face."

Thus begins a quest by Frog to reach the moon.  He enlists the help of three others who live near his pond. Firstly Spider who suggests making a ladder of ferns. Next Possum who suggests swinging from a vine and lastly Crow who suggests making a set of wings.

After each of these suggestions fail to work the wise old Owl returns.  Frog feels utterly defeated. "Sad and tired, Frog perched on a branch in the middle of his pool. " Owl advises him to look again.  Frog looks into the water. At last he can be with the moon and the stars.  Sometimes the things we are looking for are much closer than we realise.

Frog finds a place is another book from our CBCA 2016 Notable list.

Here is a set of detailed teaching notes.