Market Day by Carrie Gallasch illustrated by Hannah Sommerville

 

"Dad gives me a coin, it's for anything that I choose. I put it in my pocket and keep it safe with my fingers."

There are so many tempting things to buy in the market. The setting for this book is the famous Melbourne market but really it could be any market in a city. The family have arrived late in the day and as the walk around we see night begin to fall and lights turning on. Make sure you compare the front and back end-papers. The family buy tomatoes, avocados, dumplings, mangoes, olives, cheese, croissants, dolmades, oysters, dates and grapes. Then they eat some dinner while a young musician plays his guitar to entertain the crowd. He is a busker, and his music inspires people in the market to dance.

"The music gets faster and so do our feet! We wiz and swing and stomp."

Eventually it is time to go home. 

"But the coin is still in my pocket."

Can you guess what happens next?

Market Day was shortlisted for our CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) Early Childhood picture book award in 2023. Here are a set of teachers notes. And here are comments and responses by the 2023 shadow judges. 

St Francis Xavier PS Box Hill

Here are the Early Childhood judges' comments:

Market Day narrates the story of a little girl that arrives at a market with one coin she can spend in any way. Several themes are explored, including community, generosity, the power of music, kindness, transience and appreciation. The evocative, detailed digital illustrations depict a bustling produce market and invite further investigation on each read. The language is simple as the girl narrates, yet also, at times, quite beautiful, matching the mood of the outing. It is punctuated by metaphor, analogy, alliteration and an interesting range of verbs. A busker is seen intermittently, and he turns out to be the girl's most interesting and worthwhile encounter at the market.

I love the potential this book affords for such a meaningful discussion with a group of children - How would you spend the coin? Is there a right way to spend money? How do you feel about the way the girl spent her coin? What impact will this have? What do you think her family will say when they arrive home? What might happen on their next visit to the market? What ideas do you think the author wanted readers to consider?

Here are two other books by Carrie Callasch:

Hannah Sommerville has a new book due in November - In the Rockpool. Here are three other books illustrated by Hannah Sommerville:

Anisa's Alphabet

Finding You

Heart and Soul by Carol Ann Martin illustrated by Tull Suwannakit

Charlie Wintergreen loves to play his trumpet and remember the past when he played in a dance-band. His companion now is a small scruffy dog called Louis that he has rescued from the Dogs' Home. Louis, named perhaps after Louis Armstrong, loves to sing along with Charlie.

One night Charlie becomes quite ill and he is taken away in an ambulance. Louis has lost his best friend. 

"So Louis became a street dog, a scrawny, no-name stray. He learned to scavenge and scrounge for food. He slept in dark corners at night."

Louis keeps looking for Charlie. Then on Christmas Eve he hears a musician. Pete is a busker. He makes a living playing his trumpet out in the street. Louis joins in with his song and soon the pair have a heap of coins in Pete's busker's hat. Pete takes Louis home to his share house and they become partners. This is a small town and word of their music reaches the matron at the Rowantree Nursing Home. Pete and Louis are invited to play for the residents on Christmas Day. You have probably guessed there is an old man in the home "an old man in a wheelchair (who) lifted his trumpet and started to play."

Image Source: Tull Suwannakit

Given the current social situation and the coming together to protect elderly members of our population, this book unknowingly expresses the value we place in our wisest of community members.   Reading Time

I would read this book with some jazz music playing in the background. You might talk to your young reading companion about soul music and the expression to play music with your heart and soul. It might also be good to compare Louis with other "famous" stray dogs in Australian Picture books such as Mutt Dog and Reggie Queen of the Street. I'd also recommend taking a look at the wordless book Stormy. Carol Ann Martin lives in Tasmania and her husband is a jazz musician!

I am gathering books published in 2020 which might be added to the CBCA Notables list which will be announced at the end of February. Fingers crossed Heart and Soul makes the cut.

It is so sad when an elderly person is moved into a care home and I know a children's picture book or novel cannot undo the difficulties or hurt of this situation but books like Heart and Soul and others I have placed here might help a young child explore their emotions and hopefully ask questions if they have an elderly relative in this situation.

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge

Newspaper Hats

A home for Gnomes

A Rabbit named Harris

The ABC with Honora Lee