Adoette by Lydia Monks

Stop - do not open this book - you need to linger over the cover. I failed to do this and assumed (completely wrongly or perhaps that was the author's intention?) that Adoette was the little girl - no no no - this is the name of the tree!

On the opening spread - which I assume is the end paper of the hardcover edition of this book - there is a sepia scene indicating this is long long ago. The woman is wearing a long old-fashioned dress and there are several horses with carts. A young boy, also wearing old fashioned clothes, is pointing to a tree. Spring is coming and the small tree has the tiny beginnings of new leaves. Meanwhile new buildings are being constructed and the brick layers are hard at work. 

Here is the next page:

"Do you remember when I first told you about Adoette? She lived on this street all of her life, until she was 100 years old. Just imagine all the changes she saw!"

"When Adoette was little this street was brand new. All the houses had just been built. There was no electricity and no cars. Lots of families moved in, and the street was full of children."

We watch the course of history as the pages turn - personal events like a wedding and major event such as the bombing of the city in World War II. Unfortunately, urbanization means people begin to complain about this tree which has grown quite large over time. There are parking issues, and issues with bird poo. It is time for community action. Some people protest to keep the tree others want it cut down. Sadly, the tree is cut down - on this page all we can see are a few remaining twigs and the huge tree stump.

"After Adoette had gone, the street seemed a much sadder place. ... The name Adoette means 'big tree', but Adoette hadn't always been big ... we wanted to do something to remember her by."

Perhaps you can guess the outcome.

Lydia Monks witnessed the destruction of trees in her town.

The seed for this ultimately uplifting book grew out of the author’s participation in a campaign to prevent the unnecessary felling of 10, 000 street trees in her hometown of Sheffield. Much of the story is shown in the immediately recognisable, detailed illustrations of street life through the ages. BooksforKeeps

Lydia Monks’s beautiful illustrations celebrate the importance of caring for nature and for each other by making time to look out for one another.  Love Reading4Kids

Here is a set of very detailed teachers notes. These teachers notes use the technique of reading the book without showing the cover - so the idea that Adoette is a tree will come as a surprise to your group.

Companion books (this could be a terrific mini theme for your library or classroom)

The Tree at Number 43

The Girl who planted trees

The Secret sky garden

Thea's Tree

Peregrines in the City by Andrew Kelly and Sue Lawson illustrated by Dean A Jones

 

"The tiercel hunts, searching for prey."

What is a tiercel? Where is this huge bird? Where does he take is prey? Is this the place you expect to find a nest?

"She settles back to incubate her clutch. Not all eggs may hatch and not all those that hatch may survive to fledge."

How long does it take to incubate falcon eggs? What does fledging mean?

"The tiercel arrives with the eyases' first meal. He strips meat from bone and delicately feeds the balls of wobbling fluffy down."

Some facts about peregrine falcons:

• They live on every continent except Antarctica
• The have a yellow ring around their eyes, yellow and feet with black talons.
• The female is larger than the male.
• They can reach speeds of up to 300km per hour.
• Falcons eat pigeons, seagulls and other small to medium sized birds.
• Falcons mate for life.
• They lay eggs on high stoney ledges or cliff faces, in hollow trees and on skyscrapers.
• Their nest is called a scrape, the chicks are called eyases.

This book is based on a pair of Peregrine Falcons who nested at 367 Collins Street in Melbourne back in 1991. In 2020 volunteers added raised nesting boxes to the ledge. The same pair have bred chicks since 2017. 

Publisher blurb: As urban development encroaches more and more on wild areas, many species have to adapt to survive. One species that has adapted to city living is the peregrine falcon. Falcons normally nest on high cliffs but in many cities across the world they can be found nesting on tall buildings.

The writing in this book is so powerful as evidenced by the poignant moment at the end when the three young birds leave the ledge and all that is left is one abandoned egg.

This is a fabulous book with such a striking cover. I well remember talking about peregrine falcons with all of the children in my school when Home by Narelle Oliver was short listed in 2007. 

I do wish this book had a glossary. I had to look up ‘tiercel’ and ‘gravel scrape’ and ‘eyases’.  I know some of these are explained on the falcon facts page, but I wanted a quick word list to refer to as I was reading. Here is a review of Peregrines in the City in Reading Time. And here are a set of detailed teaching notes. 

Peregrines in the City was a 2023 CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) Notable title (Eve Pownall - Non Fiction). I imagine it would have come close to short listing (6 titles) but was probably 'beaten' by Opal and Dart - a book with truly wonderful bird illustrations.

Recently I watched a video from the Evanston Public Library in Chicago where they also have had a pair of nesting falcons since 2004. Sorry the video on this page is not available in Australia. 

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

"Once upon a time there was a Little House way out in the country. She was a pretty Little House and she was strong and well built."

There is so much to think about in these first sentences. I love the way the author personifies the house and also uses capital letters for her name. 

When I started my "job" judging for the Children's Book Council of Australia for our National book awards (2021-23) I asked a wise friend to suggest some classic books that I should read or reread. She and I mostly talked about middle grade novels and of course she expected I would have already read most of the famous Australian picture books. I think I need to expand my request to include international classics and award winners such as this book - The Little House. 

I can't talk about the new book by Sophie Blackall (The Farmhouse) yet but many US reviewers compare this new book with the 1942 classic The Little House which I read for the first time yesterday. I had no idea that The Little House would utterly charm me.

My friend loaned me her copy (6th edition 1968) and inside I found a magazine article about Virginia Lee Burton (1909-1970) by Grace Hogarth worked for Houghton Mifflin and she was the editor of The Little House.

"She made me feel that it was my book too - that we were creating it together, step by step. This wasn't true of course. It was completely her own book, from start to finish, and I had only to stand by and cheer her on."

The Little House won the Caldecott Medal in 1943.

Virginia Burton has a sense of pattern that makes her pictures almost like a tapestry. Kirkus Star

The circular patterns that flow through the first thirteen pages, shaped to fit the page, suggest the harmonious values of country life. When change occurs, diagonal lines and drab greys and browns portend the coming industrialisation.” Burton’s choice of colours burst from the pages of her book as each season changes, and the presence of time is evident in every detail of her drawings. With the beauty of her illustrations and the weaving of her words, the reader connects emotionally with the little house as they watch the city limits move in, casting its darkness around the tiny structure. The story itself is so rich, and begins and ends in the happiest of places - on a little hill way out in the country. Drawn to Imagination

I found this article that lists seven reasons to read The Little House. Read more about the plot here on the blog 100 books every child should read. Disney made a movie of this book in 1952 but he only paid Virginia Lee Burton $1000.  Here are some of the illustrations beginning with the end papers:

I am drawn to television shows where people restore old houses and I am also drawn to books which feature old houses that find a new life with a new family such as these:

The Hidden House and also House Held up by trees

A House that Once was

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown

This story opens with a city scene that may remind you of The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan.

Liam is curious and adventurous. He loves to explore his city. One day he stumbles upon an old set of railway tracks. The area is desolate except for one small patch of colour. Some plants have taken root among the old tracks but the plants, like the tracks, look neglected. Liam is a boy of action. He decides to help the plants even though he knows nothing about gardening. Over the coming weeks Liam's garden grows and expands. Liam works through spring, summer and autumn. In the winter his garden is covered with snow but he keeps on working reading about plants and collecting tools. Over the coming seasons the garden begins to spread out into the city. The garden itself is curious about the other old and forgotten parts of the city. "But the most surprising things that popped up were the new gardeners."

This book has brilliant end papers. The opening ones have rough stones on a grey background but if you look closely in the far corner a tiny "pond" of green is creeping in. The final end papers are a riot of bright green with tiny meadow flowers. The look like tiny light bulbs. It also good to notice the gradual clearing of the air and the absence of smoking chimneys in the final scene where we see Liam is now an adult visiting the garden with his own children.

A couple of weeks ago the teacher working in a school library where I do some volunteer work asked me for texts to link with The Curious Garden. I have mentioned this inspirational book in a few previous posts but I realised I had not directly talked about it - given this book a starring role on its own post!

The beauty of the city is still here, but it’s the beauty that comes when the man made mixes and melds with nature. Railway lines into long gardens. Rooftops sporting treetops. Ivy curling up chipped paint and abandoned walls. SLJ Elizabeth Bird

In 2012 I visited the Highline in New York City.  I loved it so much that I went along various sections over a couple of days. The idea of making a garden in the city over the old rail tracks really appeals to me. And I love the way this area is embraced by the local residents.

The Curious Garden was first published in 2009 but I am happy to report it is still available. I wonder why a paperback edition has not be printed?

Here are some books to link with The Curious Garden. Previously I explored some terrific books about Gardens and Gardeners.  I also have a Pinterest of Sustainability picture books and another about trees and urban renewal.

Hey, Sherlock! by Simon Mason

There are tiny hints about the plot of this mystery/crime adventure on the covers (the front as you can see above but also the back) - surveillance camera; beanie; van; purple hoodie; gun; and slot machine.

Amy Roecastle is missing. She is rich and a rebel. A boy is murdered in the centre of the city. Garvie Smith is caught up in the action. He is a sleuth who quietly observes the world looking for patterns and inconsistencies. Then there is the issue of the police, especially Inspector Singh. Singh knows the truth is out there but his biggest frustration is the way Garvie knows so much but says so little. Garvie is only a teenager. Why is he so much smarter than any experienced police officer?

I enjoyed every minute of his company in this complex, at times dark, story that amply demonstrates that YA fiction can hold its head high in the crime writing ranks, and with Garvie Smith as an ambassador there’s plenty of quality entertainment to be had. Crime Review

I rarely read Young Adult books but this one was part of my last reading collection from Beachside Bookshop.  I am so glad it was in my bag because I thoroughly reading this contemporary crime fiction.  If you are a fan of television crime shows I am certain you will enjoy Hey, Sherlock. I felt as though I just wanted to binge watch the whole series in one go.  I highly recommend this book for readers aged 14+.

A brilliant page-turner for all readers, and a sharply observed and often very funny bit of YA. 

LoveReading4Kids

As I was reading Hey, Sherlock I suspected there must have been previous incidents where readers had met Garvie. Having said that this book can certainly stand alone. I have only discovered the early volumes tonight. I may need to read both of these because in each book Garvie (a boy I would like to meet) grows a little older and moves on from school to his post-school life.  Read an interview with Simon Mason.  Here are the first two Garvie Smith Mysteries. I do like the way the covers show they are a series:

Some facts about Garvie Smith from inside the front cover:

1. Lazy, rude, golden-hearted, aggravating, economical with the truth, kind (to those who deserve it).
2. Highest IQ at Marsh Academy
3. Lowest grades.
4. Best mates with Felix (cat burglar), Smudge (stupidest boy at school and proud of it), Alex (who’s been selling something he shouldn’t).
5. Wouldn’t dream of telling his mother he loves her. Besides, she wants to move back to Barbados and what is the point of that?
6. Smokes, mainly tobacco.
7. Liked by girls.
8. Hated by the police, teachers, other boring adults.
9. Exceptionally good at maths.
10. Scared of dogs.

Sydney City Trails by Helen Greathead

Some time ago I did a series of little walking tours in my own city and I enjoyed all the stories the guide told and discovered many things - large and small - that I did not know.

When I saw this book Sydney City Trails from Lonely Planet I was interested to see what aspects of Sydney they included.  This book was published in 2017 so it is very up to date.

Things I did not know :

Every ten years they replace the road surface on the Sydney Harbour Bridge
SS Ayrfield is a ship wreck in Homebush bay and it has mangrove trees growing out of it
We have a seed bank in Sydney (Mount Annan) with 10,400 seeds
HMAS Endeavour was sold after Cook's expedition and re-named the Lord Sandwich

Places on the North side of Sydney :

Quarantine Station Manly
Manly Beach
Dog day at Scotland Island
Lavender Bay and Wendy's secret garden
Nutcote
Barrenjoey Lighthouse
Erosion of the beach from Collaroy to Narrabeen

One of the many special places mentioned in this book that you must visit is  - Angel Place - forgotten songs

This book is easy to read and it is perfect for both visitors and locals.  The only thing I would have liked to see was a detailed city map but I guess you can easily access this yourself from any smart device.  You can preview some pages here.  There are many other cities in this series - Rome, London, Paris, New York, Washington and Tokyo.  I would combine reading this book with Alphabetical Sydney and right now you could also visit The Sydney Museum which is hosting an interactive display based on this book.