Saturday, Sunday by Natalie Kate Forbes illustrated by Danny Snell

This is a book to read to your child BUT it is also a book all adults need to read!

My friend had a book display recently in her library on the theme of unplugging. Here is her blog post about this. I am a big advocate of unplugging - turning off or not even taking those phones when you are spending time with a young child - I talked about his here.

This story is also about spending time with your children but in this case it is about stepping away from our crazy busy lives to just enjoy a quiet time. The book is set out with contrasting days. Saturday is utterly hectic and timetabled to the max. They go to squad swimming, shop for food, rush to the library, a quick spin at the playground, then a visit to the butcher and finally home to cook dinner. 

"Bed. Teeth. Pyjamas. A quick book in bed. Darkness creeps in and stars dance overhead. Saturday's over - the busy day is done. Sunday's tomorrow - a day just for fun."

On Sunday there is time. It is breakfast in bed. Time to play with toys and pots (which are great for drumming). They can spend a little time in their garden and then run through the sprinkler to cool off. What about just lying on a blanket to watch the clouds float by? There's even time for picnics and visitors - hello Nanny and Poppa. At the end of the day the kids enjoy their bubble bath followed by home made pizza and several stories before climbing into bed.

As I said - this is a book for children but it also a book for parents. Often every day can become like the Saturday in this book with all those after school organised activities. Hopefully after reading this book families might find a way to make more days in their week a little like the Sunday in this book.

Here is an interview with Natalie Kate Forbes and Joy Lawn at Paperbark words. In the interview Natalie said: I wanted to capture the chaos of the Saturday, whilst making it feel like a cozy and fun family experience. And on the opposite end of the scale, I wanted Sunday to be super chill. Where Sunday is also a full day – it’s just filled with activities that happen organically and are more chill in nature… the day just rolls on from one thing to another without thought. Again, I was keen to promote strong family bonds and connections.

You can see other books illustrated by Danny Snell here. This is the second book by Natalie Kate Forbes. 

The Truck Cat

Seagull

365 How to Count a Year by Miranda Paul illustrated by Julien Chung

The front end paper shows all the numbers from one up to 365. The back end papers are filled with confetti! I think this means - we do not need to constrain our lives with numbers but they sure can be fun.

Yes, it does take 365 days for Earth to spin around the sun but it might easier to think of this as 365 "good mornings" and 365 "good nights" oh and "hopefully 365 clean pairs of underwear."

I love the tone of this counting book.

There are 52 weeks in the year but surely it is better to think of this as "52 Friday night movie popcorn spills."  There are 12 months in the year or "12 bulletin board ideas in Mr Winner's classroom." 

Of course, in one year we only have one birthday cake, one birthday wish, one birthday party. Be patient the next one is only 8,760 hours away. 

A bright, buoyant look at measurements, conventional and otherwise. Kirkus

This is a perfect book to add to your preschool collection or library. Hopefully you might also find it in your local school or public library so you can borrow this book to share with your own young reading companion. 

You can see other books by Miranda Paul here. I previously talked about this one:

Peace

There are so many brilliant counting books we can share with our youngest children. In your library go to [510] or for this book about the days in the year go to [529]:

One Fox

How to count to One

Lifetime

I am very keen to see this book illustrated by Julien Chung:

Read the Kirkus review

Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young

 

Exquisitely crafted: a simple, gracefully honed text, an appealing story, real but unobtrusive values and levels of meaning, and outstanding illustrations and design—all add up to a perfect book. Kirkus

Let's look at the title - Seven Blind Mice.  Seven is the perfect number to use giving the structure the days of the week which is a known pattern and will be enjoyed by very young children. Blind - the mice rely on touch which means the story has the extra delightful dimension that young readers will know more than the story characters. Mice - mice are small and the object of their interest is huge. Given their size it is understandable that they cannot get a full perspective and are only able to feel tiny parts of the whole.

Notice that the clever mouse, though, is the young girl. She is the only one who thinks to explore the whole beast not just a tiny part. This thing is not a pillar, snake, spear, rope, fan, or cliff.

The art in this book is also very appealing with the use of collage and full black pages. I talked in depth about Ed Young in a previous post. I am happy to see this book from 1991 is still available and in paperback.

Seven Blind Mice (1992), Young’s self-illustrated reinterpretation of an Indian fable, won the 1992 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award in the picture-book category and was selected as a 1993 Caldecott Honor Book by the American Library Association.

The mice might remind you of the ones created by Leo Lionni. Besty Bird mentions this in her podcast Fuse8n'Kate. 

This book is an innovative reworking of "The Blind Men and the Elephant" - an Indian folktale (see below).

Many years ago, a Kindergarten teacher asked me for some picture books that used days of the week as a story format. I did find some but not this one - which is just perfect. I have now added Seven Blind Mice to my Pinterest.

Here are some other books to link with Seven Blind Mice:

Mina

I Feel a Foot

Little Nelly's Big Book

Yours Sincerely, Giraffe

Here is the original poem:

here were six men of Hindustan,

to learning much inclined,

Who went to see an elephant,

though all of them were blind,

That each by observation

might satisfy his mind.

The first approached the elephant,

and happening to fall

Against his broad and sturdy side,

at once began to bawl,

"This mystery of an elephant

is very like a wall."

The second, feeling of the tusk,

cried, "Ho, what have we here,

So very round and smooth and sharp?

To me 'tis mighty clear,

This wonder of an elephant

is very like a spear."

The third approached the elephant,

and happening to take

The squirming trunk within his hands,

thus boldly up and spake,

"I see," quoth he, "the elephant

is very like a snake."

The fourth reached out an eager hand,

and felt above the knee,

"What this most wondrous beast

is like is very plain" said he,

"'Tis clear enough the elephant

is very like a tree."

The fifth who chanced to touch the ear

said, "E'en the blindest man

Can tell what this resembles most;

deny the fact who can;

This marvel of an elephant

is very like a fan."

The sixth no sooner had begun

about the beast to grope,

Than seizing on the swinging tail

that fell within his scope;

"I see," said he, "the elephant

is very like a rope."

So six blind men of Hindustan

disputed loud and long,

Each in his own opinion

exceeding stiff and strong;

Though each was partly in the right,

they all were in the wrong!

Looking for Rex by Jan Ormerod illustrated by Carol Thompson

"The children are sure that Gramps would never feel lonely if he had a dog of his own. They say a dog should be called Rex but what would Rex look like? So they play 'Looking for Rex', and pretend to see Rex, but whenever they think they find Rex ... 

it is never really the right Rex. Where is he?"

The opening page of this book has framed illustrations with no text. We see a contented but also possibly lonely grandfather walking, looking out of a window, eating breakfast and watching the television at night - all alone. If you look very closely you can see his wedding photo from long ago, on the mantel. Mum thinks Gramps needs a cat but they make him itchy. Dad thinks Gramps needs to go out more perhaps he could try dancing but Gramps knows this won't work. The children know Gramps needs only one thing - a dog. 

"On the weekend Gramps visits his caravan. He walks along the cliffs. He collects shells on the beach and has a picnic on his bed. He is sure he would never feel alone if he had a dog of his own."

But Gramps is getting old, and he worries Rex might trip him or wear him out. Sadly, he decides Rex is not for him. BUT on Sunday he visits mum and dad and the three grandchildren, and they have a wonderful surprise in a small box. 

"You can help us look after him Gramps. You can play with him and take him for walks. You will help us groom him and flea him and clip his claws. And we will look after him until he is an old dog with a grey muzzle and stiff legs. When we go on holidays, Rex can stay at your house."

When you find this book be prepared to linger over the wonderful final end paper - it's filled with sketches of dogs. 

How did I miss this book? I guess I was away from my library in 2012 when it was published but surely it featured in the CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) notables in 2013? No it didn't - why not? I adore books by the late Jan Ormerod - I have put some at the end of this post. I did look on Trove and this book is available in 26 libraries in New South Wales (Public libraries) and I am certain it will still be in the collection of many primary school libraries too. This book would be a joy to share in a class of children in Kindergarten or Grade One. It has not been borrowed from the library I visit since 2014 but I have to wonder why. The cover is appealing, and the story is terrific - no one dies, they do find Rex and everyone lives happily ever after. 

The illustrations in this book are joyous, energetic and filled with emotion (oh and there are lots of different dogs too). You can see work by UK illustrator Carol Thompson on her Instagram page. 

Carol Thompson's career as a children’s picture book illustrator and writer has seen her publish forty five books in fifteen languages. Her work has been awarded The Frank Warner Gold Award, Royal Society of Arts Bursary, Mother Goose Award for Children's Book Illustrations and the Oppenheim Gold Award. Carol remembers that as a child she always loved drawing and painting and read anything she could get her hands on, from Enid Blyton books to ‘the back of cereal boxes.’ Her artwork is inspired by Maurice Sendak, Edward Ardizzone, E. H. Shepard, the Japanese animator Hayo (‘Spirited Away’), Patrick Heron and Jan Ormerod.

This story reminded me of Let's Get a Pup by Bob Graham and also a tiny long out of print beginner chapter book - 

Here are some other books by Jan Omerod.

Carol Thompson writes and illustrates beautiful board books - I have a few on my own wish list just waiting for the right baby to be born.

Summer Blue by Trudie Trewin illustrated by Marjorie Crosby-Fairall

Blurb and opening lines: "Marley and Moses lived in a place where the heat crept up and smothered the days in stiffing stillness. And it stayed and stayed."

On Monday the children try to play outside in their tree using grandma's fan as a way to try to keep cool. On Tuesday they spend time at the creek which has almost no water. On Wednesday they fill watering cans and take turns under the cascading water and so the week continues until the sky grows dark on Friday.

"Marley and Moses lived in a place where the rain, when it came, wasn't cold pin rain you had to run and hide from. It was fat, juicy 'come and play' rain."

Every child and adult runs outside to play and frolic and dance in the rain ... which "when it came, stayed and stayed."

There are many meanings to be inferred from the title – summer blue sky, summer blues/mood, and the dark blue of the sky when the rain is coming.

When you pick up this book flip it over and notice the contrasting front and back covers and then turn to the front and back end papers. They are splendid. Of course, there are other books about heat, summer, drought etc here in Australia which end with glorious rain but I think this book is a worthy addition to the cannon. I am thinking of books such as Mallee sky by Jodi Toering, Two Summers by John Heffernan, and Drought by Jackie French. The point of difference here is audience. 

This book is perfect to share with younger children. Summer Blue contains carefully crafty lyrical language and phrases – smothered the days in stifling stillness and heavy with heat and fabulous verbs linked to heat and water such as melted, dissolved, evaporated, oozed and poured. 

You can feel the cool water in the illustration where Marley tips the watering can over her head. The sense of place and time are very strong in this book. The motif of the fan works well when finally, it is so hot the pair of children cannot even share this tiny cooling device. 

I love the way the story ends with the rain still falling – this will open up some excellent discussions about weather, drought and floods with younger children and climate change with older students. The enormity of the arrival of the rain is mirrored by the way the whole landscape is shown using a birds eye view on the double spread where the sky turns black, grey and indigo. The digital illustrations have a beautiful soft almost nostalgic focus and there is a perfect shift in the colour palette from the hot summer and yellow grasses to the purples, blues and aqua tones of the rain filled pages. There is a wonderful change of mood capturing the joy and renewed energy of the children as they frolic in rain puddles and the mud. The ways the animals react to the weather and environment is also engaging and appealing – and very realistic.

The weather explored in this book is common in Australia - drought and rain - but the landscape depicted by Marjorie Crosby-Fairall is interesting. It does look Australian in some ways but the scenes also have a more universal feel possibly because they are painted with using a soft focus. Reading this book with a group of children it would be important to talk about safety - alerting your group to the potential dangers of playing in flood waters although in this book the water does look very shallow. Venturing into flood waters is a huge concern in country areas where so many little children, and adults too, misread the depth and treachery of heavy rain and floods. 

Summer Blue is a 2023 Children's Book Council of Australia CBCA notable title. You can see inside this book here. Take a look at other books illustrated by Marjorie Crosby-Fairall and for Trudie Trewin. 

Some years ago I started a collection of books that use the pattern of days of the week and while this is not a major focus of this story it is an interesting story device you could explore with young writers. 

Companion books:

All I want for Christmas is Rain

Rain for Christmas

It's a Miroocool

The best pet of all by David LaRochelle illustrated by Hanako Wakiyama

 

On Monday I asked my mother if I could have a dog - NO!

On Tuesday I asked my mother if I could have dog - NO!

On Wednesday I asked my mother if I could have a dog - NO!

On Thursday I asked my mother if I could have a dragon - YES!

So the little boy goes hunting for the perfect pet dragon. Are dragons meant to be pets? Are dragons able to put toys away? Or cook without making a mess? And then there is the pesky issue of flames. Life in their home becomes unbearable so the little boy pulls out his trump card. Did his mother know dragons do not like dogs. 

"I put a sign in the window - DOG WANTED."

"Thank goodness we have a dog," said my mother. 'A dog is a good pet."

One of the things I enjoy when I visit a very well stocked school library each week is the joy of discovery - of finding a quirky little odd ball book like The best pet of all published in 2004. I found this book because I had another book by David LaRochelle on my 'to read' list - How to Apologise which was published earlier in May this year.

Companion reads to read with The Best pet of all:

Wanted: the Perfect Pet

Let's get a Pup

Ellie's Dragon

Sometimes Cake by Edwina Wyatt illustrated by Tamsin Ainslie

Audrey finds Lion. He has a balloon. It is not his birthday. It is not Audrey's birthday but they sing the birthday song anyway. On Tuesday Audrey finds Lion again. He has a delicious looking cake. Audrey asks about the celebration. Lion explains he is celebrating Tuesdays and also coconut. The friends sit down to enjoy a slice of cake (the icing is coconut - yum).

The story pattern continues. Lion is wearing a hat and celebrating orange and yellow and Audrey suggests they could add in purple. Then comes one powerful word:

"The next time Audrey found Lion, he didn't have a balloon or a cake. He wasn't wearing a hat. 'What are you celebrating?' said Audrey. 'Nothing,' sniffed Lion. Today is just an ordinary day." 

Sniffed!! - lion is sad. He looks sad in the illustration on the next page. BUT our Audrey is a problem solver. She creates the best celebration ever - a celebration of ordinary days and lions. 

The tone of this book feels a little like Winnie the Pooh's wisdom.

Just before this Walker book was released a friend sent me the title knowing I am a huge fan of cakes! With all the story elements which are perfect for preschoolers and perfect to read aloud features such as  patterns, an emotional arc, bright and lively illustrations, and a little girl who could be your friend, I just have to give this book five stars. I also like the look of the cake on the title page. 

I predict this book will reach the 2021 CBCA Notable list and Early Childhood short list - yes it is that good. Fingers crossed for Edwina Wyatt and Tamsin.  I did make this prediction back in 2016 about In the Evening and I was wrong - let's hope I don't jinx Sometimes Cake.

Make sure you look at all of the socks worn by Audrey. They are a good way to mark the passing of time but also they are intriguing. Audrey likes to wear odd socks that don't match just like many preschool aged children, but one sock is missing. I have searched high and low but I cannot find her red and white striped sock in the final scene. Can you?

Here are the author and illustrator web sites.

I would pair this book with these:

Where does Thursday Go?

Leonard doesn't dance by Frances Watts illustrated by Judy Watson

There is something very reassuring about a story told with a repeated structure.  Leonard doesn't dance uses the known sequence - days of the week and a repeated question and answer format.

Leonard doesn't dance - this might be true at the start of the story but I'm sure any astute reader will predict that our hero Leonard will be dancing by the end of the story.

Back to the beginning. It is Sunday and Leonard sees that someone has nailed a poster to the trunk of his tree:

Do you like dancing?
Join your feathered friends at the 
BIG BEAKY BIRD BALL next Sunday!
All welcome.

Leonard decides to ask his friends about dancing. Can they show him how?

Monday he talks to the magpies who know how to waltz.  Poor Leonard - "wobble-wobble wonk."
Tuesday he approaches the ducks doing the do-si-do.  But his do-si-do is a do-si-don't.
Wednesday the crow are doing the can-can; Thursday it's the rosellas rocking and reeling; and Friday he sees the galahs grooving and giggling.

On the day of the dance Leonard goes into hiding. He is so upset that he cannot master these skills. He simply cannot dance so he decides to skip the ball but his kind friends seek him out and encourage him to come along anyway. Birds of every kind are having a wonderful time. Flamingos, swans, quails, bluebirds, finches, penguins and even the chickens. Leonard spies the supper table. He heads over for a cupcake but instead finds ants. When the ants swarm all over Leonard - mayhem, which looks a lot like dancing, ensues.

I would pair this with:

Brontorinia by James Howe illustrated by Randy Cecil

Gina the Dancing Queen by Marisa Arlo

Giraffes can't dance by Giles Andreae illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees

Two Left Feet by Stacey Apetios illustrated by Ulrike Kundrus (this is a wonderful book which is sadly out of print).

You will also want to explore some of the Australian bird books that are sure to be found in your school or local library. Head to 598.0994. Here is one that is just perfect:

I was excited to discover Judy Watson is the illustrator of the wonderful book Searching for Cicadas by Lesley Gibbes and Goodnight mice also by Frances Watts.

One more thing - both of these are older Australian books but they are joyous celebrations of birds and may be found in a well stocked school library.