Knight Owl and Early Bird by Christopher Denise

I do hope you have already met Owl. After his victory over the dragon, he is now appointed as the Knight of the Night Watch. He has his nighttime routine. 

"While the other knights slept, he lit the torches, patrolled the walls, and made sure the fires were burning. All night long, Owl kept the castle safe."

At the end of each night, Owl has dinner and then heads off to his bed. Of course, we know owls are nocturnal, so he works at night and sleeps all day. But, in the best of stories, there is of course sure to be a complication - something to disrupt this daily pattern and I am sure you have already identified the disrupter - it is that little gal on the cover - Early Bird. She is young, enthusiastic, keen to be a knight, and she has no volume control as evidenced by the way she talks in a larger font and capital letters. Oh, and notice all of those exclamation marks.

"Hi - are you awake? My name is Early Bird! I'm your BIGGEST fan! I want to be a Knight Owl just like you! You can teach me everything. I'm a super-duper learner. I KNOW that I can be a Knight Owl!"

Owl just cannot cope with all this enthusiasm - he needs to sleep. While owl is sleeping or trying to sleep Early Bird keep herself busy - busy and noisy. Wait until you see Owl's eyes later that afternoon. Owl begins to show Early Bird the patrol routine but before the sun set Early Bird falls asleep. After several days of constant chatter by Early Bird, Owl explodes - STOP.

"You are not an owl! You are not a Knight! You are a VERY early Bird. ... PLEASE GO AWAY."

If you were making a graph of this story - this is a very low point. Little Early Bird heads of into the dangerous forest. If I were to read this book to a group of children, I would most certainly slow down and perhaps even pause at the point so the listeners might think for themselves about what might happen next. Luckily Owl misses little Early Bird and so as darkness falls he sets off to find her. Remember she has that LOUD voice. Wait until you see how our new small hero is able to save the day and also win over the friendship of Owl. You will also want to mix up a batch of pancakes with maple syrup to celebrate this wonderful moment of acceptance and new friendship.

An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts. Kirkus Star review

When I read Knight Owl I gasped at how wonderful it was. If I was still working in my school library Knight Owl would most certainly be a book I would have shared with groups of students. And now we have another treat - Knight Owl and Early Bird. Listen to a conversation with Christopher Denise (13 minutes). You can see other books by Christopher Denise here. And you might like to follow him on Instagram.

I suspected there would be a different (and significant) image under the dust jacket. I adore these tiny videos of when covers are revealed. Here is a still image showing the illustration under the Knight Owl and Early Bird dust jacket.

Check out my previous post about Knight Owl by Christopher Denise which won a Caldecott Honor.

Duck's backyard by Ulrich Hub illustrated by Jörg Mühle

Duck has a wonky leg so he uses a crutch. He is perfectly, perfectly happy living in his safe yard until ... Yes you knew there would be a complication and of course you anticipated what this might be from the cover illustration. A chicken arrives in the yard. Not just any ordinary chicken - a blind chicken - oh no. But wait do not feel sorry for this fellow because he is a chicken with a huge attitude and enormous confidence.

The chicken tells the duck today is the day for an adventure. Yes this is your classic optimist versus pessimist story and your classic or not quite so classic story of self discovery. Duck says NO NO NO. He will not leave his yard. The outside world is completely unsafe. The problem is the chicken needs duck to guide him since there are no guide dogs in the farm yard and so he persuades duck to step out of the yard and travel to ...

"Somewhere in the world ... there's a place where all our secret wishes come true."

The journey is filled with hazards - a dark forest, a huge ravine and an enormous mountain but at the top of the mountain an amazing discovery awaits chicken. Duck makes a discovery too - perhaps one you anticipated but still I guarantee this sweet ending will warm your heart.

Reading this book almost feels like a religious experience not that you need to be religious to enjoy this story. There are very deep themes (see my post labels) so this book will appeal to young children, older children and adults. Read the first chapter here. Here is an interview with Ulrich Hub. 

I adore books from Gecko Press. They source some fabulous books from around the world and invest in translating them for children who speak English. Duck's Backyard was originally published in German with the title Lahme Ente, blindes Huhn which means Lame duck, blind chicken so I am glad Gecko changed the title. School libraries in Australia used to be sent books from Gecko Press when Scholastic Australia had the agency now it is with Walker Books Australia so you may need to hunt out their books. When Scholastic had the agency books from Gecko Press were often included with their International standing order titles and also in the Book Club brochures. 

There is a sequel to Duck's Backyard but it is only available in German. I do hope Gecko Press decide to translate it. 

You should also read (don't wait add them to your library basket today) these books:

Yours sincerely, Giraffe

Meet you at Eight

Petra

Wolf and Dog

Bogtrotter

Bear and Chook by the Sea

Up the Mountain

Skunk and Badger

I previously talked about this book illustrated by Jörg Mühle.

Two for me, One for you

The Adventures of Catvinkle by Elliot Perlman

"Think of how many more friends you could have if you allowed dogs into your world. Anyway are we really so different from cats? If you put fresh water in a bowl in front of us, do we not drink? If you put a comfy wicker basket beside a warm fireplace, will we not crawl in and get snuggly?"

In real life dogs and cats are not usually friends. They may tolerate each other or live in a state of constant hostility.  In stories cats and dogs are often portrayed with quite different viewpoints and life experiences. It interesting to compare the way various authors have examined this relationship.

Recently I talked about Dog by Andy Mulligan where the cat, called Moonlight, is simply awful. She is manipulative and a liar.  Compare this with Diva and Flea where Diva, the little shy dog, needs the bravery and kindness of Flea to expand her horizons and Flea herself is a brilliant and insightful friend. You might also re-read the classic story The Incredible Journey where two dogs and a Siamese cat journey across America to find their family.

Catvinkle and Ula have an equally complex, but in this case, friendly relationship. Catvinkle lives with Mr Sabatini. She has a very comfortable life. One morning Mr Sabatini sees a lost dog. "The dog shyly came up to him. ... As he was patting her he read her name Ula ... He noticed, too, that Ula's big brown eyes were a little sad, and that the fur on her coat was not sitting entirely smoothly. ... Being a barber he would notice a thing like this."

Ula is taken home where he is left in a room with Catvinkle. This meeting could turn out quite badly and Catvinkle's life could be turned upside down but Catvinkle discovers something wonderful about Ula.

"What's that smell?' Catvinkle asked.
'Oh no, you're probably going to say I smell wet and that you hate the smell of wet dog,' said Ula. 'Go ahead, you might as well. Everybody says it.'
No, not at all! It's all ... musky. It's like a beautiful musky ... I feel so calm and relaxed breathing in this musky smell."

Calm is what Catvinkle needs because she is due to compete in the National Kitten Baby-Shoe Dancing competition where she will compete against her enemy Twinkiepaws. The idea of this competition should give you a real motivation to read this warm but offbeat tale.

I loved the dialogue between Ula and Catvinkle. I hope these examples make you smile too:

"How many animals have wanted to come and live with you and Mr Sabatini?' asked Ula. 'Lots,' said Catvinkle. 'More than I can count on one paw.' 'How many can you count on one paw?' asked Ula. 'As many as I like. It's my paw. I can use it again and again for counting. I've three others you know."

 "Do you like trying new things?' asked Ula. 'Oh yes. Sometimes I take my water before my salmon and sometimes I'll take my water after my salmon. A couple of times - and this will blow your mind - I've started my salmon then had a few licks of water and then gone back to my salmon, licking the bowl clean with both sides of my tongue. Crazy, I know! But I'm that kind of cat. I live on the edge!"

I am looking forward to seeing the actual book when it is published in October this year because I understand it will be issued as a small hardback which seems appropriate for the European setting. Huge thanks to Beachside Bookshop for the advanced reader copy.

Here is a set of teachers notes with detailed questions and writing ideas.

Little Oleg by Margaret and John Cort

First off this is a very old book (1965) - over fifty years old actually - but as you may have guessed it is new to me.  We are about to hold our annual library donate-a-book event. This is always so exciting as we display over 1000 new books and over the coming weeks students will begin to read the books they donate and then share other new books with their friends.  We have spent many months preparing for this important library event and one of our final boxes of new books arrived last week.  Inside was Little Oleg - a book I certainly needed to discover.

"Once upon a time there were two friends, called Eric and Oleg.  They lived in a northern country.  Eric's house was large and he had several acres of land. Oleg's house was small and all the land he owned was his vegetable garden."

Do you get a sense here of these characters?  Reading between the lines does one seem proud and perhaps selfish and the other humble and generous?

Eric's house burns down.  Oleg offers hospitality. He shares his limited food.  He even helps to rebuild Eric's house but nothing he does is good enough for Eric.  The house "looked quite splendid and Oleg felt proud as he had done most of the work. 'Of course', said Eric, it's not as grand as my old house, but it will do."

The truly special thing about Oleg, though, is that despite this criticism, despite the fact that he has gone into debt trying to feed Eric's enormous appetite, he continues to show kindness and caring towards his neighbour. Oleg's fortunes do change thanks to Eric who unwittingly gives Oleg a coat with valuable buttons.  Oleg hosts a party to celebrate a return to the good times but Eric cannot see through his own misery and pride.  He does not recognize the hand of friendship when it is offered to him and he simply retreats into his new home, alone.

This might look like a book for younger students but it does contain a deep message that you could share with older students.  I do think there would be lots to discuss here especially around the topic of decision making.

I would pair this book with Herbert and Harry by Pamela Allen.