Momo by Michael Ende

I promised I would talk about Momo when I started this blog last year. I decided to start my Christmas holidays with this favourite book. I am so happy to say I was not disappointed. It is about 25 years since I first read Momo on the recommendation of a young friend who had encountered the original translated edition entitled The Grey Men. Momo is a modern allegory about TIME and it has certainly passed the test of time. For me this story was as fresh today as it was when I first read it. 

The grey men are robbing people of their time. 

“They were experts on time just as leeches are experts on blood.” 

2,207,520,000 that is the number of seconds in a life assuming you live to seventy. Agents as the Grey Men are called are able to convince people to give away their time on the promise that it is going into a bank. In reality the people loose this time. 

“People never seemed to notice that, by saving time, they were losing something else. No one cared to admit that life was becoming ever poorer, bleaker and more monotonous.” 

With the help of Professor Secundus Minutus Hora and a special tortoise called Cassiopeia, Momo needs to thwart these time thieves but she only has one hour as measured by an hour lilly. 

“Momo had never seem so exquisite a flower. It was composed of all the colours in the spectrum – brilliant colours such as Momo had never dreamed of.” 

If I could give one book as a gift to all the families in my school it would be this one. The Neverending story by Michael Ende is a terrific book but I think Momo is even better. Look for it at a library near you today. 

I was amazed to discover a film was made of this book in 1986. This preview is in German but you might enjoy it anyway! You will see all her friends including the lovely Beppo the street cleaner and Guido the storyteller and the voice you can hear is Michael Ende himself. I also found a web site with quotes from this book and a comment from Natalie Babbitt that Momo should have been recognised as a modern classic. My new copy has a fabulous cover. As a final bonus if you read this very special book perhaps you will discover why my blog is called Momo celebrating time to read!

 

Knuffle Bunny and Knuffle Bunny Too by Mo Willems

Every little child will relate to the horror of losing a loved toy. Just like the lovely book A pocket for Corduroy, Trixie takes her special toy Knuffle Bunny to the Laundromat.

In a lovely combination of photos and drawings we see her Daddy filling the washing machine but of course he is not looking! Trixie realizes they have left Knuffle Bunny behind but what can she do? Trixie is not quite old enough to talk. She tries to explain. She points and gestures. She screams and goes boneless. Thank goodness for Mummy.

The whole family runs back to the Laundromat and Trixie says her first real words. Can you guess what they are?

In addition to the book we also have the DVD in all school library. This version has all the charm of the book and I can’t wait to share it with the children.

In Knuffle Bunny Too, Trixie can talk and is now off to pre school. This second book reminded me of Boris and Borsch by Robin Klein. Here we have the same basic plot of swapped toys with the addition of charming characters and illustrations. These two books about Knuffle Bunny will form part of a toy theme we will explore with Kindergarten in our read-a-loud session in the new school term.

Ruby and Little Joe by Angela McAllister

When we add books to our library collection we record, inside the front cover, the price and place of purchase so when I looked inside this unremarkable little picture book I was not surprised to see it came from one of my favourite children’s bookshops where the owner has such a passion and love for books and reading and children that her book choices are always a delight!

This is not an unremarkable little picture book. It is truly a gem. Ruby and Little Joe are toy kangaroos but they are not new. All the other toys are new and have never been loved. Their hearts are hard and so Ruby and Little Joe are not invited to sleep on the end of the bed and must sit on a hard shelf all night.

Ruby is so wise. She knows patience and perseverance will win the day but it is only when Little Joe finds himself in terrible peril, outside the house and inside the garbage bin, that all the other toys learn how to show kindness and each finds room for a heart to grow. This is the lesson Ruby has been quietly teaching them over the last few months.

I will certainly add this story to our read aloud list for Kindergarten along side I love you Blue Kangaroo by Emma Chichester Clark and Corduroy by Don Freeman.

Cherryblossom and the Golden Bear retold by Pamela Freeman

We have been reading fairy tales to our younger students over the last term. This began with the Princess and the Pea then Sleeping Beauty, The Frog Prince and Cinderella. Two interesting things occurred during these sessions. When I asked the children who had heard each of these stories before there were a small group of children aged 6 in each class who had never heard these fairly tales – this makes me quite sad. My happiness was restored, however, as I retold and then read each of these famous tales. These young children just sat spellbound. Each week the children and I enjoyed that magical moment when everyone is so caught up in a story you can hardly hear any breathing.

Moving on from the fairy tales I have begun reading folk tales and fantasy stories to Year 3 students. I started with a few favourites from our library collection. Last term we all enjoyed The Moon’s Revenge by Joan Aitken, The Minstrel and the dragon pup by Rosemary Sutcliff and the Quiltmakers gift by Jeff Brumbeau and so next term we will read Cherryblossom and the Golden Bear. Just like the best fairy tales, this lovely story has the usual elements of magic and promises and trust. Cherryblossom makes a cloak of nettles and a dress of cherry blossoms. It is this unselfish act that sets the Golden Bear free revealing a golden haired prince in his place.

Pamela Freeman explains the origins of this story on her web site.

Miki by Stephen Mackey

Here is a Christmas story with a difference. “On midwinter eve when an icy wind blew the moon weaved her magic and wishes came true.” So begins this lovely book about Miki and her wish to decorate a little tree in an icy land.

Miki and penguin begin by wishing for pretty lights that tinkle and then to make it a tale for our times their wish for a power source brings a very modern looking windmill. Even though the polar bear is very strong he runs out of breath and so then Miki wishes for a star that can shine forever.

This is a moving story about perseverance and the unbreakable bonds of true friendship. The repeated refrain gives the narrative a song like quality and the softest of illustrations will be loved by the youngest readers. You can even see a little video of this book.

The flower by John Light

I am currently reading a selection of picture books that we added to our library this year. The Flower is an interesting allegory about the subversive information available in books. Brigg reads about flowers in a banned book. There are no flowers in his futuristic and bleak city. Wandering the streets Brigg sees a picture just like the one from the book he smuggled out of the library. He buys the picture and discovers it is a seed packet. Using dust collected from the streets he nurtures the plant and in time his room is filled with beautiful flowers.

In a scene reminiscent of Josephs Yard by Charles Keeping, one morning while Brigg is at work, the automatic cleaning system sucks his plant away.

Look for this special book in your library. The illustrations (here is a lovely web site for the illustrator) are perfect and so is the ending which is filled with hope for the future.

1001 Children's books you must read before you grow up Preface by Quentin Blake

What a tempting title for a Teacher-Librarian who certainly has not yet ‘grown up’ 1001 Children's books you must read before you grow up.

How did I approach this 960 page book?
Well first of all I just flipped through the pages. Then as more and more of my personal favorites appeared I began to wonder who selected these 1000 titles? All is revealed on the last five pages. From Australia, for example, there are three very well respected book reviewers such as Ann James, Jo Goodman and Dr Belle Alderman. Other nations have also employed their very best people.

What is inside 1000 children’s books you must read?
Well there are 5 chapters organized by age Chapter 1 is ages 0-3, Chapter 2 is ages 3+; Chapter 4 is ages 8+ and Chapter 5 is ages 12+ (although I think many are really suitable for Upper Primary.) Within the chapters the books are organized chronologically by date of publication.

Which books do I love?

Many of these are part of our regular library program.
Chapter One Goodnight Moon, Each peach pear plum, The elephant and the bad baby, Elmer, Kipper and Owl babies

Chapter Two Eloise, Harry the dirty Dog, Where the wild things are, Corduroy, Morris’s disappearing bag, Peace at Last, Avocado baby, Possum Magic, Felix and Alexander, Winnie the Witch, Owl Moon, Frog is Frog, Lost and found, and Max

Chapter Three Caps for sale, Flat Stanley, The giving tree, Joseph’s Yard, John Brown, Rose and the midnight cat, The lighthouse keeper’s lunch, Cloudy with a chance of meatballs, Jumanji, The Paper bag Princess, If you give a mouse a cookie, The Polar Express, My Place, Drac and the Gremlin, The true story of the Three little pigs by A Wolf, Henry and Amy, Fox, and Flotsam

Chapter Four The hundred dresses, Stuart Little, The little white horse, The lion the witch and the wardrobe, James and the giant peach, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, From the mixed up files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler, Mrs Frisby and the rats of NIMH, Conrad the story of a factory made boy, Bridge to Terabithia, Goodnight Mr Tom, Sarah Plain and Tall, Journey to Jo’burg, Redwall, The snow spider, Two weeks with the Queen, Bill’s new frock, Shiloh, The giver, 45 and 47 Stella Street, Clockwork, The view from Saturday, Fire bed and bone, Because of Winn Dixie, Mortal engines, Journey to the River Sea, The naming of Tishkin Silk, Utterly me, Clarice Bean, The tale of Despereaux, Wolf Brother, The invention of Hugo Cabret.

I was so happy to see so many of my favourite books and to see such a match with my Library Thing collection which I designed to reveal the 100 hidden treasures of a Primary School Library.

I highly recommend this fabulous book to anyone interested in books for children. Start with the end papers they are very special. Then go along to your library and borrow the books you read about - we have heaps of them in our school library! One more thing this is not just a book for the grown ups it would be a great resource for children too.