The Kite fighters by Linda Sue Park

I have said this in previous posts and I guess if you read my blog, even occasionally, you will know that I adore reading children's books.  When I read A Single Shard (also by Linda Sue Park) I said the story left me breathless so I was excited to read another book by this extremely gifted writer.  I am so happy I can also highly recommend this book too.

I picked up The Kite Fighters last night and read the whole book in one sitting.  As with A Single Shard and See Saw Girl the setting here is Korea.  Linda Sue Park gives the reader a wonderful insight into a family life which is steeped in tradition.  Young-Sup is the younger brother.  It seems all the good things happen to his older brother Kee-sup simply because of birth order.  Young-sup would love a kite but on this New Year he has been given a board game and so he must watch is brother and his clumsy attempts to fly the new kite.  Finally Young-sup is given a turn and his natural talents come to the fore.

"Young-sup picked up the kite. In that brief moment he had felt why it would not fly.  On only his second try he launched the kite from a complete standstill.  Kee-sup's jaw dropped.  'Hey! How did you do that?'  Young-sup shrugged, not wanting to display too much pride.  'I'll show you,' he said.  For he knew in his bones that he could do it again."

One of the best aspects of this book is the way Young-sup and Kee-sup work together firstly so Young-sup  can have a kite of his own and later when they participate in the annual kite fighting competition on behalf of the King himself.

If you want to extend your study of Korea here is a useful pinterest collection.  Another exciting teaching point comes from the five virtues of Confucius and the way Kee-sup uses these to convince his father Young-sup must fly their kite in the competition.

I have included two different cover designs below.  Our library copy is the one above but I prefer the alternate ones. After reading this book I recommend picking up the picture book The tiny kite of Eddie Wing.  Here is an excellent review which gives you more details of the plot.

Park tucks traditional Korean customs and values into the story at every turn, while giving each of her young characters a distinct, complementary set of abilities and inclinations

Scary night by Lesley Gibbes and Stephen Michael King

Picture books are often poems and Scary Night is no exception.

Here is the refrain :

"But where were they going in the dead of the night, 
tip-toe creeping in the pale moonlight?
It was a mystery!"

Three friends - Hare, Cat and Pig - set out in the dark of the night to make a special journey.  They each carry something slightly mysterious.  There are serious hazards along the way but these parcels do not assist with their survival.  Can you guess where they are going?  Hare with a hat, Cat with a cake and Pig with a parcel?

This is Lesley Gibbes' first book so how lucky to have the amazing and talented Stephen Michael King as the illustrator.  One of the special features of these illustrations is the way Stephen Michael King marks the passing of time - the journey takes the whole night and as each page turns the sky grows lighter and lighter.  Another special detail comes from the sack that is carried by Hare.  There is no mention in the text but as the party begins we see Hare open his sack which contains drinks, party streamers and balloons along with two special hats - one for goat and one for pig.  I have seen the pattern for this hat in another Stephen Michael King book - take a look at Emily's dress in the book Emily loves to bounce.  You might also look for some of the other tiny details that Stephen Michael King loves to include such as the television aerial and single sock on the first page, the Halloween pumpkin, ghosts in the graveyard, coat hangers and bells.

Two more things.  Take time to look at the second last page.  Goat has two pictures on his walls and a cupcake on the table with one candle - these might make interesting discussion points with your class. Finally a warning - Scary Night is not a quiet book - it demands to be read with a group of children who can join in to scream, roar and shout surprise!

Our Book Week slogan for 2014 was Connect to Reading. When I read Scary Night for the first time I saw a connection with two of my favourite books The Silver Christmas Tree by Pat Hutchins and Frog and a Special Day by Max Velthuijs.

Here is the author web site.  Here is a review in the Sydney Morning Herald.  Lesley Gibbes will visit our school library next week.

Disappearing act by James Moloney

Disappearing Act.  This book has it all!  An intriguing plot.  A very recognizable Australian setting. Magic and mystery. History and flashbacks. Love and loathing. Alchemy and science. Greed and the urgent search for truth and justice.  All of this is contained in just 181 pages!

Matt Cooper finds a book in a language he does not recognize with detailed drawings showing the process for a series of magic tricks. Matt tries out the tricks, simple ones at first, and discovers he has a talent.  When he visits a city dentist with his mother he sees an old man writing phrases in chalk on the footpath.  He has no idea what this writing says but he recognizes the letters from his magic book and so he takes a piece of chalk and completes the phrase (see below).  The old man is ecstatic.  "I've waited so long - a whole lifetime."

The next chapter of Disappearing Act sees the action switch to 1946.  We meet Mattheus Coperneau, a magician who has been given the honour of presenting a special performance before the royal family of Montilagus.

"Europe is not one country, but dozens of them.  Everyone has heard of Germany and France and Italy, but if you study the map closely you will see tiny specks among the larger ones, like pebbles in a rock wall.  These countries were never important enough to deserve a king and so they make do with princes.  That's why they are called principalities."

In a grand finale to his magic show Mattheus makes the Royal Sceptre disappear.  Naturally the second half of this trick should mean the sceptre reappears to the sound of great relief and applause but on this occasion the trick has failed and the sceptre is gone.  Magic is not to blame.  This is a crime but with no one else to accuse Mattheus is sent to the dungeon.  Chapters in this book now alternate between Australia 2011 and Montilagus in 1889.  At this earlier time Prince Edvord of Montilagus sees power coming from gold.  He enlists the help of a scientist called Joachim Tassisalus and an alchemist Augustine Rey.  Joachim knows alchemy is just trickery but the prince is determined there must be a way to turn ordinary metals into gold.

Look closely at these names Matthew Cooper and Mattheus Coperneau.  The story of Joachim and his love of Princess Agneta is also linked with Matthew Cooper but I don't want to go into these details and spoil the terrific twist at the end of this complex and highly rewarding read.

I will make one of my predictions that this book will be short listed for our CBCA awards in 2015. I do hope I am right!

Here is a set of teaching notes.  If you enjoy this book you might also look for The book without Words by Avi,   This book also reminded me of The Medici Curse. You can read more about James Moloney here.

Only the heart knows magic is real.

A snicker of magic by Natalie Lloyd

"A snicker?"

"That's magic leftover," Jonah explained.  

"Not good for much, not as fancy as it used to be - but enough to make it special."

There are some books, the best books really, that are so beautifully told that you just feel as though you are really there - in that town or school or home.  I have just spent three days in Midnight Gulch, Tennessee with my new friends Felicity Juniper Pickle, her best friend Jonah Pickett, her wise little sister Frannie Jo and all the other wonderful people of this magic town who are connected in ways you just need to discover.  I have also fallen in love with the idea of collecting words.  Felicity sees words hovering over people - real words and invented words but always true words.  This is such a terrific idea and by the end of A snicker of magic I wanted to collect all these words and put them in a jar for myself. This is a bit like the idea behind Donavan's word jar and the magic reminded me of A Tangle of Knots and Savvy.  The other lovely ingredient in this book comes from the town ice cream factory. You will want to eat huge spoonfulls of :

• Andy's snickerdoodle sucker punch
• Day's chocolate orange switcheroo
• Marsh-Mallory Mocha Delight
• Jim's just-vanilla's-all-I- want

But be very careful before you dip into Blackberry Sunrise.  "People buy it by the gallon because it helps them remember.  The problem is that you don't know what kindof memory this ice cream's going to dredge up.... if the blackberries taste sweet, you remember something good. But if you take a bite and the blackberry are sour, well ... "

A gulch is a narrow valley with deep sides.  This makes it perfect for a small community and perhaps for a place where you can feel safe and at home. Midnight Gluch is a town with a long history and with citizens famous for many different types of magic.  Sadly years ago magic seems to have left the town when two famous brothers, Stone and Berry Weatherly, known as the Brothers Threadbare held their famous duel in 1910.  When Stone lost the duel, after three days of frantic music, magic left the town and worse a curse descended.  It is now nearly a century later and Felicity feels she is cursed. Her mum is a wanderer.  The little family of three never stay long in any one town but as our story begins they arrive back in Midnight Gulch - the town of her childhood.

Here are some words from this book :
splendiferous
spindiddly
everlasting
snickerdoodles
clutzerdoodle
spunkter
siffle-miffle
apple fritter
hope
believe

Read this splendid review in the New York Times.  This reviewer loved A snicker of Magic so much she is predicting it will reach the Newbery for 2015.  "Every so often a book comes along where you say to yourself, “I feel privileged to know that I live in a world where books like this exist.” They are books that are forever imprinted upon your heart, a heartprint book if you will."

Apart from the books I mentioned above after you read A snicker of Magic you should look for Waiting for Normal and Pie.   Here is a blog site for the author who actually has a dog called Biscuit. Activities for this book from Scholastic.  Below I have included covers from the Italian and German editions of this book. You can listen to part of the story here. I do hope I have convinced you to read this magical book - I promise you will not be disappointed.

this tale offers all the other earmarks of fine storytelling, including colorful, eccentric characters, an original, 

highly likable narrator and a mighty “spindiddly” plot. 

Masterpiece by Elise Broach illustrated by Kelly Murphy

Masterpiece - one boy, one beetle, one BIG adventure made me gasp out loud not just once but several times as our hero Marvin, a beetle, tries desperately to help his best friend James.

James is given a set of artist inks and pens for his eleventh birthday from his dad.  James lives with a very hyperactive mother and stepfather.  His party has been a disaster just as James expected but what James does not know is that Marvin has been watching the whole event.  Marvin lives with his loving family in "damp corner of the cupboard beneath the kitchen sink.  Here a leaking pipe had softened the plaster and caused it to crumble away.  Just behind the wall, Marvin's family had hollowed out three spacious rooms, and as his parents often remarked, it was the perfect location.  It was warm, moist and ... best of all, the white plastic wastebasket that loomed on one side offered a constant littler of apple cores, bread crumbs, onion skins and candy wrappers."

Marvin loves James and so he really wants to give his friend a special birthday present.  Late at night he climbs up to his bedroom and discovers the ink and pen.  He dips his legs into the ink and begins to draw the scene outside the window. His art work is an exquisite miniature.  When James's dad sees this work he insists on taking James to see a special art exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  On display is a tiny work by Durer entitled Fortitude.  It is part of a set of four but the other three have been stolen.  The scene is set for a major art crime.

Ever since I read The Borrowers the idea of little creatures inhabiting our homes has fascinated me. I especially enjoy the way simple human things are adapted for use by these smaller house dwellers. Marvin and his family use an old eraser as their table, a contact lens for a fruit bowl and Marvin him self sleeps on a soft cotton ball.  I love the idea of a tea bag used as a parachute and dried macaroni turned into a tuba.The feasts the beetles enjoy from the crumbs dropped by the Pompaday family are also a delight.

Here is the author web site. Here is the review in the New York Times.  Here is a useful set of teaching notes. You might also enjoy The Medici Curse, Chasing Vermeer and From the Mixed up files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler if art crime, mysteries and museums interest you.  If you are fascinated by little animals or people who might live in the walls of your home pick up Tumtum and Nutmeg,  Bless this mouse or the wonderful book Walter.  For more about Albert Durer look at Run Hare, Run which is a terrific picture book in our library.  The wisdom of Marvin also reminded me of Humphrey.

I have included a different cover design below - which do you prefer?

Operation Bunny by Sally Gardner illustrated by David Roberts

An orphan baby is found in a hat box at a railway station.  Most readers will know that Emily Vole, the baby, will suffer some hardships (her adoptive parents are rich and cruel) but that after some suffering Emily will find her true destiny and some wonderful friends and she might even save the world from an evil power.  If you need to know more then I strongly suggest reading Operation Bunny.

Daisy Dashwood wishes to adopt the baby that has been found in the hatbox.  "Five years later, Daisy Dashwood had to admit that Emily Vole wasn't exactly what she had had in mind when she'd made her one and only wish.  What she really wanted was a baby girl with blue eyes and blonde hair, ideally the same colour as her own strawberry-blond hair extensions."

Poor little Emily is forced to wear a blond wig (Daisy is a hairdresser) and blue contact lenses.  Then things get even worse.  When Emily turns five Daisy falls pregnant with triplets.  Ronald Dashwood knows they can't send Emily back so he decides Emily can be the family servant.  She will now live in the laundry room and her bed is the ironing board.

Luckily for Emily the lady next door, Miss String, is really a fairy in disguise.  She and her huge cat companion befriend Emily and are able to assist her with the enormous amount of housework each morning and then provide brilliant lessons each afternoon. "Within a year Emily could read, write, do maths and speak fluent French and German.  Plus another strange language called Old English."

When things are going well in a story you just know things are probably destined for disaster and so it is not really a huge surprise that by Chapter eight disaster does indeed fall.  Miss Ottoline String is accidentally killed when Mr Charlie Cuddie is distracted by a witch on a broomstick.  This witch is the evil Harpella and she is desperate to get hold of a set of keys that Emily now holds.  At this point the plot becomes very complex and quite tense as Emily and her best friend Fidget (the giant cat) try to stay one step ahead of Harpella.  They need to prevent her getting hold of these special keys and also stop her turning humans into bunnies and zombies.

This is the first book in the series Wings & Co and as you can see it is quite a madcap adventure.  We will to add the next two to our library collection soon.

Here is the publisher web site which includes a generous audio sample.  Here is an excellent review from the New York Times.

You might also enjoy Emmy and the incredible shrinking rat and Mr and Mrs Bunny, detectives extraordinare, and you should also look for all the other books by Sally Gardner in our school library.

References to fairy tales add depth to the story and make a clever backdrop to this series kickoff, in which a Circe-like witch turns people into animals and lures fairies to their doom in a magical lamp.

Mouse Cookies and more - a Treasury by Laura Numeroff illustrated by Felicia Bond

Every now and then a new book arrives in our school library that makes me almost jump for joy. Mouse Cookies and more - a Treasury is one of these books.

I have been a fan of Laura Numeroff and her 'circle' stories for many years and love to read If you give a mouse a cookie and many others to our Kindergarten students each year.  I bought little cassette tapes of these stories but the tapes are now quite worn out and it can be difficult to find an old cassette player.  Mouse Cookies and More - has it all.  The full text and illustrations for four Numeroff stories, a CD with readings by people like David Hyde Pierce, recipes, craft ideas, teaching activities and even the music for the mouse cookie song.

Here is a list of some recipes :
Mum's old fashioned Oatmeal cookies
Uncle Sydney's Snickerdoodles
Pop's peanut butter Munches
Ice Cream pancakes with Strawberry Sauce
Corny Corn muffins
Chocolate mud muffins
and more

I have talked about this series previously.  This treasury would make a lovely gift for a young child - especially if you own a piano and can enjoy the songs too.  You can see some sample pages here.

In Japan they even have a Mouse Cookie Bus.