Stick and Fetch Investigate: Barking up the wrong tree by Philip Ardagh illustrated by Elissa Elwick

Are you a fan of Fancy Nancy?  I do enjoy the way those books are filled with word definitions as a part of the text. Philip Ardagh does this in Stick and Fetch especially with words that link to the topic of detectives:

• Trace is detective speak for ‘find’.
• Deduce is a detective word meaning ‘work out’.
• Alias – an alias is a false name.
• Hunch – something based on a feeling.

This book is also filled with words in different fonts and bold for emphasis. You will recognize this from Geronimo Stilton. Look at this example.  In Stick and Fetch the designers use bold, italic, different fonts and different sizes.

Sally Stick and her loyal dog companion Fetch set out to solve important cases. There are three cases in this book. Tele Trouble – Mrs Plink is about to explode and Sally is sure Mrs Plink is in danger at the local television station. No Clowning Around – Sally finds an empty photo frame. She needs to find who has stolen the picture and why? Up up and away – the mystery of the 80th birthday balloon. Is this connected with the local history museum?

Sally is on the case with help from Fetch. Only Sally can understand Fetch. Everyone else just hears woof woof!

The solution to each crime is never as complex as Stick and Fetch might have anticipated but the pair accept each resolution with good grace and you, the reader, are sure to laugh at the simple and perhaps obvious ‘crimes’. Have you seen the joke in the title - barking up the wrong tree.

I am always on the hunt for simple chapter books which contain satisfying stories. I highly recommend these books about Sally Stick and Fetch. I love the illustrations which appear on nearly every page and the fun of the slap stick humour. This book has a similar format to Mango and Bambang.

This is the first book in the series. Here are the next two:

Children often ask for detective stories in our school library. I also recommend you look for High Rise Private Eyes by Cynthia Rylant; Murilla Gorilla Jungle Detective by Jennifer Lloyd; and the Detective Gordon series by Ulf Nilsson.

War Animal Remembrance Day 24th February

Tomorrow (24th February) is War Animal Remembrance Day.  There are some terrific picture books you can use to explore the animals who were heroes of various wars and conflicts. My interest in this topic began when I read Lofty's Mission by Krista Bell illustrated by David Miller.  I was so interested to read about the Dickin Medal which began in 1943. It has been awarded to 32 pigeons, 31 dogs, 4 horses and one cat.

Here are some books you might like to hunt out:

People are asked to wear purple poppies to commemorate this day.

The purple poppy is often worn to remember animals that have been victims of war.

Animals like horses, dogs and pigeons were often drafted into the war effort, and those that wear the purple poppy feel their service should be seen as equal to that of human service.

In particular, many horses were killed or injured in World War One.

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.

Antarctica by Moira Court

Antarctica will appeal to a range of readers - it certainly appeals to me. It is a counting book for the youngest children, it is filled with animals some of which you may not know (blackfin icefish) and the art work is so tactile. The language is also perfect to read aloud:

"Three lumbersome, cumbersome elephant seals lining the sandy shore."
"Ten crimson, vermilion sea stars creeping about on twinkle toes."

Have you heard of blackfin icefish? They live at the bottom of the ocean and have antifreeze in their blood!

Image source Wikipedia

Image source Instagram

I always find collage illustrations so appealing. The ones here by Moira Court are sure to inspire your students. You can see some of the art here from the publisher web site. The final pages of this book add so much with details about Antarctica and brief facts about each of the featured animals.

Here is a set of teaching notes and an interview with the author. There is also an interview from 2010 on the Kids Book Review blog.

You can tell this book is made with passion, great research and admiration for Antarctica, it would be a fun educational resource for young children, and could inspire further activities, artwork and discussions. Kids Book Review

Orphans of the Tide by Struan Murray

In the opening scene of this book a whale has washed up and is now on the roof of the cathedral. Here are the first sentences which go some way to explaining how this could have happened:

"The city was built on a sharp mountain that jutted improbably from the sea, and the sea kept trying to claim it back. When the tide rose, it swallowed up the City's lower streets. When the tide fell, it spat them back out again, but left its mark. ... That great morning, once the tide had retreated, a whale was found of a rooftop."

Ellie Lancaster seems to be the only person who has any sense. She is just a young girl aged twelve or thirteen but she is the only one who initially tries to think of a way to get this whale back into the sea? Then when this seems impossible she is the only person in the crowd who knows when whales die they decay from the inside. This will cause a build up of gas inside the whale and eventually the whale will explode. Ellie asks her friend Anna to hurry away and fetch her flensting tool. Ellie sits beside the whale while it dies and then she thrusts the sharp blade into its side. This all happens in first chapter which ends with the words:

 "A hand reaching out from the cut in the whale."

Ellie keeps cutting and then she pulls a boy out from the inside of the whale. He is alive. Ellie has rescued him but now his life and hers are in danger because everyone thinks this boy, who Ellie names Seth, is the Enemy. The Whale Lords and the Inquisition want to prove Seth is the Enemy and then they will execute him. Ellie knows for sure Seth is totally innocent but how can she truly know this?

This is a complex fantasy, set in a complex other world but you are in safe hands with Struan Murray because he has created a city that somehow makes sense. The City is densely populated, dangerous, smelly, filled with superstitions and strange beliefs and it is a place where people are always on the look out for the Enemy and the Vessel who is host to the Enemy. The world that exists in this book is so interesting I just had to keep reading on trying to discover what was happening and why these things were happening.

This book paints vivid pictures of the city and of the people who live there:

"A tall, broad-shouldered man was marching up the steps towards her. He had dark brown skin, a short black beard and moustache, and wore a long trailing coat of crushed red velvet. He carried a cane made from the tusk of a narwhal, and the pelt of a gigantic, shaggy black wolf was drapped on his shoulders - its head dangling off to one side."

One of the most appealing parts of this book was the character of Ellie. She is an inventor and those skills are  put to excellent use as she and her friends need to escape capture. She is incredibly brave or a better word might be fearless. She jumps off the roof of tall building and she crawls through the sewers under the city. Ellie is a wonderful friend - loyal and caring. But Ellie is also very, very vulnerable.

This is a debut novel by Struan Murray who grew up in Edinburgh. He is lecturer in biochemistry at Oxford University. Read this interview where he talks about his book. I highly recommend Orphans of the Tide for avid readers aged 11+. This is a new book - it was released in late February, 2020. Huge thanks to Beachside Bookshop for my advanced reader copy.

Brave by Stacy McAnulty illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff

A few days ago I talked about Beautiful. Here is the companion volume, Brave. This is another deceptively simply book with minimal text but once again the power here is the juxtaposition of text and illustration. 

What does it mean to be brave?
The brave kid has super strength - here is the illustration:

A brave kid "never gives up". - the illustration shows a running race with a wheelchair competitor and he is winning!  The kids in the crowd hold banners "my hero"; "you can do it."

A brave kid "fights the toughest battles" - here is the illustration.

Image source The Picture Book Review

I think the best page of all comes at the end. We see two kids holding violins standing backstage looking quite nervous. The girl is smiling at the boy and offering encouragement and then when you turn the page you see the boy on the stage playing with a smile - he is brave!

Here are some teaching ideas.

"Thoughtful text from Stacy McAnulty paired with vibrant illustrations from Joanne Lew-Vriethoff encourage kids to be brave in all the ways they can: trying new things, speaking their mind, confronting bullies, and more. This book will inspire kids to follow their hearts and to have courage, no matter the situation. Running Press"

Windcatcher: Migration of the Short-Tailed Shearwater by Diane Jackson Hill and Craig Smith

The migration of birds is such a fascinating topic. The endurance of these light and sometimes fragile creatures who fly huge, almost incomprehensible, distances. The way different species of birds have an internal clock which tells them it is time to fly and then there is the issue of the actual navigation through every type of weather and landscape found on our planet.

Windcatcher begins with a lighthouse!  You may know I adore lighthouses. This lighthouse on the edge of the Southern Ocean helps the shearwaters find their way home.

Now onto our hero.  Her name is Hope. Her scientific names are:

• Short-Tailed Shearwater
• Slender-Billed Shearwater
• Yolla
• Moonbird
• Mutton Bird

Image Source New Zealand Birds online

Using narrative, Diane Jackson Hill gives her reader all the facts but in an easy reading format. 

There are 37 different species of Shearwater. Our Short-Tailed Shearwater flies 15,000 each way taking six weeks for each journey. The pairs mate for life, the eggs takes about 53 days to hatch. The new baby is cared for by the parents from November until April when the parents leave.  The young chick will then loose weight and grow flight feathers. This takes 2-3 weeks then the new chick is ready for his or her own migration fight. If you click here you can listen to a pair of Short-Tailed Shearwater birds in their burrow.

Image Source Venus Bay observation Project

There are terrible hazards for this bird. Krill are the main food but sometimes food is scarce. "Brightly coloured chips of plastic can be mistaken for food and slowly turn to poison inside the birds."  The birds have to cope with wild weather but there are other hazards too - fishing nets hidden just under the surface of the water. Luckily Hope is rescued by the fisherman when she finds herself trapped in a huge net and so she is able to fly on to her northern feeding grounds.

On the final pages of Wildcatcher you will find two pages of facts. What they look like; how do they breed; how far do they migrate; what dangers they face; are they protected; and where can you see this small bird which is about the size of a pigeon but which has a 100cm wing span.

Read an interview with Craig Smith where he talks about the challenges of illustrating this book. There is a set of teachers notes on the publisher web site. Here is a review from Reading Time. You would most certainly pair this book with Circle by Jeannie Baker. Another book to use when you talk about bird migration with a younger class such as Kindergarten is Lucy Goosey by Margaret Wild.

I was especially fascinated to read that the parents leave their chick and he or she is left to set off later. This also happens with Puffins. Perhaps someone will write a book for children explaining this interesting process.