The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate

"So, what amazed you today, sweet girl?"

"What filled you with wonder? What made you feel awe?"

Creed of the herd - "An elephant alone is not an elephant."

You are sure to have met Ivan (The One and Only Ivan) and perhaps Bob (The One and Only Bob) and if so I am sure you will really want to get your hands on this third book where we find out more about Ruby and how she came to be at the shopping Mall with Stella, Ivan and Bob and later how life is going for Ruby with the other elephants at Wildworld Zoological Park and Sanctuary. 

Publisher blurb: Ruby’s story picks up a few months after the events of The One and Only Bob. Now living in a wildlife sanctuary, Ruby’s caretaker from the elephant orphanage in Africa where she grew up is visiting. Seeing him again brings back a flood of memories both happy and sad of her life before the circus, and she recounts the time she spent in the African Savannah to Ivan and Bob.

Listen to Colby Sharp talk about this book - his enthusiasm is wonderful. "I couldn't stop reading it but it was also hard to read at times ... It's just amazing what reading can do."

Applegate deftly tempers themes of grief and loss with compassion and humor as Ruby finds her place in the herd. ... Certain to steal hearts. Kirkus

Do you like the idea of book sets - I do. I am so happy to have all three of the books in this series sitting side by side on my shelf - The One and Only Ivan, The One and Only Bob and now The One and Only Ruby. The covers all work together really well but oddly the spine on the newest book has a slightly different format.

Here are some text quotes from The One and Only Ruby.  I highly highly recommend this series for readers aged 9+. My post labels will give you some idea about the themes in this book - animal conservation, the ivory trade, animals in captivity and elephants. 

"Elephants use our tusks for all kinds of things. They help with eating and digging and playing and some times even fighting. They are so important that when your tusks arrive, elephants hold a special ceremony to celebrate the occasion."

"When I was a baby, I had a mom, too. I guess that's true of most babies. I don't have one anymore. I haven't had much luck when it comes to moms."

"Floppy running is the best kind of running because it happens when you are feeling good about the world and like you could almost fly if you weren't an elephant and also had some wings, because they would for sure help. When you floppy-run your ears and trunk and tail go wherever they choose. Your legs just kind of floats in the air and your feet skip along like they just heard a really good joke. Watch a baby elephant sometime. They love to floppy-run."

"There's a word elephants have for those who take care of us. We call them sentinels. A sentinel is someone who looks out for you. It can be someone who's part of your herd, of course, but it could be anyone. Sentinels can be your caretakers or your friends or your teachers or your neighbors. They look out for you. They understand you. They try to help you."

"We are not our best selves without kindness. ... We are not our best selves without wonder ... We are not our best selves without courage ... We are not our best selves without gratitude."

Read more plot details for The One and Only Ruby at The Book Muse. 

The One and Only Ivan

The One and Only Bob

Zadie Ma and the Dog who Chased the Moon by Gabrielle Wang

Zadie Ma really wants a dog of her own. She has a magical ability - when she writes a story it sometimes comes true. Zadie writes a story about a stray dog called Jupiter. Yes, she does find and rescue him but owning a dog is not straightforward. Her mother has forbidden Zadie to have a dog. The new family who live over the back fence have lots of pets of all shapes and sizes. The girl in the new family is named Eleanor Elspeth Eaglemont but she prefers to be called Sparrow. Sparrow is happy to look after Jupiter until Zadie can convince her mother to change her mind. 

Interspersed through the book we read short stories penned by Zadie.

Publisher blurb: Zadie Ma has a special talent for telling stories . . . and it seems that some of Zadie’s stories come true. Zadie’s dearest wish is to have a dog of her own and so she starts to write the story of a poor unwanted dog called Jupiter, who’s just waiting to be rescued by a loving girl like Zadie. One morning when she’s supposed to be minding the family shop for her mother, Zadie sets off to look for Jupiter. The scene that unfolds isn’t quite the same as in her story but she does find a real dog, and his name is Jupiter. Once Zadie has rescued him, she realises she can’t just take Jupiter home because her mother won’t let her keep a dog. Luckily her bold new friend Sparrow lets Zadie keep Jupiter at her house till Zadie can work things out. But a series of unlucky events means that Zadie can’t write the happy ending she dreams of for her story, and now she may lose her beloved Jupiter forever. Can Zadie’s most important story of all finally come true?

The book’s structure and style are both unique and refreshing, weaving narrative, allegory (in the form of Zadie’s own stories interspersed throughout) and graphic novel elements.  Reading Time

I loved Sparrow – I loved that she refused to believe in stereotypes and assumptions about people, that even though everyone gravitated towards her, she still chose Zadie over being the most popular girl in school. And I loved the loyalty she had to Zadie, and the loyalty Zadie showed to her – they were true friends. Book Muse

Readers aged 9+ will enjoy this story especially those who also long for a dog. Children with immigrant parents who work long hours in small businesses such as the shop owned by Mrs Ma are sure to identify with Zadie and other readers will gain an insight into different family relationships and cultural expectations.

Listen to an audio sample here.

This feels very autobiographical and so there are moments in this story which are deeply affecting especially the relationship between Zadie and her mum, dad and little brother and the depictions of the milk bar. I don’t usually enjoy books with other stories interspersed between the chapters and some of these work quite well. I especially loved the character of Sparrow and her kindness to Zadie. School has been hard for Zadie. We know she is teased and even bullied and has become quite withdrawn and shy. Sparrow arrives and becomes her friend. I just wanted to hug Sparrow!

Gabrielle Wang is our current Australian Children's Laureate. As I read Zadie Ma and the dog who chased the Moon, as I said,  I was sure this book was autobiographical and now I read these quotes from Gabrielle Wang: 

This book is very different from any of my other novels because it’s part narrative, part graphic novel, part fable. It is also a very personal story that I’ve carried with me almost all my life, well before I knew I would be an author.

There are many themes in this novel: friendship, diversity, Chinese culture, racism, bullying, war, courage, hope and connectedness. But above all, it is about the power of story – how they can change you on the inside and impact the world around you.

In this video Gabrielle talks with the Australian Writers' Centre (40 minutes).

Here are some of her previous books:

The Wishbird

The Beast of Hushing Wood

I remember I really enjoyed The Garden of the Empress Cassia (2002). I haven't talked about it here but perhaps I will find a copy at the next Lifeline Bookfair. 

Meet the illustrator Sylvia Long

My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything and I have begun to compile a long list of illustrators in response to the new book by Leonard S Marcus - Pictured Worlds.  I mentioned in a previous post that we were dismayed that so many of his featured illustrators are male and nearly all have died. We wanted to create a more contemporary list and also we wanted to profile illustrators who may be unfamiliar to you. Today I will show you books illustrated by Sylvia Long.

Sylvia Long is the illustrator of many best-selling books for children. Her books include An Egg Is Quiet, Sylvia Long's Mother Goose, and Snug As a Bug. She lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Illustration from A Beetle is Shy

Illustration from Hush Little Baby

Read some review comments:

A Shell is Cosy: The latest entry in this acclaimed series looks on land and sea (or “everywhere”) for its fascinating subjects. Intricate, detailed, informative watercolours, in colours delicate and warm or saturated and striking, add dimension to the brief text. Kirkus

An Egg is quiet: Nearly all depicted actual size (and those that aren’t, are consistently so labeled), Long’s eggs look real enough to pick up, whether placed in natural settings or suspended on white pages. Kirkus Star review

A Butterfly is Patient: With finely crafted, carefully detailed close-up watercolors, Long depicts dozens of caterpillars and butterflies, each one posed to best advantage, unobtrusively labeled and so lifelike that it’s almost a surprise to page back and find them in the same positions.

You are Never Alone by Elin Kelsey illustrated by Soyeon Kim

"Your imagination smiles when you climb a tree."

"Every moment this beautiful planet showers you with gifts. Clouds contain fresh water to quench your thirst. Your lungs swell with oxygen that plants create. Earthworms, ground beetles, and ants plow the soil where your vegetables grow. Nature touches every bite you eat."

Every page in this book could be used for a science or writing lesson (the word choices and deeper meanings conveyed through deceptively simple sentences would make a wonderful study topic with an older group of students). There are so many ideas in the text quote above and that is just the text from the first four pages of this book. Think about the water cycle, life cycles, plant respiration, soil micro-organisms, bees, whales, bacteria, weather patterns, sunlight and shade, digestion, simbiotic relationships such as bacteria on our skin and so much more. It is not surprising that Elin Kelsey has a science PhD. 

There are two videos and teachers notes on the publisher (Owl Kids) web page.

Publisher blurb: Drawing examples from the clouds and the cosmos, the seafloor and the surface of our skin, it explores how we are always surrounded and supported by nature. Whether it’s gravity holding us tight; our lungs breathing oxygen synthesised by plants; the countless microorganisms that build our immunity; or the whales whose waste fertilises the plankton that feed the fish we eat: nature touches every aspect of how we live. Using lyrical text grounded in current science alongside detailed diorama art, this informational picture book presents the idea that we thrive through connections to the land and sea and sky, and togetherness is key to nature. It encourages inquiry-based learning, inviting readers to wonder, ask questions, observe the natural world, and engage with big ideas.

In her author notes Elin Kelsey says:

"Too often, in our well-intentioned efforts to raise awareness of environmental problems, we leave kids with the idea that the Earth is wrecked and it is up to them to fix it. Environmental issues are real, and many of them are urgent, but all that gloom and doom simply leaves kids feeling worried and hopeless. And it ignores the extraordinary power and resilience of ecosystems all over the planet."

Soyeon Kim creates her work using dioramas - there is a whole art lesson in this too. This is the fourth book illustrated by Soyeon Kim that I have really enjoyed. If you live in Toronto you can see an exhibition of her work (June 2023).

Wild Ideas

A Last Goodbye

Yours in Books by Julie Falatko illustrated by Gabriel Alborozo

Owl is not enjoying all the noise near his tree. He wants peace and quiet. A bookshop flyer arrives in his hollow and he decides to contact the book seller and purchase a book. So begins a series of very funny letters between Owl J Fencepost and B. Squirrel of Pine: A Bookshop.

"I received your marvellous catalogue in the mail and spent many long hours reading the descriptions of all the books. Enclosed is my order form for How to soundproof your Forest Dwelling so that I might read in peace, alone."

Unfortunately B. Squirrel replies that this book is out of stock so Owl tries asking for a different one and so the correspondence continues.

Here is a list of the books he requests - these will give you a good insight into his life of noise and disruptions. 

Owl - The-can-do-guide to moving to a Remote Tropical Island

Squirrel sends - Yes you do want to live in the Woods: Why life in the trees is the bees knees

Owl - How to build a very tall fence

Squirrel sends - The big Woods book of Cooking and Baking

Owl - The Busy Owl's guide to food that will not entice neighbour children to stop by Uninvited

Squirrel sends - 50 fanciful Biscuits and Cakes

Owl - Disguises to make owls look boring, invisible or somewhat menacing

Squirrel sends - Crafts children can do while you nap on the couch and later The Art of the Tea Party

Perhaps this final or almost final book will help you anticipate the happy ending. And yes there is a party and the promise a wonderful new friendship.

How exciting to see this book was given a Kirkus Star review:

This very funny sendup of epistolary novels combines understated text with hyperbolic yet charming art. Distinctive voices and a large format make it perfect for reading aloud.

Full of friendship, letters, books and baking. What a treat! Waking Brain Cells

I was walking through a small market this morning when I spied the second hand book seller. He always has a small, but interesting, collection of children's books and heaps of adult novels. I flicked through his picture books and found two great books (plus four by Bob Graham which I already own) so for just $4 each I picked up this book - Yours in Books and a copy of Where's Julius which is in better condition than the one I already own - so it's out with the old and in with the new.

Yours in Books was published in 2021 and I am pleased to see it is still in print and for a good price. It has a dust jacket and a different image is revealed underneath (a book feature I adore). It looks like a brown paper parcel tied with string and with a terrific stamp. The end papers are perfect and your young reading companion will enjoy finding the snail (snail mail) post man on nearly every page.

Here are some other books illustrated by Gabriel Alborozo:

You can see other books by Julie Falatko on her website. Julie lives in Maine which is a place I long to visit some day. 

One Million hip hip hooray

 

My little blog has reached one million page views 2008-2023. YES one million. Actually it has crept past the million.

I started this blog in 2008 in response to a challenge by a school Principal who saw NO value in school libraries or the role of the Teacher-Librarian. He altered my library position in drastic and life-changing ways but when he said he knew more about technology (and the things we now called Social Media) I decided to strike back.  I could not reverse his dreadful decision to completely change the way our school library was organised but I could show him the power of  blogging, and Instagram, and Twitter and even a platform like Pinterest. This Principal is long gone. I imagine he has no idea that he created such personal and educational havoc but here I am, all these years later, still blogging and advocating for the importance of children's books in the lives of our children and the importance of putting outstanding books into the hands of teachers. I am very proud of this blog and I do hope you find it useful for your library or personal reading journey.

This is the list of my top posts - there are a few surprises here! Old worlds New worlds was a Children's Book Council of Australia Book Week slogan in 2021. I read The Amazing Adventures of Chilly Billy to every child in Grade 3 and later Grade 2 from 1984 til 2017 so I am not surprised to see it here but I wonder why Peggy is in the top 8 list?

Mr Archimedes Bath by Pamela Allen (December 11th, 2012)

Happy Mouse Day by Dick King-Smith (November 20th, 2012)

Peggy by Anna Walker (April 22nd, 2013)

The Day Saida Arrived by Susana Gomez Redondo illustrated by Sonja Wimmer translated by Lawrence Schimel (November 15th, 2020) 

Possum Magic by Mem Fox illustrated by Julie Vivas (November 27th, 2012)

The Amazing Adventures of Chilly Billy by Peter Mayle (October 19th, 2008)

I now have 2970 posts so I am edging closer to my goal of 4000 by the end of 2024. I now blog nearly every day but when I started my plan was one post per week.

My first post was on Sunday, September 7, 2008. I think my style and formatting have come a long way! I have been so lucky to access so many utterly wonderful books thanks to my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything and her splendid library and also thanks to Beachside Bookshop and Libby for all the wonderful advance book copies. Sadly this terrific independent book shop will close at the end of June. 

I am often asked what is my own favourite book. I cannot answer this but here are a few standouts although for every book I put here I could easily think of an extra ten or twenty or thirty. Of course there is also Momo by Michael Ende. We are so lucky to have access to so many fabulous books in Australia from UK, USA, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and also a wealth of books from other places that have been translated into English.  

If any of these look interesting just type the title into my side bar:

Where to next? I hope to continue posting nearly every day. I need to do a lot of work on my indexing (labels) adding star ratings and author/illustrator names. It would also be good to edit and tidy up some of my early posts. I'd also like to investigate a way to promote my blog to teachers, teacher-librarians and keen readers.

Happy Reading to all.

The Small Things by Lisa Thompson

At the end of this book I thought two things - wow that was a sad story and how far-fetched. Then I read the authors note Spoiler alert. Lisa Thompson visited a school and saw a robot on a seat. Lily-Bot was there because the real Lily was at home.

"These robots are created by a company called No Isolation, who produce them to help children who cannot be there for various reasons."

Anna's class have a new student - Ellie but Ellie is undergoing medical treatment and so she cannot come to school in person. A small robot sits in her chair acting like a camera. Ellie can see the classroom and she can control the robot to have several reactions such as asking a question, agreeing with a comment, and expressing confusion. All of this is controlled by Ellie at home from her tablet.

Anna is chosen to sit beside Ellie-Bot and that should be fine but Anna lives under a shadow. Her family cannot afford to send her to the myriad of after school and weekend activities enjoyed by her class mates. Her three closest friends dance, play sport, ride horses and attend swimming competitions. When the girls talk about their weekend, Anna has nothing to say. Then Ellie (via Ellie-Bot) asks Anna about her weekend and she tells her first lie. Over the coming weeks the lies grow and grow - ice skating, bowling, and visits to the ice cream parlour for delicious sweet treats. Of course Anna's boasting will be discovered but does this have to mean no one will be her friend. 

Author blurb: Anna’s anxious when she’s picked to befriend the new girl in her class. For a start, Ellie is ill and can’t come to school herself. So Anna has to communicate with her through a new kind of robot. But Anna is also worried that her life’s too small and boring to be of interest to her new friend. Compared to the other girls, she doesn’t have anything exciting to talk about and so when Ellie asks her a question, a little white lie pops out. Then another and another. When Ellie finds out the truth, can their friendship survive…?

This is a book from the Barrington Stoke dyslexia-friendly series. It is a short book with 96 pages but it is a powerful story perfect for readers aged 9+. Here are two videos with Lisa Thompson. And one with Moon Lane TV. And a set of teaching notes. 

Lisa Thompson is the author of a book for younger children from the Little Gems series - Sidney Makes a wish. I have also talked about:

Goldfish Boy

Here are some other books by Lisa Thompson: