The Hotel Balzaar by Kate DiCamillo illustrated by Julia Sarda

Begin here with this audio sample from chapter one. When you listen, you will hear the delicious language choices used by master storyteller Kate DiCamillo - beguiling brilliance, the porcelain of the skink, overstuff sofas strewn with cushions of green and gold, the room was fille to overflowing with light almost as if someone were ... pouring molten gold, perpetually occupied. 

Marta and her mother live in the attic of the Hotel Balzaar.

"And on the dresser was her mother's brush, and beside that was an envelope that was stained and worn smooth from handling. Marta's mother's name was written on the envelope - Elena Buchelli. And below her name was Marta's name - Marta Buchelli. The exact words Marta's father had written on the envelope were: And Marta Buchelli too, of course. How Marta loved those words: of course. Of course."

"It had been over a year since they had heard anything from her father. In the meantime, Marta and her mother had moved from one place to another, trying to survive."

 There are hints in the story that her mother, who works as a maid, is not really allowed to have her child living with her. Her father is missing. All Marta has that worn out letter. Almost every day her mother instructs Marta:

"You must be quiet, quiet, Marta. Like a mouse. Do not let yourself me charmed ... 'Say you understand, Marta,' said her mother. 'I understand,' said Marta. But she did not understand. She did not understand at all."

Marta lives in a small world. There is their attic room and the one hundred and twenty-eight stairs, the hotel lobby with a clock that has a cat chasing a mouse and a painting which seems to have one wing that looks like an angel. The hotel doorman Norman does acknowledge and talk to Marta but the receptionist Alphonse pretends she does not exist. Then one day a mysterious guest arrives at the hotel. 

"Right before the clock struck noon, there was a commotion in the lobby. A gust of cold air entered, and with it came an old woman dressed in red - red shoes, a red hat and a red dress. She was leaning on a cane, and on her should there perched a massive green-feathered parrot."

Marta will now break all her mother's rules because the old woman, who calls herself a Countess, invites Marta to come to her room. Marta meets her parrot named Blitzkoff. The Countess says he can speak but Marta never hears him instead the Countess tells Marta a series of six stories. At first it seems these stories are unconnected, and they all seem to be unresolved, but Marta listens carefully and you, the reader, will read carefully, because there are connections that can be made here, and the final untold story will be the most important one of all. 

Readers, too, will enjoy piecing together the connections among the stories and will be encouraged to seek deeper truths about people and the world around them. ... A delightful, thoughtful escape to a magical world. Kirkus

I am not sure I would use The Hotel Balzaar for a classroom study - it feels like such a personal reading experience but if you skim through these teachers notes from the publisher you will gain more insights into the plot and you will see some of the glorious art by Julia Sarda. If you are looking for a present for a keen reader aged 9+ pop this book onto your list - the hardcover edition with a dust jacket would be a very special gift. 

The setting for this heartfelt story is not specified but it feels like a European city and a time perhaps fifty or more years ago. This is the second of a planned set of three books or novellas called Norendy Tales. I previously talked about The Puppets of Spelhorst. The third book will be released next year. I love the way each book features a different illustrator - book one Julie Morstad; book two Julia Sarda. I wonder who will illustrate the third Norendy Tale? Every school and public library should add this set of books to their collection alongside EVERY book by Kate DiCamillo (you probably already know I am a huge fan). Here is a long video interview where you can hear Kate talk about her book. Read this review.

The Puppets of Spelhorst

The Hotel Balzaar uses the Countess for her storytelling prowess, consolidating all stories into her character. The Puppets of Spelhorst, in contrast, integrates a multitude of characters to tell stories. Even with these two different story telling mechanisms, the story within a story pattern is consistent between the two Norendy Tales. Both feature a plot arc stretched out from story to story to story, all culminating in one fell swoop with heartwarming endings. This strategy is extremely tricky to execute, particularly for the short format of middle grade reading material. The ease with which DiCamillo whips out these two editions reinforces why DiCamillo is the supremely successful queen of this genre ... In both of these books the illustrations are abundant and add intrigue and depth to the telling of the story; both the narrative and the images pull equal weight. Both titles, it’s safe to say, are true reader delights. New York Journal of Books

How many seeds in a pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara illustrated by G Brian Karas

Charlie is the smallest kid in his class. He is always put at the end of the class line because the children are sorted by size. This hurt my heart - I was the smallest kid in my class. Luckily Charlie has a very wise teacher. It is Halloween and Mr Tiffin brings three pumpkins into the classroom. Over several days he asks the class to think about how many seeds each pumpkin might contain. The children guess with all sorts of wild answers and of course they are sure the biggest pumpkin has the most seeds. Then Mr Tiffin cuts a circle in the top of each pumpkin and the kids scoop out the seeds. Overnight Mr Tiffin dries the seeds and the next day the counting begins.

Mr Tiffin is such a skilled teacher the children have no idea he has turned this into a maths lesson. How will they count all those seeds? By twos or groups of five or perhaps groups of ten! I am sure every kid is still convinced the biggest pumpkin will 'win' but of course they are in for a surprise.

That is not the end of this lesson, though. The smallest pumpkin has the most seeds and that was the one counted by Charlie's group. Mr Tiffin knows it is also time to change the way the class line up - now it can be smallest to tallest - I love the smile on Charlie's face.

"Size alone is not the most important thing." Here is the illustration from the beginning of the book.

Bookseller blurb: Mr. Tiffin and his students explore skip counting and estimation in a fun pumpkin-themed classroom experiment! This book makes a wonderful read-aloud companion to any math or science curriculum, and it's a fun way to reinforce counting skills at home. "How many seeds are in a pumpkin?" Mr. Tiffin asks his class as they gather around the big, medium, and small pumpkins on his desk. Robert, the biggest kid, guesses that the largest one has a million seeds; Elinor, sounding like she knows what she's talking about, guesses the medium one has 500 seeds; and Anna, who likes even numbers better than odd ones, guesses that the little one has 22. Charlie, the smallest boy in the class, doesn't have a guess. Counting pumpkin seeds is messy business, but once the slimy job is done, to everyone's surprise, the smallest pumpkin has the most seeds! As Charlie happily exclaims, "Small things have a lot going on inside of them."

In some ways I feel bad sharing books here on my blog that are out of print but on the other hand I do hope they might inspire you to check out your school or local public library. How many seeds in a pumpkin was published in 2007 and so I was surprised to discover it is still available to buy but it is very very, expensive here in Australia. It is a book that is worth hunting out either for Halloween when you might be thinking about pumpkins or just as a terrific book to promote a conversation about maths or more importantly acceptance of difference so check out your library.

You can see a video of the book here.

I picked up this book from a pumpkin library display because I do love art by G Brian Karas. If you also want to talk about the idea of the different ways a class might line up for class, try to find the old Australian junior novel - First at Last by Julia McClelland illustrated by Ann James. 

There are three books in the series by Margaret McNamara and G Brian Karas featuring the wonderful teacher Mr Tiffin:

What is Black and White by John Kane

This book begins on the very first page with the title question - what is black and white? Perhaps the cover has given you the answer but surely it is not that simple?

The off-stage narrator keeps asking more and more impossible questions and our intrepid little penguin keeps finding a way to show he CAN do all these things. Here is the text near the end:

"What is black and white, can't fly, likes to swim, is called Norman, is cool, fast, full, tall, warm, magic, not so dizzy and now just showing off?"

This book is a perfect example of a cumulative tale and the twist the end is simply perfect. I suggest you add this book to your library or family wish list today. And yes, all the John Kane books are still available.

The story is completely silly and heartwarming throughout and will make you laugh out loud on more than one occasion. ...  The question and answer format is ideal to use as a model for children when writing their own questions and there are lots of lovely adjectives to discuss. Books for Topics

This book made me laugh out loud. It is sure to be a huge hit with your young reading companion aged 3+. Irish author/illustrator John Kane is a new discovery for me. Read this interview. Here are four of his other funny books:

This Book is Pants - review comment Red Reading Hub: All you need to do is bag yourself a copy of the book, wear the appropriate snazzy pants as required and prepare for action: pantalicious fun assured. I forgot to mention that for the best results you’ll also need an audience of one or preferably quite a few, young listeners.

The Fairy Tale Fan Club by Richard Ayoade illustrated by David Roberts

 

Fairy tales tell of adventure, adversity, courage, and love. But once the tale is told, all we know of our heroes and heroines is that they lived Happily Ever After. But surely there must be more to it than that? Ever After is a long time to be Merely Happy. What are our heroes and heroines doing now? How do they feel about the fantastic events that they encountered? What lessons have they learned? And if they could go back in time, would they do the same things again? Does life seem boring now in comparison, or are they relieved they no longer have to keep their eyes peeled for poisonous apples, fearsome dragons, uncomfortable peas, etc.? For the past few years, the curious among you have been asking these questions and sending them to me, C.C. Cecily, the Senior Secretary of the Fairy Tale Fan Club. I then pass on these communications to the Fairy Folk concerned and await their replies, which I then forward back to the relevant parties. If necessary, I add my own comments and clarifications. - from the introduction by C.C Cecily.

The fairy tales featured in this book are: Little Red Riding Hood; The Emperor's New Clothes; The Princess and the Pea; The Frog Prince; Rapunzel; Rumpelstiltskin; The Little Mermaid; Cinderella; Hansel and Gretel; Jack the Beanstalk; and The elves and the Shoemaker. And there are stories/letters to characters that are not from fairy tales -  Humpty Dumpty (it's a nursery rhyme) and Pinocchio.

Older readers who dip into The Fairy Tale Fan club will probably need to revisit some of the fairy tales especially The Little Mermaid. And they may find some of the vocabulary quite challenging: esteem, solemnizes, sham, gist, propulsive, prowess, and perplexed.

Why did I buy this book? Well, it was bound to happen sometime - I accidentally bought a 'celebrity' book! In fairness to myself this guy is a UK celebrity (not Australian) and there is no indication of his celeb status in the bio notes at the back of this book. Also, in fairness to myself, this book has had some very positive reviews which is how it came to my attention. 

Actor/comedian Ayoade presents a tongue-in-cheek collection of purported letters to and from well-known fairy-tale characters from Western tradition. ... Happily ever after, mortal reader!  Kirkus Star review

At the heart of The Fairy Tale Fan Club is a delightful exploration of friendship and community. As the characters come together to celebrate their love for fairy tales, the story highlights the importance of finding your tribe and sharing passions with others. It’s a heart-warming reminder that connection and collaboration can lead to the most magical adventures! Better Reading

And finally, I do like illustrations by David Roberts such as The Dunderheads and this series by Andrea Beaty.  Oh, and this book was a little cheaper at Gleebooks who generously offered participants at a recent event a 20% discount. 

You will notice I have not given this book any stars. I found it hugely disappointing. I love the idea of what happened after the 'they all lived happily ever after' ending of all classic fairy tales and I also love books that are fractured fairy tales or that innovate on well-known fairy tale stories. Here is my Pinterest. But this book feels as though it is trying too hard and somehow it just didn't work for me.  All this means I won't add this book to my own bookshelves instead I will add it to my book gift box of titles I am taking to a local teacher-librarian network meeting. 

I heartily agree with the comments from this Good Reads reviewer: My main struggle with this book was that I found the intended audience really confusing. The letters are witty - dry wit, oftentimes - as you’d expect from an accomplished comedian like this and much better suited to adult readers (still accessible to a more mature older child perhaps). However, there are also parts which reference a parent might be reading this book to their child, i.e. a much younger child, and the illustrations are certainly geared towards a younger reader too. Equally the very short length and large illustrative component is suggestive of younger readers, so I’m a bit lost as to who this book might be best intended for. 

I had a long discussion recently with a colleague in the Book Bunker library at Westmead children's hospital about celebrity books and about the way so many of them seem to have to mention farts or farting. I think we found over twenty in our small library collection. AND so yes, I am sad to report that The Fairy Tale Fan Club meets these criteria too. At times the humour in this book feels too adult to be included in a children's book. You can read a text extract here. Read this review from Red Reading Hub which begins This is essentially a satirical collection of letters supposedly written to or from well-known fairy tale characters, each with an introduction by the supposed narrator—C.C. Cecily, the Senior Secretary of the Fairy Tale Fan Club. That word SATIRICAL feels like an adult label to me. 

There are two covers above. I prefer the top one but copies of this book here in Australia have the second cover. 

Other (better) fairy tale continuation stories for younger readers:

Who is Richard Ayoade. His photo might seem familiar. You can hear him (and others) reading an audio sample of his book here:

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Tooth Fairy by Briony Stewart

The full title of this book is:

Everything you need to know about the tooth fairy 
(and somethings you didn't)

Begin with the cover. Briony Stewart is a master of movement. Go back and look at her book Gymnastica Fantastica. I love the way the magic is swirling around on this cover and you can almost hear those little sparkles. Now turn to the tooth filled end papers - these really set up the early statistics quoted by Briony:

"Every single minute of every single day, a child somewhere loses a baby tooth. In fact if you put all the children of the world together, they are losing more than 200 teeth a minute - that's 300,000 teeth every day!"

Each page in this book poses and answers an important tooth fairy question such as these (but there are more):

• What's a tooth fairy?
• What do they do with the teeth?
• Why do tooth fairies like children's teeth?
• How do they take your tooth?
• Where do tooth fairies live?
• What happens if I want to keep my tooth?
• Why does the tooth fairy leave different amounts of money? (or sometimes forget to come!)
• How do tooth fairies know when you've lost a tooth?

I am sure we will see this book listed as a 2025 CBCA Notable but will it be in Picture Book or Early Childhood or perhaps even Non Fiction? This book would be a terrific gift and I would also add it to a class mini unit about the tooth fairy. 

Here are some splendid teachers notes written by Dr Robyn Sheahan-Bright and she has included a very extensive reading list with lots of picture books I certainly need to find and read.

Here are my own favourite tooth fairy books. All of these would be great to read alongside or after this new book by Briony Steward:

Oliver Sundew tooth fairy - 

this is long out of print but it is also one of my most favourite books to read aloud

The Tooth Fairy - this is wonderful wordless book

The tooth mouse

It's a Miroocool!

The Grown-up's Guide to Picture Books by Lara Cain Gray illustrated by Timothy Ide and Lorena Carrington

I am going to begin with a couple of quotes:

"Storybooks are our first social mirrors, helping us figure out who we are and where we fit into the world around us. They are also enticing windows through which we begin to discover diverse and imaginary spaces. To put it simply, picture books are really important."

"When you come to the end of a great picture book, you should feel satisfied by its conclusion. You will have found it entertaining or informative. ... You might even want to read the book again or jump back to the best bits. ... If you're sharing the book with a young reader, take plenty of time to talk about it. ... Whatever you do, never, ever, ever stop enjoying picture books, even when you are a grown-up."

I think this next statement may give you an idea about the intended purpose of The Grown-ups guide to Picture Books:

"as grown-ups we tend to think of picture books as simplistic stories, from which our readers should eventually move on towards lengthier, more worthy reading experiences. But did you know that picture book writing requires a range of specialised literary strategies to tell big stories (with the constraint of a limited number of words)."

Lara Cain Gray makes a very important point in her introduction, and it is one I desperately wish she had elaborated on:

"But like all art forms, not all picture books are great picture books."  

Actually, this could also be written as 'not all picture books are great books'. This is a topic I would love to see expanded. 

Before reading The Grown-up's guide to Picture Books, I decided to write my own A to Z about picture books. My list includes topics mentioned by Lara Cain Gray and some she does not discuss. I have more than one word for some letters. If I was refining this to try to fit the model used by Lara Cain Gray I would need to think more carefully about audience.  Lots of reviewers and Lara Cain Gray herself envisage The Grown-up's guide to Picture Books as aimed at teachers and perhaps Teacher-Librarians and of course parents but perhaps this is too broad? And here is another question - so who are the 'grown-ups' from the title?

Here is my list:

A     audience; age; appeal; awards

B     blurb; back cover; (page) breaks

C     connections; celebrity writers; characters; conversations; colour choice

D    design; dust jackets

E    English; endorsements; extending the text; emotion

F    font; family; familiarity; favourites; front cover

G    gutter; go beyond

H    home; half title page

I    imprint information; interactive; interpretation

J    judging

K    kids books in shops

L    lists; libraries; love

M    meaning; mood

N    narrative; nuance

O    open ended; older readers

P    page turns; pace; poetry; plot

Q    quality

R    rhythm and rhyme; read aloud; re-read; revist

S    subtitles; subtext; series; slow down; spot varnish; stickers

T    title; text

U    universal themes

V    vocabulary; visual literacy; value added

W    white space; wordless books

X    extra features

Y    your library

Z     zzz bedtime

Last week I went to an event hosted by Gleebooks where Lara Cain Gray and Lorena Carrington were the guest speakers. Then I spent a couple of sessions reading The Grown-up's guide to Picture Books. It was good to see a few of my topics above did feature in this book but not necessarily under my alphabet suggestion. Using a format like A to Z has both benefits and losses. The benefit is that this is a book you can easily dip into either by flipping the pages or skimming the contents list. The loss is that only 26 topics can be covered. Lara Cain Gray said she made this choice because it is a playful nod to children's books.

Each page in this book reads like an essay or persuasive piece on the topic listed and on many pages I did find myself nodding over the 'wisdom'  she expressed and her colloquial style of writing in this book makes it easy to read and understand. I did, however, find the font size challenging. 

But who is the audience? I am still unsure about this. I would hope that most Teacher-Librarians and public library staff know 'most of this stuff'. If the audience are teachers, rather than presenting them with this book straight away, I would begin with these excellent notes from the publisher (Midnight Sun). These could/should be used for staff professional development. 

There are talking points on every page of The Grown-up's guide to Picture Books - I wonder if anyone has considered producing these as a one-page document for easy access. Again, these could be very useful for classroom teachers. I do worry that some parents (if they are the intended audience) might think reading a picture book has to turn into a comprehension lesson. It is certainly okay to chat about a book and think about your shared experience and hopefully make connection between the story and your life or between the story about other books you have read but it is not the role of a parent to 'teach' a picture book.

What's missing? I really wanted a further reading list and a reference list but perhaps that because I take a more 'academic' approach to a book like this. An example where I wanted to know more was on page 48 where Lara Cain Gray references Michael Hyatt and his PINC method for creating a book title. I did a little digging and found this article. 

Lara Cain Gray and others claim this book is unique as guide for parents. I cannot dispute that but I am fairly sure there are other books that explain the wonders of picture books to parents. I do like these:

Reading Picture Books with Children

Why you should read children's books ... 

Along with talking points each page there are invitations for the reader to look more closely at the illustrations.  Some of these were quite thought provoking but I found a few were a little obscure such as page 20 - "Why is the tortoise eating grapes and what does this choice of food and body language tell you about (his) personality?"  Sadly, I did not find the illustrations in this book very appealing and I did wonder why so many seemed to reference Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and Treasure Island? I am also struggling to 'see' the silverfish on the end papers - sorry.

Going back to my own list of A to Z compared with the one used by Lara Cain Gray. I do wish she had made W for Wordless books. She mentions them several times on other pages but they are so wonderful I wish they had been showcased on a full page. W for white space is interesting but this could be covered on I is for illustrations or S is for spread perhaps. Having said this, I do sadly dispute this statement:

"wordless books are often included amongst the most popular picture books for young readers" page 50

I wish this was true, but I am fairly sure lots of parents have no understanding of the way to read a wordless book or the of the powerful and rewarding stories they contain. Take a look at this blog post. If you are looking for wordless (or as IBBY call them Silent Books) here is my Pinterest.

Some pages contain ideas or an argument that could apply to any children's book not just picture books. It is a totally understandable decision not to include specific examples of children's books. Obviously, they date a book, and how do you choose which books to suggest for example only Australian (I hope not because we can read the BEST books in English from USA, UK, Canada, and New Zealand). But I did want Lara's arguments to come back more often to her topic - Picture Books. T is for title could be about any great book as could U is for underlying and C is for covers.

The pages I thought would give teachers, and perhaps parents, the best understandings about picture books were A is for animals; E is for endpapers; I is for illustrations; L is for language; and R is for repetition. Take a look at this article from ABC Kids about picture books. 

As I mentioned I attended an event about this book last week. Lara Cain Gray is an advocate for Picture Book Activism. This was a new term to me, but I gathered it means seeing picture books in all contexts of a reading diet and not merely a steppingstone to harder, longer books. NCACL was mentioned and so I do hope Lara Cain Gray has dipped into their Picture Books for Older Readers database. (I was one contributor). Lara works for Library for All. I need to discover more about this organisation. Take a look at this article from 2021 about libraries for children. 

Lara Cain Gray penned an impressive article for The Griffith Review. Here are a few quotes:

Picture books are not just for children. When we’re young, they inspire and facilitate our literacy journey, teaching us how words work and what we might expect from a narrative.

The illustrations in a high-quality picture book are constructed with the same melange of creativity, pedagogy and compressed storytelling as the words. Far from being merely decorative or attention-grabbing, they foster visual literacy. Each double-page spread is constructed to evoke a mood. The reader is manipulated by artistic devices such as the use of a specific colour palette or the careful placement of objects within white space. Like a frame of a film or a gallery painting, the pages of a picture book can be read without words and interpreted in different ways by different viewers. When read with the words, the illustrations expand the story, often providing additional information or even a counter-narrative in more playful examples.  

Lara Cain Gray also talked about the way reading a picture book can be a good exercise in mindfulness and that the writing in a picture book is a perfect model of succinct writing of the kind we use when writing grant applications and even Instagram captions. 

You can read more about The Grown-up's guide to Picture Books by following these links:

The Mia Macrossan interview for StoryLinks.

Good Reading - includes author and illustrator details

Reading Time

The Bottom Shelf

The Book Muse

Paperbark words (you can see inside The Grown-up's guide to Picture books here).

Finally I would like to talk about the marketing of this book and the endorsements. Lara Cain Gray and her publisher sent The Grown-up's guide to Picture Books to a number of authors. Their comments (Sophie Mason, Andrea Rowe, Ann James, Jules Faber, Matt Shanks, Peter Carnavas) do set a tone for reading this book but they also conflict (to me) with the idea that this is a book for parents and other adults because these 'big' names will surely mean so much more to Teacher-Librarians but as I already said I desperately hope Teacher-Librarians 'know the stuff' presented in this book. 

So back to my early question - who is the audience for this book? It is of course terrific to open up the conversation about children's books of all kinds. I do hope all 'grown-ups' discover or better yet already know the joy of reading picture books to children of all ages. 

Here is one of Lara's own favourite picture books:

To round off this post here are the A to Z headings from The Grown-up's guide to Picture Books:

A  Animals

B  Baddies

C  Covers

D  Dialogue

E  Endpapers

F Food

G Genre

H  Heroes

I  Illustrations

J Joy

K Kindness

L  Language

M Magic

N  Narrative structure

O  Opening lines

P  Parents

Q Queens (and Kings)

R Repetition

S Spread

T Title

V Versions

W White space

X Xenophobia (and difference and diversity)

Y Yucky stuff

Z Zeitgeist

2024 Speech Therapy Book Awards

The Book of the Year Awards are judged by a panel of Certified Practising Speech Pathologists with specific knowledge and skill in children’s language and literacy development. Each nominated book is judged on its appeal to children, interactive quality and ability to assist speech pathologists and parents in facilitating the development of communication and literacy in children.

Watch the awards announcement video. You can see all the category winners here. 

I previously talked about One Little Duck and Ruby's Repair Cafe.

The 2024 winner is Almost a Fish.

I previously talked about Grace and Mr Milligan and Leo and Ralph.

The 2024 winner is Harriet Hound.

I previously talked about Silver Linings; Being Jimmy Baxter; August and Jones.

The 2024 winner is Being Jimmy Baxter.

Highlighting some past winners. Find each title using my search bar. All of these are sure to be in your local or school library.