Vicky and June: Friends at Play

This 64- page, early chapter book, shares five short stories

about these two friends. Short sentence structure,

repetitive elements, and accessible vocabulary

make this book a wonderful choice for

​kids learning to read on their very own. Patricia Toht

Yes this book does have short sentences, accessible vocabulary etc but forget about that - it is not a reader - this book is a real story that young, newly independent readers are sure to enjoy and laugh over and perhaps even relate to as these unlikely friends - hedgehog (June) and squirrel (Vicky) discover that it is okay to like different things - blue or red, cake or biscuits, reading or playing, and follow the leader or hide and seek. Going back to those colour differences - wait a minute red and blue make purple - that's a great colour too!

You may know that I am always on the look out for junior or beginner or easy chapter books with satisfying stories and hopefully full colour illustrations. The Vicky and June series fit these criteria. Yes, these books are a little expensive here in Australia (AUS$18) but if you can find the money I highly recommend you consider adding these to your library.

Bookseller blurb: Join Vicky and June - the very best of friends - as they play, chat and laugh together in this first book in a charming new chapter book series from beloved author Patricia Toht. Vicky the squirrel likes games that are loud and fast, like follow the leader (and she's always the leader). June the hedgehog prefers to read, or play quiet games like hide and seek. But Vicky thinks June is a little too good at hiding! Vicky and June like different things, but they are best friends, and best friends can always find something they both enjoy. ... Vicky and June's beautifully illustrated adventures are full of warmth, humour and sweet, treasured moments. Join these best friends as they explore their cosy woodland world across four charming chapters in the first book in this brand-new series. Perfect to read aloud together, or for children who are just starting to read by themselves.

The second book in this series is coming soon:

Bear and Bird: The Secret and other stories by Jarvis

The List - Bear is upset that everyone else has a great nickname. In a moment of temper she writes a list of really awful names about her friend Bird. Rabbit arrives and offers to do the shopping and somehow the two lists are mixed up. How lucky because Bird gets the shopping list and wait till you see what happened to the nasty list.

The Lasagna - it is okay to like different things. Bird likes tambourines, a film about worms on holiday and the sounds of eating banana. The friends can't seem to agree so they decide to write their own lists of things they don't like. The contents of their lists are hilarious - slug slime shampoo; the word serious; that book about an alligator with false teeth and the word armadillo. Can the friends resolve their differences?

Secrets - this one ends with a Birthday Party! I reminded me of Pat Hutchins The Surprise Party; Max Velthuis Frog and the Surprise Party and Got to get to Bears. Take a look at this post.

The tree - this is a story about how (not) to play Hide and Seek. (Click that label attached to this post to find lots more hide and seek stories).

Publisher blurb: Best friends Bear and Bird may not always understand each other, but they always want the other to be happy. So when Bird feels left out because Bear has given a cute nickname to everyone but her, she’s relieved when her hasty list of names for Bear doesn’t reach him (Stinky Sock Muffin, anyone?). And when the two of them learn they have zero dislikes in common—from lasagna to chess to the word armadillo—and wonder if they can still be friends, they soon realize there’s one important dislike they can both agree on. Whether the challenge is being hopeless at keeping a secret (Bear), or getting befuddled about the rules for hide-and-seek (Bear again), this ever-endearing pair continue to charm in a sixth set of gentle stories.

Take a look at my previous post about the author illustrator Jarvis.

The world needs more books like this! The Bear and Bird series are written for newly independent readers who need to read real books not 'readers'. They contain short chapters which are self-contained stories and even better they have glorious colour illustrations. If you work in a Primary School library, please please pop this book series onto your shopping list. They only cost around AUS$16 each so for less then $100 you will have six splendid books to share with your young readers. 

Here are the titles in order: 

• Bear and Bird: The Picnic and Other Stories
• Bear and Bird: The Stars and Other Stories
• Bear and Bird: The Adventure and Other Stories
• Bear and Bird: The Stick and Other Stories
• Bear and Bird: The Cave and Other Stories
• Bear and Bird: The Secret and Other Stories

Plus a picture book - The Cloud: A Bear and Bird

Blurb: When Bear arrives at the Woody Woods for the first time, he is looking for a friend. But it seems like all the friends are already taken. Then he meets Bird, who is looking for something, too—the Puffy Fluffy Octopus Cloud! Bear decides to help her look for it, and so begins an unexpected adventure . . . Will they ever find that octopus-shaped cloud? 

Perhaps they might find something even better!

Where to Hide a Star by Oliver Jeffers

"Once there was a boy ... and together with his two friends ... he would often play hide-and-seek."

Boy does the counting because, well he is the only one of the trio who can actually count! It is clear early on that star is not very good at hiding and penguin always hides in the same place but nevertheless the three friends enjoy the routines of their game. Until ...  

Somehow (your young reading companion will see how this happened but the boy doesn't know) star is left behind and because he has been placed in a small rowing boat it is clear he will be more than just lost he will be washed far away. The scene where we see this happening is filled with drama and terror. 

Penguin and boy search high and low but star is nowhere to be found. The boy knows they need extra help, so he calls on his friend the Martian. Will they be able to find star? Where has he gone? Oh, and there is another problem - the girl who finds him would like to keep him as her friend too? How can this dilemma be resolved so everyone is happy? The second last illustration in this book is one to linger over. 

Now go back and find the first book where we meet star:

Reading Where to Hide a Star you are, I'm sure, going to think of the other book by Oliver Jeffers - Lost and Found which is where we meet Penguin.

Then I made this discovery. I have not read or seen the last two books mentioned here: HarperCollins Children’s Books published Jeffers’ debut, How to Catch a Star, in 2004 after it was discovered in a pile of unsolicited manuscripts. It was the first in a series of bestselling books featuring the boy and the penguin, including Lost and Found (2005), The Way Back Hom (2007) and Up and Down (2010).

There is a quality of a truly special picture book that comes when you think you know exactly where a story is going (and perhaps you are right) but the journey to arrive at that all important poignant and emotionally satisfying happy ending contains a surprise or two. I think it is essential for every school library to have all of these books and what a wonderful reading experience this would be for a class of young children to read one each day! And at the end of this fifth book I am sure you will agree there is room for another story. Certainly you will want to talk about what might happen next? Surely the boy will meet his new friend - a young Inuit girl - again. 

"I could barely remember how to paint the boy and the penguin, but once my watercolours were dusted off for first time since the last time these characters were painted, the colour combinations, techniques and brushstrokes all came back to me like a forgotten part of myself. It felt like a reunion with long lost family. Then to be able to continue the momentum of this old familiar world into new territory felt exciting enough to remind me of the time I made How to Catch A Star 20 years ago, and hopefully a whole new generation of kids will share that excitement", said Jeffers. 

Like Jeffers’ other boy-related tales, this one is distinguished by its tone; the author/illustrator excels at cultivating a rose-hued melancholy sweetness that will linger long after the book is closed. The palette of the textured watercolors changes according to location and emotion, with the firmament above appearing in a striking final black-and-white culmination. A gratifying story of loving and letting go. Kirkus

You can hear the author Oliver Jeffers (who was born in Australian but lives in Ireland) reading a tiny sample of his book here. 

You could explore a mini theme of books about the game of hide and seek. This is a fabulous choice because it is such a universal game and also it is a game that very tiny children play in the simplest way by hiding their eyes or seeing an adult carer hide their eyes to play peek-a-boo!

The Best Hiding Place

Molly, Olive and Dexter

The Snow Lion

Fish and Sun

Zola's Elephant by Randall de Seve illustrate by Pamela Zagarenski

This book - Zola's elephant is a feast for the eyes. Zola has a big box and our narrator is sure there is an elephant inside. She can smell fresh hot toast and this confirms her idea because she know elephants love hot toast. Our narrator goes on to imagine all the things Zola might be doing with her elephant - taking a bubble bath, playing hide and seek, building a cubby house and more. 

Eventually she knocks on Zola's door.

"Okay, so maybe Zola doesn't have an elephant. But do you know what she does have?"

YES a new friend! and someone to share your wild imagination. 

This book contains a riot of colour and a riot of images. You and your young reading companion will most certainly want to linger over every page. This is also a book you are sure to return to many times. Take time to notice the scrumptious end papers and the hot air balloons which are a trademark image by Pamela Zagarenski. Also look for all the crowns. Hopefully you will find this book in your school or local library. It was published in 2018 and so is now sadly out of print. 

When Zola moves into the house next door, a young girl imagines all of the reasons why a friendship between them is impossible. Kirkus Star review

Bookseller blurb: Illustrated by two-time Caldecott-honor winning artist Pamela Zagarenski, this tender, witty friendship story of imagination gone wild, by New York Times bestselling author Ranall de Seve, shows how assumptions often cause us to misjudge - and miss out. But with a little courage, new opportunities and new friendships can be made. When Zola moves into the neighbourhood, her new next-door neighbour is too shy to go over and introduce herself. Plus, Zola already has a friend to play with - an elephant! What we imagine is not always true, as the little girl discovers. Luckily, she also discovers that being brave can lead to new friendships - and even richer imaginary worlds - in this heartwarming book about friendship, moving, and the power of imagination.

Here is the web site for Randall de Seve. She lives in New York city. Here is an interview with Randall and Pamela. In this post from Seven Impossible Things before Breakfast you can see many examples of art by Pamela Zagarenski.

You may have seen greeting cards by Pamela Zagarenski. I have gifted these to many friends over the year. 

Hide me, Kipper! by Mick Inkpen

A small squeaky mouse comes running up to Kipper. He jumps into the 'foldy bit' in the middle of the page. He needs to hide because the cat is after him. The mouse is safe for now but then Kipper suggests hiding in his messy toy box. Kipper cleverly distracts the cat with his Sock Thing which has a mouse-shaped bulge down one end. Next the mouse tries to hide on Kipper's head under his ears but that doesn't work. 

The cat spies the mouse. Kipper holds on to the mouse and runs to the top of Big Hill but unfortunately he drops the little mouse and he ...

"went tumbling all the way back down Big Hill straight into the paws of you know who. 'Gotcha!' said the cat."

Spoiler alert - the cat does not eat the mouse - have you guessed why? Go back and think about the title.

I picked up this Kipper book at a recent charity book sale. It is in mint condition with no markings and only cost $1. That's why I love going to these fairs. This book was published in 2008 but it is still available.  Someone probably bought this as a gift for a child. Hopefully it was read but perhaps only once and then it has sat on a shelf waiting to go to the fair in 2024 and now onto me and from me onto a lucky grandchild.

I am a massive fan of the Kipper books. They have just the right amount of text, very appealing illustrations, a dog character that everyone loves, and they do contain very satisfying stories. This one even has a 'gasp' moment when your young reading companion will think the tiny mouse is sure to be eaten by the cat. This book also cleverly 'breaks the fourth wall.'

The Snow Knows by Jennifer McGrath illustrated by Josée Bisaillon

The snow knows

Where the rabbit goes

The snow knows

Where the pheasant sleeps ...

The snow knows where the porcupine ponders

and where the weasel bounds up and down.

Australian children who read this book will encounter lots of unfamiliar animals - and that is one of the joys of this simple tale. Each page also works like a game of hide and seek where your young reading companion can see a small visual hint of the creature on the next page. Lynx, otter, fox, partridge and coyote. I especially love the trees in the illustrations which I think might be larch. This is a perfect book to share on a cold winter day (even though here in Sydney we do not have snow!)

See more illustrations here

Here is the website for the illustrator Josée Bisaillon.  The Snow Knows is the winner of the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award. I was excited to see many previous winners have been featured here on my blog. I have put a few at the bottom of this post. 

This is a Canadian picture book published in 2016. It is a title from our Premier's Reading Challenge K-2 list [603347]. This book also contains examples of alliteration and onomatopoeia.

A beautiful book, destined to be a perennial winter favourite, and read aloud by a crackling fire. CBC

Previous winners of the Marilyn Baillie Picture book award from this blog. Pop any title into my search bar for more details. 

To the Other Side by Erika Meza

También de este lado hay sueños
"There are dreams on this side too."

A big sister tells her younger sibling they are playing a game. The pair, and all their 'friends' don masks and they set off careful to avoid the monsters and knowing it is vital that they are not caught.

"She promised the masks would hide us. Make us fast. Make us brave. It's like tag. If the monsters catch you, you're out. 'We win the game when we cross the line.' Everyone was racing to see who could get there faster."

So where are these kids going? And why? And who are the monsters?

"We thought hard of what we might win. 'A home!' 'A really big school!' 'A spotty dog!' "A pair of shiny red shoes."

Take a look at this list - a home? This might be your first hint something bigger and way more serious is going on here. And in the illustrations, we see the children and others are running and then they are on a bus, a raft and train. But they are not riding in the train they are on the roof. This is another hint about the real reason for this 'game'. 

"This isn't a game ... is it?' I asked."

Finally you reach the last page - which contains the back matter for this story:

"There are currently 13 million child refugees in the world. Every year tens of thousands of children leave their homes, sometimes with their families, and sometimes alone, in search of a safter place to live."

Now go back and notice tiny details in the illustrations: the boy's mask eyes can close but his sister's eyes are always wide open. There are bars everywhere (anticipating immigration detention) even the game of hopscotch ends in a chalk set of bars that looks suspiciously like the US flag. The village they leave (flee) is on fire. There are black, evil looking figures watching them the whole way. The children only have their small backpacks. As they jump off the train, it turns into a monster. 

I was chilled to see crosses drawn on the wall and you can see the words written on the wall at the top of this post. This journey is truly one of life and death. And on the final pages, even though they have reached safety and have a new life, the sister still holds onto her mask. And there is a whole discussion that needs to be had about the colour choices and use colour in this book. 

This is one of the most interesting picture books I have read in a long time. As an adult reader it is clear this book is dealing with a devasting journey and deep themes of the plight of refugees and border crossings especially from Mexico into the US.  Betsy Bird said: I don’t know how this book got made. I mean, I know the rudimentary basics behind it. I know how an author would write out a proposal and, if they were also an artist, draw some sketches. What I don’t know is how a person can look at a topic as impossible to encapsulate as child migrants moving across the U.S.-Mexico border and then know how to write a picture book on the subject.... when I read To the Other Side by Erika Meza, I was floored. With care and invention, she’s actually managed to tell a migrant story that is both literal and figurative, realistic and metaphorical, and does so with honesty and more than a bit of cleverness.

A gorgeously rendered, heartbreaking look at one family’s immigration experience. Kirkus Kirkus Star review

To The Other Side, written and illustrated by Erika Meza, is an allegorical picture book that gently addresses child and family migration with compassion and empathy. Meza skillfully balances the challenging aspects of the immigrant experience, presenting it as an adventure or game, while acknowledging the emotional complexity behind colorful masks worn by the kids on this journey. Common Sense Media

Yes, this particular story is of crossing from Mexico to the U.S. but with more and more asylum-seeking children from various parts of the world being welcomed into homes and schools in the UK, this book is highly relevant here and wherever else there are immigrants. Strongly recommended for sharing in primary schools to open up discussion. Books for Keeps

Awards:

• Shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration 2024
• Shortlisted for the Jhalak Children's & Young Adult Prize 2024
• Empathy Collection title
• 2024 Inclusive Books for Children

I would share To the Other Side with older primary students aged 10+ and it would be a perfect text for a High School class. There is sure to be a lot of discussion with the group about the story and themes of this book. This is not a book to read and discard. It is a book that needs careful reading and deep thought. The copy I borrowed from a school library is not shelved with their picture books - it is in the non-fiction [325] which is the Dewey number for International Migration. Decisions like this are important and must be based around your library users (staff and students). In my former school, for example, I had a shelving bay with Picture Books for Older readers (Grade 5 and 6) which is where I would place this book.

About the author: Erika Meza was born in Mexico and developed a taste for eclairs in Paris before moving to the UK to teach drawing. She won a scholarship to study in L'Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs, where she learned to combine bold colour and mark-making with poetry.

Companion books:

Read more about each of these books about crossing the border from Mexico to the US

Above all else, these stories showcase the humanity of the people who risk everything to seek refuge in the United States. More than providing insight into someone else’s reality, in these stories immigrant children can also see their own stories reflected back at them—

stories of fortitude, resilience, joy, and sorrow.

Read more here.

Kirkus Star review

Please take a minute to watch this video of Erika Meza talking about her book. In this radio interview Erika talks about her use of masks in this book. 

Here are other books by Erika Meza:

By chance today I was talking to a friend and she mentioned a former student from my previous school. Take a look at this article written by lawyer and journalist Claire McMullen about the plight of families trying to cross the border from Guatemala into the US. I was thrilled to see her success as a lawyer and journalist and impressed a school kid from suburban Australia is tackling big topics just like the one covered in this book. 

The Snow Lion by Jim Helmore illustrated by Richard Jones

"Where did you come from?' Caro asked. 

'Oh, here and there,' said the lion."

Caro and her mum have moved. The new house is white - very white. In fact, it is so white that when the lion stands beside the wall he disappears. On that first glorious day the new friends enjoy many games of hide and seek. Caro sees other kids playing outside - boys playing with a kite. She is too shy to wave to them but later the lion suggests a visit to the park (the slide there is great fun) and when she gets there, she meets the kite boy. His name is Bobby. With encouragement from the lion Caro gradually gains courage and is able to make a new friend. They even share a chocolate cake! But there is a twist. Mum decides to paint all the walls in their white house in bright colours. What will happen to the snow lion? Can Caro survive without her wonderful friend? Does he really need to go? Wait until you see the final page!

A well-crafted tale about healthy adaptation to new environs merges with superb artwork. Kirkus Star review

What makes this book extra special is the way in which the text and illustrations work together. The darkness of the opening pages as Caro and her mother arrive in the night and then the stark whiteness of the house in the first days help to convey the feelings of the characters so well. When the lion arrives he stands out on a page of warm orange. The Snow Lion himself although kindly and reassuring has a quiet dignity and authority about him too; a little like a wise and thoughtful parent. Book Bag

One of our large book chain stores has pulled all the 'old' books off their children's books shelves. You probably know I love to think about the extra details on book price stickers. The Snow Lion has 'languished' on their shelves since July 2018. I do wonder why. It is a paperback book, and the full price was only AUS$15. I was lucky of course to pick this up for 50% off. This is a very special book to share with a young child. The story has a gentle 'message' about making new friends and courage and the illustrations are truly special. 

The best books always use every opportunity to add to their story. Take a look at the title page from The Snow Lion - so much of the story can be anticipated here.

Here is an interview with Jim Helmore about his book and you can also see other pages. Here is his web page. I am also a fan of his Stripy Horse series. His first book was Letterbox Lil - a collaboration with his wife Karen Wall. And here is the web page for Richard Jones. I am very keen to see his new book - Quiet. The Iron Robin looks good too. 

I have already talked about and read many other books illustrated by Richard Jones:

Little Bear

Whale in a Fishbowl

The Seed of Doubt

Bird Builds a Nest