I like Animals ... What Jobs are there? by Steve Martin illustrated by Roberto Belfari

 

This book is brilliant!  It is from a series of nine titles called That's a Job? and if I was still in my school library I would want to collect all of them (although sadly I think nearly all of them are now out of print). These books will be enjoyed by readers aged 7+.  Highly, highly recommended. 

Plenty of details to absorb while engaging readers to discover their own perfect careers. Kirkus

I like animals - what are some jobs? I well remember a wonderful student who right from her first days in Kindergarten knew she wanted to be a vet. Last year I found out her dream did come true and she is now studying Veterinary Science at university.  She would have adored this book!  There are the obvious jobs explained here like vet of course and pet shop owner but what about these. There are twenty-five possibilities in this book:

• Dog groomer
• Police dog handler
• Zoo Keeper
• Wildlife film maker
• Marine biologist
• Guide dog trainer
• Pet photographer
• Entomologist
• Animal actor agent
• Pet portrait artist

Each job has a firsthand, first-person description of the role over a day and a best and worst parts of the job information box. At the back of the book you can use a skill, qualities and interest flow chart to find your perfect animal job. 

Aimed at animal loving readers aged 7 and older the illustrated narrative approach tells the story of each career and helps introduce children to the world of work in a playful, engaging way. When they've finished reading, children will have gained an overview of each of the featured jobs and will have discovered that you can turn a passion, an interest or a hobby into a rewarding career. Bookseller blurb

These books were originally published in the UK by Ivy Kids an imprint of The Quarto Group. In the US they are published by Kane Miller. Roberto Blefari is an illustrator and visual designer based in Turin, Italy.  It is interesting the way the books all have a similar style of illustration even though there are several illustrators who have worked on this series. Tom Woolley is one for example and he is an illustrator based in Birmingham, UK. Here are the other books in the series.

One Word from Sophia by Jim Averbeck and Yasmeen Ismail

Sophia knows exactly the right gift for her Birthday - a giraffe -  but she has four big problems. Her mother, her father, her Uncle Conrad and her Grand-mama. Sophia will not be defeated. She presents her appropriate arguments to each family member in turn.

Mother is a judge.
Father is a businessman
Uncle Conrad is a politician
Grand-mama is very strict

Sophia explains to her mother, in a long sophisticated speech sounding like a barrister in the court, that a giraffe could deliver her safely to ballet. She then explains to her father, in a pragmatic and business-like way, giraffes are a good source of manure which could be sold for a profit. For Uncle Conrad Sophia conducts a poll with her toys.  I love her results - two toys strongly agree with her proposition 'Ballerinas should ride giraffes to school.' Two others also agree but pony boy disagrees!

With each presentation Sophia uses a variety of tools such as a slideshow, graphs, a survey, and a pie chart. Her case seems compelling but each family member says no with their own words:

"your argument was too verbose."
"your presentation was far too effusive."
"And besides your report was far too loquacious."

Tutu-wearing Sophia packs determination, whimsy, and aplethora of strategies to handle a passel of impressive words.  One small, vivacious, loquacious little browngirl dreams of her One True Desire: a pet giraffe for her birthday. Kirkus Star

There are days when I pick up a book that is just SO GOOD I gasp in delight. One Word from Sophia is a superb book! This is a book about the power of words, the importance of perseverance and optimism all delivered by a little girl who will make you cheer and smile.  Look this review - Five reasons to get One word from Sophia.

This is a book that should be in EVERY Primary School library and I would add it to a High School collection too. Jim Averbeck has a set of teaching ideas on his web page. You can see the distinctive art style of Yasmeen Ismail here. You can see Jim talking about his book here.

One Word from Sophia really plays with words and hints at the power of words. It also shows many ways that information can be shared in an effort to persuade. Obviously, this makes it an excellent book to share when teaching about persuasion, persuasive writing, revision, or about advertising/marketing. The book is also a great romp to simply be enjoyed. Reading Through Life

The library which I visit each week employ a delightful idea. They add a small sticker to books that the library staff especially love - "Our Picks".  As a regular library user I really appreciate these stickers because the very special books that have a little "Our Picks" sticker are generally utter treasures. There are about 350 of them so I keep my eyes open when I am browsing hoping to spot one to borrow.

Good news there are two more books that feature feisty little Sophia - I love her!

Due for release in June 2020

I talked about Yasmeen Ismail in a previous post - Christmas for Greta and Gracie was my top Christmas book last year.

Bureau of Weights and Measures by Anne-Gaelle Balpe illustrated by Vincent Mahe

I have been wrapping books for our IBBY International Children's Book day event. The Bureau of Weights and Measures will be in one of our raffle book bundles but I wanted to talk about it here before I pop it into the parcel.

I ADORE this book. I am so excited that I have discovered it. Why?

• It's a book that has been translated, in this case from French. I always think books from other contexts and cultures have an extra wow factor.
• This is a book that explores emotions - a topic of importance to me.
• I love the retro colour palette of blue, orange, green and cream and the tall format.
• At it's heart this is a book about problems and solutions and it is also about repairing mistakes.
• Marcel and his son have a brilliant relationship.
• You could share this book with a young child 6+ and also with an older group because there is so much to discuss.

Here is the first page:

"My dad's name is Marcel Gramme. He is an engineer at the Bureau of Weights and Measures. Every day he confirms that one gram weights exactly one gram, that one metre is exactly a metre, that one degree of temperature is exactly one degree, and that three plus three still equals six."

It is true that there are lots of things in the world that you can measure and it is important that these measurements are accurate and reliable but what about things like sadness, smiles, love, jealousy and greed. How do we measure these?

Marcel is sure there must be a way so he works on some new measuring instruments and his son gives the units of measurement inventive and wonderful sounding names:

Smile - measured using a compass and measured in yippees, centi-yippees, milli-yippees
Sadness - measured using a cryometre and measured in sniffebels from three hundred to thirty giga-snifflebels.
Love - measured with a combination metronome and stethoscope and measured in kilopassion units.

Of course things don't quite go as planned and human foibles and failings take over. People start to complain that their partners, children and friends do not measure up.  Marcel and his son decide to ask everyone to return the new measuring instruments but rather than just dispose of them Dad has a brilliant idea. By the way did you notice the little joke in dad's name?

Here is a review with more details. Take a look at the art of Vincent Mahe.

If you want to create a mini theme around this book then these two titles would be absolutely perfect:

Teachers notes:  http://www.wilkinsfarago.com.au/Dad_teachers_notes.pdf

The plant sitter by Gene Zion illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham

First off a warning - The Plant Sitter is a very old (1959) book and so it is out of print.  Many months ago I stumbled across this illustration by Margaret Bloy Graham and I liked it so much I used it as my ipad screen image.  I knew Margaret Bloy Graham from her glorious Harry the Dirty dog books but until today I did not know which book contained this picture.

With Summer holidays approaching this is a book to share.  "You said I could do whatever I liked this summer because we weren't going away on holiday."  Tommy is an enterprising boy.  He finds a job as a plant sitter and he gets a penny a day for each plant.  You can see in the picture above he will be making lots of money!  He also a boy who knows how to care for plants :

"He put those that needed shade on the shady side - and those that needed sun on the sunny side. He watered them carefully - some a lot - and others just a little."

The plants grow and grow and take over the house but Tommy is also a problem solver.  He heads off to the library, reads a book or two about plants and comes home knowing how to propagate cuttings.  When the plant owners return from their holiday they collect their thriving plants and Tommy is able to give baby plants to all the children.  His father has not coped with having a jungle in his house but when it is gone he realises he liked them.  "It was like being in the country ... How about a holiday ... And the very next day they went to the country."

Here is a generous review with many of the pages.  On this blog the author links three books together with a gardening theme.  Here is the Kirkus star review.

Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

"One minute I was twelve years old and wondering where I could get enough money for an inner tube for my old used ten-speed. I didn't have any money and my parents didn't have much either ... The next minute, it seems, I've got a business of my own, with employees, and I'm rich."

This is such a terrific and very short book and it is an excellent way to learn about economics oddly enough.  Lawn Boy is given a old ride-on mower for his birthday.  When a neighbour sees him mowing the family front lawn he asks Lawn Boy (as the narrator we do not learn his name) to mow his yard and so the business begins.  One day, as he is mowing, a man called Arnold comes over and makes a deal. He cannot pay Lawn Boy but he can invest money in the stock exchange.  " ... if the company does well the shares go up in value and you sell the to someone else and make money."  I did panic at this idea of course.  I imaged our hero would be left with no money at all.  I think I need to tell you by the end of the summer, working with a great team including a boxer, he makes close to $480,000!

Take a look at some of the chapter headings in this book :

• The Principles of Economic Expansion
• The Growth of Capitalism
• The Law of Increasing Product demand versus Flat Production Capacity
• Labor acquisition and its effect on Capital Growth
• Business and the art of Creative Misrepresentation

The character I really like in Lawn Boy is Grandma.  She seems to speak in riddles but really she is a voice of wisdom.  The final sentence is Lawn Boy will confirm this but meanwhile here is how our narrator introduces her :

"My grandmother is the kind of person who always thinks that no matter how bad things might seem, everything will always come out all right.  Her hair could be on fire and she'd probably say, "Well, at least we have a light to read by."

Lawn Boy would be a terrific book to read to a Grade 5 or 6 class.  Our senior students have read Hatchet so they are familiar with Gary Paulsen.

Here are some reviews you might like to read
Literary Lady
The Big Bad Book Blog
Kirkus

Listen here to an audio sample.  Here are some ideas teachers might use as a way to present a quick book talk about Lawn Boy thanks to the wonderful Nancy Keane.  Here is an extensive set of teaching notes.

My copy of Lawn boy has a very appealing double cover which you can see here.  You lift the green flap to reveal the full cover as seen above.