Stan the Van Man by Philip Webb illustrated by Emma Vere-Jones

 

This is not an earth-shattering book or perhaps even one you need to rush out and read or buy for your library but IF you can find Stan the Van Man it contains an interesting and important story about literacy even though the rhyming singsong style text might drive an adult reader slightly crazy. I am sure young children will enjoy the chaos and funny parcel deliveries and perhaps discover that some adults can have literacy problems. 

Stan volunteers to drive the mail van to help the desperate Post Office owner Miss Mickle. There are heaps of parcels that need to be delivered but along the way Stan also meets people who need his help - a little boy is stuck up a tree and a man needs help with his broken-down car. Once he has helped them, he starts to deliver the parcels but somehow everyone gets the wrong delivery. 

Mrs Vine gets a skateboard, kneepads and a hat; Guy gets two squeaky cat toys; Mr McDrew gets a pink toy horse on a pull along stand; and Miss Brock doesn't find her sunscreen but instead it is a bottle of tomato sauce. Oh, and perhaps worst of all Professor John Moore opens his parcel and finds a pair of frilly ladies' underpants!

Everyone races down to the post office to complain. Then we discover the problem:

"Stan's face went bright red and he lowered his head. 'I've not learned to read,' he replied. ... 'Here's the van key. This job's not for me,' and he turned and walked out the of the door."

How do the people feel? How do they react? Is there something they can do for Stan? Oh, and it fun to think about the way no one swapped their parcels back to the right owner - I wonder what the professor is doing with those undies?

Stan the Van man was published in 2015 by Scholastic in New Zealand - so it might be in your local school library as I imagine it was offered on their book club or in a standing order. 

Blurb from illustrator web page: Miss Mickle’s Post Shop is in chaos. Her van driver has walked off the job, the parcel sack is overflowing and there’s no-one to deliver the mail. When her neighbour Stan offers to help out, Miss Mickle thinks he could be her knight in shining armour. But Stan’s hiding a secret… he can’t read. And now it seems his secret might throw Miss Mickle’s postal service into even more chaos than before… Told in rhyming verse, Stan the Van Man was the recipient of the 2014 Storylines Joy Cowley Award. With illustrations by Philip Webb, this is a heart warming tale recommended for children aged 4-8- or anyone who wants to celebrate the joy of reading.

Companion book (same theme but a more powerful story):

Mr George Baker

Raising Readers: How to nurture a child's love of books revised edition by Megan Daley

In March 2019 I talked about the first edition of this book Raising Readers by Queensland Teacher-Librarian Megan Daley.

Raising Readers (2019)

Fast forward six years and Megan has revised and updated her book which I see was reprinted in 2022 and 2023. The first edition had 246 pages the new one has 266 pages so clearly there is more content.

Just perusing the table of contents, I can see some of her changes. Chapter 2 Reading and School has been given a fairly big makeover; Chapter 10 in the original edition is now Chapter 4 - Picture Books (Reading the visuals). Her list of genres now includes Narrative Non Fiction. Not surprisingly the chapter entitled Multimodal Reading now has the addition of podcasts (you probably know Megan is part of a team that present a podcast entitled "Your kids next read").

That is all I am going to say as a comparison between the two editions of this important book except to say the booklists contain lots of new titles and many of the expert voices have changed. Here are a few text quotes (different from the ones I shared previously) that resonated with me:

"Books that your child has chosen from the school library are for sharing with a loved adult and are usually a read-aloud experience until your child is reading independently. Even then reading aloud to your child is something I encourage well into the upper primary years and beyond."

"Why anyone would want to leave picture book behind is beyond me. They are works of art and the best way I know to enhance and teach visual literacy. The language in picture books is often complex and the storylines sophisticated and thought-provoking." My words - keep reading picture books to all ages even at a senior high school level - click on my sidebar label Senior Picture Book. And the best picture books are filled with amazing art (illustrations) too.

"Many of us know from anecdotal evidence that sustained and regular reading as well as reading for pleasure, contributes to positive academic outcomes. ... We want young people to be highly literate and critical consumers of words; from the novels they read to environmental signage on the streets to marketing images and the analysis required for understanding of complex ethical issues."

"Narrative non-fiction is particularly well-suited for children because it taps into their natural curiosity and love for stories and it can make complex subjects more accessible."

"Readers require sustained concentration to read and make meaning from literature. They need time to reflect and appreciate the nuances in language; we might call this deep reading, or slow reading or mindful reading ... Many readers have experienced times when they suddenly realise they have lost many hours in a good book having been in a state of 'flow'. Megan concludes chapter 12 with a short list of books that encourage mindful practices. (My friend has over 180 books to read if you are exploring mindfulness). 

Megan talks over a few pages about Wordless Books. IBBY celebrate these with fabulous collections which are used with refugee children on the island of Lampedusa. Read more here and take a look at my Pinterest which is always expanding (sorry to confuse you with a different term IBBY call these 'Silent Books' even though we know they are far from silent!

If you own this book (or the earlier edition) make a copy of pages 4-5 (new edition) and include that copy if you are gifting books to a family with a new baby. 

Thanks to University of Queensland Press (UQP) for sending me an advance copy of Raising Readers. When you click the publisher link you can read an extract from Raising Readers and also see some past review comments.  The new edition will be published at the end of July 2025. If you need a gift for a family or to celebrate the arrival of a new baby grab this book to add to your gift. If your library has the first edition of Raising Readers consider updating to the new edition. If you have not seen the earlier edition quickly add this new book to your own book wish list. This, as I said in my previous post, is an easy book to read with practical ideas for your school library and for your home.

You might like to visit a previous post of mine from last week which is a further exploration of some issues raised in Megan Daley's Book - The Final Chapter.

CBCA Tasmania (Used with permission)

The Pickpocket and the Gargoyle by Lindsay Eager

There are a host of very different characters in this splendid book. The setting feels like an ancient European city such as Paris or Rome and the unfinished cathedral, which has several gargoyles on the roof, is so well described I felt as though I was roaming right through the city and standing on the cathedral while I 'lived' through the whole year covered by this story. The descriptions of the sights, sounds and smells are so vivid. The derelict cathedral is at the centre of the story. It was built one hundred years ago in Odierne and is apply named Cathedral Sans Nom. A huge gargoyle observes the life of the city. He is not alone on the top of this building, but the other gargoyles are on the opposite side facing east and they shun him. Our alternate chapter narrator is the gargoyle facing west. One evening a young woman holding a tiny baby, climbs up to the roof of the ruined building in an attempt to escape the police. When she is finally cornered, she jumps into the river clutching her tiny baby. Eight years have now passed by the gargoyle still feels so much pain. His job is to protect but he failed to protect the mother and child. But what can he do. He is a gargoyle. He cannot move and he cannot talk, except to the pigeons who try to roost in his open mouth. He is powerless and deeply sad. 

Then we meet Duck. Duck is rescued as a tiny baby girl from the Saluire, the river that runs through the city. She is taken in by a gang of pickpockets and petty criminals all of whom are really children themselves. The gang call themselves Crowns. Duck does not know this yet but it is not a coincidence that the gang have moved into Odierne. The gang leader Gnat (this is the most perfect name for him) organises for Duck to work for Griselde as a baker's apprentice. His scheme is to have Duck steal bread and money to pass onto the Crowns each Saturday at the market. But Duck has a destiny. It is clear from the beginning she has a talent for baking and for creating delicious flavor combinations especially with her favourite herb - rosemary.

As I said at the beginning of this post, each of the characters in this book is so well drawn. Baker Griselde is a huge woman with enormous patience and good sense. Her journeyman Petrus is a thin suspicious figure who is always watching Duck. In the gang Ash, is both Duck's rescuer and her one true friend. Gnat, leader of the Crowns, revels in the power he wields over this group of young orphans but Duck has learnt to watch his face closely and from time to time she sees tiny hints of his true character and yearning to know about his own past and possible family. As for Duck, it is a joy to watch her transformation from a timid, almost silent child, into a young girl who learns to read, to bake and who gains enough confidence to question Gnat especially now he seems to be conspiring with the dangerous rival gang the Red Swords. 

Publisher blurb: Fished from the river as an infant and raised by a roving band of street urchins who call themselves the Crowns, eight-year-old Duck keeps her head down and her mouth shut. It’s a rollicking life, always thieving, always on the run – until the ragtag Crowns infiltrate an abandoned cathedral in the city of Odierne and decide to put down roots. It’s all part of the bold new plan hatched by the Crowns’ fearless leader, Gnat, to ensure the Crowns always have a steady supply of food and money. But no sooner is Duck apprenticed to the kindly local baker than her allegiances start to blur. Who is she really: a Crown or an apprentice baker? And who does she want to be? Meanwhile, high above the streets of Odierne, on the roof of the unfinished cathedral, an old and ugly gargoyle grows weary of waiting to fulfil his own destiny to watch and protect. Told in alternating viewpoints, this exquisite novel evokes a timeless tale of love, self-discovery, and what it means to be rescued.

I have had this book on my to read pile for many months. I picked it up a couple of times but the opening prelude to the story didn't quite grab me. This book has 448 pages and so I did keep pushing it to the bottom of the pile until this week. I did take the whole week to read this book but near the end I devoured the final chapters because they were so gripping. I was desperately hoping Duck would finally find her true place in the world even though Gnat had so horribly used and betrayed her.  After reading this book (or perhaps listening to an audio version if one is made) you will want to head off to your own local bakery so you can also devour some delicious breads in as many different forms and flavours as you can find. I recommend this book for keen readers who have good reading stamina aged 10+.

Here is an excellent review by Margot Hillel for Reading Time:

This is a book about loyalty and choices, particularly having one’s loyalty tested when required to choose sides. It is also about belonging and community; about what makes a home and what constitutes a family. It is a multi-layered book that will benefit from discussion in a class but is also a rich, individual reading experience.

"The craft of the baker is described in mouth-watering detail, and the reader gains some insight into how medieval guilds might have operated. ... Those interested in historical fiction (with a touch of magical realism) will enjoy this one." Reading Time Margaret McKay-Lowndes March, 2023.

Companion books:

The Threads of Magic

A Very Unusual Pursuit

I Like Books by Anthony Browne

Tuesday Treasure

I Like Books (1988) is surely the perfect book to share with your youngest students at the start of a school year. It can then be used as a springboard to sharing all the different kinds of books you and your students enjoy reading.

Take a close look at this double page. There are so many layers to the fairy tale page. Our hero wears a red cape (Little Red Riding Hood); look at the shadow (the wolf) and a basket of goodies (books). On the nursery rhyme page Humpty Dumpty looks worried because the book our hero holds has a 'fried' egg on the cover. There are also eggs positioned in each corner.

Which books do you enjoy: funny books, scary books, comic books, colouring books, counting books, alphabet books, books about space and books about pirates.  Make sure you spend some time look at the strange book and then compare with with Through the Magic Mirror another Anthony Browne gem. Take a look at this animation of the whole book.

The page where I would spend the most time is

fat books ...
and thin books

Young students just gaining reading confidence sometimes think reading a fat book is a mark of status or intelligence. I love to share very slim volumes from my school library which contain powerful, interesting and complex stories.

The companion volume to I like Books is Things I Like (1989). It would be good to read these side by side.

Raising Readers by Megan Daley

"When you find the perfect book gift for an occasion such as a christening ... buy it in bulk."

On page 205 of her new book Megan Daley offers these words of wisdom which I think apply to her own book.  If you have friends with a new baby, if you have friends with young children, if you are about to become a grandparent or aunt or uncle this book is the PERFECT present. Actually I might go so far as to say it is an essential purchase to give to anyone with children. Later I am going to talk about why this book is also important reading for Teacher-Librarians.

When my close friends had their babies I bought books like Babies Need Books by Dorothy Butler and Reading Magic by Mem Fox. I would now add Raising Readers into their gift boxes.

I first discovered Children's Books Daily back in 2012 (I think that is when Megan began her blog childrensbookdaily). I immediately loved the 'voice' of this reviewer and the name of the blog - suggesting we should be reading books every day. Of course there is also the lovely match of Daley and daily!

I like to think that one day Megan Daley and I will sit down for a long chat about the books we both love. On the first pages of Raising Readers the very first book she mentions made me sigh with happiness - Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt.  Perhaps we could meet in a coffee shop (note to Megan sorry to say I don't drink coffee) and the conversation could begin. I have lots of questions but first off I would like to ask Megan was it a difficult decision to include book lists in Raising Readers? People who pick up this book will expect book lists but there are problems with this. Megan explains her decision regarding the choices she makes:

"All book recommendation lists in Raising Readers do not include well-known or classic books. I have instead selected less obvious choices from my personal favourites. Consider each list a springboard for you to seek out other books that might be a good fit for a young reader."

There are some great positives which come out of this idea. Megan mentions books that might be lost in the mists of time and she draws our attention to books that need to be discovered but which perhaps did not receive awards or receive huge publisher promotion.  One example of this is What the Sky Knows. This book was short listed by the CBCA in 2006 and I loved reading it to many classes but I am sure it has languished on many library shelves ever since. Try to find this one - it is a very special book which you can share with older children too.

I do realise the author Nike Bourke and Megan may be friends as they both live in Brisbane but that is irrelevant I just happy to see a mention of this, and other, very special but perhaps less well known books. I am going to mention a few more here.  The Flying Orchestra by Clare McFadden, Puffling by Margaret Wild, Stepping Stones by Margriet Ruurs, The Red Book by Barbara Lehman, Bully on the Bus by Kathryn Appel and 45 & 47 Stella Street by Elizabeth Honey. Take look at the lists in Raising Readers you will find so many treasures.

The book is organised in a logical way but with some surprise chapters such as:

Chapter 3 The School Library
Chapter 4 Spaces for Reading
Chapter 11 Reading for the future: Sustainability and Nature
Chapter 12 Reading Mindfully

I love the way Megan's own fresh voice can be heard throughout the book with words such as "oh my glory".

Also scattered throughout the book are contributions by people such as Kathryn Apel, Joy Lawn, Natalie Jane Prior and Allison Tait. If you just want to dip into this book reading these sections would be a good way to start.

Just to finish with a few important and resonant quotes from my favourite chapter - The School Library!

"Well-resourced school libraries, with exemplary teacher librarians and library support staff, develop and sustain a vibrant reading culture, promote innovative use of digital technologies and are a participatory hub within the school."  Note to school principals this one sentence contains all the criteria needed for writing a job advertisement for a teacher librarian.

"School libraries are wonderful places which are the beating heart of many school communities and a refuge for those in need of time away from a busy school environment."

And from Chapter 4:
"Library displays should be dotted around the library, be ever-changing, professional, eye catching with all the books facing forwards and able to be borrowed from the display."

Now I am going to re-write this sentence with my own shouting voice. (Megan says its okay to be loud!)

"Library displays should be dotted around the library, be ever-changing, professional, eye catching with all the books facing forwards and able to be borrowed from the display."

Raising Readers is a practical and easy to read book and it should be added to school libraries for parents to borrow, as I said it would be the perfect gift for a family and I would also share this book with anyone who is new to the role of Teacher-Librarian. This book made me smile, laugh, cry (yes) and cheer!

Huge thanks to University of Queensland Press for supplying me with an advance copy of Raising Readers. We will have copies for you to purchase at our IBBY International Children's Book Day event on 6th April, 2019. The actual publication date is 2nd April, 2019.

The Greatest Treasure of Charlemagne the King by Nadia Wheatley illustrated by Deborah Klein

Once there was a king called Charlemagne. He lived more than a thousand years ago, in the Dark Ages. This was a miserable time in the history of Europe. Almost no one could read or write.  ... 
Charlemagne didn't care. He was so powerful that he had conquered an empire that stretched all the way from Europe to Asia. Despite that, Charlemagne wasn't happy.

This post is part of my focus on past CBCA winners and short listed titles - treasures of the past. The Greatest Treasure of Charlemagne the Kind was a Notable title in 1998. I wonder why it didn't make the short list.  Titles that year were The Two Bullies (Winner), Josh (Honour Book), Detective Donut and the Wild Goose Chase (Honour Book), Grandad's Teeth, Queenie the Bantam and Great Escape from City Zoo (Short listed). It is interesting to ponder which of these titles I continue to share with my library groups. If I am honest it would only be Queenie the Bantam and The Greatest Treasure of Charlemagne the King.

In 2018 the CBCA slogan was Find your Treasure and The Greatest Treasure of Charlemagne the King was a perfect book to use with this theme. Take a look here to see the comments by reviewers.

Beginning with the cover you can see Charlemagne resting his head on his hand surrounded by so many special and valuable gifts but these seem to be of no interest to him. Behind the king, stands a monk. He is smiling and looking slightly to his left. On the title page there is a cape and set of long john underwear. Two cats are looking out at the view. Another day is beginning for the king.

Charlemagne tells his counsellors and courtiers he wants a "source of happiness that can last for the rest of my life."  Treasures arrive from all over his kingdom.  It would be fun to compare all the gifts given to the King with those given in The Quiltmaker's Gift and The Glassmaker's Daughter.

Here are some of the gifts:

• A wheelbarrow full of gold coins
• A camel, an elephant, a fiery bull, a swan and two dancing bears
• Honey Bees and a bat from Transylvania
• A crystal bath
• A cheese and pickle sandwich on thick black bread wrapped up in a red spotted handkerchief

Meanwhile the monk has been sitting the corner and his presence and happiness begin to infuriate the king. The monk is called Alcuin and he is a librarian from York.

"He had come to the palace today because he wanted to ask for some money to fix his library roof. And of course he had bought a book with him on his journey because he was a sensible person and never went anywhere without one."

Alcuin explains that treasure can be found in books but Charlemagne cannot read so Alcuin offers to teach him. It is a struggle.

Charlemagne : I don't know how to read
Alcuin : I could teach you
Charlemagne : Is it hard?
Alcuin : Well, it's not easy but it's worth the trouble. If you learn to read and love books, I can promise you will never be bored or lonely.
Charlemagne : When can we start?

Then Alcuin explains there are so many books but they are spread across the kingdom, and without the invention of the printing press it will take years to copy them all by hand and collect them. And so the library grows.

This is a timeless story with a quiet wisdom and it is a joy to read aloud. It is also a must read for every Teacher-Librarian and another book that simply should come back into print.  You can read more about Alcuin and Charlemagne here. Original illustrations from this book can be seen in the State Library of Victoria. It would be fun to compare Deborah Klein's work with the formal painting I've included below.

Image source : http://www.medievalists.net/2015/08/questions-and-answers-with-alcuin/