Island Born by Junot Diaz illustrated by Leo Espinosa

"Mai was from a city so big that it was like its own country. India and Camila were from a stony village at the tippy top of the world. Matteo had lived in a desert so hot even the cactus fainted. Nu was born in a jungle famous for its tigers and poets. And Lola was from the Island."

Lola, who immigrated when she was six years old, does not remember the Dominican Republic, and sets out to fill in her missing memories by talking to members of her family and community. 

I especially love the vibrant illustrations in this book. I can imagine using this book with a class as a jumping off point to talk about family and heritage and also here in Australia to talk about our multicultural community. You could also talk about displacement, refugees, immigrants, sharing memories, adult child relationships and why people move from one country to another.

Publisher blurb: Every kid in Lola’s school was from somewhere else. Hers was a school of faraway places. When Lola’s teacher asks the students to draw a picture of where their families immigrated from, all the kids are excited. Except Lola. She can’t remember The Island—she left when she was just a baby. But with the help of her family and friends, and their memories—joyous, fantastical, heartbreaking, and frightening—Lola’s imagination takes her on an extraordinary journey back to The Island. As she draws closer to the heart of her family’s story, Lola comes to understand the truth of her abuela’s words: “Just because you don’t remember a place doesn’t mean it’s not in you.”

I picked up this book at a recent charity book sale - it is in mint condition with a dust jacket. This book was published in 2018 and I suspect it has been sitting quietly on a family bookshelf for many years. Take a look at this review. 

I have a Pinterest entitled "She looks like me" - this book will be a perfect addition to that collection. 

Awards: 2019 Pura Belpre Illustrator Honor.

Companion book for an older reader:

A Map for Falasteen

Where does Pepper come from? by Brigitte Raab illustrated by Manuela Olten

"Any book that lets kids say, NO so often is bound to be popular" School Library Journal

This book is from 2006 so it is out of print but it might be in your school or local library. I am sure the format of this one will inspire curiosity and give your reading group lots of laughs too. You could use this to write more questions, think of crazy creative answers and then flip the page to read the actual facts.

Where does pepper come from? A pepper mill; a spicy place; the pepper store; a sneezy place; from pepper rocks! Actually, we discover on the next page it comes from the berries of the pepper plant. Most pepper is grown in India, Indonesia, Brazil and Malaysia.

Other questions in this book include; Why do bears hibernate? Why do snail carry houses on their backs?Why are flamingos pink? and Why isn't a whale a fish?

“Why is the sea salty?” “Because a sea captain sprinkled salt on the water”. This humorous picture book asks a series of seven questions and is first given some very creative (but wrong) answers. “Why do snails carry houses on their backs?” “Because they love to go camping!” Readers can then turn the page to see a child saying, No! followed by a concise, correct answer. In a nice twist, the pattern is broken at the end of the book. “Why don't migrating birds get lost when they fly south in the fall?” “Because they have compasses in their beaks!” This seemingly silly answer turns out to be partly true.

The design is playful with cartoon-style illustrations that use soft earth tones combined with subtle humour. This book is a lively and appealing way to encourage children’s curiosity about the natural world. Outside in the World

Where does pepper come from? was originally published in German in 2005 with the title Wo wächst der Pfeffer? 

A book like this could be a terrific addition to your bag of tricks if you are a casual or substitute teacher. Keep your eye out - you might find one in a charity shop.

The library where I volunteer had a display last term of question and answer books. I think my facination with this goes back to books from my childhood like The How and Why Wonder book series and also I had a large format book filled with questions and answers but I have no memory of the title.

The Touchstone by Andrew Norriss

Opening sentence: One morning, as Douglas was leaving for school, he heard a voice calling his name. It was a faint voice, hardly louder than the wind blowing through the trees, but when he looked round to see who was calling, there was nobody there. He was wondering if he might have imagined it, when the voice called again.

The voice is a woman named Kai and she explains:

​‘I do not have much time, so you must listen carefully. Three things.’ She spoke in short bursts, breathing through clenched teeth between each of them. ‘One, my name is Kai and I come from another planet. Two, my mission is to take this...’ she gestured to the case in her lap, ‘...back to my home world and liberate people my people. Three, I am being hunted by the Guardians of the Federation and my only chance of escape is to find someone to hide me for the next forty-eight hours.’ She looked up at Douglas, her dark eyes staring intently into his. ‘Gedrus says you are the only coda I can reach. Will you help me? Please?’

Things to notice - Kai is from another planet. She is hurt and needs help. There is sure to be some danger ahead for Douglas even if we have, at this stage, no idea about the Guardians of the Federation. Also who is Gedrus? More in a minute ...

First you need to know Kai has a box and a mysterious green stone necklace. We later find the box contains more of these stones and that the holder of the stone can contact the librarian named Gedrus. He can answer any question - yes read that again ANY question. Think of the possibilities here - help in a test; help with homework; and what about his mum and dad - Douglas would love some help to bring them back together. BUT of course we know the old adage "be careful what you wish for". 

‘You might like to think of me,’ Gedrus leant forward with his elbows on the desk, ‘as the sort of access point to an encyclopaedia.’ He gestured to the rows of books behind him. ‘A very large encyclopaedia, that contains information about events and people from all corners of the galaxy. Anything you want to know, you hold the stone, ask me, and I give you the answer.’

The complex part of this story comes when we make a discovery about Kai - is she really trying to save her planet? Is she really telling the truth? And what about Gedrus - does he have a motive for giving the answers he supplies and then another character arrives - and he is a Guardian - his name is Quomp.

Back to that first quote. Douglas is a coda:

The C means that you are the sort of person who can absorb new and disturbing information without too much emotion – in other words you don’t panic. The O means you’re someone who likes his privacy, so you’re the sort of person who can keep a secret. The D means you’re honest and dependable, and the A means you have a very trusting personality and you tend to believe what someone tells you as long as it doesn’t contradict common sense or something you already know.’

Along the way, in this crazy tale, Douglas does find a terrific new friend - Ivo. Ivo is crazy about robots and rockets and now there is a way for Douglas to help his new friend because of Gedrus. Douglas will also need money - older readers aged 10+ and adults are sure to find the way Douglas manipulates the stock market rather thrilling. 

Blurb from author webpage: The Touchstone is a pretty remarkable object. You hold it in your hand, ask a question and it gives you the answer. You just have to be a bit careful what you ask... This is the story of how one of the most valuable objects in the galaxy falls into the hands of a very ordinary English schoolboy, Douglas Paterson, and what he decides to do with it. Like so many things that are supposed to make life easier, this one starts off by making everything very difficult! Shortlisted for the Sheffield Children's Book Award, the Solihull Children's Book Award, the West Sussex Children's book Award.

I met a wonderful young reader last Christmas and when she discovered I was a fellow book lover she enthusiastically shared her favourite book which was read to her class in Grade 2 or 3. She explained that in every bookshop she visited with her parents she always asked if they had this special book but so far no one could help her.

Naturally I went back to my motel and Googled the book using the information she had shared and I easily found this book was The Touchstone by Andrew Norris (2021). Sadly it is now out of print but there are copies available from online sellers and also there is an eBook version which is the one I just read.

In books for young children characters rarely if ever die - of course Charlotte's Web and Bridge to Terabithia are two exceptions but I would say they better suit an older child. I am explaining this because my young reading friend told me (huge spoiler alert) that the main character, a boy named Douglas, dies in the story! NO I could not believe that this would happen in a book shared by a class teacher with children aged 7 or 8. Please, please do not worry though - this book does have a happy ending. 

I do still wonder why the teacher selected this book for her class. I think it would better suit readers aged 10+ but perhaps she (unfortunately in my view) wanted to use some existing teaching resources from one of the many commercial online companies.  In any case this book really resonated with the little girl I met. You can see more books by Andrew Norriss here. I read Mike many years ago and Ctrl-Z looks very familiar - we must have had this one in my former school library.

Companion book - this has just been published and I will talk about it in detail in a few days:

Bookseller blurb: 'The world will end at ten thirty-six in the morning, on the fourteenth of March this year.' This is the message aliens send to ten-year-old nerds Harrison (Aitch), Ally and Mo. How do they send it? Via the magnetic letters on Mo's fridge, of course. Aitch and Ally aren't sure what to believe, but soon they're in an alien spaceship travelling at lightspeed to Jupiter's icy moon Europa. Mo is worried his mum will be furious that he boarded an alien craft with strangers. And Aitch is not too happy that they've kidnapped his dog. But maybe the aliens aren't that scary after all? They say they want to save the planet. It's only humans they're not so impressed by... The future of the human race might just be in the hands of three nerds and their lazy dog. What could go wrong?

Other books to look for in your library:

The Strangeworlds Travel Agency

The Book of Wondrous Possibilities

The Library of ever

The Library of Ever by Zeno Alexander

“Do you swear to venture forth bravely and find the answer to any question, 

no matter the challenge?”

If you mashed together Alice in Wonderland and The Phantom Tollbooth you might come close to the plot of this book - such a wild ride. You will turn the pages so quickly as you read this book desperate to see if Lenora can survive all the mayhem.  

The only extra things I would have liked were a library map and perhaps a Dewey decimal chart showing all the library departments where Lenora was sent by the Chief Librarian Malachi. Lenora goes to the calendar room, the map room and the unknown room which actually has information about tardigrades, all the while she is being chased by the enemy who brings darkness. Along the way her status rises and she is awarded new badges. Lenora has to be very mindful of the library motto:

Knowledge is Light

Bookseller blurb: With her parents off traveling the globe, Lenora is bored, bored, bored until she discovers a secret doorway into the ultimate library. Maze like and reality-bending, the library contains all the universe's wisdom. Every book ever written, and every fact ever known, can be found within its walls. And Lenora becomes its newly appointed Fourth Assistant Apprentice Librarian. She rockets to the stars, travels to a future filled with robots, and faces down a dark nothingness that wants to destroy all knowledge. To save the library, Lenora will have to test her limits and uncover secrets hidden among its shelves.

In the chaos of this story there is also commentary on censorship, the role of libraries as providers of free information, the importance of curiosity, and of course the value of libraries as organised repositories of books, maps, charts, ephemera and so much more. Materials from everywhere and every time period.

"The Forces of Darkness wish to control people, and it is every knowledge that prevents them from doing so. ... They can only rule where there is ignorance, they can only create fear where the truth has been hidden, they can only gain power when the light has been snuffed out. Librarians are their greatest enemy, and we have fought them throughout time, and always will fight them as long as that light burns anywhere, no matter how weakly."

I may not have kept reading this book actually because it all became a little too silly for me but then I took a detour last night and glanced at the Kirkus review. Such is the power of their work that the star they gave The Library of Ever spurred me on to stick with this story although I am not so sure I need to read the sequel. I did enjoy Lenora's common sense, determination, perseverance, and her amazing general knowledge. She certainly adapted well to the roles of Assistant Apprentice Librarian and later Assistant Librarian. 

There are moments in this story that made me smile:

"The tardigrade snarled. 'As far as we tardigrades are concerned, Pluto is and always will be a planet. end of discussion. ...Lenora saw no reason to argue. She had always thought that Pluto seemed like a perfectly fine planet, whatever the adults might tell her. She took out her notebook. Pluto is, always will be, a planet. This she underlined firmly."

"I would like to know,' she said, 'how to find Wales.' 'You've found them,' said the whale. 'We are in fact, beluga whales.' 'Oh,' said Lenora. 'I mean Wales, the place, not whales, the mammal. 'Hmph' replied the whale ... And I suppose you think that just because I am a whale, a mammal, that I automatically know the location of Wales, the place?"

Not the first tale to be set in a universal library but unusually clever in the details and commendably accurate in its own way. Kirkus Star review

At its heart, The Library of Ever is a love letter to librarians and an ode to the importance of access to knowledge and information for everyone. The Winged Pen

Here is a fun interview with the author and the web page for Zeno Alexander. I picked up my copy of The Library of Ever at a recent charity book sale for $2. This book was published in 2019 but it is still available as is the sequel:

Bookseller blurb: Lenora returns to the magical Library—which holds every book ever known on its shelves. But she discovers the Library is under new management, its incredible rooms and corridors turned sinister and oppressive. Lenora quickly connects with a secret resistance that’s trying to free knowledge from the darkness threatening it. Her new friends introduce her to an ancient lost city, hang-gliding, and mathematical beings larger than the universe itself.

Companion books:

The 113th Assistant Librarian

Lost in a Book

The Lost History

Escape from Mr Lemoncello's Library

The Lost Library

The Phantom Tollbooth

The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner

Twelve weeks. 

46 peaks. 

Finish by Labor Day 

and all the charges go away.

A local youth has been arrested for vandalizing St. Mary’s Cemetery over the holiday weekend. Lake Placid Police responded to a complaint of someone kicking headstones shortly after 4:00 p.m. on Friday.

• Why did Finn do this?
• What will be the consequence?
• What do we know about the grave?

School is not easy for Finn either. And now he is told he has to complete catch up work for English and PE. Here is his English assignment:

Poetry Project: What Makes a Hero?   Assignment: Draft, revise, and edit a collection of at least twenty poems about people you consider to be heroes. You may write about anyone who inspires you, living or dead. Your collection should begin with an introduction poem and must include at least five different poetic forms (haiku, sonnet, acrostic, concrete poem, found poem, riddle poem, erasure poem, free verse, magic 9, ode, pantoum, sestina, villanelle). Be sure to make use of poetic devices such as alliteration, onomatopoeia, similes, and metaphors. Have fun!

Finn's dad is famous in this town because there is a photo of him rescuing a girl after the tragedy of 9/11. Of course that was years ago. 

I see that photo in my sleep. 

Every detail. 

Dad’s black coat white with ash. 

His hair. 

His face. 

Like a statue carved in cold gray stone, 

lines chiseled in his forehead, 

around his eyes. 

Muddy tear streak down his cheek 

as he ran from the North Tower. 

He had a survivor! 

He was carrying her in those strong statue arms. 

Her leg was bleeding and she wore 

one red shoe, 

the other lost somewhere 

in the ashes, smoke, and screams.

The punishment for the vandalism is to climb 46 mountains. Finn is angry about his dad - but what has happened? You will adore meeting all the people who climb the mountains with Finn - they are compassionate and wise and quietly help him to make sense of his life and his personal tragedies. Oh and the dog is wonderful! I also loved the way Kate Messner structured this story. 

You will NOT be able to put this book down. It is such a page turner. Highly recommended for readers aged 10+.

Blurb from the author page: Finn Connelly is nothing like his dad, a star athlete and firefighter hero who always ran toward danger until he died two years ago. Finn’s about to fail seventh grade and has never made headlines . . . until now. Caught on camera vandalizing a cemetery, he’s in big trouble for kicking down some dead old lady’s headstone. But it turns out that grave belongs to a legendary local mountain climber, and her daughter makes Finn an unusual offer: climb all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks with her dead mother’s dog, and they can call it even. In a wild three months of misadventures, mountain mud, and unexpected mentors, Finn begins to find his way on the trails. At the top of each peak, he can see for miles and slowly begins to understand more about himself and his dad. But the mountains don’t care about any of that, and as the clock ticks down to September, they have more surprises in store. Finn’s final summit challenge may be more than even a hero can face.

Here are some text quotes:

She’s the prosecutor in charge of my case. There might not be a court appearance after all, she says, and I’m so relieved I miss what comes next but I snap to attention when she rattles off the price of the headstone I busted: $2,600 for a weathered hunk of rock.

It’s called PTSD. (That’s Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, in case you’re wondering.) But if you’re a 9/11 firefighter’s kid you already know those letters, learned them with your ABCs, when you learned not to ask questions in September. When you learned how to make your own lunch and sign your own permission slips, and pretend everything was all right.

Some Awards:

• New York Times Bestseller
• USA Today Bestseller
• National Indie Bestseller
• Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2025
• School Library Journal Best Books of 2025
• Kirkus Best Books of 2025
• Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books, 2025
• 2026-2027 Texas Bluebonnet List Nominee
• 2026 Charlotte Huck Honor
• 2026 NCTE Notable Novels in Verse
• Best Kids’ Books about Mental Health 2025, Child Mind Institute

The first-person narration vividly conveys a disgruntled teenager’s feelings, including moments of humor and contemplation. The novel wrestles with loss and legacy intertwined with weighty events, challenges, and themes—PTSD, alcoholism, toxic masculinity—and their resulting impact on Finn’s emotional well-being. The supporting characters are encouraging adult role models. Characters present white. An adventurous work whose authentic voice celebrates the outdoors and everyday heroism. Kirkus Star review

As I read this book, I was in awe of Messner’s skill. She combines so many disparate elements into a book that feels organic and beautiful. Her use of a verse novel format makes so much sense here, allowing us to feel what Finn does even as he is in denial about much of it. His poetry project weaves its way through the verse, capturing his voice and rage. Finn can’t see himself through most of the book, can’t see the people around him and their support, can’t see his father and the truth about him, can’t find his way through. This is a book about what nature can do for a person who is lost and not looking to be rescued. It is a book about the various ways that heroes enter our lives, the forms they take that are unexpected and sometimes drooling dogs, the connection that can result in shared experiences. It is about so much at once and yet again, is superbly focused and deftly written.  Waking Brain Cells

Companion books:

Not Nothing

Mr Santa by Jarvis

A little boy, or is this a girl, meets Santa - this child has SO many questions and we get to hear all of them. Santa himself is a wise old fellow and so he just smiles and takes his little companion on the adventure of a lifetime but Santa himself never utters a word.

• Dogs or cats, Mr Santa? You have to choose.
• Can reindeer talk?
• Can you eat clouds?
• Do you stop at traffic lights?
• Mr Santa is your belly button inny or out?
• Can I be an elf?

Mr Santa is a new Christmas book for 2025. If you have a young reader in your life this needs to be added to their Christmas stocking. Here is a video of the story so you can see all the illustrations (but please find the actual book to share in your family). My own copy was an early Christmas gift from a friend!

With signature warmth and a gentle visual humor, Jarvis channels the excitement of every child who has dreamed of meeting the jolly, generous old soul who personifies the most magical night of the year. Penguin Random House

The young protagonist’s dogged curiosity makes for a wholly original Yuletide tale, infused with the magic and wonder of Christmas. Kirkus

Companion book:

Thinking about reading with children from Grade 3 and 4

On a social media platform this week a university lecturer posed this important question. She is involved with a course for trainee teachers. I really took this question to heart, BUT I have to say SO many of the 'answers' left me in despair.

Here is the question:

If you were choosing one Australian middle-grade novel (around Grades 3–4 level) to share with a group of young adults who are preparing to be primary teachers—many of whom haven’t read children’s novels for a while—what book would you pick that they simply won’t be able to put down? We’ll be reading part of the book aloud together each week, and they’ll read the rest between classes. I’d love a story that reminds them of the joy and magic of reading and shows the power of a great book in the classroom. What Australian page-turner would you choose?

Before I share my 'long' reply let's just look at some key aspects of this question - things we know and things that lead to more questions:

• The question comes from someone involved in tertiary education here in Australia so that explains the emphasis on 'Australian' - this is okay but I hope the lecturer will also expose these adult students to other books. We speak English here in Australia and so have access to some of the best books from UK, Canada, USA, New Zealand and South Africa.
• Grade 3 and 4 - Is this for a book to read at the beginning of the year when the Grade 3 kids have just moved out of an infants grade. These readers could be aged between 7 and 10 depending on when this project happens. I would argue there is a huge difference between books I would share with a Grade 3 reader aged 7 turning 8 and a Grade 4 reader aged 9 turning 10.
• "Won't be able to put down" - that is actually impossible to predict but it is a worthy goal. These University students may not be 'readers' or they may be avid adult readers, they may have preferred genres, and I have to say finding ONE book feels like a huge responsibility. Perhaps it might be better to use one text for this 'book club' model but also give the students a wide reading list and set a requirement to read a set number of these too.
• "I’d love a story that reminds them of the joy and magic of reading and shows the power of a great book in the classroom" - this is a lofty goal - I do hope a book that fulfils this can be found. If we weren't limited to Australian I would have suggested Wishtree by Katherine Applegate or One Dog and his Boy by Eva Ibbotson.

POST UPDATE - here is a reply from the author of this question. (I would prefer not to name the Facebook group):

• Thank you for your thoughtful post and for sharing it with me. Since I’m the lecturer who posed the original question, I thought it might be helpful to offer a little context.
• Teaching future primary teachers about thoughtful, intentional book selection is just one small part of what they explore in this subject with the teaching team. Over the semester, students look closely at a range of considerations—developmental suitability, reader experience, literary quality, diversity of texts, and how we support children to engage with longer works of fiction in purposeful ways.
• For many pre-service teachers, it has been quite a long time since they’ve read junior–middle fiction, and for some, a long time since they’ve read any long-form fiction at all. Before they can meaningfully evaluate and select texts for children, they need structured opportunities to re-engage with children’s literature as readers.
• As experienced teachers, we know that you cannot “teach” a book unless you have lived with it—read it multiple times, considered it from different angles, and explored its possibilities. Asking the cohort to read one shared text over time allows us to model this process deliberately and to help rebuild reading stamina in a manageable, supportive way.
• I also asked specifically for Australian titles—not because I’m opposed to international literature (far from it), but because we have such exceptional Australian authors and I enjoy highlighting their work. It’s important for future teachers to be familiar with a strong range of local stories as part of their wider reading diet.
• And as for choosing the Year 3–4 range—there was no special reason beyond instinct. I imagined the books might be shorter, and my experience is that while they may be shorter, they are certainly not less mighty or less worth reading. It also meant there was a good chance we would get through the book in the time we have scheduled.

Now back to my response to the original question. This particular forum/Facebook Group does not allow contributors to link to personal blog posts but all of the books I offered as choices (see image below) are discussed here on my blog of course. Here is my reply:

I think it would be good to have a book (if you’re in NSW) that’s not one of the “set” English texts. It would be good to “expand their knowledge. Also grade 3 and 4 kids are very different. If this is now, late in the year, then the grade 3 kids are aged 9 and grade 4 kids are ten but if it’s for term one next year the grade 3 kids are still quite young. 

Also, if I was doing this, I’d seek out a book that doesn’t have existing teachers notes or discussion questions, so these trainee teachers have to think deeply about the text. I also think a shorter book would be good, so the task is not too daunting. And perhaps you could use a verse novel because some of these students may not have encountered that form and they often have very powerful stories. Someone already suggested The Little wave for example. 

Here’s some novels to investigate. 

Pop each title into my search bar for me details

Hopefully you’re able to read a few for yourself so you can give these lucky students a fabulous reading experience. I’ll post a few verse novels too. 

Verse Novels - Pop each title into my search bar for more details

I’m also guessing as well as Australian it needs to be in print. My most favourite book for a project like this would be The Big Bazoohley by Peter Carey but it’s long out of print. I also love another very old book Angie’s ankles by Gary Hurle but that disappeared a long time ago. Can you let the group know which book you do use? Thanks. (Sorry for this long answer but I think this is a very very important topic). AND I would add that the best books we share with students are books we have loved reading ourselves - not texts imposed by curriculum experts or even grade requirements etc. 

Of course, I have no way of knowing about the expertise of the people who shared their own answers to the question I quoted. 

I have organised the books that were listed under my own headings - 

The Good

Leo and Ralph by Peter Carnavas

The Little Wave by Pip Harry

The Kindness Project by Deb Abela

Katrina Nannestad - I would say yes to some of her books but not the World War II titles. The Travelling Bookshop

Polly and Buster by Sally Rippin

The Book of Wondrous possibilities by Deb Abela

The Midwatch by Judith Rossell (but this one is very long)

Wandi by Favel Parrett

Mina and the whole wide world by Sherryl Clark (might be out of print)

Song of a Thousand Seas by Zana Fraillon

Brindabella by Ursula Dubosarsky

Too mainstream - I would love these students to be exposed to 'other books' not the latest 'top of the pops books' even though I did enjoy some of these:

Runt by Craig Silvey (I have four other posts about this book and the sequel)

Blueback by Tim Winton - here in NSW this is a prescribed text

How to be Prime Minister and Survive Grade Five by Carla Fitzgerald

Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda (1993)

The Naming of Tishkin silk by Glenda Millard (I am a huge fan of this series of seven titles, and I own the whole set but in the first one the baby has died - younger readers might find this distressing). 

Childish by Morris Gleitzman (Take a look at one his less well known titles that I loved)

The Strange choices (in my view) 
YES, these are great books, but I wouldn't suggest them for this project

Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend (this has 450 pages)

The extremely inconvenient adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarty (494 pages)

Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead illustrated by Nicholas Gannon - this is a fantastic book with an Australian setting BUT the authors are from the US. 

Books I would not read with or to children aged 7-10

Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park (distressing scenes and the main character is a teenager)

Once by Morris Gleitzman (Holocaust setting)

August and Jones by Pip Harry

Books by Tristan Bancks - I love his work - Scar Town; Two Wolves; Detention; and Cop and Robber

The Shop at Hoopers Bend by Emily Rodda

Sick Bay by Nova Weetman

Laugher is the best ending by Mariam Master

A Glasshouse of Stars by Shirley Marr

Harp in the South by Ruth Park (adult title)

His name was Walter Emily Rodda (the characters in this book are teenagers)

Dragon Skin Karen Foxlee (contains domestic violence)

Lenny's book of Everything by Karen Foxlee

Any of the James Aldridge (he died in 2015 and his books are Young Adult titles) I loved The Story of Lilli Stubeck from 1984.

Childstone Cycle by Kerry Greenwood (adult title)

Jackie French Matilda series (Young Adult/Adult series)

Queenie in Seven Moves by Zanni Louise

Does my head look big in this by Randa Abdel Fattah

Out of Print

45 and 47 Stella Street by Elizabeth Honey

The Cabbage Patch Fib by Paul Jennings

The Stupendously Spectacular Spelling bee by Deborah Abela

Benjamin in Blink Beyond by Oona Roach (1983) 

Not Australian

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein

The Miraculous journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster

Books I need to find and read:

Big Magic by Sarah Armstrong

This Camp is Doomed by Anna Zobel

Losing the Plot and Down the Plot Hole by Annaleise Byrd

A Clue for Clara by Lian Tanner

The sugarcane kids and the red-bottom boat by Charlie Archbold

The last Ember by Lily Berlin Dodd (not Australian)

Kip of the Karoo and Kip of the Mountain by Emma Gourlay

SOS: Big Splash: School of Scallywags (SOS) by Cameron Stelzer (there are ten titles in this series)

Samantha Wheeler titles - Turtle Trackers; Wombat Warriors; Devils in Danger

This would be SO perfect - I wish it was still in print.

What the Sky Knows by Nike Bourke illustrated by Stella Danalis

 

My friend and I recently visited an enormous secondhand bookshop in the Southern NSW town of Berrigan. There were so many children's (and adult) book treasures. That is where I spied an old copy of What the Sky knows. Once upon a time this book was a library book (the date due slip is still inside) and it lived in Barooga which is near Berrigan - down on the Murray River.

I read this book to heaps of children in my former school library back in 2006 and twenty years later it has lingered with me (see my post from 2019). What the Sky Knows was published in 2005 and it was shortlisted in two categories for the CBCA’s Book of the Year (Early Childhood and Picture Book) in 2006. YES, I can heart you saying - but this book is long out of print and that is true - but I worry so much about our rush to find the newest book or newest thing or newest fad - which can mean older things like this scrumptious picture book are overlooked or lost in all the 'noise'. 

There are two things to notice about this book - one is the brief, but beautifully poetic text and the other is the retro-style collage illustrations. You can see the style of illustrations on this web page from Stella Danalis. 

I want to know what the sky knows

How to be blue

or grey

or pink

How to make clouds

or stars

Have tea with the angels

Hold the sun like an orange

or carry birds

I want to know how to make rain fall

or leaves dance

How to be so loud mum can hardly hear herself think

or so quiet she can't find me

I want to sail to the ends of the earth

And ride the wild winds home

If you can find this book in your school or local library it would be a wonderful text to use in an art lesson - you could share the text without the illustrations. Let the group work on their own creative images and then share the work by Stella Danalis. I would then share Mallee Sky as a contrasting text.

Bookseller blurb: This stunning picture book invites the reader to fly with birds and angels, float with clouds and balloons, to change colours, blow breezes and stir up storms. What the Sky Knows challenges the traditional way of reading picture and text. Stella Danalis has used visual tricks and jokes in a very contemporary manner which will immediately engage young readers. The illustrations are bright and vivacious, and like the text, full of imagination, curiosity and wonder. They make a strong initial impact through bold images and good use of primary colours. The variety of shades, patterns and textures, which are skillfully embedded within the pictures, create a collage effect. This additional detail contributes to the richness of the picture book and its ability to engage the reader. Follow a dreamer's journey through the vibrant landscapes of a child's world.

I think this might be the only picture book by Nike Bourke. Stella Danalis also illustrated Schumann the Shoeman.

2010 Shortlisted CBCA Picture Book of Year

Aidan Chambers questions

TELL ME, Children, Reading and Talk, Aidan Chambers, Thimble Press 

Was there anything you liked about this book? 
Was there anything you disliked about this book? 
Was there anything that puzzled you? 
Were there any patterns-any connections- that you noticed? 
 
THE BASIC QUESTIONS 
 Was there anything you liked about this book? 
 What especially caught your attention? 
 What would you have liked more of? 
 Was there anything you disliked about this book? 
 Were there parts that bored you? 
 Did you skip parts? Which ones? 
 If you gave up, where did you stop and what stopped you? 
 Was there anything that puzzled you? 
 Was there anything you thought strange? 
 Was there anything that you’d never found in a book before? 
 Was there anything that took you completely by surprise? 
 Did you notice any apparent inconsistencies? 
 Were there any patterns-any connections- that you noticed? 

THE GENERAL QUESTIONS 
 When you first saw this book, even before you read it, what kind of book did you think it would be? 
 What made you think this? 
 Now you’ve read it, is it as you expected? 
 Have you read other books like it? 
 How is this one the same? 
 How is it different ? 
 Have you read this book before? [If so:] Was it different this time? 
 Did you notice anything this time you didn’t notice the first time? 
 Did you enjoy it more or less? 
 Because of what happened to you when reading it again, would you recommend other people to read it more than once, or isn’t it worth it? 
 While you were reading, or now when you think about it, were there words or phrases or other things to do with the language that you liked? Or didn’t like? 
 You know how, when people speak, they often use some words or phrases or talk in away that you recognise as theirs: are some words or phrases used like that in this book? 
 Have you noticed anything special about the way language is used in this book? 
 If the writer asked you what could be improved in the book, how would you have made it better? 
 [Alternatively] If you had written this book, how would you have made it better? 
 Has anything that happens in the book ever happened to you? 
 In what ways was it the same or different for you? 
 Which parts in the book seem to you to be most true to life? 
 Did the book make you think differently about your own similar experience? 
 When you were reading, did you ‘see’ the story happening in your imagination? 
 Which details –which passages- helped you ‘see’ it best? 
 Which passages stay in your mind most vividly? 
 How many different stories [kinds of story] can you find in this story? Was this a book you read  quickly, or slowly? In one go, or in separate sessions? 
 Would you like to read it again? 
 What will you tell your friends about this book? 
 What won’t you tell them because it might spoil the book for them? Or might mislead them about what it is like?  
 Do you know people who you think would especially like it?  
 What would you suggest I tell other people about it that will help them decide whether they want to read it or not? Older than you? Younger? 
 How should I give it to them? For example, should I read it aloud or tell them about it and let them read it for themselves? 
 Is it a good thing to talk about it after we’ve all read it? 
 We’ve listened to each other’s thoughts and heard all sorts of things that each of us has noticed. 
Are you surprised by anything? 
 Has anyone said anything that has changed your mind in any way about this book? Or helped you 
understand it better? 
 Tell me about the things people said that struck you the most. 
 When you think about the book now, after all we’ve said, what is the most important thing about 
it for you? 
 Does anyone know anything about the writer? Or about how the story came to be written? Or 
where? Or when? Would you like to find out? 

THE SPECIAL QUESTIONS 
 How long did it take the story to happen? 
 Did we find out about the story in the order in which the events happened?  
 When you talk about things that happen to you, do you always tell your story in the order in which they happened? Or are there sometimes reasons why you don’t? What are the reasons? 
 Are there parts of the story that took a long time to happen but were told about quickly or in a few 
words? And are there parts that happened very quickly but took a lot of space to tell about? 
 Were there parts that took the same time to tell as they would have taken to happen? 
 Where did the story happen? 
 Did it matter where it was set? Could it just as well been set anywhere? Or could it have been better set somewhere else? 
 Did you think about the place as you were reading? 
 Are there passages in the book that are especially about the place that the story is set? What did you 
like, or dislike, about them? 
 Was the setting interesting in itself? Would you like to know more about it? 
 Which character interested you the most? 
 Is that character the most important in the story/ Or is it really about someone else? 
 Which character(s) didn’t you like? 
 Did any of the characters remind you of people you know? 
 Or remind you of characters in other books? 
 Was there anyone not mentioned in the story but without whom it couldn’t have happened? 
 Can you think of any reason why s/he doesn’t appear or isn’t mentioned? 
 Would the story have been the same if s/he had appeared or been mentioned? 
 Who was telling – narrating – the story? Do we know? And how do we know? 
 Is the story told in the first person (and if so, who is this person)? Or the third person? By 
someone we know about in the story or by someone we know or don’t know about outside the 
story? 
 What does the person telling the story – the narrator – think or feel about the characters? Does s/he like 
or dislike them? How do you know? 
 Does the narrator approve or disapprove of the things that happen and that the characters do? Do you 
approve or disapprove of them? 
 Think of yourself as a spectator. With whose eyes did you see the story? Did you only se what 
one character in the story saw, or did you see things sometimes as one character saw them, and 
sometimes as another and so on? 
 Were you as it were, inside the head of one of the characters, only knowing what s/he knew, or did the 
story take you inside a number of characters? 
 Did we ever get to know what the characters were thinking about? Were we ever told what they 
were feeling? Or was the story told all the time from outside the characters, watching what they 
did and hearing what they said, but never knowing what they were thinking and feeling? 
 When you were reading the story, did you feel it was happening now? Or did you feel it was happening 
in the past and being remembered? Can you tell me anything in the writing that made you feel like that? 
 Did you feel as if everything was happening to you, as if you were an observer, watching what was 
happening but not part of the action? 
 If you were an observer, where were you watching from? Did you seem to watch from different places- sometimes, perhaps from besides the characters, sometimes from above them as if you were in a 
helicopter? Can you tell me places in the book where you felt like that?

Pablo Neruda Book of Questions illustrated by Paloma Valdivia translated by Sara Lissa Paulson

Where does the stuff of dreams go? 

Does it pass into the dreams of others?

I am a fan of books with questions (and sometimes even answers). This book has some incredible and possibly unanswerable questions that might spark some philosophical discussions with your students in all grades. Here are a few of the questions selected for this book from 39 of the original poems that I enjoyed thinking about:

Who shouted for joy when the colour blue was born?

Do unshed tears wait in little lakes?

How did the abandoned bicycle find its freedom?

Does smoke strike up a conversation with clouds?

What knowledge is in the bee for it to figure out its itinerary?

Why don't they teach helicopters how to draw honey from the sun?

And what do you call that month between December and January?

See more art from Pablo Neruda Book of Questions

The text on this page says:

What do you call a flower that flits from bird to bird? 

Which birds dictate the order of the flock while it flies?

Editor's Note: "We hope that you enjoy these questions, and that, however they arrive for each of you, they come as a reminder of the vastness of our unknowing and a call to passionate engagement in endlessly re-envisioning the world."

Wait until you see the COVER of this book.  My image above does not do it justice. All of the printing is on a clear overlay and then when you lift this off you see the amazing illustration which stretches across the front and back covers.

With a clear acetate jacket with striking green lettering (an homage to Neruda’s affinity for writing in green ink, which he saw as the color of hope), this edition contains six magnificent gatefold spreads that lift to reveal more questions and expanded illustrations, inviting readers into deeper and deeper reflection. Enchanted Lion

Read more about this book and especially about the creation of the illustrations here. 

Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) was known as a poet and ambassador of the Chilean people. During a time of social upheaval, he traveled the world as a diplomat and an exile, served as a Senator for the Chilean Communist Party, and published more than 35,000 pages of poetry in his native Spanish. Here are a few quick facts:

• Pablo Neruda was the pen name of Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto
• He published his first poems when he was 13
• A Czech poet, Jan Neruda (1834-1891), inspired the young poet and so he took his last name
• He received numerous prestigious awards, including the International Peace Prize in 1950, the Lenin Peace Prize and the Stalin Peace Prize in 1953, and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971
• Neruda occupied many diplomatic positions in various countries during his lifetime and served a term as a Senator for the Chilean Communist Party
• When Neruda died in 1973, The Book of Questions was one of eight unpublished poetry manuscripts that lay on his desk

El libro de las preguntas (The Book of Questions) contains:

"320 unanswerable questions, these poems integrate the wonder of a child with the experiences of an adult. By turns Orphic, comic, surreal, and poignant, Neruda’s questions lead the reader beyond reason into realms of intuition and pure imagination. In his introduction, O’Daly writes, “These poems, more so than any of Neruda’s other work, remind us that living in a state of visionary surrender to the elemental questions, free of the quiet desperation of clinging too tightly to answers, may be our greatest act of faith.”

The 320 questions in the original book were presented in a sequence of 74 poems each containing three to six questions for a total of 320 questions. 

"What Neruda shares with us as an old man isn't the arrival of truth, but the astonishing freedom of a curious mind that dares to reimagine the world again and again."

Here is the English edition of his book (for adults):

Awards for Pablo Neruda Book of Questions illustrated by Paloma Valdivia:

• Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the 21st Century (So Far)
• NYT Best Children’s Book of 2022
• Marginalian (aka Brain Pickings) Favorite Book of 2022
• Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Book of 2023, Outstanding Merit
• 2023 Bologna Ragazzi Award Amazing Bookshelf Selection

How did I find Pablo Neruda Book of Questions? I borrowed an odd little book from a library illustrated by Paloma Valdivia. At first I was unfamiliar with this name but digging deeper I found she was a Hans Chrsitian Andersen nominee in 2024 and that she comes from Chile. A few years ago our IBBY Australia group met up with an IBBY delegate from Chile and we were able to show her our NSW State Library children's book exhibition. Investigating the art of Palmoa Valdivia I saw this book cover and a few of the pages and I was intrigued. Then I saw this AUS$35 book was reduced to AUS$28 so I decided to buy it!

I have no expertise about Pablo Neruda but by chance I recently talked about this book which is a biography suitable for readers aged 7+ and which I was shown when we were hosting our visitor from Chile:

Pablo Neruda Poet of the People