You are 25% Banana by Susie Brooks illustrated by Josy Bloggs

All living things have "built-in recipes called genes." If you compare the genetic makeup of various things you will discover some surprising things expressed in this book as percentages such as the title of this book - you are 25% banana. Twenty-five percent is one quarter. This might shock a couple of my friends who do not like to eat bananas!

Genes are your recipe. I have my mum's blue eyes and her small feet and hands. I have light coloured hair from my dad. I know another dad with a chin dimple - it is a trademark for their family handed on to his daughter and grandson. I think talking with your library group or young reading companion about the 'traits' they can match with their own mum or dad would be the way I would introduce this book. I would also quickly display two important words - genes and jeans - just to make sure before reading that there is no confusion about the topic!

Have you heard of bossy genes? This explains why more humans have brown eyes than blue and why there are so few white tigers with blue eyes. I loved the discovery that size and genes are not related. For example this book explains that a tiny grain of rice has 36,000 genes, an apple has 56,000 and a sunflower has 52,000. Bamboo (32,000) even has more genes than the panda (21,000) who eats it.

Then there is the idea the humans have genes in common with some animals - we share genes for singing with songbirds and parrots; we share tooth growing with sharks (even though we only grow two sets); and we share our brainy genes with dolphins. But we are also related to dogs, daffodils and dung beetles. Oh, and also fruit flies which is why they were sent into space. with a group of older students this might be the opportunity to talk about why or even rise the issue of the ethics of using mice in science experiments designed to test things designed for use with humans such as medicines. 

I was pleased to read we are 80% like cows because I love cows and milk and I was not surprised to discover chimps are 99% like us. And if you have identical twins in your class that will open up another amazing topic. 

"You're 99.9% identical to every other person in the whole world. Nearly all your genes are like everyone else's. Just one in every thousand recipes in your recipe book is different enough to make you ... YOU!"

WOW! This is a book for young children about genetics. I listened to the Teacher-Librarian reading this in the library where I work as a volunteer and I was so intrigued.

Bookseller blurb: A brilliantly funny first guide to genetics that is perfect for children aged 5 years and over. This stunningly illustrated book will boggle your brain with astonishing facts, as it shows how we’re all related to every living thing on the planet. Did you know that a grain of rice has more genes than you? Or that you’re related to dogs, dung beetles and even daffodils? Luckily, even though you’re 99.9% like a chimpanzee, you’re still 100% YOU! The extraordinary world of genetics has never been explained so simply. You’ll be amazed at what makes you YOU.

In your library you will find other books about genes and genetics at [576.5]. Take a look at this post from my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything about World DNA Day 25th April. 

You might these:

Using both bold fonts and illustrations, this is a fascinating early introduction to genetics that explains how humans are related to every other living thing on the planet, including bananas; that our closest relatives are chimpanzees with a 99% match; yet while our “recipe” is the same as 99.9% of everyone else on the planet now or ever, it is the 0.1% that makes us unique.  Only identical twins have the same recipe! The Bottom Shelf

This masterful look at genes and genetics for young readers had me hooked from page one, and there are many active minds out there waiting for information that is relevant, informative, funny and engaging. Illustrations in bright bold colours inform and intrigue as does the layout of each page, drawing the eye to take another look before the pages are turned. ReadPlus

I am not a fan of the NSW Premiers Reading Challenge but you might like to know that this is a PRC 3-4 title [886461].

Here is the webpage for the illustrator Josy Bloggs. Susie Brooks is the author of these art books:

Hester Hitchins and the Falling Stars by Catherine Norton

Hester's mum has died giving birth to her twin siblings. Dad is a sailor and they have received a message that he is missing presumed dead. The five children are sent to live with a tyrannical uncle. Hester holds onto the word 'presumed'.  Surely her clever father is not actually dead but in order to find him she needs to sail across the world and to do this she needs navigation skills. In a timely coincidence she sees a sign for the placement test to attend a naval navigation school, but it is for boys. Hester is a maths genius. She disguises herself and takes and test and gains the top place and a scholarship, but the school authorities think she is a boy. Her sister works out a way for her to travel to the remote school which is part of a large estate but when she arrives, she is forced to become a maid - a servant with the lowest ranking. You will grimace as she is forced to empty very full chamber pots and carry heavy buckets of coal up many flights of stairs. She does make friends with one of the maids named Mildred and as they clean Mildred sings so beautifully this makes the tasks slightly less awful. 

One of her duties is to clean up the mess in the tutor's bedroom. It is soon clear this school master, Captain Slingsby, is a fraud. Hester is not keen on blackmail or dishonesty, but she now has some important knowledge she can use to her advantage. Her dream of attending the school can come true but then she discovers the lessons are all nonsense. 

Meanwhile the owner of the school and estate Lord Addington is building the biggest telescope. His wife is grieving the death of their only son, and she is clinging on to the hope of seeing him again because a swindler named Mr Ittish has arrived. He claims the impending meteor shower is actually the souls of the dead he is also sure the earth is flat. Lady Addington falls for all of this nonsense. 

There are 41 short chapter in this book, and you can read the first five chapters on the publisher webpage. I do appreciate the book design for Hester Hitchings and the Falling Star. Both of Catherine Norton's books are presented in sturdy hardcover editions with textured covers. 

In this interview with Kids' Book Review Catherine Norton talks about her books. 

Curious readers will want to know more about how a lodestone works, and more about Janet Taylor who was a woman astronomer in 1835. Also, they are sure to want to discover more about steam powered cars and the Leonid meteor storm "which it is estimated that thousands of meteors fell every hour." For myself I need to discover more about these two things - an orrery and an azimuth.

This is an Ornery. An orrery is a mechanical model of the Solar System 

that illustrates or predicts the relative positions and motions of the planets and moons

Girls in particular will relate to the story of Hester who must prove herself better or at least equal to boys at every turn. Her willingness to help other girls – particularly the songstress maid, Mildred – is also admirable. Science-inclined kids will also enjoy the story which includes astronomy and is linked to the development of the first telescope. Reading Time

As well as being a cracking story rich in incident and suspense, there is much fascinating detail that never overpowers the story but makes Hester’s journey all the more immediate and real. I so enjoyed reading about lodestones, star charts, an orrery, mourning clothes, shooting stars, cat-o-nine-tails and smuggling crinolines. ...  Themes of family grief, class, racism are present but the overarching theme that drives the story is the struggle for equal opportunities for girls, something that still resonates today. Story Links

Here is a detailed review from The Book Muse and also one from The Bottom Shelf. 

Blurb from the author webpage: Determined to find him, eleven-year-old Hester wins a place at Addington’s Nautical Navigation Academy, where she will learn to navigate by the stars. But the academy is just for boys, and what’s more, no one seems to be in charge. Bumbling schoolmaster Captain Slingsby doesn’t know anything about navigation. Lord Addington is obsessed with building the world’s biggest telescope and Lady Addington believes that falling stars are the souls of the dead. With the help of a lodestone, her new friends Pru and Nelson, and a dazzling meteor storm, can Hester set things right – and find her own place in the universe?

I saw an image of the cover of this book somewhere on the internet. I previously LOVED this book also by Catherine Norton but I wrongly listed it as a book the CBCA missed adding to the 2025 notables list. This first book by Catherine Norton - The Fortune Maker was published in 2023 this means it SHOULD have been a 2024 CBCA Notable!

The Fortune Maker

The Fixer of Broken Things by Julia Patton

Don't worry! Now we have spoken, I fix what is broken.

Beatrice Millicent Robinson is a fixer. She fixes a tiny precious clock with no tock; counting machine which is kaput; and an enormous mechanical elephant that has stopped stomping. Everyone knows Bea can fix anything. One day a spaceship arrives. No problem - Bea can fix this too. Then comes the twist.  She finds a small broken heart - how can this be mended?

Bookseller blurb: Bea is a fixer. She is the finest fixer, far and wide, and people bring her everything - from tiny sprockets to enormous rockets - because they know she'll have them working again in no time. One day, Bea finds a broken thing. It's very small and very sad, and try as hard as she might, she cannot fix it. Bea soon realises that not every problem has to be solved alone, and that talking to her friends is the answer she has been looking for.

Julia Patton is an author and illustrator of over 45 picture books. She works from a rustic woodshed in the wilds of Northumberland, UK with her husband and two boys. Love Reading 4 Kids

In an ironic twist - I accidentally spilled a small amount of water on this book - and NO it cannot be fixed not even by Bea. Luckily I have been able to order a brand new copy for the library.

Ajay and the Jaipur Moon by Varsha Shah

"Space offers us new worlds to conquer, new territories to colonize, and endless resources to take."

These are the words of Mrs Surya. At first they sound glorious to the audience and to the team of kids who have come to meet this famous millionaire but slowly the truth behind this sentence is revealed. You could use this sentence to introduce this book to your readers aged 10+. Think about the words conquer, colonize and take. Colonize is especially poignant when you consider this book is set in India and they were colonized by the British.

Now look at this statement by Mrs Surya:

"As you know, the WECU corporation own factories across the globe. With the willing support of politicians, I will move them into space so that they no longer pollute our world. No longer bogged down with laws and human rights, these factories will be a blueprint for oligarchs everywhere."

The words 'human rights' should chill you. In the first book the workers in the T-Shirt factory were subjected to horrid working conditions. In this second book we meet the slum kids of Jaipur. Their leader, a girl named Laxmi is missing one finger as a result of working in a jewelry making factory. You should review the UN Rights of the Child with your class. 

Now read Chapter 28 - and think about the consequences of Mrs Surya vision of space, her assumed role as leader, and the way she uses words to manipulate the kids and later her press conference audiences. Even her office, with the glass floor and the way the door snaps shut are all about control and power. When you are reading this book notice the references to her eyes - "windows to her corrupt soul."

Ajay and his team of street kids work hard to survive living on the streets of Mumbai. The produce a newspaper which last year led to some fame but as time has passed people are no longer interested in reading the news and printing their paper each week is a huge struggle without a proper printing press. But buying a new press means they need a lot of money. Then Ajay reads about a competition to find a meteorite that has crashed into the earth. Whoever finds it will be given a tour of the new space research base in Jaipur. 

Ajay has a talented team of friends: Vinod is a wonderful cook; Yasmin, safely away from the dangerous T-shirt factory is a very fine artist; Saif is an apprentice engineer who can solve any engineering problem; and Jai is a first-class cricketer.

Working as a team I was sure these kids would find a way to travel from Mumbai to Jaipur, and I knew they would find a way to win this competition. BUT standing in their way there are difficulties, lies, betrayals and corrupt adults. Saif finds the location of the meteorite but as they arrive in Jaipur his tools are stolen. This is just the first disaster. In fact, there are so many twists in this plot I began to think these kids would not survive let alone succeed.

If you read this book in a class you will want to add in some research about Jagadish Chandra Bose (1858-1937) Dr APJ Abdul Kalam (1931-2015), and Asima Chatterjee (1917-2006). Along with the astronaut Kalpana Chawla (1962 -2003).

Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose is one of the most prominent first Indian scientists who proved by experimentation that both animals and plants share much in common. He demonstrated that plants are also sensitive to heat, cold, light, noise and various other external stimuli.

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam served as the president of India from 2002 to 2007. He began his career designing helicopters for the Indian Army as an aeronautical engineer for the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). In 1969, he was moved to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), where he served as project director on SLV-III, the nation's first satellite launch vehicle, which was successful in putting the satellite Rohini into a near-Earth orbit in 1980.

Asima Chatterjee was an Indian chemist noted for her work in the fields of organic chemistry and phytomedicine. Her most notable work includes research on vinca alkaloids, and the development of anti-epileptic and anti-malarial drugs. She also authored a considerable volume of work on medicinal plants of the Indian subcontinent.

Kalpana Chawla was American astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle ‘Columbia’ disaster. Born in Karnal, India, she was the first woman of Indian origin to go to space. In May 1997, she went on her first space mission, travelling for fifteen days in the Space Shuttle Columbia flight STS-87. In 2003, she travelled once again into the space aboard ill-fated Space Shuttle Columbia flight STS-107.

You can read chapter one on the Chicken House page. 

This is an exciting and beautifully written and illustrated book for children aged eight and upwards. It could be the starting point for discussions about what friendship means to them and how they relate to each other’s varying interests and future plans. School Reading List UK

Alongside action and humour are serious socio-political messages. The power imbalance between rich and poor is a significant theme and there is mention of child labour and exploitation. There are many points in the book that would prompt deep discussions. ‘What defines where someone belongs?’ asks Ajay. He later comments, ‘All that matters about a society is the way it treats its most vulnerable.’  The children’s achievements (in the face of adversity) and their tight friendship makes Ajay and the Jaipur Moon an empowering and heart-warming read. Just Imagine

You could also use this book to discuss the depiction of a character - Mrs Surya. Her clothes are both interesting and obscene when you think about the poverty experienced by the kids in this book. She reminded me of the evil woman in Beetle Boy by MG Leonard.

"Her eyes were the colour of warm caramel ... her smile eclipsing the sun.

"She turned and gave a magnetic smile that he was sure was just for him! She looked magnificent as she went to stand on the podium ... wearing a silver sari encrusted with scales of diamonds that blazed in the light of the chandelier."

"Up close, glittering from head to toe, with silver star earrings, and the border of the sari snaking around her, she looked even more striking."

"Mrs Surya glittered from head to toe in a lace sari that was encrusted with diamonds and looked like the clouds of the milky way. ... she looked like a figure spun from light."

This is the second book about Ajay and his newspaper The Mumbai Sun. I loved the first and this sequel did not disappoint.

Ajay and the Mumbai Sun

Little Robot by Ben Hatke

 

The opening scenes of this graphic novel or toon are wordless. We see a highway, trucks and then move in closer to see one truck in particular. A carton falls off the truck when it goes over a bump in the road. The box falls off a bridge and into the river below. The wordless scenes continue into Chapter One. A young girl climbs out of the window of a trailer house. She plays at the park and then heads down to the river where she has stashed her toolkit. She finds a carton and when she opens it, she discovers something very surprising - a robot! He's been slightly damaged from the fall out of the truck so the girl, remember she has set of tools, sets about some repairs and before too long the little robot, who looks a little like R2D2 is up on his feet and able to walk. 

Meanwhile back at the factory the computer sensors ring out alarms because one of the units - UNIT 00012 - is missing. The orders are to locate and recover.

I hope this plot is making you think of The Wild Robot by Peter Brown.

Of course, things are heading for a showdown. The sinister robot charged with finding UNIT00012 is coming. The little girl has truly made a special friend so what will happen when the retrieval robot arrives? Problem solving, ingenuity and true heroism are at the heart of this story. Oh, and there is a lot of 'boom', 'zom', 'clink', 'clang', 'chonk', 'pling', 'ploop', and 'jonk' to enjoy along the way as well as lots more robots!

This delightful, nearly wordless graphic novel portrays a kid with gumption enough to take on big business and smarts enough to advise the factory’s fix-it robot on repairs even though she just might be too young for kindergarten. Despite having little material means and few human connections, this kid creates life in the inanimate and fosters community where none could exist before. Girl power at its best. A sure winner!  Kirkus Star review

This is not only a sweet and wonderful book about friendship, though – it’s a great maker space selection! This is a little girl who’s comfortable with a tool belt and she tinkers with a robot! What' cha Reading?

Blurb: When a little girl finds an adorable robot in the woods, she presses a button and accidentally activates him for the first time. Now, she finally has a friend. But the big, bad robots are coming to collect the little guy for nefarious purposes, and it's all up to a five-year-old armed only with a wrench and a fierce loyalty to her mechanical friend to save the day!

This is not a book an Australian school library could ever add to their collection which is such a dreadful shame. Here in Australia this book, with only 135 pages, costs over AUS$45. Why oh why?

In 2016 Little Robot won Will Eisner award (Considered the “Oscars” of the comic book industry, are handed out each year in a gala ceremony at Comic-Con International: San Diego. Named for renowned cartoonist Will Eisner (creator of “The Spirit” and pioneer of the graphic novels), the Awards are given out in more than two-dozen categories covering the best publications and creators of the previous year):

2016 Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8): Little Robot, by Ben Hatke 

2023 Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8) Chibi Usagi: Attack of the Heebie Chibis, by Julie and Stan Sakai

Other 2023 entries for ages up to 8 years:

Beneath The Trees: A Fine Summer, by Dav (Magnetic Press)

Fox + Chick: Up and Down: and Other Stories, by Sergio Ruzzier (Chronicle Books)

Grumpy Monkey Who Threw That? by Suzanne Lang and Max Lang (Random House Studio)

Hey, Bruce!: An Interactive Book, by Ryan Higgins (Disney/Hyperion)

Here is the full list of past winners:

2012 Dragon Puncher Island, by James Kochalka (Top Shelf)

2013 Babymouse for President, by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (Random House)

2014 Itty Bitty Hellboy, by Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani (Dark Horse)

2015 The Zoo Box, by Ariel Cohn and Aron Nels Steinke (First Second)

2016 Little Robot, by Ben Hatke (First Second)

2017 Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea, by Ben Clanton (Tundra)

2018 Good Night, Planet, by Liniers (Toon Books)

2019 Johnny Boo and the Ice Cream Computer, by James Kochalka (Top Shelf/IDW)

2020 Comics: Easy as ABC, by Ivan Brunetti (TOON)

2022 Chibi Usagi: Attack of the Heebie Chibis, by Julie and Stan Sakai (IDW)

2023 The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster! by Mo Willems (Union Square Kids)

Here are some other books (graphic novels) by Ben Hatke:

Count the Stars by Raewyn Caisley illustrated by Gabriel Evans

"At school, Maddie like science but mathematics was easily her favourite subject. Miss Tandy put a star on her work every day, sometime two. They looked like kisses."

This book beautifully demonstrated that maths is everywhere. In music, the brick paves dad is laying for the path, counting the canteen lunch money, cooking with mum, and of course in the stars. But one day Maddie realises something is missing in her life - a friend. 

I'm a huge fan of Gabriel Evans art. I have a Pinterest of picture books that explore maths concepts. There is a perfect amount of show don't tell in this book. When Maddie says there are lots of way to tell the time, if you look carefully, you will spy a sundial, a calendar, dad's watch and even an astrolobe.

After you read this book to your class it could be a good plan to focus on one double spread each week or fortnight. Children in my school library were always fascinated by my watch and my ideas about clocks. I like clocks without numbers - not digital clocks - clocks are usually a circle - yes you can work out the time by just looking at the hands. As a child we had a clock in my kitchen made by my dad - it had no numbers just a nail marker for 12, 6, 9 and 3. I even have a Pinterest of watches and clocks!

This could be a fairly dry book filled with maths concepts, but it is not - the addition of warm family scenes, interesting school lessons especially the one where they make paper snowflakes and most of all the making of a friend who also loves maths and the stars and who offers the promise of a happier future for young Maddie.

The end papers could be used as a poster in your classroom - there are twenty-four definitions of maths concepts to explore. 

Companion reads:

Stars and Poppy Seeds

Count on me

How to count to One

Jabari Tries by Gaia Cornwall

"I'm making a flying machine today! Jabari told his dad."

Little sister Nika would love to help but Jabari says NO - this is HIS machine and he will make it fly - right across the garden. 

Then his dad says:

"You know, I bet Nika would love to help out ... what if you thought of her more like a partner?"

Nika joins in and helps but the plane just won't work. When the plane crashes yet again dad says:

"It looks like a frustrating problem ... When I'm frustrated I gather up all my patience and take a deep breath, and blow away all the mixed feelings inside ... And then I try again."

This is the second book about Jabari. I am not a fan of books with "messages" but I love the message in this book and the way it is conveyed. Themes of cooperation; problem solving; perseverance; sibling relationships; listening to wisdom; and accepting help from others.

This generously sized picture book offers a lovely picture of mentorship and healthy relationships in the context of a thriving Black family with dark skin tones. Jabari’s emotional ups and downs will be familiar to young children, and his hard-won success feels triumphant. Kirkus Star review

With older students you could also use this book to research the inventors that Jabari admires - Lewis Howard Latimer (electricity); Dr Flossie Wong-Staal (HIV AIDS); Roy Allela (Sign language gloves); and Dr Shirley Ann Jackson (Physics). Actually I think these choices reflect more about the author and not Jabari who is perhaps a little too young to know about these four inventors. 

Here is the previous book about Jabari:

Publisher blurb: Jabari is definitely ready to jump off the diving board. He’s finished his swimming lessons and passed his swim test, and he’s a great jumper, so he’s not scared at all. “Looks easy,” says Jabari, watching the other kids take their turns. But when his dad squeezes his hand, Jabari squeezes back. He needs to figure out what kind of special jump to do anyway, and he should probably do some stretches before climbing up onto the diving board. In a sweetly appealing tale of overcoming your fears, newcomer Gaia Cornwall captures a moment between a patient and encouraging father and a determined little boy you can’t help but root for.

Here is an interview where Gaia talks about Jabari Jumps. 

Mary Underwater by Shannon Doleski

I mentioned this book was on my November and December reading pile. I only just picked it up last night (it is January) and I finished in today - YES it is that good.  This story is confronting but it is also a gentle story of first love and somehow those tender scenes balance out the horrible violence by Mary's father.

Mary's father has been in jail. This means things are slightly less fraught at home but as the story opens he has been released and Mary knows things will soon turn bad - very bad. Her father is a violent man and he takes his anger out on his wife and daughter. Every day, every single day, Mary lives in fear of what this man might do to her. This means her school work is suffering. The nuns in her Catholic school have noticed and social workers are involved but Mary is desperate not to be sent to foster care. 

The science teacher sets a group assignment and a boy in Mary's seventh grade class, Kip Dwyer, asks to be her partner. Together they build a model submarine but that is only the beginning. Mary wants to do something bigger, something more heroic like her personal hero Joan of Arc. Mary also wants to escape from her father.

Interspersed through the book are extracts about Joan of Arc and her amazing life. 

Kip and Mary, with the help of new friends, work together to build a real submarine. This part does seem rather fanciful but I did find it quite fascinating (Ms Yingling agrees). Especially since I recently read another book about life in a submarine. (The Reindeer and the Submarine by Beverley McWilliams)

Here are some text quotes from Mary Underwater:

"He leans over and pulls me up by my hands. He doesn't drop them, and my palm is pressed warm against his. So warm. We are glued together. ... "Can I hold your hand when we walk back?' I nod because I don't trust myself to talk. He can."

"I panic, jumping up. After midnight with the boy I, well, I don't know. The boy I like. That seems dangerous. Handing him my heart, the one beating wildly against my ribs, seems dangerous."

"You deserve kindness, just like everyone else in this world. You're just not used to it ... You are worthy, Mary.' 'Worthy of what?' My heart feels like it's been split open. ... 'Everything , honey. Happiness. Love. You deserve it all. Your parents forgot to tell you that."

A ruggedly heartwarming tale of resilience and romance. Kirkus

The violence balanced against hope and the importance of terrific friends that are explored in this book reminded me of this wonderful Australian book:

Dragon Skin

I do not want you to worry about the domestic violence in Mary Underwater but I do wish the cover was a little less junior looking. I suggest this is a Young Adult book for readers aged 12+. The violence is truly terrible but the tenderness of first love is utterly beautiful. Here is the moment of their first kiss:

"I kiss Kip Dwyer on the mouth. And it is a little messy. But. It is starry nights on a bridge. And fireworks. Warm hugs on porches. It is floating and flying and drifting. It is perfect."

Here is the web site for US author Shannon Doleski. There is a link to hear the author read her first chapter. 

Just a quick note about my blog goals. In 2022 I completed 405 posts. I did have a goal of 4000 posts by the end of 2024 but I think I might need to extend this out to 2025. As of today I have had 896986 hits on my blog (nearly made the million - I am amazed) and 2786 posts. I've been visiting an older lady this week and today she asked me if I was famous - so funny - but I do hope you find my blog musings, and book choices useful what ever your circumstances - teacher, Teacher-Librarian, parent or even perhaps author. Thanks for dipping into my blog from time to time. Huge thanks to the people (including some amazing authors) who drop by with comments - these make my heart sing. 

The Girl Who Could Fix Anything by Mara Rockliff illustrated by Daniel Duncan

The Girl who could Fix Anything - Beatrice Shilling, World War II Engineer

"Despite graduating with honours in electrical engineering and going onto earn her masters of science doing research on internal combustion engines, Beatrice found it hard to get a job in her field. Hearing that she placed first at Brooklands racetrack on a motorbike she had modified herself, one interviewer said, 'I suppose the men let you win."

As a young child Beatrice loved to pull things apart and put them back together. She clearly had an engineering mind. Luckily her mother and father were happy to encourage her even though it is early 1900 and girls do not usually study engineering especially not at a university. 

Beatrice is most famous for inventing the restrictor that saved the spitfire and Hurricane. In 1949 she was honoured by King George VI with the Order of the British Empire. 

Read more here:

Magnificent Women WES

Meet Beatrice Shilling Stemettes

Beatrice Shilling - Revolutionising the Spitfire

I hope this post amazes you.  I had never heard of Beatrice Shilling and yet she played a very important role in WWII and later she worked on runway safety and she designed and built a bobsled for the Royal Air Force Olympic team. 

In US schools students in Grade 4 or 5 study genre and in particular they study the genre of biography. Publishers have seen this gap in the market and so in recent years hundreds of wonderful picture book biographies have been published.  I have talked about a few here on this blog and my friend from Kinderbookswitheverything has an enormous collection of them in her library. She incorporates this topic into her work with her higher ability Grade 2 students. This new one about an amazing engineer Beatrice Shilling who was born in 1909 by American author Mara Rockliff and British illustrator Daniel Duncan.

Blurb from the author web site: Beatrice Shilling wasn’t quite like other children. She could make anything. She could fix anything. And when she took a thing apart, she put it back together better than before. When Beatrice left home to study engineering, she knew that as a girl she wouldn’t be quite like the other engineers—and she wasn’t. She was better. Still, it took hard work and perseverance to persuade the Royal Aircraft Establishment to give her a chance. But when World War II broke out and British fighter pilots took to the skies in a desperate struggle for survival against Hitler’s bombers, it was clearly time for new ideas. Could Beatrice solve an engine puzzle and help Britain win the war?

An appealing biography that will inspire young scientists and those who may quietly rebel against the status quo. Kirkus

"Text and pictures work together to capture the life and spirit of a remarkable woman....The text is lively and succinct, full of vigorous action verbs. The expressive illustrations convey time and place beautifully and are infused variously with humour (such as when apprentice-engineer Beatrice, helping to bring electricity to villages, falls through a ceiling) and drama (as in a stunning double-page spread of London aflame during the Blitz)." Horn Book

I've added this Daniel Duncan book to my "to read" list:

A hat for Mr Mountain by Soojin Kwak

Nora is a hat maker. I should at this point reveal my late mother's name was Nora and her sister really was a milliner (hat maker). In this story, Nora makes hats for everyone - dogs, foxes, and even giraffes. One day she receives an interesting letter. Mr Mountain has seen her hats and he wants Nora to make a hat as a protection from the winter snow.

Nora enlists the help of her friends and she makes a hat. It is a giant knitted hat. It fits really well but then it begins to rain. The wool shrinks and soon the hat is way too small. 

"But Nora didn't give up."

For her next attempt at hat making for the mountain she gathers hundreds of beautiful green leaves and she weaves them into a fresh green hat. Unfortunately this creation looks so delicious, greedy animals start to eat it before Nora even gets the chance to deliver this wonderful hat. 

Back to the problem. Wool shrinks and green leaves are eaten by the animals. What about wood? Oh no wood can burn. It's another hat disaster. Sadly this time Nora does give up but her wonderful friends do not. The perfect hat can be made from (spoiler alert) - clouds! Watching all of her forest friends collecting the clouds is a truly special scene.

This will be an excellent book to use with your youngest classes exploring topics and themes such as problem solving, creativity, kindness, team work and generosity. This is also a book to share sitting beside a young reading companion because there are so many tiny details to explore in the illustrations.

Here is a companion read:

Brimsby's Hats

Soojin Kwak won the Silent Book Prize at the Bologna book fair in 2019 for her book Starbuilders (Costruttori di Stelle). This is a silent or wordless book so it does not really need translating from Italian but as far as I can discover this book is not available here in Australia.

How to fly like an elephant by Kyoko Nemoto

Here is the blurb:

"Everyone knows that elephants can't fly! 
They're TOO heavy and they have NO wings."

BUT these three elephants have three important qualities:

• persistence
• creativity
• teamwork

You are invited to help the elephants with their quest to fly.  As the story opens the trio have visited the library and borrowed books - "Fly"; "Sky"; and "Amelia Earhart.".  The elephants draw up their plans and then go in search of a propeller.  Up in the attic they need your help to open a cupboard.

Unfortunately the first flight ends in disaster.

"It looks like the wings are the wrong shape!"  So, you the reader, are asked to fold the pages of the book to show the elephants what the wings should like like. Then the elephants make new plans and modify their design. They work as a team. They work really hard. They do not give up! AND woosh off they go into the air.  Moral of the tale:

"If you're good at reading and playing, and thinking and planning, and working together and trying again, and never, EVER giving up ... then maybe YOU can fly, too."

The final pages give an overview of the history of flight which is perfect for young inquisitive minds but wait turn one more page - the elephant have a new idea - they will make a rocket!

The thing about jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

Surrounded by the cruelty of adolescence, Zu is awkward, smart, methodical, and driven by sadness. 

As humans we constantly seek answers.  When someone dies, especially a younger person, we want to know why and how and most importantly was there something we should have done to prevent this.

Franny and Suzy had been friends since elementary school.  One day her mum calls her inside and says "Franny Jackson drowned."  Suzy is obsessed by numbers.  These are just three words but these words begin a tumultuous internal dialogue which sees Suzy trying to make peace with her childhood 'friend' and her own mistakes of the past.

"None of it made sense. Not then, and not later that night when the Earth dipped toward the stars. Not the next morning when it rolled back around to sunlight again."

Suzy needs answers so she turns to science she also decides to become silent.  Her self imposed silence means finding the answer to this tragedy become very one sided.  There is no one to collaborate with - no other view points.  Suzy is utterly convinced the culprit is the Irukandji jellyfish and so her scientific mind sets about intensive research to find everything she can about this mysterious creature - hence the title 'The thing about jellyfish.'

The class have to present a science talk on a topic of their own choice.  Each chapter of The thing about Jellyfish begins with an aspect of the scientific method their teacher Mrs Turton expects them to use.  One day she shows the class a set of pictures of earth seen from space.

"Here I was, just one out of seven billion people, and people were just one species out of ten million and those ten million were just a tiny fraction of all the species that ever existed, and somehow all of fit onto that fleck of brown dust on the screen. And we were surrounded by nothingness."

There are three narratives in this story shown with different fonts. The present action where we read about Suzy, her family and her jellyfish research, childhood scenes in happier times when Suzy and Franny were best friends and the recent past when pressures of the peer group and feelings of alienation wrecked everything for Suzy.  The scenes where Franny's new friends reject Suzy and Suzy's own social confusions are quite confronting.

One of the bloggers I follow is Mrs Yingling and the part of her reviews I really appreciate is her final comment "What I really think".

So what do I really think about The thing about Jellyfish.   I knew I would cry in this book but really the tears were not a result of my deep emotional connection with Suzy and her terrible experience of the death of a close friend.  I admire her drive, her attention to detail and her deep research but I remain a little confused about Suzy.  I felt she may be on the autism spectrum because she was so obsessive about numbers and details and so confused by social situations but the final scenes made me revise this idea.  I am sure this is a book that readers over 12 will enjoy and perhaps relate to especially as they navigate their confusion with identity and peer expectations.

My big problem with this book, though,  is with the suggested readership. The New York Times says 9-12.  I totally disagree.  I think this is for very mature senior primary students but really it is even more suitable for junior High School students.  There are references in this book to same sex relationships and after an especially awful scene Suzy, who is twelve, finds her period has started. In contrast Kirkus say 12+ and I agree with this.

Here is an interview with the author.  You might also enjoy Counting by 7s and True (sort of).