I am so Clever by Mario Ramos

"One gloriously sunny morning, the wolf came upon 

Little Red Riding Hood."

The wolf warns Little Red there are dangers in the woods. Ferocious creatures such as sharks! Little Red is not fooled. The wolf, though, thinks he has tricked the little girl and so he leaves her collecting flowers convinced he will soon be enjoying a meal of Grandmother with a little berry for dessert.

Wolf enters grandma's house (she is not home) and he puts on her pink frilly nightie.  He notices his own paw prints near the door and heads outside to clear them away. The door slams behind him and he left outside. Wolf is so embarrassed he heads off into the forest. He has no idea he is about to meet Robin Hood, the Three Bears, the Three Little pigs and even all Seven Dwarfs (who are heading off for a swim). Everyone mistakes him for the kindly grandmother.  Wolf is almost speechless with rage. He twists and turns trying to take off the nightie. Eventually Little Red Riding Hood shows up. She helps the now broken wolf but is this really the end?

I haven't seen the first two titles about Wolf but I imagine they are just as hilarious as this new installment -  I am so Clever.

Last week I was able to look through the shelves in the library of my friend and borrow some of her newest books. Australian Standing Orders offer a subscription of International titles. This book comes from Gecko Press.  We are so lucky they take the trouble to source fabulous books as explained here:

Gecko Press is an independent publisher, based in Wellington. Every year Gecko Press translates and publishes a small number of carefully-selected children’s books by some of the world’s best writers and illustrators, from countries including France, Germany, Japan, Poland and the Netherlands.

My friend from Kinderbookboard has collected over sixty other versions of Little Red Riding Hood for you to explore and compare. Make sure you add this title to your 'to read' list. It would be perfect to share in a class or library session and even better if you can share all three titles.  Mario Ramos has a wonderful web site. He wrote and illustrated thirty books but sadly only the titles featured here seem to have been translated into English. I wonder if he had plans for more books about our hapless wolf. Sadly Mario died in 2012.

Author/illustrator Mario Ramos 1958-2012 

Image Gecko Press https://geckopress.com/author_illustrator/mario-ramos/

Welcome to Planet Omar Book One - Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian

The real pleasure of this book is Omar - his imagination, the pleasure he finds in ordinary things, his infectious zest for life make this irresistible reading. The book also offers insight into the life of an ordinary Muslim family, something we don't often get ... LoveReading4Kids

My local bookseller Beachside Bookshop has kindly given me a big bag of books to read this month. Yesterday I picked up Welcome to Planet Omar. This is new book - I had an advanced reader copy. This book will be available this month. I read it all in one sitting and yes it it that good. I thought I might post some quotes from the author:

People like me simply weren’t in story books, when I was young.

Muslims may just be the most misunderstood group of people on the planet. I had to set it straight somewhat, which is why I chose to write a funny middle grade book about an ordinary Muslim family.

When I heard of the surge in faith-based bullying in schools, I knew I had to contribute something positive to the world that would challenge these stereotypes.

For those readers that don’t have Muslim friends, I thought it would be great to use humour as a tool to open a window into the lives of a Muslim family, to shed some light on things that they might have always wondered about, but were too polite to ask – for instance, why we fast or why we wear hijab.

In this book I learnt about Ramadan, the two Eid festivals and iftar in an easy to read and very funny story which at times was also surprisingly poignant. I totally agree with the endorsement on the back cover - this book is perfect for fans of Tom Gates and Diary of a Wimpy Kid but it is also so much more.

Here is an excellent review with more plot details. This book was originally published under the title The Muslims.  Take a look at the trailer to see the format of the text which uses different fonts and text features and lots of white space making this book very easy to read. I don't like to use the words "an important book" but I would like to put this book into the hands of some young readers and hear their thoughts especially children in schools where they have perhaps had no contact with children from other faiths.

Grandma's treasured Shoes by Coral Vass illustrated by Christina Huynh

The first thing I noticed when reading Grandma's treasured shoes was the power of contrasting language.  On the opening pages the shoes are:

Walk to the park shoes
Dance in the dark shoes
Fun shoes and sun shoes
Out and about shoes
Splash in the rain shoes

Then the reader turns the page and the tone completely changes. Grandma does have lots of shoes but her favourite shoes are worn and torn. They come from a different place and time:

They're old shoes
Frail shoes
Dusty and pale shoes
Hidden with secrets
Remarkable tales

These are the old shoes Grandma wore back as a small child back in her village in Vietnam. She wore them when the family were forced to flee, with no luggage, with just the shoes on her feet.  They became escaping shoes as the family embark on a long and very dangerous boat journey.

Here are some more of the powerful words in this text
trembling shoes
teary shoes
roaming shoes
weary shoes

This book is written for very young children and it is a gentle way to share the journey of refugees. Grandma (who was a very young child when she left Vietnam) arrives to the new land and is given new shoes. The repeated text from the opening pages gives the story a very satisfying sense of completion. Grandma may be old now but she keeps her little childhood shoes as a memory of times past and as a memory of her new life in Australia.

Here is a very detailed set of teaching notes.

And here is the web site for the illustrator Christina Huynh. You can read an interview with Christina. 

Coral Vass is the author of Sorry Day which has been short listed by the CBCA in 2019 for the Eve Pownall award. 

If you are working with older students it would be interesting to compare this text with the famous poem Choosing Shoes by Frida Wolfe. Coral Vass talks about the inspiration behind this story. I know it is far away but I would like to see this book - Grandma's Treasured Shoes listed by the CBCA for the 2020 awards either as a notable title or, even better, on the early childhood short list.

Read more about this book in this review from The Bottom Shelf.

Princess Beatrice and the Rotten Robber by Elizabeth Honey

Tuesday Treasure

Princess Beatrice is a little girl who doesn’t need rescuing by a prince – but unlike many ‘independent princess’ stories, the handsome prince doesn’t even make an appearance. Where the Books Are

A robber sees the door to the castle is open. There is a room filled with jewels in this castle. It has become a play room for the princess.  Princess Beatrice loves to try on as many of the beautiful jewels as she fit on her arms, head and neck. When the robber comes face to face with little Beatrice she looks like a Christmas Tree. He sweeps her up and rides off into the forest.

This robber has totally underestimated little Beatrice. She twists her bracelet into handcuffs, clips his boots together, and strangles him with a jeweled choker. Now she needs to find her way home. Luckily, as we know from the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, there is a trail to follow not of breadcrumbs but of spilled jewels. She hauls the robber onto his horse and sets off step by step. Her parents are overjoyed when she finally reaches home and as a punishment the robber is made "head cleaner and polisher of the royal treasures." It is a very happy ending.

Princess Beatrice and the Rotten Robber is my Tuesday Treasure because of the connection with another book by Elizabeth Honey. The plot of What do you think Feezal? cross references Princess Beatrice and the Rotten Robber which is why I would have kept this little picture book from 1988 in my former library. Sadly it has recently been weeded (culled).

Elizabeth Honey says: She’s a feisty little princess who provided inspiration for ‘What do you think, Feezal?’

This is one of those little books that could easily be overlooked, and of course it is long out of print, but the story is good fun, the heroine is brave and the illustrations are filled with warmth.  Here is a video of the story. Not sure about the way the narrator says the word 'castle'.

Image source: https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/105945/

Another book with a similar feisty heroine which you could pair with Princess Beatrice is Bossyboots by David Cox.

CBCA High Tea with our Stars

Yesterday I attended the event High Tea with our Stars.  I thought I might share some of the new titles which were introduced.

Each author/illustrator had 3 minutes to showcase a new title.  This seems almost impossible and yet each seemed to do this with ease and style. Their enthusiasm and joy in sharing their work was just a delight.  In all 24 book creators took center stage.  Here are a few of the new books that appealed to me.  I have included the book cover and a link to the relevant author/illustrator web site.

Libby Hathorn
New Book : Miss Franklin How Miles Franklin's brilliant Career began
Author website
Something to note: The illustrator of Miss Franklin, Phil Lesnie, also collaborated on A Soldier, a Dog and a Boy.

Aura Parker
New Book: Meerkat Splash
Author website
Something to note:  This new book is told in rhyme and is due for release in July from Penguin Random House

Katrina McKelvey
New Book: Up to Something
Author website
Something to note: Katrina has four picture book titles. She lives in Newcastle and her web site has some terrific book trailers.

Amelia McInerney
New Book: The Book Chook
Author web site
Something to note: Amelia has five more titles coming soon. Read an interview with Amelia.

Emma Quay
Newest Book: Sunbeam Baby
Author web site
Something to note: Emma is the illustrator of two of my favourite read-aloud titles - Bear and Chook and Bear and Chook by the Sea.  I also love her illustrations in Daddy's having a horse and Thank you for my yukky present. Take time to dip into Emma's web site. It has a wealth of resources for teachers and teacher-librarians.

Nette Hilton
New Book series: Princess Peony (Walker Books)
Author web site
Something to note: Nette Hilton has been writing books for twenty years. You might have some of her previous CBCA titles in your school library such as A Proper Little Lady, The Long Red Scarf and In my backyard.

Matt Etheridge or MCD Etheridge
New Book: Whitebeard
Author web site
Something to note: Matt is a journalist. If you invite him to your school everyone will adore his resonant speaking voice.

Carolyn Eldridge-Alfonzetti
New Book: Around the globe with Gramps
Author web site
Something to note: You can see examples of Carolyn's work in our NSW School Magazine. I think it would be interesting to talk to Carolyn about her amazing surname.

Frances Watts
New Book: Leonard doesn't dance
Author web site
Something to note: Leonard Doesn't dance will be released in May, 2019.  Frances is the author of some very special picture books but I would like to draw your attention to one of her middle grade novels The Song of the Winns.  I do hope you can find this in a school or local library. It is one of those older books that deserves to be re-discovered. I did think It's a Story Rory! would be a CBCA Notable title - make sure you find this book and share with with a group of children it is hilarious.

Antonia Presenti
New Book: not due until October I don't know the title but it is about time and I know I want it.
Something to note: Antonia and Hilary Bell are the creators of Alphabetical Sydney and Numerical Street. These are key texts in my school and one of my talented teachers has developed some very rich activities using these beautiful and quintessential Australian books. Antonia is also the creator of the very innovative board book Rhyme Cordial which was a 2019 CBCA Notable title.


Other author/illustrators who attended this event were:
Catherine Greer, Anne Donnelly, Peter Macinnis, Karen West, Susan Hancy, Elizabeth Cummings, Shelly Unwin, Kate Forsyth, Paul Russell, Lesley Gibbs and Jacqueline Harvey.

Lesley Gibbs read a poem from the beautiful book Boat of Stars which was recently listed as a 2019 CBCA Notable title.

Finally I am very curious to know more about the illustrator Sadami Konchi.   Here are two of her books:

It's time for the Sydney Royal Easter show - read a book!

Image source: https://mudgeehaycompany.com.au/easter-show/

I adore going to the Sydney Royal Easter show. I like to see the farm animals, the dog judging and of course the wood chop!  Visiting the library of my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything I spied three terrific books about visiting a country or city agricultural show.  In Sydney we have The Royal Easter Show, in Brisbane they have the Ekka and Melbourne also have a Royal Show. Many small rural communities also have terrific events to showcase rural life and produce and these are often even better than the huge city events.

Here are three picture books to share with your family or class:

Look in your school library for other terrific books by Nan Hunt such as Whistle up the Chimney and A Rabbit named Harris (I hope to talk about this one here soon if I can find a copy somewhere).

Gwyn Perkins book A Walk in the Bush won the CBCA Picture book of the Year award in 2018.

Take a look at this review for all the story details. You could pair this book with another title by Penny Matthews and Andrew McLean - A Year on our Farm.

Two little beginning chapter books you might find in a library on this topic are Boris on Show by Andrew Joyner and Showtime by Wendy Harmer.

This is Home: Essential Australian Poems for Children selected by Jackie French illustrated by Tania McCartney

Let's use the title as a way to gain an insight into this book.

This is home - the themes in this book (as identified by Jackie French) include Colony, The Stolen Land, A Hard Land, Heroes and Legends, A Nation Forged in Drought and Hardship, Anzacs, Immigrants, Learning this Land, Laughter and Beyond our Beaches.

Essential - Jackie says:
"If even a few poems in this book make you feel as if a window has been washed, and you see the world more clearly and more beautifully, then that's enough."

Australian - contributors to this book include famous names, poets from the past and names all young readers will recognise and ALL are Australian.  Here are a few:

Contemporary names - Andy Griffiths, Phil Cummings, Steven Herrick, Shaun Tan, Alison Lester and Danny Katz
From our Australian past - Dorothea Mackellar, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, AB Banjo Patterson, Henry Lawson and CJ Dennis.

And there are familiar and very famous poems too such as:
The Triantiwontigongolope
My Country (abridged)
Andy's gone with the Cattle (abridged)
Waltzing Matilda
Nine miles from Gundagai

Selected - Jackie French says "this book should have been so big you would need a forklift to carry it and a million dollars to buy it." "For every (poem) we included there were 20 more we wanted to cram in."

For children - The opening page reads like a table of contents. It does not cover every poem but I love the inclusion of headings such as:

If you are in primary school you may like ...

If you think poetry is boring, try:

If you want poems to sing to, look up:

If you want a poem of courage to help you face tomorrow:

I adore this new book. I plan to gift it to an adult friend of mine who also loves poetry. There is so much to enjoy. The illustrations are just beautiful. Some fill a whole page. I imagine they took many months to produce. Some of the best take the reader way beyond the words of the poem. The care taken with the illustrations reminds me of another fabulous poetry book I talked about recently - I am the seed that grew the tree.

From the moment I spied this book I knew it was special and then as a bonus I discovered it contains one of my most favourite Australian poems. I recited this poem as part of a country town drama group production called 'Yarns and Woolly Tales'. I still find the final lines quite chilling.  The words of this poem remind me of this famous painting entitled "On the Wallaby Track'.

Image source: https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/572/

The Shearer's Wife by Louis Esson

Before the glare of dawn I rise
To milk the sleeping cows, n' shake
the droving dust from tired eyes.
Look round the rabbit traps, then bake
The children's bread.
There's hay to stook, an' beans to hoe,
An' ferns to cut in the scrub below,
Women must work, when men must go
Shearing from shed to shed.

I patch an' darn, now evening comes,
An' tired I am with labour sore,
Tired o' the bush, the cows, the gums,
Tired, but we must dree for long months more
What no tongue tells.
The moon is lonely in the sky,
Lonely the bush, an' lonely I
Stare down the track no horse draws nigh.
An' start ... at the cattle bells.

There are many other poems in this book that I would love to share with a group of children. The poems about the Anzacs would be excellent to use for a school commemoration.  I also recommend you read Rainforest Song by Libby Hathorn and I Met a Man by Janeen Brian and the amazing poems by Shaun Tan too.  You will find so many treasures every time you dip into this wonderful poetry collection.


Page after glorious page of amazing verse accompanied by Tania’s iconic illustrations, it is pure joy to hold, read and savour. Just So Stories Sue Warren