Square by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen

Square is the second book in a set of three. You can probably guess all the titles Circle, Triangle and here is Square. One very interesting thing I noticed after reading reviews of the Shapes Trilogy is the wildly divergent audience suggestions. Kirkus say Square is for 10+, Triangle is for ages 2-4 and Circle is for 4-8.  I wonder if these were the ages Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen anticipated for these three wonderful books.  In my view these three books could easily be enjoyed by children in Kindergarten right up to adult readers.

Square is such a deep book. How amazing. It has very few words. It does not use a complex vocabulary and has only two shapes as the characters. For me, though, this is not a simple book. It is a book about work (is it futile?), creativity, self esteem and point of view. There would be so much to discuss here with a class of older students.

Square is working hard. His 'job' seems to follow the same routine every day. He seems okay with his life. Perhaps he doesn't question why the blocks need moving each day. Along comes Circle. She sees his blocks and declares they are a work of art. Square in not sure about this new idea. Circle praises the talents of Square and commissions him to make a circle. Square tries so hard but making a perfect circle from one his blocks proves impossible. Square feels like a failure but Circle sees the world in a different way. She sees wonder in his work - a circle of stones with a puddle in the middle which provides a perfect reflection.

"You are a genius,' said Circle.
But was he really?"

I love the shape of Square - it is a square, of course, but with rounded edges. I love the cover made from thick card the kind you usually find on board books. And I love those expressive eyes which seem to look straight at the reader.

Walker Books have made a set of teaching notes based around all three books. Watch this video where Mac and Jon talk about their books. Here is an interview with Mac and Jon.

Read some reviews.

• Publishers Weekly
• The Book Sniffer

This book takes a sweeter turn from its prankish predecessor in that Square works hard to create something for Circle, only to feel like he failed; but when Circle sees what he created, she is “beguiled” once more by his genius.  School Library Journal

For all its brevity, chockablock with philosophical topics to ponder and debate. Kirkus

The Peacock Detectives by Carly Nugent

There is a lot going on in Cassie's life right now. On the surface two peacocks have escaped from the holiday flats across the road. Cassie knows she has terrific powers of observation and she has also had some success, in the past, as a peacock detective. Cassie enlists the help of her friend Jonas and they set off to look around their town even crossing the bridge to The Other Side of Town.

"I'm not allowed to go over the bridge by myself, because over the bridge is The Other Side of Town."

All of that would make for a simple detective or mystery story but The Peacock Detectives is so much more.

Just as we saw in The Elephant by Peter Carnavas something is wrong with Cassie's dad. He is sad, he spends a lot of time in his study and strangely he keeps buying small china ornaments which are stored in their boxes on every spare shelf in the house. Then to top all of this off mum says she is moving to a flat on The Other Side of Town, Cassie's sister Diana is now sleeping in a tent in the backyard and practicing Buddhism and Grandpa is very ill in hospital and Cassie is not allowed to see him.

Here are a set of Book Club questions. Text Publishing also have a set of teaching notes. Take minute to read the comments by Kids Book Review.   The Peacock Detectives is a 2019 CBCA Notable book (Younger Readers).

Raising Readers by Megan Daley

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tuesday Treasures - the list

Today is not Tuesday but I thought I might list here the books I plan to include in my Tuesday Treasures posts over the coming months. This list will help me plan my posts and hunt for books to borrow from my friend's wonderful school library and I do have a few in my own collection too. There are a range of Picture Books here from those you might read to children aged 3-5 right through to titles for a senior primary class and beyond.

In Australian school libraries the term for removing books from a collection is weeding. Weeding is an important library housekeeping procedure to make space for new books and to remove damaged copies but  hidden among the huge piles of weeding, teachers and teacher librarians, have to keep an eye for for treasures.

Very sadly these titles have recently been weeded from my former library.  I hope to use these Tuesday Treasure posts to alert others to the value of each of these titles and in the hope another library might decide to keep these very special books. Some are personal favourites, some have quite important syllabus links, some allow a teacher or teacher librarian to explore the body of work by a particular author or illustrator (especially those by an Australian) and some are just perfect books to read aloud to a class either for a purpose (such as bullying) or just to read for fun. Nearly all of these books are out of print.

Aktil’s Bicycle Ride by Inga Moore

Aktil’s big swim by Inga Moore

Albert and Lila by Rafik Schami

Anno’s mysterious multiplying jar by Anno

At home with Tom and Pippo by Helen Oxenbury

Bad hare day by Miriam Moss

Banjo and Ruby Red Red Libby Gleeson

Barty’s Scarf by Sally Chambers

Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka

Bear goes to town Anthony Browne

The blue balloon Mick Inkpen

A book of Letters by Ken Wilson-Max

The boy with two shadows Margaret Mahy

Can I keep him: stories about pets 

Catkin by Antonia Barber

Clouds by Peggy Blakeley

Come on rain by Karen Hesse

Daisy by Brian Wildsmith

Dreadful David by Sally Odgers

Eight by Lynn Lee

Elizabeth and Larry by Marilyn Sadler

Elizabeth Larry and Ed by Marilyn Sadler

Francie’s paper puppy by Achim Broger

A house for Wombats by Jane Burrell

Humphrey’s bear by Jan Wahl

I like books Anthony Browne

Jody’s beans by Malachy Doyle

Katherine and the garbage dump by Martha Morris

Laura’s star by Klaus Baumgart

Leaving Mrs Ellis by Catherine Robinson

Little bear’s little boat by Eve Bunting

Little big feet by Ingrid and Deiter Schubert

The loud book by Deborah Underwood

The mice next door by Anthony Knowles

Mouse paint by Ellen Walsh

Mouse Shapes by Ellen Walsh

The magic dictionary Bruce Whatley

Marty and Mei Ling by Phil Cummings

Motor Bill and the Lovely Caroline by Jenny Wagner

The mouse with the too long tail by Bani McSpedden

My brown bear Barney by Dorothy Butler

Nana upstairs and Nana downstairs by Tomie dePaola

Suzie and Alfred in the night of the paper bag monsters Helen Craig

Out and about with Tom and Pippo by Helen Oxenbury

Pancakes for Findus by Sven Nordqvist

The park in the dark by Martin Waddell

Patricia by Stephen Michael King

Pig pig grows up by David McPhaill

A pocket for Corduroy by Don Freeman

Princess Beatrice and the rotten robber by Elizabeth Honey

Q Pootle 5 by Nick Butterworth

Q Pootle 5 in Space by Nick Butterworth

The quiet book by Deborah Underwood

A rabbit named Harris by Nan Hunt

Zoom by Istvan Banyai

Re-Zoom by Istvan Banyai

Rude Ramsay and the roaring radishes by Margaret Attwood

Rummage by Christobel Mattingley

The sad little monster and the jelly bean queen by Kym Lardner

Sam and the Tigers by Julius Lester

Shock Monday by Gillian Bradshaw

So few of me by Peter Reynolds

Special days with Honey and Bear by Ursula Dubosarsky

Six Dinner Sid a Highland adventure by Inga Moore

Sloppy Kisses by Elizabeth Winthrop

Snow White in New York by Fiona French

Sorry Miss Folio by Jo Furtado

Squiggle Diddle plop! by Guundie Kuchling

Stanza by Jill Esbaum

The story of Chicken Licken by Jan Ormerod

Susie and Alfred in a welcome for Anne by Helen Craig

Tenrec’s twigs by Bert Kitchen

Ten tiny things by Meg McKinlay

The time it took Tom by Nick Sharratt

Timothy and Gramps by Ron Brooks

Tin Lizzie and little Nell by David Cox

The tip at the end of the street by Tohby Riddle

Tom and Pippo go for a walk by Helen Oxenbury

Tom and Pippo make a mess by Helen Oxenbury

Tom and Pippo read a story by Helen Oxenbury

The tooth fairy by Peter Collington

The tough Princess by Martin Waddell

The trip to Panama by Janosch

Tucking Mummy in by Morag Loh

Vote for Duck by Doreen Cronin

The weird things in Nanna’s house by Ann Maree Mason

Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

What sort of Day? by Sally Heinrich

Whatever by William Bee

You’re all animals by Nicholas Allen

Somebody and the three Blairs by Marilyn Tolhurst

Cornelius P Mud series by Barney Saltzberg

Baloney Henry P by Jon Scieszka

Black Dog by Christabel Mattingley

The Boss by Alan Baillie

Dougal the Garbage dump bear by Matt Dray

Tuesday Treasure

I have decided to highlight an older book each Tuesday for the next few months. Many of these will be out of print but you may/should find them in a school library. They are books I enjoyed reading in my school library.

Recently I met a lady who was driving a yellow and black Smart car with the number plate BeeBee.

It made me think of the bee character named Bumble in Dougal the Garbage Dump Bear. I love to quote his lines:

"To bee or to bee."
"As long as we all bee-have ourselves."
"Why can't he just let us bee?"

In my memory Bumble also said "I want to bee a bee." but I seem to have made that one up!

Dougal, the teddy bear, is discarded by his family and finds himself taken to the garbage dump. The workers rescue him and sit him on a bench by the pond. After a few lonely days, Dougal is joined by Bumble and then over time many more soft toys join them including "a shaggy thing with one eye that didn't know what it was." The boss finally arrives and says 45 toys are too many for the dump so the kindly workers take all of them to a cottage by the sea. "They couldn't believe their luck."

I love the little touches of humour in this book along with the extras in the illustrations such as coffee stains, a dead fly and the photo of a spiral binding because this book is designed to look like a photo album.

Dougal the Garbage Dump Bear was shortlisted by the CBC in 2005 in the Early Childhood picture book category. The winner that year was Where is the Green sheep? which is still available in many formats while sadly Dougal the Garbage Dump Bear is out of print although it did reappear as a board book in 2012. If you enjoy controversy, some libraries in the US banned Dougal the Garbage Dump Bear because of these lines:

And some days, mostly on Fridays, they would go out with the men after work and play pool and get home very late.
And always the next day, they would both feel very sick from drinking too many ginger beers, and have to sleep it off in the airconditioned dragon.
'Never again,' Bumble would say.
'I need an iced coffee,' Dougal would say.

I am so pleased to share this quote from the Kirkus reviewer:

The juxtaposition of Dray’s wry narrative with his quixotic and uniquely compelling snapshots proves engaging across the generations. A heartfelt message at tale’s end regarding triumphing over adversity proves that this odd duckling of a story is truly a swan.

Two other treasures which could link with this book are Katherine and the Garbage Dump and Simp (originally published as Cannonball Simp).

Go Go and the Silver Shoes by Jane Godwin illustrated by Anna Walker

When you have new clothes it is fun to wear them straight away and to wear them everywhere. Go Go has to put up with hand-me-down clothes but she is allowed to have new shoes. She goes shopping with her mum and sees the perfect pair of silver sneakers. "Mum bought them a bit big, so they would last longer."

Go Go wears the shoes everywhere including on an adventure to the creek with her brothers. Astute readers will have already guessed there will be a disaster. One shoe is lost. Go Go says she doesn't care and she continues to wear her one silver shoe on her left foot and a different shoe on her right foot. She bravely copes with the teasing of her classmates. Then a new girl arrives in her class. Ellie is fascinated by Go Go's silver shoe. After school the pair head over to Ellie's house and, well as you have guessed the pair of shoes are back together but what will happen now?

Here are a set of excellent teaching notes. Reading these I discovered Jane Godwin was inspired to write this book because

• she saw a lone shoe abandoned near a creek
• she heard the name Go Go (short for Marigold) and loved it
• she is interest in the idea of fate

There are so many great Picture books for your youngest students. written about shoes. My friend at Kinderbookswitheverything has an excellent collection on her blog. Make sure you include some fairy tales too.

Go Go and the Silver shoes is a 2019 CBCA Notable book (Picture book of Year). With an older class I would pair Go Go and the Silver shoes with Four feet Two Sandals and Those Shoes. There are some other text ideas here.

Looking for ideas connected with this book I discovered this wonderful site for shoe fans - The Virtual Shoe Museum. You can select material, type, colour, designer and more and see a huge array of wild shoes. Go Go and the Silver Shoes could be an inspiration for an art activity designing and decorating shoes.

From its sparkly cover to its stunning endpages, this is a unique story that had me enthralled to the end. Barbara Braxton The Bottom Shelf

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

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

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

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

Here is the first page:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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