The Rabbits

Author: John Marsden 

Publisher, Place of Publish, ISBN: 2008, Hachette, Australia, 9780734411365.

Genre: Childrens Picture Book

Year Level: Children Grade 3-7

Contributor: Stefan Roussos

This book is about colonisation and follows the story of an unseen narrator describing their experience as the rabbits are occupying their land. At first their encounter with the rabbits are friendly, but later it becomes obvious that the visitors are actually invaders of the land. This book can be closely linked with Australian history because it represents colonisation which both animals and humans have experienced. It would be a great book to engage students within in a classroom because it is engaging and identifies some key ideas which students can relate locally.

Tuesday

Author: David Weisner 

Publisher, Place of Publish, ISBN: 2011, Houghton Mifflin, Harcourt, 9780395870822.


Genre: Fantasy

Year Level: Grade R-2

Contributor: Stefan Roussos


This book is a wordless book which develops the narrative through illustration in a very engaging way. I think this would be great to use in a classroom for students to interact, take turns observing, and communicating what happens in the story. This could also be used to engage students in a lesson which incorporates the literature and language strands of ACARA. A lesson of this nature could include students engaging in the book then creating their own written text to develop the narrative. 

Millie

Millie - John Marsden

Millie is a picture book which follows the actions and events in the daily life of an adventurous little girl.  The story is very sharp and gets right to the point. Millie has her parents tricked as she has them under the impression that she is a wonderful, caring, loving girl. All is good until her parents discover that this is all not true, however, they love her regardless.

This picture book by John Marsden is very creative in the way that it is constructed. One particular pages text has been written and on the next page a picture has been used to contradict the previous statement. Students would be able to make meaning of this. The book only has the colour black, white and read in the pictures which create a particular feel and mood for the text. Students in years two to four would appreciate this text and would be appropriate in an English classroom. Discussion could be created about the faults we have, things we have done wrong, why we chose to act in a particular way and the effect this had on our family. The major themes within this text include: adventure, mischief, family and developing an understanding of right and wrong.  Students in years two to four would be able to relate well to the text and appreciate the way it was written. I found that the text and images complimented one another and added meaning to the story. 

Author: John Marsden. Illustrated by: Sally Rippin

2002 (Pan MacMillan Australia), Market Street, Sydney

IBSN 0-330-36427-8

Genre/theme: Adventure & Acceptance

Age: Years 2-4

Contributor: Keelan Mackle

Derek The Dinosaur

Derek The Dinosaur - Mary Blackwood

Derek the Dinosaur is warm and delightful story of a Dinosaur who was different from his brothers and all the other Dinosaurs. When the cold winter comes Derek’s talent is put to use and he is finally appreciated for the talent he possess.

This text is very simple, well planned out, makes good use of pictures and images and conveys the message that it is okay to be different and that everyone will appreciate you for it.  For these reasons I would use this text in a lower primary classroom. Students in year’s reception to year three would be able to gain a lot of meaning through this text as at this age students are developing personality traits and interacting with others who may be different than them. Information about Dinosaurs could also be introduced and discussed when reading this book as younger children would be intrigued about these creatures. I thought this picture book was very funny, uplifting and engaging and would have great appeal for younger readers. 

Author: Mary Blackwood. Illustrated by: Kerry Argent

1989 (Omnibus Books) Norwood, South Australia

IBSN: 1-86291-141-X

Genre/Theme: Fantasy, Problem solving, Individuality 

Age: R - 3

Contributor: Keelan Mackle

No Roses For Harry

No Roses For Harry - Gene Zion

No Roses for Harry is a story of adventure and determination. Harry receives a very strange and unappealing present from Grandma for his birthday, a sweater with roses on it. Harry hates the sweater and attempts to lose it by gaining help from a local bird. On an afternoon walk Harry sweater is spotted, however, it was now being used as a nest. At Christmas time Harry receives another sweater for a present, only this time it’s white with black spots, just what he wanted!

This picture book is a story that uses pictures to describe the writing on the page. If students were having trouble reading this the visual aids would assist them. A text like this would be most suited for students from reception until year four. It would be most suited to this year level as the students would be able to make connections about what is happening in the text, who the characters are, how the setting influences the outcome of the story and other decoding practices. A class discussion could be created about being appreciative for what we receive. The strong themes and messages within this text include: the giving and receiving, the importance of family and love. I thought this text was very clear and enjoyed the humorous way of which the story was told.

Author: Gene Zion, Pictures: Bloy Graham

1961 (Red Fox Books, Vauxhall, London

ISBN: 0-09-997880-6

Genre/Theme: Adventure, problem solving, Importance of giving

Age: R - 4

Contributor: Keelan Mackle

The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside

Author: Cynthia von Buhler

Publisher, Place of Publish, ISBN: 2006, Houghton Mifflin, New York, 0 618 56314 8.

Genre: Childrens Picture Book

Year Level: Children Grade R-2

Contributor: Stefan Roussos

This picture book is an interesting and different picture book than most of the others. This is because it is based on a real event in which the author uses first person narration in order to capture it with both written text and illustrations. In this book the illustrations are pictures of sculpted clay which would really be engaging for students because the images look life like. It could then be used within a classroom for students to look at how texts can be created with clay.

Baby Crow - John-A Rowe

 Baby Crow

Baby Crow is a picture book that follows the lives of a flock of crows living in a tall tree that all have wonderful singing voices. People come from near and far to hear to hear these Crows, however, the youngest of these crows was baby Crow that was having some trouble finding his true voice. This flock of crows endeavour to help this Baby Crow find his voice, but what it the right decision?

This text would work great in a lower primary English classroom and could also be integrated into the music or drama curriculum. The story is quite simple and with each page turned more and more narrative is introduced to the reader and is accompanied by a picture on the right hand side. This book would work very well in classes from reception until year three as this group of students would be able to appreciate the message being told in the text and relate it to their emerging beliefs about their own talents. I found this text to be very uplifting and engaging, Dialogue as well as description were utilised well within the text, which made the narrative flow and make sense.

 Author: John A-Rowe

(1994) North-South Books, New York, London

ISBN: 1-55858-541-9

Genre/Theme: Self Discovery/ Adventure

Age: Years Reception - Year 3

 Contributor: Keelan Mackle

It's A Book - Lane Smith

It's A Book

 

It’s A Book is a short children’s picture book which relates to the many digital literacy’s and different forms of narrative that are present in society today. In this book two characters are introduced. One reads books through a traditional format while the other posses a variety of questions about a book: does it have a mouse, do I need to plug it in? And so forth

This text would be great to use in an upper primary classroom as various discussions can be created about how technologies are influencing how we read.  I would target this book at students in year’s three to seven as they could understand the content and form discussions. Through this text students can easily connect to the humour, the various ways of connecting to a text, how a text is structured and how reading and accessing a book has changed. I found this text to be very enlightening as it made me think about the literacy’s that I interact with on a daily basis and how it has advanced over the past ten and twenty years.

Author: Lane Smith

(2010) Walker Books

ISBN: 978-1-921977-46-6

Genre/Theme: Humour, Educational

Age: Years 3 -7

Blog Contributor: Keelan Mackle

 

First Time Getting a Haircut

Author: Jaclyn Crupi

Publisher, Place of Publish, ISBN: 2010, Brimax Publishing, Victoria, 978 1 74211 632 7.

Genre: Humour

Year Level: Children Grade R-2

Contributor: Stefan Roussos

This book follows a young child on a journey to getting his first haircut. This book may be difficult to use within an educational setting as it addresses an issue which is more closely related to a child’s home life. It does achieve this well because it can assist a child to make sense of situation which often make then nervous.

The Tall Man and the Twelve Babies

Author: Tom Niland Champion and Kilmeny Niland

Publisher, Place of Publish, ISBN: 2010, Allen and Unwin, NSW, 978 1 74237 115 3.

Genre: Humour

Year Level: Children Grade R-2

Contributor: Stefan Roussos

This book is a fun and interesting early child hood picture book. I think it would be great to use within the classroom because young students would really enjoy the way the written text and illustrations work together to create humour.

The Great Possum Creek Drought

Author: Dan Vallely

Publisher, Place of Publish, ISBN: 1996, National Book Distributers and Publishers, Frenchs Forest, 
1-86436-083-6.

Genre: Children's Poem

Year Level: F-3

Contributor: Michael Blasche






This week I read The Great Possum Creek Drought by Dan Vallely, The Great Possum Creek Drought is a children's poem. This is a fantastic book for young readers, with great illustrations to go with the written text. A great book for students to read or be read too.