Week 3 Personal Readings

'I'm the Best' written and illustrated by Lucy Cousins is a picture book about a small dog.
Dog decides to go around to his friends ladybird, gode, mole and donkey and boast about his superority and well.... everything!  As Dog gets too big for his boots, Dog finds that his so-called superiority is eventually challenged by his friends.

His friends become saddened by all the things he can do better, but Mole realises that he can dig deeper and the others come to understand that they have qualities Dog does not. Dog comes back to reality and becomes quite depressed over the fact that he isn't the best at everything and apologises to his friends.  All Dog's friends get together and give him a big hug and tell him he is the best at being their best friend and having beautiful fluffy ears!

I kissed the Baby! is written and illustrated by Mary Murphy (Judge of  So you Can Think You Can Dance America).  This picture book firstly captured my attention with its bold, graphic black and white illustrations.   News of a new born baby is passed from animal to aminal, each animal- bird, fish, squirrel, frog and insect is boasting of seeing, singing, kissing, feeding or tickling the new born baby.  Its a very simple and sweet picture book which captures the excitement that a new born baby can bring.

Week 3 Readings (Alicia)

My week 3 Readings were-

The Witches by Roald Dahl & Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

The Witches tells a story of a young boy who lives with his grandmother after the untimely death of his parents in a car crash.  She tells him all sorts of stories- especially about witches....r-e-a-l...w-i-t-c-h-e-s!  The boy gobbles up his grandmothers stories about how to spot witches(ex-wearing gloves to hide their talons. wigs because they are bald and blue saliva).  The story continues on at a hotel on the south coast of England for school holiday.  Little do they know this is the SAME place the witches are having their annual meeting.  The plot twists and turns using themes such as overcoming the monster, the quest, voyage and return, tradgedy, comedy and rebirth.  It is a touching tale for all ages that has been adapted for the stage and screen and remainsa classic since it's initial printing in 1983.


Where the Sidewalk Ends is a childrens book of poetry filled with fanciful characters and wonderfully illustrated line drawings (also by Silverstein).  Each page has a new character accompanied by a short almost always humerous tale told in rhymes.  I'd also like to mention that while researching this author for my author study I discovered that Silverstein was personally involved in the printing process of this book.  He had picked the type of paper and weight for his book to be printed on as this was just as important to him as an artist as the book itself was a work of art, an experience.  I remember reading these books over 25 years ago as a child and couldn't get enough of them, it's been so fun revisiting them again as an adult and I look forward to reading these poems to my daughter.

Week 3 Group Discussion Summary

Our initial discussion focussed on the idea of ‘deep literacy’ and the importance of introducing children to, and engaging them with, ‘big’ concepts and complex themes (as exemplified within some of our chosen books:  The refugee experience, habitat destruction, endangered animals, dancing bears, and whaling), and ways in which authors have woven these themes into a narrative structure, in these instances employing 3^rd-person narration.  We observed that the themes in the picture books mirrored the social concerns at the time of publication (e.g. Dancing Bears). We noted that some books (e.g. David Miller’s Refugees) are easier to fit into both the conventional narrative structure and 7 (or 8?) basic plots than others, and found that it wasn’t always as straightforward to identify basic plot structures as we had assumed. Libby Gleeson’s representation of a narrative as a piece of string with knots at strategic points in the story was a useful object lesson, but we remained uncertain about whether sub-plots could embody different basic plots. Consideration of the manner by which plotting story shapes can be an effective tool for analysing and engaging with what is really happening in a narrative was a useful exercise, and one which would be helpful in a classroom context.  

Week 3 Personal Reading Program

The amount of information that Jeannie Baker communicates via her intricate collages in Mirror is truly astonishing.  The reader is encouraged to reflect on the points of connection and difference in the parallel lives of a boy living in inner Sydney, and another in the Valley of Roses, Morocco by cleverly presenting them side-by-side.  Two cultures … two stories … one powerful representation.

My second book, Henry and Amy by Stephen Michael King also introduces us to two young children, using gentle humour in text and image to consider themes such as self-doubt, accepting ourselves and others, and friendship. In our home it is a family favourite.

Wilfred Gordon Macdonald Partridge, Author Mem Fox, Illustrator Julie Vivas

Wilfred Gordon Macdonald Partridge is a story of a young boy and his endevour to recall the memory of an old friend 'Miss Nancy'. Through the relationships that Wilfred had with a group of older people he builds an understanding of what a 'memory' is and how it can relate to a range of different emotions and life experiences. Wilfred's ability to collect a range of different objects, that trigger different memories allowed Mrs. Nancy to regain her memory and remember the friendship and relationship that she had with Wilfred. 

I feel that this resource allows students to construct their own concept of a memory and what it means to them. The understanding and empathy that is developed within this book allows students of all age groups to relate and create connections with their own life experience. 

Koala Lou, Author Mem Fox, Illustrator Pamela Lofts

Koala Lou is a story which follows a child's need for love and attention from her mother. Koala Lou competes in The Bush Olympics as a cry for attention and a need for her mother to notice and love her. Throughout the story Fox uses repetition of the line "Koala Lou, I do love you" until it is finally understood that Koala Lou's mothers love is unconditional. 

I feel that this resource would be especially useful with students in the younger year levels in emphasising that parents love is unconditional and that despite the amount of siblings or the impact of life in general there will be no deterrent of a parents love for their children.

Week 2 Readings- Alicia

My Week 2 Readings were-

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr Seuss & The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

How the Grinch Stole Christmas!....need I say more?  This is one of my all time favorite books written by the great Dr Seuss.  It tells the story of a miserly grinch that lives in a cave 'Up on Mountt Crumpet' above a town called 'Whoville" which is filled with the festive cheer of the Whos.   For 53 years, the Grinch watched Christmas come and go and he thought this year....IT MUST STOP! The story then goes on to describe the misadventures of the grinch and how he tried to stop Christmas from coming....he strips Whoville of EVERYTHING Christmas...every tree, wreath, beast and crumb.  Happy of his triumph that cold winters night, he returned to Mount Crumpet to recount his plight.  To his sickening demise he heard the Whos singing...he had not stopped Christmas...what was he thinking!  Just at that moment, his heart began to grow and he filled with a warmth he never knew.  The Grinch has a change of heart and sleighs back down the mountain....mush Max...MUSH!  He finally arrives back down in Whoville where he returns all the things he stole the night before and is welcomed as the guest of honor to carve the roast beast.  This story is such a classic....for me it never gets old.  I love the rhyming of the narritive as it adds so much excitement when reading it, the words almost jump off the page.  This book also has a positive warm and fuzzy message about giving and sharing and shows how good it makes you feel to be included no matter how different you are. 



In keeping with the Christmas theme this week, the second book I read was The Polar Express.  This story takes place in the imagination of a little boy on Christmas Eve patiently waiting to hear the jingle of a bell...anything to indicate Santa had arrived to his house.  Instead of hearing sleigh bells, he hears 'a hissing steam and squeaking metal' (pg 1).  It was a train, not just any train....the Polar Express!!  The story takes us on a journey to the North Pole where Santa chooses one child from the train to give the first gift to.  This is where the little boy, who can choose anything he wants, asks Santa for a bell from his sleigh.  As the night progresses and dawn approaches the little boy is delivered back to his house, he realises he has lost his special gift.  As Christmas morning is now here, he and his sister open all their gifts, he finds a small box that contains the special bell.  The children reing the bell and hear the most amazing sounds...however the parents do not hear a thing.  This part of the story makes me sad as it shows how the magic of Christmas is lost as people grow up.  Except in the case of the little boy...he still to this day hears the sweet sounds when he shakes it as he knows exactly where it came from. 

This book is a nice story to read around Christmas time and can be included in a study of how different cultures celebrate this time of year.  The illustrations are very warm and hazy transporting the reader into a dream like state.

Weel 1 Readings (Alicia)

My week 1 readings were:

Stellaluna by Janell Cannon & Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

Stellaluna tells the tale of a young bat who is separated from her mother because of an owl attack and her subsequent adventures trying to figure out who she is. She meets a family of birds who accept her as part of their family on the condition she adapt to the bug eating, daylight flying lifestyle they lead.  This book uses a lot of comedy that shows just how silly it is when Stellaluna tries to act like her fellow birds and when the birds start to hang upside down acting like bats.  I really like this book as it touches on concepts such as loss, growing up, acceptance, friendship and how someone from different backgrounds can learn from one another and live in harmony.  I feel this is a great classroom read as it can be incorporated into a lesson on bats or read anytime of the year to reinforce the positive message of accepting and celebrating our differences. 


Blueberries for Sal is a fun read (for the younger primary grades) as it tells the story of a mother and her daughter going up to the mountain to pick blueberries to can for winter.  While on the mountain there is a chance meeting as a bear and her cub are on a similar adventure, eating blueberries to plump up for the upcoming winter.  As they continue to pick blueberries, both Sal and the bear cub get separated from their mothers and start to follow the 'wrong' mother around the blueberry batch.  Eventually both mothers realise that the wrong child is following them and start searching for their own children.  They are quickly reunited and continue picking blueberries.  The story ends simply by Sal and her mother returning home to the kitchen to can their fruit and momma bear and her cub returning home as well preparing for the long winter ahead.  I really love the illustrations in this book, they are simple in style/color but complex in technique.  It brings back childhood memories for me as my siblings and I used to go strawberry picking and then can it for the winter just like Sal and her mother.  It's just a sweet little story.