#365PictureBooks 56. Jonathan! by Peter Carnavas, illustrated by Amanda Francey

Carnavas, P., & Francey, A. (2014). Jonathan! Frenchs Forest, Australia: New Frontier.

ISBN: 9781921928611
Pages: 32
Age Level: Early Childhood 0-6
Genre: Picture Storybook
Rating: 4 stars

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Jonathan loves dressing up and trying to scare his family.  But they don't find him at all scary or funny!  Disappointed that his scare tactics aren't working Jonathan goes outside and climbs a hill.  But it's not a hill ... it's a dinosaur!  What happens when Jonathan gets the dinosaur to help him scare his family?

A gorgeous simple rhyming story about something that most kids can relate to ... playing dress-up and trying to scare their families.  Each page has one short line of text, which leads into the next page with the animal noise that completes the rhyme.  There is also lots of repetition making this a great story for young children as they will quickly be able to pick up the rhyming aspect of it and the repetition of words.

The illustrations are bright and very realistic.  The facial expressions on Jonathan's face are just classic.  The illustrations are a mix of full colour, with a pale-washed background (like the walls or sky), and just the focus images on a white background.  The scenes really draw you in and make you feel like you are part of the image.

Lovely simple rhyming story to add to your collection.  Great for using with younger kids for imagination and word/sound association.

I got my copy of Jonathan! from the Taradale Primary School library where I work. 

You can find a copy at Napier Libraries.

#365PictureBooks 51. Adorable Alice by Cassandra Webb, illustrated by Michaela Blassnig

Webb, C., & Blassnig, M. (2014). Adorable Alice. Frenchs Forest, Australia: New Frontier.

ISBN: 9781921928017
Pages: 32
Age Level: Early Childhood 0-6
Genre: Picture Storybook
Rating: 4 stars

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Alice loves to keep herself entertained in all sorts of creative ways, and everyday she likes to do something different.  With the help of her Teddy Bear, this week she is using her senses and wonders what it would be like to not speak, hear or smell.  And on Friday she covers her eyes and tries to recognise the people and places around her home using all her other senses. 

Webb uses language appropriate for younger children, and she has lots of descriptive language which is especially good for literacy in the junior primary school and with pre-school children.


Each of the senses that Alice uses is easily recognised or able to be explained to young children and can be made into an activity for them to try for themselves.

Blassnig's illustrations are beautifully done.  Done in soft watercolour, each page clearly shows Alice and her daily 'sense' adventure.  Her Teddy Bear has been depicted as a living bear and is always there giving Alice support and love.  The facial expressions on Alice and her family are realistic.  Young children will be able to relate to what is being read by using the visual clues in each image.

This is just an adorable book.  What a simple and clever way of explaining to children about their senses, or helping them understand other people with disabilities.  A great addition to your home or school collection.

I got my copy of Adorable Alice from the Taradale Primary School library where I work. 

You can find a copy at Napier Libraries.

#365PictureBooks 50. Clementine's Walk by Annie White

White, A. (2013). Clementine's Walk. Frenchs Forest, Australia: New Frontier.

ISBN: 9781921928475
Pages: 32
Age Level: Early Childhood 0-6
Genre: Picture Storybook
Rating: 4 stars

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Clementine is bored and decides she wants to go outside in the sunshine for a walk.  She makes messes everywhere as she bumbles her way around the whole family trying to find someone to take her.  But they are all too busy to take her for a walk.  Poor Clementine.  When everyone is finally ready to go they can't find Clementine anywhere!  Where can she be hiding? 

What a gorgeous story.  It has a simple rhyming text and uses language that is aimed at it's younger audience.




The illustrations tie in perfectly with the text and are just beautifully done.  They have quite an 'old-fashioned' look to them.  Done on a pale cream background your eye is drawn to the main focus - Clementine and her antics in trying to get the family to take her for a walk.  Clementine has been shown as a scruffy looking happy dog ... well until she gives up because everyone is too busy.  The illustrations are quite realistic looking, while being done nice and simply and not too complicated for younger children to relate to.  They show the energy and chaos that is part of having a pet dog.  

The end papers are just lovely.  The front shows a trail of Clementines mess, while the back has a map of Clementine's walk when the family eventually takes her out.

The rhyme and the story make this is a beautiful book for reading aloud whether you have a pet or not.  It is also a good title to have in your classroom or library for Year 1 students.   

Teacher notes are available for this Clementine's Walk.

I got my copy of Clementine's Walk from the Taradale Primary School library where I work. 

You can find a copy at Napier Libraries.

#365PictureBooks 35. Worries go away! by Kes Gray, illustrations by Lee Wildish

Gray, K., & Wildish, L. (2014). Worries go away! London, UK: Hodder Children's Books.

ISBN: 9781444900163
Pages: 32
Age Level: Early Childhood 0-6
Genre: Picture Storybook
Rating: 3 stars

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When a young girl is worried, she has a world of her own where she can escape to.  A place where nothing and no one can reach her.  At first it is full of all the nice things like cakes & cola, flowers and trees.  But soon her worries follow her and she can't escape them.  Only her family and friends can help her, but can she get back to them?

Told in rhyme this book gets a powerful message across in a gentle and sensitive way.  The language is appropriate for the age group it is intended for - pre-school and early primary school students.

Wildish's illustrations add to the gentle and sensitive message.  The illustrations are very bright and colourful.  The little girls imagination is depicted with pink unicorns, delicious giant ice-creams & cakes and cute little animals.  Even when the 'worries' start to intrude in the little girls special place they are done in hues of gold and pink - depicting the 'monster' but not in a way that is terrifying to the reader.

The final pages get the message across of family, friends, love and kindness being the place to go when your worries start to get to you.  

I only wish that the character had been 'changed out' every few pages to a young boy, and maybe characters of different ethnicity.  The illustrations would work with both boys & girls.  I'm just thinking slightly older children are starting to get a bit "oooh I'm not reading a book about girls" when the message is so important to all children, regardless of sex or ethnicity.      

This is such a beautiful book about a serious topic relevant to so many children (and adults).  It would work really well as part of the new-year-at-school introduction when schools, our school especially, do a 'You, Me, We' topic starter.  Another book it would work well with is A Huge Bag of Worries by Virginia Ironside.

I'm loving the very last page:

I feel so much better,

Not lonely or down.

And as for my worries?

They've upped and left town!

The next time I'm troubled,

There's a place I will go.

Not a world of my own.

But to someone I know.

I got my copy of Worries go away! from the Taradale Primary School library where I work. 

You can find a copy at Napier Libraries.

#365PictureBooks 29. Catch That Plane! by Sally Sutton, illustrated by Sylvie Currin Korankova

Sutton, S. (2014). Catch That Plane! Newton, Australia: Scholastic.

ISBN: 9781921720680
Pages: 24
Age Level: Early Childhood 0-6
Genre: Picture Storybook / NZ Fiction / Non-fiction Read-Aloud
Rating: 4 stars

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Rushing to the

airport.

What do I see?

Plane at the gate,

a-ready and a-steady.

I hope it's going to wait.

We're late as late can be! 

Kiwi author, Sally Sutton, has presented us with a fantastic book about going on a plane trip for the first time and the hustle and bustle that you find in an airport.  It goes through all the aspects of departure, from arriving at the airport through to take-off.

Told in repetitive and simple text, it is aimed at young children - 3-6yrs.  There is a kind-of rhyme to it but I find it a bit disjointed.  Better to try not to rhyme it.  The first and last line rhyme, and the two lines in the middle rhyme.

Krankova's illustrations tell the story really well.  Done in muted colours with a bluey-grey background, they make the main point of each page stand out.  Many of the illustrations are very 'busy', however that is in keeping with the chaos that is often part and parcel of an airport.  You could tell the story by the illustrations alone which makes it a great book for children to read alone.

At the rear, there is a 'Facts' page with a glossary of terms asking children to see if they can spot each item in the book.  The information in this has also been worded at the same level making this a really good non-fiction narrative for young children, either to just enjoy because they like planes, and for those that are about to go on, or have just be on, and airplane.

This is a really good book to read to your child if they have never been on a plane before and you are about to head off overseas (or even within the country).  

This would also be a good book for using in class as a non-fiction narrative for a variety of reasons including sequencing, procedures, transportation, and story-starters - each page is a great place for children to start their own story, especially if they have been on a plane trip and they need a reminder to help them visualise their own trip.

I'm looking forward to sharing this book with our junior students and teachers this year. 

I got my copy of Catch That Plane! from the Taradale Primary School library where I work. 

You can find a copy at Napier Libraries.

#365PictureBooks 25. Aaaarrgghh, Spider! by Lydia Monks

Monks, L. (2013). Aaaarrgghh, Spider! London, UK: Egmont.

ISBN: 9781405210447
Pages: 32
Age Level: Early Childhood 0-6
Genre: Picture Storybook
Rating: 4 stars

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Poor Spider just wants to belong to a family.  The only problem is that she scares everyone so much that they just want to get rid of her.  What can she do to get a family of her own and be their pet?

Lydia Monks is the illustrator of Julia Donaldson's What the Ladybird Heard. 

Monk's has written and illustrated a most gorgeous story about belonging and finding a home of your own.  The story is told in short simple sentences that younger children will be able to understand.  There are two different fonts and sizes to differentiate between the spider talking and the people talking, and their tone of voice.  It is quite an effective way for children to start understanding how to follow a story and that different people can have a 'voice' in it.  

The illustrations are really bright.  They are a mix of full page images and pages with sequential  images (almost like a graphic novel).  This is a great way of getting the point across about time lapse and that things happen in a particular order.  Ohhh, and there are sparkles!!!  The front cover and a double-page spread towards the back have glitter to depict the spider webs.  Lovely!

The characters are very simply drawn but they are appropriate for the age group this book is aimed at.  The expressions on their faces are so true to life (especially if you are not a fan of spiders!), and even the spider's facial expressions are very easy to determine. 

I particularly like the first page where the room and everyone in it are upside down.  Or are they???  After all this IS a story about a spider, and where you usually find them?

What a lovely book to add to your collection.  Yes, it's about spiders, but at it's heart it is about belonging and being a part of a family.

I got my copy of Aaaarrgghh, Spider! from the Taradale Primary School library where I work. 

You can find a copy at Napier Libraries.