New kid at school.

Growing up on the Gold Coast I was one of those kids who was never going to fit in. I wore glasses, had curly hair with a red tinge, when everyone else's was straight. To make matters worse, I had fair, glow in the dark, skin. When I went out in the sun I didn't tan like the cool girls did. I got burnt, went lobster red, my skin peeled and I got more freckles. Did I mention that I hung out at the library? I was never going to be cool.

It is refreshing then to see the hero of this picture book is a boy not unlike the male version of me when I was growing up. Yes, he has reddish hair and wears glasses. "His freckles look like birdseed on his nose. He has lips like my tropical fish, Ninja." Marshall looks like he has sweaty palms, but hang on, he can't possible, he is uber cool. How do I get to be Marshall Armstrong's friend? Another wonderful picture book about children finding their place in the world.

Marshall Armstong is new to our school by David Mackintosh.
Illustrated by the author.
Harper Collins Children Books.
Great Britain 2011.

If you like this picture book see also Special Kev, The incredible book eating boy and Sunday Chutney. (see separate blog posts)

Sunday Chutney

Sunday Chutney has lived in New York and in Outback Australia. Her family moves around a lot and so she gets dragged from school to school.

Sunday Chutney is one of those precocious, dare I say, annoying children - everyone knows one like her, and just when you think you can't cope with them anymore, you stop to think what life would be like without them.....and it wouldn't be pleasant. Sometimes a unique way of looking at the world is just what you need to keep on going. This picture book helps children understand that it is ok to be different and that the world is made up of unique individuals, just like them.

With obvious connections to the classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, this book makes it easy to scaffold learning through a variety of related titles, including the Alice for the iPad app.

Sunday Chutney by Aaron Blabey
Illustrated by the author
Penguin Viking Australia 2008

If you like this picture book try Stanley Paste by the same author, or Where's Jamela (see separate blog post).

Under the same old sky

Jamela makes sense of her world by using a star to mark her place. In her old home, the star shines down on her bed from outside the window. In a time of upheaval, with mum packing up to move house Jamela struggles to make sense of her place in a shifting world.

Jamela packs Christmas her chicken, her red suitcase, her books, her dolls and even her school things. When packing becomes overwhelming - and the bumps, thumps and fussing all becomes too much for her, she packs herself.

For children, this picture book deals with the upheaval of leaving their home in a way they can relate to. The story brings to life the noise, the angst and the stress of moving house, but ends on a note of familiarity as Jamela "sees her little star in its right place up in the evening sky" and she goes "to sleep in her new room in her new home - under the same old sky."

Where's Jamela? by Niki Daly.
Illustrated by the author.
Francis Lincoln Children's Books
London, 2004.

If you like this picture book about a little girl who moves house see also Sunday Chutney.

An invitation to look at the clouds.

For children their imagination is limitless while it is nurtured and encouraged by significant adults in their lives. Picture books read to them during quiet moments during the day, stories told to them as they are snuggled in bed, thoughts they have as they look at their world. All of these things, help them to learn and engage as citizens of the world. With the right encouragement this skill will carry through to adulthood with them.

There are few better feelings than lying on grass and looking up at the sky. With clouds scudding overhead, the imagination can roam free. It must surely have been one of these idyllic moments that inspired Rhode Montijo in his quest to capture the world of Cloud Boy.

A simple little story about belonging and sharing, it invites you to look up at the clouds and imagine what they could be. If you stand really still, and hold your breath, you might just catch a glimpse of Cloud Boy.

Cloud Boy by Rhode Montijo.
Illustrated by the author.
Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers New York, 2006

If you like this picture book about a boy with a big imagination see also Sunday Chutney.

Iggy Peck architect does Bachelard.

Continuing the discussion about children and their using home as their departure point for their interaction with the world at large. Starting school is another departure point in the journey to develop a concept of the world around them that is relevant and meaningful. What is valid for one child may not register for another child. That is the beauty of life and dreaming. We develop a scenario unique to each individual, adult or child.

Iggy Peck architect is the perfect picture book to pull this concept together. Starting at home, the lively text, moves on to the school environment and beyond. All the while our hero takes us along looking at the world from his unique viewpoint.

"Young Iggy Peck is an architect and has been since he was two, when he built a great tower - in only an hour - with nothing but diapers and glue."

In turn Iggy tackles, the Sphinx, a church and a temple, before building a castle from chalk.

"Dear Ig made it until second grade when his teacher was Miss Lila Greer. On the very first day, she had this to say: "we do not talk buildings in here!"

Iggy's world takes a down hill turn as he tolerates school without the buffer of his passion for building. All is looking dire until an excursion one day, where Iggy steps to the fore to rescue not only Miss Greer, but his 16 fellow students as well.

Miss Greer has one of life's lightbulb moments....."It all became clear to Miss Greer, as she crossed the bridge over the stream. There are worse things to do when you're in grade two than to spend your time building a dream."

Bachelard couldn't have said it better.

Iggy Peck architect by Andrea Beatty.
Illustrated by David Roberts
Harry N. Abrams Inc. 2007

If you like this picture book about a boy and his experience at school see also: Marshall Armstrong is new to our school as well as Sunday Chutney.

A sense of space.

The French philosopher Gaston Bachelard talks about the concept of needing space for dreaming. This is true for everyone, but particularly for children. In his seminal work The poetics of space he writes "Sometimes the house of the future is better built, lighter and larger than all the houses of the past, so that the image of the dream house is opposed to that of the childhood home…...maybe it is a good thing for us to keep a few dreams of a house that we shall live in later....for a house that was final, one that stood in symmetrical relation to the house we were born in, would lead to thoughts serious, sad thoughts and not to dreams."

For children, their home is their first space. Children grow and learn, within their home environment. It is the first space they experience before moving on to a wider context of the world. It is that safe space from whence their perceptions of the world gradually broaden.

Children often experience new concepts through their engagement with picture books. They have a concept of what they know. They see the stars and the sky outside their window, in the night sky and in their picture books. They understand the concept of the sky as a space and can relate to it even though it is outside their immediate realm. The sky is meaningful to them well before they have a chance to experience the sensory adventure of flying in the sky, or swimming in the ocean during a rain storm.

Picture books help children make the leap from their safe space at home, to the space of imagination, allowing them space to dream.

The perfect title to get children dreaming, to lose themselves in their sense of place? Try What the sky knows by Nike Bourke. Illustrated by Stella Danalis, this book provides the perfect opportunity to scaffold learning opportunities for children. With collage the artistic medium of choice by the artist, try craft activities relating to collage. Think textured papers, fabric, moon beams and glue sticks. Fun to be had by all.

What the sky knows by Nike Bourke, illustrated by Stella Danalis.
University of Queensland Press, Brisbane 2005.

ALIA Love2Read

I have signed on to participate in the ALIA Love2Read program. The reason for this is two fold. Firstly to support the National Year of Reading program as endorsed through this online training via ALIA. Secondly because one of my professional briefs at the moment is to develop online professional development programs for public library staff within Queensland. My theory being that the more online training I participate in from the end user perspective the better knowledge I have of what the issues are, and how to trouble shoot and address these pre launch of the program. So, suffice to say I am learning lot.

Summary to date is that learning relating to literacy resources as directed by the program is minimal, but the learning relating to the online delivery mechanisms has been well worth while, if at times frustrating.

Core learning to date is limited to how to participate in a forum......with key assessment based on how to develop a blog. No rocket science here.

I initially questioned why we needed a new blog, when I had a perfectly good blog in existence to build upon. Interesting thing I found out was that my original blog - developed as part of the online "License to test drive" was the only blog developed amongst my group of followers that had any entries added since the December 2009 development date. Makes you wonder how useful these things are as a tool for knowledge sharing. as for me, with approximately 50 posts added, it all became clear.....I have been "talking" to myself.

Due to assessment request I have now gone and developed a second blog, so stay tuned.