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Saurus St is just like any other street . . . except for the dinosaurs. The Saurus Street Series by Nick Falk and Tony Flowers

The Saurus Street series

The Saurus Street Series

Saurus St is just like any other street . . . except for the dinosaurs.

Tyrannosaurus in the Veggie Patch
When Jack wishes for his own Tyrannosaurus, he doesn't expect a real live one to turn up in the veggie patch.

A Pterodatyl Stole My Homework
What bad luck! Just when Sam's finished his homework a pterodactyl flies through the window and steals it.
 
The Very Naughty Velociraptor
Tom and Tam are horrified when they find out Great Aunt Gertrude is coming to stay. She's got bad breath, smelly feet and her false teeth like to bite.

An Allosaurus ate my Uncle
When Susie won't hand over her pocket money to her mean cousin Walter, he locks her in the attic.

(Includes a video of the author, Nick Falk discussing the books and a video of the illustrator, Tony Flowers, drawing dinosaurs) => http://bit.ly/ZB8qhO

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Graeme Base: The Waterhole Exhibition 11th March-28th August 14

You've read the books - Waterhole, The Legend of the Golden Snail, Animalia etc. now see the exhibition of Graeme Base's famed work.

'This exhibition showcases the amazing artwork from Graeme Base's renowned 2001 children's book, The Waterhole.

Let these amazing images transport you from the plains of Africa to the Amazon jungle and the deserts of outback Australia!

The display features Base's working drawings, sketches and finished artwork, drawn in watercolour, pencil and gouache.'

=> http://bit.ly/gFOmXj

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Book of the Year for Younger Children in the 2010 Australian Book Industry Awards

Baby Wombat's Week

by Jackie French

He sleeps. He eats. He gets bored.

He creates havoc wherever he goes!

He?s Mothball?s baby - and he?s even cuter, naughtier and more determined than his mum.

Created by writer Jackie French and illustrator Bruce Whatley, Baby Wombat?s Week is an irresistible new picture book by the award-winning duo of the international bestseller Diary of a Wombat.

The very long awaited follow up to Diary of a Wombat - the illustrations are as beautiful as ever and the simple story will be adored by young children. Best of all, Mothball herself features in the story. Adults with an appreciation of Australian wildlife and children's literature will cherish these books as well. Weaver has the obstinate behaviour of wombats down pat but her affection for the animals is very obvious.

Teachers Notes => bit.ly/er2ur5

Buy the book => http://bit.ly/gLXAkj target="_blank"

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Christmas Book 2 – The Night before Christmas (with lesson plans)

The Night Before Christmas
by Clement C. Moore, Illustrated by Mary Engelbreit

The full text of the familiar poem is illustrated in Engelbreit's crisply decorated style. A large trim size (11" x 11") allows each highly embellished spread to hold a plethora of detail. Engelbreit's visions of sugarplums translate to a busy-bright patchwork of checks, plaids, paisleys and chintzes in this oversize volume. From the opening stanza's view of the non-stirring mouse's hole (a cracked teacup is his bed, a potholder his doormat, and a paintbrush is his broom) and throughout the verses, the artist adds lots of elves and ornamentation. The cast of rambunctious elves accompany an exceptionally jolly St. Nick as he leaves assorted old-fashioned candies and toys inside a home decorated in a spectrum of Engelbreit's trademark patterns and prints. Santa is not pictured as "dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot"; he's wearing a checked coat with fur trim and what appear to be leather bowling shoes. He does twinkle a lot, though. Kids -and adult fans of the artist -will enjoy poring over the copious details.

Activities:

Make a mini-book of the poem

Christmas Compare and Contrast- "The Mouse Before Christmas" vs. "The Night Before Christmas."

"Night Before Christmas"- "Students will learn about story writing, authors purpose, and the history of some of our Christmas traditions."

Visions of Christmas

Thought Audio

This big, multidisciplinary lesson called "Night Before Christmas" is on Writing and Much More

Literacy Development Activities

Reading activity

"Twas the Night Before Christmas": Retelling through thinking maps

Christmas Stockings

Lesson suggestions

Word sheets and Fill the blank

Similes and Metaphors

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Trailer for Australian illustrator’s new book: All Through the Night

www.deanjones.com.au Australian illustrator brings us his new children's book "All Through The Night" which takes us on a magical journey of awe and wonder through the dreamland of a young boy and his favourite toy train on their way to the morning.

THE BOOK:

All Through the Night
by Dean Jones

Darkness is falling, and weary children everywhere are snuggling under their sheets. A small boy lays his head against his pillow and wakes to find himself rocking and rolling along through the night, onwards towards the morning. Soar with him beneath the stars in a magical journey on the midnight express.

Read more here => http://bit.ly/ecTAVO

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What’s new – James and the Giant Peach illustrated by Anthony Gormley

Out now is the Puffin Designer Classics Limited Edition James and the Giant Peach, beautifully designed by Antony Gormley.

"Books should be good to hold and good to look at as well as good to read."
Antony Gormley

Celebrating Puffin's 70th anniversary, Antony Gormley, creator of the Angel of the North and Another Place, has contributed to the Puffin Designer Classics collection with this beautiful hardback edition of Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach.

This is a collectable, limited edition item, with only 1000 copies produced.

"Something is about to happen, he told himself. Something peculiar is about to happen at any moment. He hadn't the faintest idea what it might be, but he could feel it in his bones that something was going to happen soon. He could feel it in the air around him... in the sudden stillness that had fallen upon the garden."

Cheapest edition I could find for Australians is here => http://bit.ly/9cNEeN
or you can buy it from Amazon here => http://amzn.to/am8CWc

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The Very Bad Book

In a very bad wood,
There was a very bad house.
And in that very bad house,
There was a very bad room.
And in that very bad room,
There was a very bad cupboard.
And in that very bad cupboard,
There was a very bad shelf.
And on that very bad shelf,
There was a very bad box.
And in that very bad box,
There was a VERY BAD BOOK...
AND THIS IS IT!!!

Author Information

Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton are a creative partnership that began with Just Tricking! in 1997 and now extends to seven Just books and over a million copies sold. Their partnership continued with the award-winning The Bad Book, the off-the-wall success of The Cat on the Mat is Flat (which was shortlisted for the CBC Book of the Year for Younger Readers award), The Big Fat Cow That Goes Kapow and What Bumosaur is That?.

Andy and Terry are now published all over the world including the US, where Andy's Bum books have made the New York Times bestseller lists.

The Very Bad Book from Pan Macmillan Australia on Vimeo.

You can buy the book here => http://bit.ly/a07915

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An interview with Shaun Tan

Shaun Tan’s illustrated books – The Rabbits, The Red Tree, The Lost Thing, The Arrival and, most recently, Tales from Outer Suburbia – are loved and recognised by readers all over the world. Shaun has also worked as a concept artist for films such as Horton Hears a Who and Pixar’s WALL-E, and has just finished directing a short film version of The Lost Thing with Andrew Ruhemann. Spike sat down with him over the digital divide to find out about the problem of gravity, Lorenzo Mattotti and the beauty of emotional understatement in illustration

Read more ...

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Just released for kids – Hooray! There’s a hippopotamus on our roof having a birthday party

Hooray! There's a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Having a Birthday Party

Author:  Hazel Edwards Deborah Niland

The hippo is back to celebrate his 30th birthday with a brand-new book!

Join him and his friends for a jungle-inspired celebration full of games and lots of jungle-party treats!

Download all the things you need for your very own Hippo birthday party here (and find more details about the book)

http://bit.ly/dwo93X

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IBBY Names David Almond and Jutta Bauer 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Award Winners

Bologna, Italy...The Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), has announced that David Almond, from the United Kingdom is the winner of the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Author Award and that Jutta Bauer, from Germany is the winner of the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Illustrator Award. The announcement was made at the Bologna International Children's Book Fair, and the Andersen medals and diplomas will be presented to the winners on Saturday, 11 September 2010 at the international IBBY congress in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international recognition given to an author and an illustrator of children's books. In awarding the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Medal for writing to David Almond, the jury has recognized the unique voice of a creator of magic realism for children. Almond captures his young readers' imagination and motivates them to read, think and be critical. His use of language is sophisticated and reaches across the ages.

The 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Medal for illustration recognizes Jutta Bauer as a powerful narrator who blends real life with legend through her pictures. The jury admired her philosophical approach, originality, creativity as well as her ability to communicate with young readers.

David Almond was selected from 28 authors for the award. The four finalists were: Ahmad Reza Ahmadi from Iran, Bartolomeu Campos de Queiros from Brazil, Lennart Hellsing from Sweden and Louis Jensen from Denmark.

Jutta Bauer was selected from 27 illustrators nominated. The four finalists were Carll Cneut from Belgium, Etienne Delessert from Switzerland, Svjetlan Junakovic from Croatia and Roger Mello from Brazil. The full list of candidates can be read at www.ibby.org.

The ten members of the 2010 Jury, led by Jury President Zohreh Ghaeni from Iran, met in Basel, Switzerland on 13 and 14 March 2010. The Jury of children's literature experts comprised Ernest Bond (USA), Karen Coeman (Mexico), Nadia El Kholy (Egypt), María Jesús Gil (Spain), Jan Hansson (Sweden), Annemie Leysen (Belgium), Darja Mazi-Leskovar (Slovenia), Alicia Salvi (Argentina), Helene Schär (Switzerland) and Regina Zilberman (Brazil). Elda Nogueira from Brazil representing IBBY and Liz Page as Jury Secretary attended the meeting ex officio.

The Hans Christian Andersen Award is considered the most prestigious in international children's literature, is given biennially by IBBY to a living author and illustrator whose complete works are judged to have made lasting contributions to children's literature. Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark is the Patron of the Andersen Awards. The Author's Award has been given since 1956 and the Illustrator's Award since 1966. Nami Island Inc. is the sponsor of the Hans Christian Andersen Awards. Information, including a history of the awards is available at www.ibby.org.