Hetty's day out
by Pamela Allen
Hetty the cat wakes up, yawns, washes behind her ears, and pops through her cat flap into the bright sunlight. And what does she find in the big wide world? One plate of baked beans, two pork pies, three lamb chops - and that's just the beginning! This charming counting book follows Hetty on her big day out.
Merry Christmas, Splat
Written and Illustrated by Rob Scotton
The third hilarious story about Splat the Cat, the irresistible character from Rob Scotton, bestselling creator of Russell the Sheep Splat the cat can't wait for Christmas and is SURE he's been good enough for Santa to bring him all the presents on his Christmas list. But just in case Santa needs reminding of what an exceptionally good cat he is, Splat makes himself EXTRA helpful around the house. It's tiring work being helpful, but when Splat goes to bed on Christmas Eve he's kept awake by a worrying thought...Just how good do you need to be for Santa to visit? A charming Christmas story perfect for any eager child awaiting Santa's arrival.
The Jolly Christmas Postman (The Jolly Postman) (Hardback)
By Janet and Allan Ahlberg, Illustrated by Janet Ahlberg
It's Christmas Eve and the Jolly Postman is delivering greetings to various fairy-tale characters - there's a card for Baby Bear, a game appropriately called 'Beware' for Red Riding Hood from Mr Wolf, a get-well jigsaw for hospitalized Humpty Dumpty and three more surprise envelopes containing letters, and cards.
A Genre Study of Letters With The Jolly Postman
Questions to ask before, during, and after reading
Language arts/Reading - Historical fiction
Library Letter Writing Unit Plan
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."
This big, multidisciplinary lesson called "Night Before Christmas" is on Writing and Much More
Literacy Development Activities
"Twas the Night Before Christmas": Retelling through thinking maps
The Little Drummer Boy
by Bruce Whatley
Annie's grandfather carves the Little Drummer Boy from the leg of an old oak table as a Christmas gift for his small granddaughter. And throughout her life, Annie's favourite decoration travels the world with her and always hangs on the Christmas tree at her house, close to the top. Seasons and fashions come and go and Annie has children and grandchildren of her own - but the pair remain together, although as they age they both start to fade. But they put that down to being well loved.
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
Shaun Tan - yes he's incredible. The Lost Thing is his book. He co-directed this short film based on the book. To hear him talk about it, he thought it was a fun thing to do. And now ...
Passion Pictures’ animated short The Lost Thing has been shortlisted by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to advance in the voting process for the 83rd Academy Awards.
The short, directed by Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann, is one of 10 to be pre-selected from a total of 33 films that originally qualified for the animated short film category.
You can watch the film and read more about the book in an earlier post I did on it here => http://bit.ly/fHM5WD
How Do You Wokka-Wokka?
by Elizabeth Bluemle
Say "HEY!" to your neighbors and get your dance on! Jazzy rhythms, silly rhymes, and welcoming images are guaranteed to entice little readers.
Some days you wake up and you just gotta wokka. Wokka what? Wokka-wokka!
Get more information here (and the book)
If you are buying, you can buy direct from me, or find more information and compare prices at Amazon
Trailer produced by Sangeeta Garg
Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo--author of The Tale of Despereaux and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane-- has crafted another exquisite novel for young readers. The Magician's Elephant tells the tale of Peter Augustus Duchene, a ten-year-old orphan who receives an unbelievable piece of information from the local fortuneteller. Peter learns that his fate is tied to an elephant that has inexplicably fallen from the sky when a magician's trick goes terribly wrong. Why did it happen? And, how can an elephant possibly change the course of Peter's life? This darkly atmospheric, yet hopeful tale, demonstrates that when the answers to life’s big questions are opaque or unforthcoming, all is not lost. DiCamillo's rhythmic writing, combined with Yoko Tanaka's mysterious black-and-white illustrations, enchants and calls out to our sincerest wishes and dreams
In the Night Kitchen
Written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak
Sendak's hero Mickey falls through the dark into the Night Kitchen where three fat bakers are making the morning cake. So begins an intoxicating dream fantasy, described by the artist himself as 'a fantasy ten feet deep in reality'.
I'm not sure why it was banned, but possibly for nudity. The little boy, Mickey, is naked for part of the book, just as many little children are at that age!
