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Teaching onomatopoeia? Use “Rattletrap Car”

Rattletrap car

by Phyllis Root

The internal rhymes, alliteration, and creative car sounds make a perfect read-aloud. The watercolor illustrations are full of action as the rattletrap car bounces off the road and seems to rush off the page. The words for the car sounds bounce, too, in their larger, uneven fonts. The illustrations contribute humorous detail capturing the family's alternating despair, inventiveness, and glee at moving again.

Read more plus links to

3 excellent Library/Classroom Suggestions


 Lesson Idea on using onomatopoeia

Examples of Art by Jill Barton

Read and listen to the book online

More books for onomatopoeia

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Another great read for teenagers/young adults: The Awakening

The AwakeningThe Awakening

by Kelley Armstrong

(The darkest Powers.  Book 2)

Genetically altered at birth by a sinister group of scientists, Chloe is an aberration - a powerful necromancer who can see ghosts and even raise the dead, often with terrifying consequences. Now Chloe is running for her life with three other supernatural teenagers - a charming sorcerer, a troubled werewolf and a temperamental young witch.


... Watch a video trailer of The Awakening and

Read the first 10 chapters ....

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Book – Hello Baby by Mem Fox

Hello babyAfter meeting a bevy of baby animals -- including a clever monkey, a hairy warthog, and a dusty lion cub -- the baby in this story discovers the most precious creature of all...itself, of course!

With an exuberant rhyming text by bestselling author Mem Fox and adorable cut-paper illustrations by Caldecott-Honor recipient Steve Jenkins, this book is an irresistible celebration of the joyful connection between parent and child.

  1. ---Take a guided tour of the private writing space of author Mem Fox.

  3. ---Listen to the author, Mem Fox reading the book aloud

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Like Far Out – Meet Shaun Tan


Award-winning author/illustrator Shaun Tan was already a star in his native Australia before he first gained nationwide attention in the U.S. with his brilliant wordless graphic novel, The Arrival (2007). Tan follows up with 15 extraordinary illustrated stories in Tales from Outer Suburbia (2009, both Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine Bks.).

Were you surprised that The Arrival was such a hit in this country?
I was surprised that people reacted so positively to it because I was expecting it would be a disadvantage, in some ways, with a wordless book. I always worry that my work will seem obscure and that people will not know where to shelve it. But I’ve learned that the key to illustrated books is to let the reader do the work. more » » »

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The Two Worlds of Annie Barrows


Did you know that Annie Barrows, author of the popular Ivy and Bean series of children's books (Chronicle) and Annie Barrows, co-author of the bestselling adult novel The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, are one and the same person? "Bless the booksellers’ hearts, but you could knock some of them over with a feather when I tell them about the connection,” says Barrows, currently wrapping up a 15-city tour for the paperback release of Guernsey. more » » »

Browne Named Children’s Laureate in U.K.


Anthony Browne has been appointed the sixth Children’s Laureate in the U.K. Browne, who won the 2000 Hans Christian Andersen Medal, is only the second illustrator chosen as Children’s Laureate. The two-year position recognizes the contribution an individual has made to children and reading. more » » »

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Today’s must-read – The Snowball

The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life

by Alice Schroeder In this startlingly frank account of Buffett's life, Schroeder, a former managing director at Morgan Stanley—and hand picked by Buffett to be his biographer—strips away the mystery that has long cloaked the word's richest man to reveal a life and fortune erected around lucid and inspired business vision and unimaginable personal complexity. In a book that is dominated by unstinting descriptions of Buffett's appetites—for profit, women (particularly nurturing maternal types), food (Buffett maintained his and his family's weight by "dangling money")—it is refreshing that Schroeder keeps her tone free of judgment or awe; Buffett's plain-speaking suffuses the book and renders his public and private successes and failures wonderfully human and universal. Schroeder's sections detailing the genesis of Buffett's investment strategy, his early mentoring by Benjamin Graham (who imparted the memorable "cigar butt" scheme: purchasing discarded stocks and taking a final puff). Inspiring managerial advice abounds and competes with gossipy tidbits (the married Buffett's very public relationship with Washington Post editor Katherine Graham) in this rich, surprisingly affecting biography.

Buy from Amazon

Buy from Random House

Buy Australian (from fishpond.com.au)

Buy the eBook

Download the audio book

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Today’s book is about babies, it’s funny and it’s great for older kids as well

lazy_littleLazy Little Loafers

by Susan Orleon

Ever experienced stroller envy? Ever wished you were applauded just for walking across a room? Ever wanted to loaf about the park on a blanket in the middle of a school day with nothing on your agenda but being relaxed and happy? Then you should be a baby. They’ve got it made.

In this charming, droll story, a world-weary older sister ponders the question, why don’t more babies work? Her answers, hilariously tinged with resentment, offer up a wickedly accurate picture of just how great babies have it.

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What happens if you give a cat a cupcake?

If you give a cat a cupcake

by Laura Numeroff

If you give a cat a cupcake, he'll ask for some sprinkles to go with it. When you give him the sprinkles, he might spill some on the floor. Cleaning up will make him hot, so you'll give him a bathing suit . . . and that's just the beginning!   ... more

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Book – Her Mother’s Face

Her Mother's Face

by Roddy Doyle

“Her mother had died when Siobhán was only three.” In this quiet story set in Dublin, a girl is left with a father so sad he never speaks to her about her mother. By the time she is 10, Siobhán can no longer remember her mother’s face; it’s an “empty space” that causes painful unhappiness. One day, Siobhán meets a beautiful woman who recognizes the girl’s sadness and listens to her story.

Read more ... and get the activities ..., or buy the book either from  Amazon or from an  Australian outlet.