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25.01.2022 ‘One Photo’ by Ross Watkins and Illustrated by Liz Anelli is a moving picture book that sensitively deals with the difficult subject of Alzheimer’s (although the disease is not named in the book, except in the dedication). In this story the father starts losing his memory and beings taking photos of his possessions that reflect his interests, but he does not take any photos of his son or wife. The story explores the confusion, frustration, loss and grief the mother and son fe...el. As the story unfolds it becomes apparent that the father took these photos as this was the way he wanted to be remembered (through his eyes). These photos tell his personal story, they are his legacy. The mesmerising endpapers tell a story in themselves and are ones to be savoured and explored. The endpapers at the front of the book include photographs featuring people as well as significant events and milestones the father experienced and at the back of the book there are a very different set of photographs the son’s photos, his memories. Liz Anelli’s striking illustrations have been created by combining collage with mono prints to create what resembles photography from the past. Anelli says that the crumbly smudginess of her work is synonymous with the uncertainties of dad’s illness. This heartfelt story would be a valuable resource for families experiencing Alzheimer’s, but it is certainly not limited to a particular readership as it is a story which speaks about one’s individual story and what makes your story and legacy. See more
25.01.2022 ‘The Thing About Oliver’ by Deborah Kelly was another one of our favourite read aloud books for 2020. It was shortlisted for the 2020 Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year for Younger Readers and the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards. ‘The Thing about Oliver’ is a profound read that is bound to move you. Oliver has exceptional, special and unique ‘things’ about him he can hear the rubbish truck long before anyone else can hear it or see it; ...he finds water mesmerising and he flaps his arms when he is excited. Oliver also has autism. This is a story about one family’s life and what it is like for them living with autism. Deborah Kelly was kind enough to share more about her inspiration for this book, as well give readers an insight into her process and motivation for writing this story on our blog. The Link to this blog post: https://blog.readingopensdoors.com.au/?p=298
21.01.2022 The results are in! Better Reading has announced the most favourite books as voted by families, teachers and librarians for 2020. So many of our favourites are on the lists (pleased to see five Roald Dahl titles as well as twenty one Australian books included).
20.01.2022 Giant puppets used to help tell dreaming stories connected to culture, country and environment on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert. Mulan community elders and rangers recreated two traditional stories and these were shared by two female elders in Walmajarri and English.
19.01.2022 Reasons to read ‘We Are Wolves’ by Katrina Nannestad (synopsis included at end): This is a story based on real events about the Wolf Children or Wolfskinder, the German children who were orphaned after fleeing East Prussia when the Red Army invaded towards the end of World War 2. These children survived in the forests, scavenging, stealing, hiding from the Russian army and doing what they needed to do to survive such unimaginable and hostile circumstances. Even though th...Continue reading
17.01.2022 Blake spotted 'The Fire Star' by A.L. Tait on our bookshelves this afternoon and was drawn to the cover of the book. He has spent the afternoon and evening engrossed in this book. We'll be posting a review for this book shortly.
16.01.2022 ‘Night Ride Into Danger’ by Jackie French is a suspenseful, intriguing and hopeful historical fiction story set in New South Wales, Australia, 1874. The reader journeys with six passengers, all with secrets and shrouded in mystery, on the Cobb and Co which is making a treacherous night trip to deliver mail from Braidwood to Goulburn and has a strict deadline to meet the train heading to Sydney. This story delves into a fascinating slice of Australia’s history and as Jackie F...rench explains at the end of the story, she uses language from the time. The bigotry and racist attitudes from the time period are woven into the story and give the reader an insight into this part of Australia’s history. It is through adversity though that the passengers put differences aside and work together. This book explores themes including race, stereotypes, class, the immigrant experience, gold, bushrangers, family and trust. ‘Paw’ Donovan, an experienced Cobb and Co driver, with an excellent safety record is the best Whip there is. He is able to handle five horses and complete the gruelling overnight mail run, a fourteen hour drive on a rough, unpredictable track, with minimal, short breaks - just enough time to change the horses in order to meet the train heading to Sydney in Goulburn. On this night, the ever-present threat of lurking danger strikes when ‘Paw’ meets with an icy patch then a tree root. In the commotion of checking Lady Anne, an injured horse, ‘Paw’ is injured and unable to continue the ride. Desperate passengers, urgently needing to be in Sydney the next morning means the Cobb and Co must continue. It is Jem Donvan, Paw’s young son who takes the reins and drives the team of four horses and mysterious passengers on a rough bush track, through fog, all while dealing with unanticipated dangers in a calculated and courageous way. He has the responsibility to get all passengers to the station courtyard in time and safely. As Jem continues to drive, the stories and secrets from the mysterious passengers are revealed in thrilling and unexpected ways. This is an action-packed journey, full of twists and turns and incredible detail about the Cobb and Co, the Australian Bush setting and life in Australia in the late 1870s. Extensive ‘Author’s Notes’ are included at the end of the story where Jackie French shares her inspiration for the story as well as factual information about the characters and elements included in the story. Two poems from Henry Lawson, ‘The Lights of Cobb and Co’ and ‘One Hundred and Three’ that provide information for the story, bookend this tale.
15.01.2022 My children revisited 'The Great Realisation' today by Tomos Roberts with illustrations from Nomoco. This poem is about Roberts' observations and improvements he has witnessed that have taken place because of the disruption COVID-19 caused. He explores several different transformations that have taken place within families, communities and the environment to name a few. His words inspired a lengthy, engaging conversation this morning in our home about other tragic and devasta...ting times in history and what happened following these times. We talked about the cyclical nature of history and the ways in which hope prevailed at times where it would seem almost impossible to do so. I have told my children that this time will be one that historians look back on and poems like 'The Great Realisation' will be a part of the COVID-19 story as will their own experiences. See more
14.01.2022 Lots of wonderful ideas (see below) from The Koori Curriculum to celebrate NAIDOC week.
12.01.2022 Have you explored this collection? You can also view digibooks for other subjects via the link too. https://ab.co/3gRYfDE
10.01.2022 Taleea is always up for a game of the Roald Dahl edition of Monopoly. Given it is the weekend and Dad wasn't working he was keen to enjoy this game with Taleea this morning.
09.01.2022 School holidays are the perfect time for revisiting favourite books. This holidays Savvy has been reading Anne of Green Gables again. Savvy's love for all things Anne was strengthened even more when she performed a character recital piece as Anne in several different Speech and Drama eisteddfods a few years ago. Here is a picture I took of Savvy in her costume:
07.01.2022 Today was a big day for many highly anticipated new releases. Have you enjoyed a new book today?
07.01.2022 First day of school holidays here and Taleea started the day with a tough decision. Which book should we read together? After much contemplation she narrowed her choices down to two : A Clue for Clara by Liann Tanner or The Wolves of Greycoat Hall written and Illustrated by Lucinda Gifford. Taleea decided that we could read one book the first week and the other next week - all sorted!
07.01.2022 The fabulous Squishy Minnie Bookstore is hosting an epic storytime live via zoom 9AM AEST Saturday 3rd Oct for Love Your Bookshop Day. They have organised thirteen Aussie based authors to read their picture books which have been released this year. Click on the link below for the list of books and further details. This is such a wonderful treat for children, families, educators and all who adore picture books to enjoy.
06.01.2022 ‘The Keeper of Wild Words’ by Brooke Smith and illustrated by Madeline Kloepper is a beautiful picture book that celebrates and makes wondrous some of the natural words that have recently been removed from The Junior Oxford Dictionary (natural words such as acorn, monarch and dandelion were cut from the dictionary and replaced with words such as analogue, chatroom and voicemail). This heartfelt tale begins when Brook visits her grandmother, Mimi and Mimi tells her about words... and how they can disappear if they are not known, used and shared. Mimi has a list of words that she is concerned will disappear (inspired by the natural words that have been removed from the Junior Oxford Dictionary) and asks Brook if she could be The Keeper of these Wild Words. Together they go an adventure exploring their lush environment with a mission of finding all of the words on their list, or letting the words find them. Brooke Smith’s evocative language brings each word from the list to life and she engages the reader’s senses as each word is richly and vividly described. At the end of the book, Smith talks about her inspiration for this story and challenges readers to be keepers of words (there is even a sturdy envelope secured in the back of the book for children to store their words). This delightful book is a stunning celebration of words; the power of language; the awe and wonder to be found in the environment and the bond a grandchild and grandparent (in this case grandmother) share. See more
06.01.2022 What a heart-warming and thoughtful act of kindness from Miss Resourcefulness. She has purchased a book for each of her Year 6 students, one that she has carefully matched to each individual and has written a personalised note in each of their books to gift to them. Such dedication and a gift they will no doubt treasure for years to come. I love this gift idea!
04.01.2022 Anne of Green Gables is one of our favourite classic books that we have enjoyed many times. We appreciate some Anne wisdom!
02.01.2022 Today we started our next family read aloud, 'The Heartsong of Wonder Quinn' by Kate Gordon. School holidays have seen us catch up on lots of reading as September has been a bumper month for fabulous new releases.
02.01.2022 The Wilderness Society shortlists books each year for the Environment Award for Children's Literature. There are three categories shortlisted - Picture fiction, Fiction and Nonfiction. The winners of the Environment Award For Children's Literature 2021 will be announced in an awards ceremony, during Nature Book Week from September 6 to 12. Congratulations to the following authors, illustrators and publishers whose books were shortlisted.
02.01.2022 ‘Migrants’ by Issa Watanabe is a memorable and moving wordless picture book which tells the powerful story of a group of animals who leave their home and embark on a journey filled with dangers and the ever constant lingering fear of the possibility of loss of life. This book follows the animals as they set off on the different stages of their arduous journey - from leaving their home, to setting up a camp, building a boat, setting sail, some surviving and others not and fi...nally arriving in a new place. The powerful images, set against a sombre black background, highlight the fear, fatigue, sadness, uncertainty, perilous and unforgiving conditions as well as the resilience, compassion, empathy and courage a journey to a new land takes. This is a story that demands to be revisited as the evocative imagery, coupled with the many sophisticated details deserve to be savoured details such as the animals clothing, the unusual combination of animals existing together, the rhinoceros with a broken horn, discovering which animals seemed to survive the journey as well as contemplating each animal’s individual journey (their emotions and actions). While there is much sadness in this story because the migration journey IS a story filled with sadness, it is also a vital story that helps build empathy. This is also a story containing a message of hope (expressed in colour in the illustrations) as the animals connect and share the meagre resources they do have for the common good. They display kindness and resilience through adversity. This is a thought provoking story and gives a voice, heart and soul to people who leave their homes to start anew in a foreign land. The story will inspire many discussions as readers interpret and feel the story. It is a book that will stay with you long after you turn the last page. See more
02.01.2022 Following on from the previous post...Taleea decided our first book to read this week would be 'A Clue for Clara' by Lian Tanner.
02.01.2022 If you're looking for activities for your students to enjoy in these final weeks of school, please check out our website. Click on the 'Free Resources' tab to use the following activities: 20 Lit Fit Questions Activity - Would You Rather? This or That activity... website: www.readingopensdoors.com.au
