reading for pleasure

High quality turquoise level early readers – books which help children make connections and build empathy

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When a child reaches turquoise level on school banded schemes, often they have mastered decoding but still need to work on fluency or comprehension or both. However, there doesn’t seem to be the same awareness of the need for some children at this point to be able to make meaningful connections with the story or book they are reading if they are going to be motivated to keep practising their reading. If you take a look at many turquoise levelled readers you will notice they are really boring. The good news is that we discovered somewhat by accident when my son was learning to read, that there are some books at this level that really stand out from the rest. Later, this led me to seek out other books, including the fantastic early readers from Maverick publishing and more recently the Bloomsbury Young Readers collection.

Having made good progress with his reading since the spring-term of reception my son seemed to get ‘stuck’ on Turquoise level towards the end of year 1. One of the reasons for this was he had lost his motivation he needed a new reason to read. Two books he really liked were: Aston (Oxford University Press) and Skara Brae (Collins Big Cats). Below are mini-reviews of these and some other readers which have since been published. Each offers children of different interests various ways to connect with the story or non-fiction topic and would be great choices for any early reader collection.

Astron – Turquoise fiction reader

Oxford University Press (Story Sparks)
Author and illustrator: John Dougherty and Louise Pigott

At the start of the story an alien gets separated from his parents. A brilliant story opener you really want to know what happens next. The Alien comes across a space ship, and through it’s special thought web it can listen to the little girl’s thoughts. My son was intrigued by this idea. The story encourages the reader to think about what the characters are feeling really helping young readers to engage with the story. My son loved reading this when he was a developing reader, and so did his sister who is almost 3 years older. There aren’t many readers that can do that!  It also left plenty to talk about and revisit.

The Lost Village of Skara Brae – Turquoise non-fiction reader

Collins Big Cat

This non-fiction book about the Stone Age village of Skara Brae on the Orkney islands in Scotland really grabbed my son’s attention. With a map and annotated photographs of this ancient site, there was plenty to spark his curiosity.  The text explained how the site was discovered after a storm, explored the site and how people might have lived. He’s been interested in the Stone Age ever since.

Woah What’s the Weather – Turquoise non-fiction reader

Maverick Publishing

My son from an early age was fascinated by weather this is just the kind of book he would have loved as an emerging reader. The non-fiction topic is introduced by two Aliens, adding both commentary and humour. The text is also broken up in a number of ways, great for kids who get bored easily by large chunks of text. The story would especially appeal to budding scientists, with pictures and explanations which include: rain gauges, thermometers and weather vanes, which could inspire kids to make their own weather observation. A great book for readers of all ages.  There is a short quiz at the back, as in all the Maverick early readers from this level upwards.

 

Slugs in Space – Turquoise fiction reader

Maverick Publishing

Lou Treleaven and David Creighton-Pester

This book should be chosen for the picture below alone! A snail with an acorn for a space helmet a what a great idea. My son loves space and collects acorns when ever he finds them so this would have definitely got him interested.  I love how this story takes a topic that many children love, space and turn it on it’s head.. First the main character is a snail and secondly, he doesn’t actually go to space but dreams of doing so, and in a great twist to tale has an unexpected encounter with aliens of a different kind. The story could also be used to explore distance in Maths and perspective. For example when granddad snail talks about how long it would take to get to the top of a lamppost, and compares that to how long it would take to get to the moon.

 

The Ugly Little Swan – Turquoise fiction reader and AR

Bloomsbury Young Reader
Author and illustrator: James Riordon and Brendon Kearney

When my son was in year 1 and year 2 he got interested in a small number of traditional tales, one of which was the ‘Ugly Duckling’. This is a fantastic re-telling with a twist of this this traditional tale, with a duck instead of a Swan. Bright colourful and engaging pictures really help the reader to understand what the duck is feeling. With a great scene on the last page of a two children feeding the ducks, connecting it to children’s own experiences.

Cavegirl – Turquoise fiction reader and AR

Abie Longstaff and Shane Crampton

The front cover caught my attention, a fictional story with a black girl in the Stone Age. Inside I found a delightful story and really engaging pictures. This book follows a girl who lives in the Stone Age who is looking for something special for her mum’s birthday. She sees something she wants and hatches a plan to make and trade things to get it. Well developed stories as good as this are unusual at the reading level. The reader is helped to predict and make sense of the story through the clever use of diagrams drawn on  a stone slab. Like in other Bloomsbury young readers there are tips for grown-ups (inside cover front) and suggestions for fun activities (inside cover back).

 

Each of these books are unique in their own way and provide many opportunities for children to engage with them. There is a strong empathy core to most of them, helping children connect with how the characters are feeling. If you want to inspire children to become motivated readers unique and engaging early readers like these will definitely help them on their journey. Publishers please take note we need more books like these especially at this reading level.

Note for educators

If you are a school that asks children to change their readers every couple of days. You may want to review this policy once they reach this reading level. These books are so great that children would really benefit from reading them more than once, and the chances are they will want to too.

Thank you to Maverick publishing for a free copy of ‘Woah What’s the Weather?’. The other books were ones I bought myself.

 

Further information – click on the links to find out more

Maverick Early Readers

Bloomsbury Young Readers

Some of these books are available on my Abe books site: Readers that Care

 

Early years: laying the foundations for reading for pleasure: one boy’s story

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My son has been extremely lucky to have 3 and half years of excellent teaching from his teachers, and I could not have asked for more from any of them. Anyone observing his engagement with reading, now aged 8 years, who rightly come to the conclusion that not only can he read, that he is a child who want to read and when he finds the right book he clearly takes pleasure from doing so. Some people may also assume that he was always going to be a ‘reader’. However, I believe that there were a few significant things that happened in school and at home in his first two years of school, which laid the foundations which made it possible for him to become the reader he is today.

When my son was in reception, he very much liked routine, and this was something his reception teacher clearly understood. So when it came to talking about the transition to year 1. She made sure that my son’s new teacher had some similar routines to her.  What was interesting was the similarity in those routines, concerned the way books were used at the beginning and end of each day. What I only realised much later was that same routine’s that had enabled my son to feel comfortable with school, to connect to school and to build connections with other children had together with regular reading aloud at home been fundamental in laying the foundations for reading for pleasure.

When my son started school, he had a few favourite books, including a book on recycling (which was aimed at older kids). He was however often more interested in watching Number Jacks or telling us all about recycling or the planets in space than he was listening to a story. He could not hold a pencil, and when he started he had little knowledge of phonics. However, thanks to the support of his brilliant reception teacher and some of his new friends he was able to adapt to life in school. The teaching of phonics was very good and this combined with us signing him up at home for Reading Eggs, meant he made steady progress with his phonics. Before, long he said: ‘mummy it’s just like maths there is a code to crack’.

But, this isn’t a blog post about the teaching of reading skills or literacy in the early years. It’s about how a partnership of school and home, which consistently prioritised reading aloud and ‘informal’ regular spaces to share and enjoy books, won a boy round that wasn’t yet (when he started school) entirely convinced that stories were relevant to him.

Books relevant to children at the start of each day – time to explore and share

Both his reception and year 1 teacher started their school day in the same way.  With books next to the children where they sat. For reception this was books on the carpet. On my son’s first day his teacher made sure he had a book on recycling next to the place where he was to sit. I could have hugged her!  In year 1, his teacher had a book shelf from which children could select their books at the start of the day. One of my son’s favourite books was Miles Kelly’s 100 Facts About Planet Earth. He and a few other kids in his class spent weeks looking over that book. Several of the children in his year 1 and 2 class brought in their own books to share. This worked really well for my son as one of the older kids loved non-fiction and brought some of those to share.

Afternoon Read Aloud

Both teachers read a story aloud at the same time in the afternoon most days. Which meant my son knew for two consecutive years, that that time of day was story-time. About Easter of reception the topic was: things that grow. One of his favourite books at the time was: ‘What’s This? –  a seed’s story’, published by Barefoot Books. I gave a copy to his teacher who shared it in story-time.  We continued this into year 1. I was bit nervous about what he was going to make of a dinosaur topic, as he has never shown the slightest bit of interest in them. In the summer holidays after reception he had really enjoyed being read the Mr Men books (drawn to them initially as they were numbered on the side and all ordered in a case). I found a book called: ‘Mr Men Adventures with Dinosaurs’ and gave a copy to his year 1 teacher, so she could share it at story-time and he could look at it with his friends.

Reading Aloud at home, and sharing this with his sister

For two consecutive years (reception to end year 1) we read picture books aloud most nights to my son and his sister (who was two and half year’s older). This was as well as the book they read themselves. In reception two of my son’s favourite books to have read aloud were: ‘Wendel and the Robot’, by Chris Riddell, and ‘Boy who turned off the Sun’, by Paul Brown. When my son was in year 1, they started to develop books in common that they both loved. Both children have always been very particular about the books they like, so it was fascinating to see which books they both enjoyed. These included: ‘Errol the Squirrel’ by Hannah Shaw, and ‘The Day the Crayon’s Quit’.  I have blogged about some of them here. Had my daughter not had such a challenging year 3 (year my son was in reception) it is possible she would have stopped being interested in being read picture books earlier. But, sharing picture books together at home is something I think they both have hugely benefited from, and which I would highly recommend to any family.

There was of course so much more each of his teachers did, we did, and my son did to get him to where he is now with his reading.  But, with the benefit of hindsight I firmly believe that it was these relatively simple things, repeated consistently over several years, that convinced my son that reading could be meaningful to him. However, as I had already discovered a few years earlier with his sister, making good reading progress and enjoying being read stories aloud is not a guarantee that a child is going to successfully make the transition from school readers to independent reading. However, it does make it more likely! He did go through a wobbly phase with his reading from June of year 1 to November of year 2. And I wasn’t quite sure which way things were going to go. But, at that time I had not understood as clearly as I do now the importance of ‘reading communities ‘in developing readers, and that they can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Had  I understand this I may not have been so nervous, about whether he would be able to negotiate the next stage in his reading journey. We were also lucky in the summer of 2017 to find in a relatively short space of time three book that really meant something to my son, that he read to us. Two of which were almost accidental finds, and one of which (the coding book) was given to my kids by his Yorkshire granddad.

 

 

Reading Aloud to my children: some reflections on the first 9 years

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Promoted by a number of bookish discussions I have had on twitter recently (you will find me @melissacreate15), I have been reminded just how great reading aloud to my kids has been and continues to be, and how it is about far more than sharing stories, it’s also about sharing timing together, and creating memories.

I started reading aloud to my daughter every night when she was 10 months old, each night she would choose 3 book for myself or my husband to read to her. It was and still is one of my favourite times of day.  When I was pregnant with her brother I was often tired and we would cuddle up on the sofa on my days off from work and listen to her favourite Barefoot Books sing along ‘The Journey Home from Grandpa’s’ and in the run up to Christmas we had a great Christmas carols CD which you could follow along with a book. We continued reading picture books at bedtime nearly every night until she was 3 and half, when our fairy loving pre-schooler decided she wanted the first 20 books of the Rainbow Magic series (we had acquired a box set at a nearly new Sale) read aloud to her. Afterwards we continued to read picture books to her nearly every night, and sometimes a chapter book. What we had established from a very early age was that quality time with mum or dad and sharing stories was part of bedtime, and lot’s of happy memories. It was only later that we realised that my daughter had aways been particular about the books she wanted read aloud, and that we had been a bit of luck that we came across in those first few years some stories she loved, but which were also the kind of story that grew with your child.

My son as a 1 to 2 year old sometimes enjoyed being read aloud a story with his sister, and in particular our all time favourite family read ‘Who Took the Moon for A Walk’ by Alison Jay. And his fascination with the moon and the night sky probably stems from this time. But, it took him longer to settle to the idea of regular bedtime story. The break through was at 2 and half finding a handful of stories and books which was specific to him. One of which was ‘Bear at Home’. This had a picture of keys on the inside of the front cover and at that point he was obsessed with keys. There was a period of several months I would sit on his bedroom floor and read him a book, and he would look at some of the pictures and then move around the room whilst I kept reading. One really useful thing said to me was that: ‘a child doesn’t have to be sitting still to be listening to a story’. At the age of 4 we gave him a Usbourne Lift the Flap book on Recycling, in theory the book was aimed at 7+ years but he absolutely loved it. He is now 7 and it is still his favourite non-fiction book.  When my son was nearly 5 his sister was getting rid of her Rainbow Magic box set, and much to my surprise my son decided he wanted it (he had never shown the slightest interest in fairies). But, he did love numbers, so a set of books with numbers 1 to 20 in a box was a definite attraction.  He absolutely loved the 5 books about the weather fairies and was fascinated with the idea that things could get so mixed up that it could snow in summer.

Over the next few years I started to realise that there were certain sort of picture book stories that both my children loved. To find book that: ‘lit up the eyes and curiosity of both my children in equal measure ‘ was not as simple as it sounds. But, by a process of trial and error we found a number of books that we all really enjoyed, this was helped by me being an independent bookseller which meant I found and stumbled across all sorts of books I might not have otherwise known about. You can read about some of the books here.

TV programmes and Film have also been a good way to introduce my children to stories. For my daughter it was the CBBC drama Hetty Feather, that enabled her to make a giant leap in her reading and got her reading books she wanted to read. See my blog post here. In the Summer of 2016 both my children loved watching the brilliant adaption of the BFG. Then on the way to our family holiday in Wales we listened to the entire audio recording of the BFG, I have never know my children be so quite on a long journey! This winter we went to see a great theatre production of the James and the Giant peach, as a result of which my son wanted the story read aloud to him.

Live author events attended as a family have also been an important way to introduce my children to new authors and to keep the magic of stories alive. You can read about a few of them here.

We have discovered some chapter books (that were new to both of them) that have made great stories to read aloud.  Two of our favourite’s so far are:  Dottie Blanket by Wendy Meddour and Perijee and Me by Ross Montgomery.  As my children get older our shared reading time is evolving. Last summer my daughter read me some of the Hobbit, which I had always expected would be the other way round! It was one of my favourite stories from childhood. A few months back my daughter took ‘Saving Sophia’ out of the library which she then decided she wanted me to read to her, it turned out to be an action packed story perfect for reading aloud.  So this time my daughter was introducing me to a new story.  The other weekend we were on our way back from a days biking and my daughter had brought a couple of the Diary of Wimpy Kid books in the Car, my son decided he liked the look of them too, so we had both kids reading a book on the way home. I am not sure where our next shared reading adventures together are going to take us, and as they get older this is a constantly evolving process, but I am looking forward to finding out.

Additional note:

Without realising that is what we were doing we have created a family reading culture, with many opportunities for informal book talk. All of which there is much evidence based practice that this helps create children that want to read. However, even in this context neither of my children made an automatic transition to reading independently, nor was or is it automatic that having found books they want to read that the will easily on their own find their next or subsequent reads.  To help them find book they want to read they need introducing to a variety of stories, encouragement, support and space to find books that have meaning to them in that particular moment in time. Which has led me to the firm believe that all children both at home and in school should have a basic entitlement to support with reading for pleasure.  In terms of motivation to read, one of the biggest difference that both reading aloud and sharing stories has made is that it has given my kids and me added determination to over come any difficulties they have faced and may face in the future on their individual journeys.

If you are parent reading this and thinking I wish I had read aloud more to my child or children. My advice would be don’t focus on the past, but start with the present and finding books to share with your child now in a way that works for you and your family.  In the 10 years before my daughter was born I worked for Hertfordshire Connexions and Youth Service, mentoring teenagers. One of the most crucial things I learnt from that time, is it is never too late to make a difference, and there are multiple points in a child’s and young persons life in which with the right support they can change direction. The final point I want to add is I don’t think I would have kept reading as much aloud to my children as I have done if I hadn’t found ways to read and/or share stories with both my children.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Original stories with a nature and science connection for young readers

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Introducing two wonderful stories which will appeal to children who like to explore the natural world around them and/or are interested in animals. They are aimed at 6 to 9 year olds, but many older children and adults would love them too.

In the summer of 2014, my daughter who had just turned 7 was transitioning to chapter books, and was finding it difficult to find something she wanted to read. She liked animals and was interested in being a vet. However, we found many of the classical animal stories didn’t have enough human interest and other more readily available animal series my daughter quickly lost interest in as she said: ‘they had little plot, nothing really happened in them”. Both these book are distinctively different from many other books with an animal theme for 6 to 9 year olds. They deserve a place in any primary school library, as for some they may be a ‘game changer’, as the book/series that gets them reading.

Zoe and Sassafras: Dragons and Marshmallows
Author: Asia Citro Illustrator: Marion Lindsay.  p96

This was a great find I stumbled across whilst looking for something else. It  got my attention initially because I have been keeping an eye out for stories for 6 to 9 year olds, with black protagonists that are the kind of story that might appeal to any child. I had no idea when I ordered a copy of this book what a gem of a story and series it was, published by an innovative fairly new publisher called Innovation Press.

It is about a girl called Zoey and her cat called Sassafras who loves exploring the natural environment near her home. One day she makes an amazing discovery that her mum has the ability to see and speak to magical creatures, and that she has inherited this gift too. If an animal needs help a magical doorbell rings in the Barn next to their house. Whilst Zoe’s mum is away at a science conference Zoey and her cat have to help a baby dragon.

A beautiful blend of real and magical with an introduction to scientific questioning and hypotheses, this engaging story has plenty to appeal to a variety of readers. Add to this some great role models, from a dark skinned girl with frizzy hair as the main character, a mum who is a scientist and a stay at home dad, and you have a very original story.

This is the first book in a series of 4, soon to be 5 books. It is probably a good idea to read book 1 first (or at least read aloud enough p1 to p28), but they can then be read in any order.

 

A Kitten Called Holly
Author: Helen Peter Illustrator: Ellie Snowdon.  p132

In case you haven’t guessed from one of my previous posts, my son (who is now 7 years old) is cat crazy, so a story with a cat in is a great start. But, like his sister he is very particular about the books he reads and does prefer stories with a strong narrative and a bit of depth to them, which this story certainly has.

One day Jasmine and her friend Tom find an old shed in the garden to play in, and they accidentally come across a wild cat and her kittens. Jasmine’s mum is a vet, from whom she has learns a lot about how to look after animals. So Jasmine and Tom know not to touch the kittens and wait for their mum to return. When the mother cat returned she took the kittens somewhere else. But, later one of the kitten’s gets left behind and Jasmine and her friend help to feed and look after it. But, will Jasmine have to give the Kitten away at the end? You will have to read it to find out!

My son loved this story being read aloud to him. The strong narrative along with detailed and accurate information about how to look after a kitten really kept his interest. He kept asking for one more chapter.

With great descriptive detail you feel like you are really there, a story which is heartfelt and sometimes funny. This book is sure to appeal to a variety of children, including those that usually prefer non-fiction.

It is part of the Jasmine Green series published by Nosy Crow. This is not the first book in the series, but the characters are introduced well so I think you could read them in any order. I suggest starting with which ever animal your child is most interested in.

Zoe and Sassafras Series:

Jasmine Green Series:

 

 

 

Guiding Readers: Layers of meaning – by Wayne Tennent, David Reedy, Angela Hobsbaum and Nikki Gamble

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I love reading a book which strongly resonates with me.  This one I picked up at just the right moment. I have my fabulous ‘bookish’ friends on Twitter to thank for recommending it, and for continuing to remind me it existed so I remembered to pick it up.  As it happened I had just bought a copy when a Twitter friend of mine posted up a comment and particular page from the book which really got me thinking.

Described as a ‘handbook for teaching reading comprehension to 7 to 11 year olds’, this book is so much more and could be used in a number of ways.  I would highly recommend it to anyone including parents (with some knowledge of the reading process) who want to help a child build their reading skills and help them become a reader who wants to read.  So much in this book confirms everything I have learnt in the last few years about reading and reading for pleasure.  However, there were things that challenged my perception too.  It is a very readable book. There was some unfamiliar language but the clear way it is written and the many illustrative examples really helped me to take on what it was saying.  I am now going to talk about some of the things that really meant something to me from this book.

The first thing that struck me was a reminder of the complexity of the multiple processes which occur when a fluent reader is reading, that allows one to attach meaning to and make sense of a text. It was really helpful to be reminded that as fluent readers we may be unware of what is going on in our heads as we read and reflect on the book. When reading a text, less experienced readers are more likely to be ‘interrupted’ as they use their developing reader skills to make sense of what they are reading. This is something that could affect all readers at different points on their reading journeys. One of the things I have noticed with my own children and some other children is that if a child find’s a text they really connect with it can increase their motivation to overcome these difficulties.

The second thing I noticed was the detail it goes into about the processes that are going on in our brains, to help us understand and make sense of a new text. I am not going to go into the detail here. But, there were two concepts that really stood out. These were: ‘reading in the moment’ and ‘reading reflection’. Reading in the moment, is what sense the reader makes of the text as they initially read it, this builds up a literal understanding of the text by dealing with a surface layer of meaning. Reading reflection involves the reader engaging with deeper layers of meaning in the text. It can also mostly only be done by re-reading the text and/or reflecting on part of it or by looking for clues to support your viewpoint. I found this quote really helpful:

“When readers reflect on their reading, they process the text in a slightly different way from reading in the moment, because they have time to consider their understanding.” (1)

I did not however start this book at the beginning I jumped straight in to a later section where an example is given of a group of children being asked to compare two books and say which they preferred and to justify their answer. An example of reflective reading in practice.  This got my attention as it seemed a really great idea. I had already heard of comparing non-fiction and fiction texts to enhance understanding of both before, but not the comparison of two fiction texts as a means of developing ‘readers reflection’ skills. Seems somewhat obvious when you stop to think about it! The other key point in this example that strongly resonated was the need for ‘authenticity’ in the questions that the teacher or facilitator (which could be a parent when home reading) asks. In this example of two picture books being compared the teacher asks:

“..please tell us which story your preferred and why?” (1)

In this example the question is ‘authentic’ because the asker doesn’t know which book the children will prefer, and there is also no right or wrong answer. The whole book emphasis’s that encouraging children to reflect on what they read is not about asking them a set of questions to which the teacher already knows the answer. But, in asking them what I would call ‘open questions’ in which there is not one correct answer, but many depending on your viewpoint. That doesn’t mean that some times there isn’t a need for other sorts of questions for example, clarifying ones to check if a child has understood the correct meaning of a word.  Given everything I have learnt in the last few years this is something I should have been clear on.  However, I have to admit to being very muddles in this respect recently in the way I have been trying to support both my children with their home reading. I now feel slightly better because I now understand why my bright, imaginative, and highly individual children have shown a reluctance to answer the questions that I have been asking them!

Applying some of what I had learnt about asking questions to help children develop their ‘reading reflection’ skills  I tried something different with my son. He has recently finished reading the 6 book Gold set of the Project X Alien Adventures Series 1 (2). One of the questions I asked was: “Who were the badies?” A question I genuinely did not know the answer to. Which is another point the book makes about co-constructing meaning together. So he told me about some of the badies and then we went through the books together looking for the others and finding in which stories they appeared. Then we started another conversation (prompted by a few of the picture) about how the book used both pictures and language to convey the threat of the arriving baddy or baddies. These included clarifying a few words he was not sure of.  He also has an information book about the series. So we looked at the two sidekicks that help the four characters that are the heros and heroines of Project X Aliens Adventures. And we looked at qualities that Seven and Nok had. I then asked: “How have Nok and Seven used their qualities to help defeat the Badies?” He came up with a couple of examples. The conversations we had and the enthusiasm he showed whilst doing it was incomparable to anything I had done with him previously. If you haven’t read this book yet read it!

 

  • (1) 2016: Wayne Tennent, David Reedy, Angela Hobsbaum, Nikki Gamble: Guiding Readers – Layers of Meaning: A handbook for teaching reading comprehension to 7 to 11 year olds.
  • (2) A few additional comments about the Project X Alien Adventure Series 1, by Oxford University Press

It  is not just a series for boys or reluctant readers. My daughter said that had this been available at her school when she was the same age she would have loved to read it too. Whilst the books can be read in any order. There is a 6 book set for each reading band  and if your child reads them (or re-reads them) in order there are more opportunities for building their ‘reflecting reading’ skills. Especially if you have the opportunity to return to them at a later date, which we did because I had bought him a set on his request.

Porridge the Tartan Cat and the Loch Ness Mess by Alan Dapre and why we love the Porridge series

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The Loch Ness Mess is book 4 in the Alan Dapre’s fantastic series about Porridge the Tartan cat. We love the character of Porridge and the funny madcap stories that involve plenty of mishaps and adventures really appeal to my nearly 7 year old son. We also love the rich vocabulary and language which is used through out the series and which really sets this book apart from many early readers.

Porridge is a cat who fell into a pot of Tartan paint as a kitten. The story is set in Scotland, Porridge lives with the McFunn family, the twins Ross and Isla, mum, dad and ‘gadget grandad’ and ‘groovy gran’. In the stories Porridge end’s up going on unexpected, ‘wacky’ an crazy adventures, which usually involve dealing with the chaos created by Fergus McFungus or Windy Wendy.

In the Loch Ness Mess, the McFunn family go on a fossil hunting holiday by the shores of Loch Ness. My son is fascinated by fossils and rocks so this definitely helped to hook him into the story. Not that he needed much encouragement as he already loved the character of Porridge! (from reading book one a few months earlier). The story gets off to an exciting start when Dad wishes he was a dinosaur and unexpectedly turns into one! So then all sorts of chaos ensues and Fergus McFungus want’s to capture dad. When Porridge falls into the loch he is rescued by Nessie ! To find out how Porridge, Isla and Ross get reunited, and if they can rescue their Dad and turn him back into a human you will have to read the book. This story is sure to appeal to children that like dinosaurs and monsters, but also kids that like neither and love a fun family adventure.

Along with great characters and original wacky and fun storylines, there are three more things make the Porridge stories special.

Firstly, are the great black and white pictures by Yuliya Somina really capture the story and characters and bring it to life. These included pictures of Porridge with different expressions interspersed with the text and full page action scenes.

Secondly, the rich vocabulary and language set’s this book apart from many other early readers. There are also some great Scottish phrases too, although less in Loch Ness than the first book. When my son shared reading the first book: “Porridge the Tartan and the Brawsome Bagpies” last summer we were surprised to discover that he wasn’t put off by words he didn’t know. In fact far from it he actually enjoyed the challenge.

Thirdly, at the back of the book is a spot the difference activity and some jokes. Whilst interspersed in the text are lots of Me-words. The author @AlanDapre explained in reply to my twitter post that this was a play on Meow, and that he thought it would be fun to see how many other Me words he could create. Here are a few examples:

Me- splosh

Me- drip

Me – yum

Me – yuk

Me – tremble

Me- sigh

My son loves these. They help to break up the text up, provide an opportunity for expression and add to the humour. I think they also help the reader to understand what Porridge is feeling particular moments in the story.

The Porridge stories will always have a special place in our heart. Because last June the first Porridge book showed my son and us what he was capable of reading. We shared reading the first two books in the series (he read a chapter and we read a couple of chapters) at the time the text level of these books was considerably above the rest of what he was reading. My son loves cats so that was a great hook to start with, but what kept his interest in the way that Alan Dapre writes and the pictures of Yuliya Somina which capture the story so well. It has been fascinating to see my son return the Porridge series five months after we read the first book, and to see just how far he has come in his reading journey in that time. This time he comfortably read ten chapters aloud straight off in one go, and indication that he has improved his stamina in this time, but also that these are stories that he wants to read.

Thank you to Floris Books for a copy of the book which I won on a Twitter competition @FlorisBooks.

Black Powder and Running on the Roof of the World

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A comparative introduction to the stories by Ally Sherrick and Jess Butterworth

In this blog post I aim to compare two middle grade stories: Black Powder and Running on the Roof of the World. They are among my favourite reads of 2017. The settings are very different and there are some differences in writing style. But, both the main character go on a journey’s to help their families. A journey in which they discover things they didn’t know about themselves or their family and in which they have to use their wit’s and their courage to see them through. By looking at the the two stories I noticed some things which I may not have seen if I had looked at one story alone. I have found it interesting to identify some similarities between Ally Sherrick’s and Jess Butterworth’s stories. I hope you enjoy reading about them.

Introducing the Stories

Black Powder is set in 1605 in England. I immediately warmed to the main character Tom. His family were Catholic in a period of British history in which they were persecuted by the King for their religion. When his farther is caught helping a priest Tom’s world is turned upside down. His Dad is arrested and taken to London where he may be hanged. Tom becomes separated from his Mum and baby brother too. He sets out on the first part of his journey to seek help from an Uncle he has never met.
Running on the Roof of the World is set in modern day Tibet. The main character is Tash, whom I also immediately warmed to. She lives in a small village near the mountains, where the presence of the military is keenly felt. Near the start of the story she witnesses an incident, and shortly afterwards her village is put on curfew and her parents are taken away by soldiers. Tash decides she must journey over the mountains to ask the Dalai Lama’s help to free her parents. *

*The Dali Lama is the leader of Tibet who has been excited to India.

Opening Chapters

Something striking about the opening chapters of both stories is how effectively they convey gathering crowds, and the clever way the child in the story is both in and outside of the crowd. This helps to create the feeling that you are actually there and certainly helps to hook you.

I love the way that Ally Sherrick starts her story:

“The hangman stood hunched at the top of the wooden scaffold like a huge black crow. A mob of screaming gulls wheeled above him, but his eyes stayed fixed on the noose as it swayed to and fro in the cold sea breeze.”
“ Tom’s heart jolted. He didn’t want to watch a man die, but if he ran away now everyone would know he was a Catholic for sure…” (Black Powder: p1)

Straight away you have got a sense of atmosphere of anticipation, of something that is waiting to happen, and a clear warning from the very beginning that being a Catholic in these times is dangerous.

In the fist few chapters Jess Butterworth cleverly uses a series of rules that introduces the reader to the control soldiers have over individual lives. Then in chapter two Tash observes a gathering:

“But, today it’s different. Everyone is gathered in the middle pressed against each other. They face the same direction watching something. Silence ripples through the group there are no smiles.
I stand on the outer side where the crowd is thinner and scan faces checking for Mum and Dad.”  (Running on the Roof of the World: p9)

What Tash witnessed was a man setting himself and the Tibetan flag on fire as a protest against military occupation. This set’s in motion a series of events that lead Tash to be on the run from the soldiers and to decide on an epic journey across the mountains.

The Journey’s

A core part of both stories is the journeys they under take both physical and mental. The journeys are however very different in their setting. Tom’s is through mirky roads, back streets and tunnels first to get to his Uncle’s house and then to London. He has to constantly watch who he can trust. Whilst Tash’s journey is across the remote mountains from Tibet, and hopefully into India where the Dahli Lama is in exile. She travels with her best friend Sam and two Yak’s. Once into the mountains her challenge is one of extreme survival in remote landscapes as winter approaches.

Capturing the setting at the start of their journeys

The first part of Tom’s journey is across rural countryside from his home to a place called Cowdry where his uncle lives. As Tom arrives on the outskirts of Cowdry and looks for his Uncle’s house, you get a great sense of the power his Uncle has by the way the location of the house is described. There are also some hints that there may be some unsavoury characters lurking in the Shadows too. This ramps up the tension before Tom has even set food inside his Uncles house.

Tash and Sam’s first task is to get out of their village with two Yak’s called Eve and Bones before they are captured by the Soldiers, which is no easy.

“Hours go by and the sun shines from it’s highest point.
With each person we pass I grow in confidence
Until we seem them.”  (Running on the Roof of the World: p86)

Surprise discoveries about their families

Near the beginnings of the stories both children discover something they didn’t know about their families and are given something to look after by their parents. Tom’s mum gives him a bible, which she said his Uncle gave her for her sixteenth birthday, but up until that point Tom didn’t even know he had an Uncle!

Tash is given a rucksack by her farther, full of leaflets. As she waits by the vulture tree for her mother (who does not come) she put’s her hand inside her rucksack to look at the papers her father shoved in there as he insisted she must take the rucksack with her. She discovers some ‘Snow Lion’ secret resistance leaflets in the bag, and slowly as the story progresses she begins to realise what risks her Dad took. There are also more secrets to unravel but to find out what they are you will have to read the story!

This was the first in a series of steps in which Tash realises there is a lot she didn’t know about her fathers involvement in the resistance.

There is a lot more I could say about both stories. But, that would involve giving away things that could spoil the story for someone that wanted to read it. Both Tom and Tash in their different settings go on physical and emotional journeys, in which they learn they had strengths they didn’t know they had and what is truly important to them. I would highly recommend both stories for anyone (including adults) aged 10 years or more.

 

 

 

Nine picture books both my children love

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My husband and I have enjoyed reading picture books to our children since they were very little. My daughter took to the idea quickly, whilst it took my son a little longer to get the idea. However, I realised recently that both my children have always been quite particular about which books they liked. I didn’t initially notice this about my daughter, as her favourite books as a young child were the kind of stories that have plenty more to explore as you get older. With my son we learnt early on that there is a ‘right time’ for some stories, when Wendel and the Robot’s by Chris Riddell sat ignored on his bookshelf for over a year and then became his favourite book for the next 2 years! My kids are now aged 6 and 9 years. I take particular note of any picture books that fully engage both of them, as it takes a special kind of book to do that. Here are 9 of our favourites, All are great for reading aloud to children of different ages.

  I Took the Moon for a Walk Carolyn Curtis Illustrator Alison Jay

The rhyming text, and the story of a child taking the moon for a walk make this a real winner. Put, that together with Alison Jay’s picture which are both bold and detailed and you have a story which is truly special. It is a story that flows beautifully, but where there is also lot’s to spot and look at in the pictures. It is one of our favourite of all time picture books, and has probably helped foster my children’s love of the outdoors.

Great for children aged 1 to 6 years

     Creaturepedia by Adrienne Barman

This is a beautifully illustrated animal encyclopaedia for younger children. What set’s it apart from other encyclopaedia’s is the innovative way it organises the Animal Kingdom, and the way it uses both pictures and words in it’s content pages. This means the very young can select which animals they want to learn about by looking at the pictures. The stunning illustrations, clear and concise text and fun way of organising the animals also make this appeal to older children too. My children love taking it turns to choose which group of animals they would like to find out about.

   No-Bot by Sue Hendra

This is a simple story. It is about a Robot that looses his bottom and spends the rest of the story trying to find it. There is something endearing about a main character loosing his bottom on a park swing, and it is really amusing when he keeps thinking he has found it!  Sue Hendra beautifully captures the emotions of the Robot and his friends that are trying to help him find his bottom.

       

The Day the Crayons Came Home, author Drew Daywalt, illustrator Oliver Jeffers

We love the Day the Crayons quit, but we love the sequel even more! It is great to have the story of the crayons continued and developed in book 2. I think this is one of the things my eldest really relates too. The stories are based on the great idea of a set of crayons which write letters or postcards to their owner Duncan. The story cleverly captures the emotions of the crayons and there are also different levels on which to relate to the story, which make it a great read aloud for children of different ages. On the last page there is a cardboard fort which Duncan has built for his crayons. My kids love identifying the different crayons and working out why they are shown like that and/or if their needs have been met. On one occasion it even inspired my children to make their own crayon forts!

     

Mr Postman’s Rounds by Marianne Dubuc

I only discovered this book because of the research I was doing into picture books as an indepedent seller of children’s books. I am so glad I did, as it’s such a unique book. The journey narrative is really important in keeping the listeners interested. We have had fun trying to remember which animal the postman is visiting next. The illustrations are great and provide plenty of detail to look at, talk about and things to count. We especially like that the animals homes are drawn as cross sections, and that you can make connections within the picture, whether it’s how the    bear get’s to feed himself honey, how the crocodile heats his eggs or that the Magpie is a wanted bird for something that he is has hoarded in his nest. This is the additional story that only the pictures tell.

 

Edgar and the Sausage Inspector by Jan Fearnley

This is one of our new favourites which was published earlier this year, and which both my children love. Jan Fearnley is both author and illustrator. The story is about a cat called Edgar who every time he goes shopping bumps into the Inspector, who takes Edgar’s food claiming it has gone bad. Finally Edgar has had enough and it is great when he stands up to the Inspector. With a modern day freshness the illustrations capture the same magic as my daughters favourite stories as a young child by Clare Beaton and Alison Jay, but in a story that is aimed at older children. Jan Fearnley creates pictures that are bold and eye catching and which capture the journey and narrative well, and that have lots of detail to explore too. Including lot’s of food you want to pick right off the page!

 

 

Superworm by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

This is a wonderful catchy, rhyming story, which is the kind of story Julia Donaldson is popular for. It is about a worm who helps all his fellow insects, but one day he is captured by an evil wizard and his friends come up with a plan to rescue him. Axel Scheffler’s illustrations are spot on and brilliantly capture the worm and his relationship with the other insects. We especially like the cross-section picture of the worm underground trying to find treasure for the wizard. The way Superworm is rescued by his friends is pretty cool too! My son has been crazy about all things recycling since he was 3 years old, So for him the fact that the wizard is thrown in a rubbish dump is a great addition to the story and he loves identifying the different things you can find in the tip.

  

Mr Bunny’s Chocolate Factory by Elys Dolan

Another new favourite which was published this year, is by talented debut author and illustrator Elys Dolan. This story is based on such a great idea of a factory run by Mr Bunny, which produces chocolate egg’s that are laid by chickens. The detailed pictures of how the factory actually works really grabbed my kids attention.They love working out how the different parts are interconnected and what is about to go wrong. In the story Mr Bunny get’s greedy and makes some not so wise changes to produce even more eggs. This provides a great double layer to the story, of before and after, where my kids love comparing the two. It also prompted them to suggest some solutions of their own of what the chickens could do to deal with the increasing stock pile of eggs. I have a feeling we will be enjoying this book for many more years to come.

  Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola

This beautifully illustrated story is an Italian twist on the traditional story of the Magic Porridge Pot, which is also one of my son’s favourite stories. Strega Nona, translates as “Grandma Witch’. The story is about an old woman who has a magic touch in healing people. One day she decides to go over the mountain to visit her friend and leaves her helper a young lad called Big Anthony in charge. He can not resist using Strega Nona’s magic pot, which magically produces something. Can you guess (what are the Italians famous for?) Spaghetti of course! However Anthony fails to overhear what Strega Nona does to stops the magic pot. Both my kids love it when the spaghetti starts to spread out of the pot and down the road of the village! Strega Nona arrives back in the nick of time. Some of the pages have beautifully illustrated sequences that help tell the story. As we have Italian relatives we also like that this tale sneeks in a few Italian words.

 

Making connections: the importance of live author events in keeping that spark alive and in ‘opening doors’.

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In May 2016 we discovered almost be accident how great live author events can be in keeping the enthusiasm for stories alive and in ‘opening the door’ to future books a child might like to read. Last Summer, my daughter had read the four Hetty Feather stories and the follow on Little Stars (which could be read as a stand alone) by Jacqueline Wilson. For the second time in a year she caught me by surprise when she said:

“I don’t know what to read next and I don’t think I will ever find another author who I like as much as Jacqueline Wilson’s Hetty Feather stories”.

Even for adults moving on from a book or series you have loved is hard. So imagine how much harder that is for children near the beginning of their independent reading journeys. As I have chatted to parents over the following year I was surprised how many mentioned difficulties their children had in moving on from an author or series they loved to another author or book. This was both girls and boys and wasn’t just restricted to younger children. This included 10 and 11 year olds too. For some, difficulties in finding the next read, seemed to coincide with a period of ‘transition’ in their lives, where they were looking for something different to what they had read before. One important thing I have learnt is that it is not automatic that just because a child finds one author or series they love that they will find their next read. So how can we help bridge that gap? We discovered that one very effective way to do this is through live author events.

In May 2016 we went to the Linton Book Festival, a bi-annual Children’s Book Festival, kindly hosted by Linton Village College, near Cambridge. We saw S F Said, Jame Mayhew and James Campbell. They were all inspiring and meeting ‘real’ authors was exciting. Their enthusiasm and that of others attending the event was infectious. This is an important point, as I think we sometimes forget how socially embedded literacy is. My daughter was fascinated to learn how authors got inspiration for their stories and how this often involved an emotional spark from something which happened in their own lives. Hearing their stories about how they got into writing inspired her to start her own diary, which she is still writing a year on.

I chose S F Said’s talk because I wanted to see him, as I knew his books were interesting and I knew from following him on twitter, and friends that had heard him speak that he was an inspiring speaker. As it turned out taking my daughter along to a talk she probably would not have chosen herself turned out to be a good idea. S F Said talked about his books Varjak Paw and Phoenix. It was the later that really got her attention. She was drawn in by Dave Mckean’s wonderful illustrations. Afterwards she said it was a book she would like to read when she is older. Having a list of books to read later, seemed a new and useful idea. I also realised later, that it had opened her eyes to the science fiction genre and re-opened them to fantasy, which in turn helped to ‘open the door’ to some books she chose to read in 2017.

The final event of the Festival was a family performance by James Campbell, a comedian and children’s author. He certainly knows how to put on a show which was funny for both children and their parents. So of course my daughter wanted to buy his story: Boyface and the Quantum Chromatic Disruption Machine and get it signed too! Reading Boyface she re-discovered she liked funny stories. She loved Roald Dahl stories but, she hadn’t had much success with finding other humorous stories she liked. In some the plot was in her words “confusing”, or “there wasn’t really a plot “. She had rejected David Williams, who was popular with some of her friends after she was scared by the Demon Dentist. So, discovering the story Boyface opened up a world of new possibilities of books she might like. As the year progressed I read more children’s stories for myself. I began to realise there are different sorts of ‘funny stories’ and only some contain key elements like those found in Roald Dahl’s book’s. Boyface is on the more ‘funny’ end of the spectrum, but with some quirky characteristics which make it a little bit different and I think more likely to appeal to older readers.

In September 2016 we attended a book launch in Mid-Wales. At this point my daughter was experiencing a ‘dip’ in her reading. Having had an active summer, including travelling on a train to Italy, she had not done much reading in the holidays. Another factor was she again did not know what to read next. So how you might you ask did we end up going all the way to Wales for a book launch? Earlier that year I discovered the small but growing Welsh publisher Firefly Press and had been so impressed by their stories, especially the ones aimed at 7 to 10 year olds that I had decided to stock them as part of my selection of chapter books in my business Readers that Care. I had read aloud Dottie Blanket and the Hill top by Wendy Meddour to my then 5 and 7 year old. And they and I loved it. They both enjoyed the humour and my daughter loved the ‘subtle depths’, which transformed it into a thoughtful story that readers of different ages can enjoy.

So we were delighted to learn about a soon to be published Firefly Press book: Grace Ella Spells for Beginners by Sharon Marie Jones. We often go away for a weekend in September where there are hills and mountains, so when we heard Grace Ella was being launched in a bookshop in Aberystwyth we decide to go and meet the author. At the launch Sharon Marie Jones read some of the story aloud, which we all loved and the kids loved getting free cake too! As a parent I found it useful to hear an author telling the story and the different voices she used for the characters, which helped me to read the story aloud to my kids when we were back home. It was a really welcoming event, which was great to be able to join. We loved reading Grace Ella together, the characterisation was spot on, my son loved that it featured a cat(he is cat crazy) my daughter loved the magic and that Grace Ella found an inventive way to deal with a girl that was bullying her. We had discovered another read aloud, which was great to read to children of different ages. My daughter enjoyed it so much she said: “Is there another Grace Ella story?” The enthusiasm we got from attending this event lasted long into the Autumn term.

Something else really important happened with these events and that was that we discovered we enjoyed going to live author events as a family. There have been more since, but, I shall not mention them here. Because those first two events we attended will always have a special place in our hearts for being the events that got us started. As attending live author events as a family is something we will do as a family at least several times a year, this year, next year and every year there after. And I think it highly likely we will still be doing this when my kids are teenagers!

Reading for pleasure: becoming a reader for pleasure is a dynamic process with ups and downs

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One of the wonderful things about being a parent is seeing your children grow in confidence, you don’t always notice the small changes, but when all those small changes add up to a bigger change you do. One of the things my nearly 9 year old has grown in confidence in is her reading. This includes her confidence that she will find another book she likes and her increasing ability to accurately choose books she does like. Both are essential skills in reading for pleasure: a belief that there are stories out there you will love and, the ability to find them. It has been a two year journey to get to where she is now. It is only as she moves into a new phase in her reading that I realise just how far we have come. I say we, because in parallel to her journey I have re-discovered a love of fiction, after reading mainly non-fiction for 10 years. I have discovered I much prefer reading children’s fiction, to adult fiction, and that I especially like middle grade fiction!

My daughter and I have, over the last two years, both become readers. We have discovered authors we had never heard of two years ago, and that there is so much more variety in children’s chapter book fiction than we could have possibly imagined. Yet, what is interesting is that until a month ago, there weren’t any books I had read or suggested to her that she had picked up and read. We have read different middle grade stories.

As an indepedent bookseller I was initially interested in reading children’s books, so I could tell my customers about them. But, then I quickly realised I was picking stories out of my selections that I really wanted to read. Through becoming a reader myself I have a new understanding of what it takes to become a child  who wants to read. Most importantly I realise that becoming a person who wants to read is not a linear journey. It is instead a dynamic process with up and downs. I have also discovered that there a multiple routes to becoming a reader, and for many children (adults) this is something that has to be worked at.

It was about two years ago this month, that my daughter discovered the first book she loved reading for herself. That story was Hetty Feather by Jacqueline Wilson, and was very important in getting her reading. You can read about it in my blog post. However, as we were to discover that was just the start of her journey towards reading for pleasure. Along the way there are many things and people that have helped. My decision last May to book us into our first live author events at the Linton Book Festival was one of them, and I will be talking about this in my next blog post. We hope that by sharing some of the things that helped us, that more people will realise there are many ways to becoming a reader and that you may find out something that will help a child you know, in their journey to becoming a reader.