A Slice of Sky

“The Story of Kakapo:Parrot of the Night ” by Phillip Temple and  Chris Gaskin (2000 )

The kakapo is an endangered flightless bird, found in New Zealand’s forests 700 years ago.  The population of these ‘night parrots’ have been drastically reduced by the presence of predator mammals such as cats, that were brought in by European settlers. Conservation efforts have focussed on airlifting these birds from their home range to other islands where they are safe from these predators.

This is a story that describes the life of one such kakapo called Kairaki.  It is a descriptive piece, where the reader is introduced to the ways of the kakapo – habitat, food, mating, defense mechanisms.  Kairaki flees from his home range because a cat has killed his siblings. He roams about until he finds a new home. Here, he survives driving rain, food scarcity and violent gales. During the mating season, he performs the kakapo mating ritual ( this is wonderfully described) and succeeds to mate with only two female kakapo. When the mating season is over, Kairaki wearily returns to his home range where danger still lurks.

The writer has skillfully woven the facts about the kakapo into the narrative in an appealing and

non-intrusive way. It is a story about conservation, and at the same time also a poignant tale about a kakapo who tries hard to survive the harshness of his situation.

Ornithological notes are provided at the end of the book, and are useful for further research about this bird.

The gorgeous paintings , mostly in hues of blue, green and purple, capture the character of

story-the unassuming nature of the bird, the remoteness of its plight and the richness of its

habitat.

This book won an AIM children’s book award in 1990.

The other book  that I have found helpful in helping our children understand our love for them is “I Love You the Purplest” by Barbara Joosse and Mary Whyte.

A young mother and her two young sons, Max and Julian,have a day out fishing in the lake. Throughout the day, her sons try their best at digging for worms, paddling the boat and fishing. The competition between them for their mother’s approval , is evident though never hostile. At every turn, their mother assures them of their individual strengths, therefore affirming her love for each child.

At close of day, as she tucks them in for bed, the inevitable question pours out,” Mommy, who do you love best?” The wise mother explains, employing the metaphor of colours -blue and red- thatshe loves rambunctious Max and refective Julian in special and different ways.

The paintings are beautiful and provide the backdrop for this very affirming story of a

parent’s love for her children. We return to this book again and again. This is one book for keeps !

Soil and sand hold an amazing fascination for children. They love to dig in it , throw it about , examine it as one would for precious gems, and occasionally, eat it, as a child so exhuberantly demonstrated at playgroup the other day.

Soil can be really handy for kids to practise scientific investigation. In fact, they already do that to a large extent. But you could make it more meaningful by providing opportunities for them and being the ever-useful Dr Watson to your lil’ Sherlock Holmes.

Set up a rock and stone collection at home. With your child, carefully observe the different colours, shapes and textures of the various rocks that you bring home from the park or the beach. Help your child sort them out according to texture, size, colour or a classification of their own making.

Ask your child what soil is made of . Help them examine how soil feels like , how it looks like ( colours, what’s in it e.g. bits of leaves, stones) and how it smells. Nevermind about tasting it. They’ll do it without our help. How are different types of soil different ? You could let her try exploring potting soil and ‘burnt soil’ and playground soil. Better still, if there’s a beach nearby, investigate how sand and soil by the beach are different from the samples in your garden.

Provide tools for investigation. Use a magnifying glass. What can you see. Examine sand on the beach and sand in the sandbox: look for bits of coral, bits of shell, plants. What happens when you pour water into sand ? What happens when you pour water into soil?

Remember though to check for broken bits of glass and metal . And wash your hands after handling soil and sand.

When I knew we were going to have another baby, we wondered how we would prepare Joy for the new arrival. Joy had been the centre of attention wherever we went for the past three years. How would she respond to the tiny, adorable newcomer who would naturally wrest all that attention from her ? We wanted Joy to embrace the baby with all the sisterly love that she could hold in her heart. We also wanted to assure her that in the busy days ahead, she would  still be as important to us as before, even though there would be times when we would not be able to attend to her needs immediately. How could we convey all this information to a 3 year old?

So when I chanced upon Mem Fox’s  book , Koala Lou, I grabbed it, plonked in on the counter and gurgled, “I’ll take this. How much?”

Koala Lou is beautifully written and eschews the sloppy sentimentality that ”new baby” books

sometimes overflow with.  The story begins with the birth of Koala Lou. She is so adorable that every animal in the Australian bush adores her. Her mother expresses her love to her by saying,” Koala Lou, I do  love you.”

But then other siblings come along and take up almost all of her mother’s time so much so  that  Koala Lou wonders where she fits into the family: Is she as important to her mother as before? Does

her mother still love her as before? Koala Lou feels she must prove her worth and regain

the attention and the love of her mother. So, she begins to train for a tree-climbing competetion against the more athletic Koala Claws.

The outcome of the race and its aftermath assures Koala Lou that her mother truly loves her for herself.

I  loved the language Mem Fox used . Sentences are concise, and is rhythmic.The gentle refrain,”Koala Lou, I do love you,”  is repeated through the story, so that before the book ends, you can’t help but echo along with Koala Lou’s mother ,” Koala Lou I do love you.”

The illustrations are colourful and includes the many fantastic creatures of the Australian

bush such as the frilled-neck lizard, the echidna and the emu. You could embark on a  discussion on Australian wildlife. The other good thing about the paintings is that they don’t merely ‘decorate’ the book but add to the narrative. Indeed, the pictures and the words interact to form the story.

This is a good book to read with your child to reassure her of your love for her.

I did this for a science project when I was in elementary school. I remember this very clearly because I was hooked the instant I knew that I could grow plants from leaves!

Cut off three leaves from an African violet plant. (Make sure the leaves are in good condition.)

Then place the leaves in a cup of water in a sunny place. A window sill will do very nicely.

Watch and wait ! You could write down or sketch the changes that you observe .

In time, you will see that small leaves and new roots have grown from the leaves.

Prepare the pots : Firstly, push a string or thin strip of cloth through the hole that is at the bottom of each pot. Next,  fill the bottom layer of the pots with a thin layer of small rocks for drainage.

Then fill them with potting soil. Plant the leaves in separate pots.   And place the pots in the respective saucers of water. Add water from time to time.The water will travel along the string/ strip of cloth , thus keeping the soil moist. Then, watch and wait . Sketch the changes again.

Instead of using the violet plant, you could also use the ”daun setawar” , which you could transfer from

the plastic cup directly into the potting soil without bothering about the string.

Enjoy!

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney ( Puffin, Paperback ).

This is an excellent picture book for children  to begin thinking about making a difference in

others’ lives.

When Alice Rumphius is a child, she longs to travel to faraway places and live by

the sea, just like her grandfather. When she has grown into a young woman, she fulfils her

childhood dreams of exploration in distant lands, finally settling down in a little house by

the sea. But there is one more thing, the  most important thing,that her grandfather had

said she must do: she must make the world more beautiful. Old and ill, Miss Rumphius looks

out her window and comes up with an idea that are both poetic and whimsical.

The storytelling is simple and engaging, capturing the  nuances of Alice’s independent spirit  and passion for life. While the theme of making a difference reverberates throughout the book, the tone is never condescending nor preachy.

Cooney succesfully weaves the delicate  acrylic paintings and words together to tell this wondrous tale.

There is also the theme of passing on a legacy to the next generation. It is through the long,

wonder-filled days in her grandfather’s workshop that Alice catches onto his love for travel

and his desire to create beauty out of what there is. She watches him carve the prows of

ships and she puts in the skies for his paintings. When Alice is very old, she passes this

legacy to the village children who come into her house to listen to her tell stories.

Cooney portrays storytelling- an art in itself- as something that is  powerful  and life-changing.

We return to this book again and again for several reasons. We love the paintings and I find

that Joy’s answers to the question in this book  change as she grows older each year.