Black Dog by Pamela Allen, 1991. Penguin Books. Ages 5-8. Picture Book. What do you do when your best friend forgets about you? What do you do when you’ve let your best friend down? This story urges you to continue to hope and to love. Christina and her black dog are the best of friends. They live together on their own in the forest, doing things that dog and humans do- they play and become each other’s best companion. However, one winter’s day, Christina thinks she spies a strange, beautiful blue bird in a tree. This ‘bird’ fills her thoughts so much so that she presses her face against the window pane daily, waiting for it to emerge. The vision fills her dreams. In her fascination with this elusive bird, Christina forgets her very best friend, black dog, who waits in vain for her to play with him and be attentive to him again. [...]
Archive > July 2007
Chinese superheroes
“The Seven Chinese Brothers” by Margaret Mahy, Illustrated by Jean and Mou-sien Tseng, 1990. Scholastic Publications. Picture Book. Ages 6-9. This is a tale of seven Chinese brothers who use their unusual individual abilities to outwit the tyrannical Chinese emperor, Ch’in Shih Huang. Hungry for fame and power, the emperor conscripts labourers from the peasantry to [...]
A chameleon’s point of view
A chameleon is able to see in different directions at the same time. This enables it to ‘multitask’- watch for predators and look for food. As a mom, I can think of times when I wish I had eyes like that – watch the toddler and keep an eye on the frying pan, watch the [...]
Sock ‘em
Before you decide to throw out your old stockings, restrain yourself. They come in handy for this simple ‘gardening’ activity. Fill an old nylon stocking with compost ( soil-lest). Make a knot at the opening. Now you’ve got a head, somewhat. Use some markers and draw in a face. Plant grass seed on top of [...]
Big and ugly
Big Al by Andrew Clements and illustrations by Yoshi, 1997. Picture Book. Ages 5-8. The story of “Big Al’ is about a lonely fish who makes desperate attempts to make friends. Al is kind and gentle but he is also distinctly hideous. His enormous size doesn’t help and his clumsy attempts at impressing the other [...]
A cautionary tale
The Lazy Bear by Brian Wildsmith, 1973. Oxford University Press. Picture Book.Ages 3-6. This cautionary tale begins with a bear discovering a wagon on top of a hill. Having never seen one before, he sniffs, walks around it and finally decides to sit in it. The wagon rolls down the slope with the surprised bear [...]
