A Slice of Sky

“Augustus And His Smile” by Catherine Rayner.2006. Little Tiger Press. Picture Book. Ages 2-6.

The storyline is very simple: Augustus the tiger, wants to find his smile. He searches for it across hills and forests. In the end, he finds it in a pool of water. Augustus realizes that his smile is there all the while, on his face. Joy is found within oneself , this book seems to say.

The illustrator won the Best Illustrator Award in the Booktrust Early years Awards 2006.
I can see why. The drawings of Augustus ,the tiger, draws out the mystery of the animal and the child-likeness of his quest. The brush strokes are bold , much like what you see in Chinese paintings of horses and tigers.

Another lovely tiger book is “ Tiger Who Came to Tea” by Judith Kerr, Illustrated by the author, 2002. HarperCollins Publishers.

A tiger pays Sophie and her mother a visit in their home. He is warmly welcomed and is invited immediately to join them for tea. He eats and drinks everything up, including the water from the kitchen tap. His tummy full, he bids Sophie and her mother goodbye. But there is no food left for dad when he gets home. The problem is amiably resolved with a restaurant supper of sausages, chips and ice-cream.

The appeal of this book to children lies in its simplicity. A creature of great majesty and mystery –the tiger- drops in on an ordinary simple English family. He wallops up their resources, but leaves their lives unperturbed by his intrusion. The reader gets the impression that Sophie and her family are safe, because they are strong and love each other. Problems can be overcome.

My children have borrowed the book three times from the library. When they do, they insist on reading this story again and again. They are delighted with the tiger. And they are delighted that dad gets home and settles the problem of having an empty larder, so wonderfully. I , myself, love the gentle nuances of family life depicted in this story. A good read for Christmas I should think.

Prince Cinders by Babette Cole

This most be the most ridiculous rewriting of Cinderella ever! Cole rewrites the fairytale by plucking out the female Cinderella and replacing her with ta-daaah…the sensitive male- Prince Cinders! In this tale, Prince Cinders has to contend with three “big hairy brothers”, who- more hirsute than the average silverback- party-hop and tease poor Cinders about his limp biceps and sweet nature. Cole retains the ball motif but throws in plenty of curve-balls: a confused fairy, a princess dressed in sequined pants and a pair of tight trousers.

We laughed so hard our tummies ached !This version is pure anarchy, expelling weeping- damsel and macho -hero stereoptypes. We hope to get our hands on more of her books like ‘Princess Smartypants” and the Dr Dog books. The children haven’t viewed the video of the book yet. You can view it via the link below, but nothing beats the book which has Cole’s handprints all over it.

“Augustus And His Smile” by Catherine Rayner.2006. Little Tiger Press. Picture Book. Ages 2-6.

The storyline is very simple: Augustus the tiger, wants to find his smile. He searches for it across hills and forests. In the end, he finds it in a pool of water. Augustus realizes that his smile is there all the while, on his face. Joy is found within oneself , this book seems to say.

The illustrator won the Best Illustrator Award in the Booktrust Early years Awards 2006.
I can see why. The drawings of Augustus ,the tiger, draws out the mystery of the animal and the child-likeness of his quest. The brush strokes are bold , much like what you see in Chinese paintings of horses and tigers.

Another lovely tiger book is “ Tiger Who Came to Tea” by Judith Kerr, Illustrated by the author, 2002. HarperCollins Publishers

A tiger pays Sophie and her mother a visit in their home. He is warmly welcomed and is invited immediately to join them for tea. He eats and drinks everything up, including the water from the kitchen tap. His tummy full, he bids Sophie and her mother goodbye. But there is no food left for dad when he gets home. The problem is amiably resolved with a restaurant supper of sausages, chips and ice-cream.

The appeal of this book to children lies in its simplicity. A creature of great majesty and mystery –the tiger- drops in on an ordinary simple English family. He wallops up their resources, but leaves their lives unperturbed by his intrusion. The reader gets the impression that Sophie and her family are safe, because they are strong and love each other. Problems can be overcome.

My children have borrowed the book three times from the library. When they do, they insist on reading this story again and again. They are delighted with the tiger. And they are delighted that dad gets home and settles the problem of having an empty larder, so wonderfully. I , myself, love the gentle nuances of family life depicted in this story. A good read for Christmas I should think.

“Edward the Emu” by Sheela Knowles, illustrated by Rod Clement. 1988. HaroperTrophy. Picture Book. Ages 3-7.

Edward is an emu who lives a lackluster life at the zoo. Bored of being an emu, he decides to try being something else. He attempts the outrageous, like swimming with seals, roaring in the lions’ den and slithering with snakes. Unltimately, his explorations lead him to the one obvious conclusion- that he is really best when he is himself.

Told in rhyming verse, with eye-catching illustrations that emphasize the absurdity of Edward’s exploits- this book is an attention grabber for reading aloud with kids, whether individually or in groups.

You could have a discussion with your child after reading. Ask her if there are some things she doesn’t like about herself. Ask her what they are. Are they other people or story characters that they wish they could be instead? Why? At the end of your discussion, assure her that she is special as she is and that you value her . Tell her five things about her that you like best. Let her take her turn telling you which five things she likes best about you!

The new worksheet has been uploaded. It’s entitled ”Thesaurus and Poems”. Hope you have

fun with the ideas suggested!

And…

Here are some books that go well with the thanksgiving season:

“The Turkey Girl” by Penny Pollock, illustrated by Ed Young.1996. Picture book. Ages 6-9. A good laugh about a wish-granting turkey and a girl who wishes to attend the Dance of the Sacred bird.

“Molly’s Pilgrim” by Barbara Cohen, illustrated by Daniel M. Duffy, 1998. Picture Book, Ages

6-9. A thought-provoking story about how a little girl feels about showing off her

Russian pilgrim doll to her classmates.

“The First Thanksgiving” by Jean Craighead, illistrated by Thomas Locker. 1993. Putnam. Ages

6-9. A picture book about how Squanto comes to the rescue of the pilgrims.

Blessed thanksgiving!

“Katie and the Sunflowers” by James Mayhew, 2000. Picture Book. Orchard Books. Ages 4-6.

Engaging introduction for young ones to the works of Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Paul Cezanne. There are startlingly gorgeous reproductions of the artists’ works in the book so that flipping through the pages itself becomes a real visual treat!

The story begins when Katie and her grandmother decide to visit the art gallery. As grandma sits down to rest, Katie wonders off on her own. The first picture she sees is Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers”. “Perhaps I could grow the seeds in my garden,” Katie says to herself. She reaches for the sunflowers in the picture and they spill out of the picture frame! Katie rushes through the gallery, entering paintings and bringing the various characters through the gallery with her on an adventure of sorts.

Try reading the rest in the series: “Katie’s Picture Show”, “Katie Meets the Impressionists” and “Katie and the Mona Lisa”.