The Book Chook

Tips for Kids Who Write – Guest Post

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Tue, 22 May 2012 19:56:00 +0000

Here are valuable tips and a fun writing activity from Australian author, Dee White. Dee is a former journalist and advertising copywriter. She is the author of books for children and young adults, a qualified writing teacher and avid blogger.

I have wanted to be a writer since I was seven years old and now that I am one, it's the only job I can imagine doing.

If you want to be a writer too, here are some TIPS to help you meet your goal:

1. Write a lot - It's true that practice makes perfect. The more you write, the better you’ll become.

2. Read a lot - I learn so much from reading books and thinking about how other authors write. How do they start their stories, how do they develop their characters, how do they come up with a compelling ending?

3. Send off your work for publication and enter writing competitions

4. Put together a folio of all your writing - This will help you get into writing courses and help you get more work published. It shows you are committed to being a writer.

5. Carry a notebook - Record your brilliant writing ideas wherever you are. You might have a phone or an iPod you can use for this purpose too.

6. Check your work for spelling and typing mistakes before you send it out - You don't have to be the 'best speller in the world', to become a writer but when you send your work out it should be free of spelling mistakes so make sure you get a good speller to read your writing before you post it.

7. Don't enter competitions that charge a large entry fee or send your writing to publishers who want you to pay to have your work published - If your work is good enough to be published then it is good enough for you not to have to pay.

A FUN WRITING ACTIVITY - SURPRISE ENDINGS

Do you ever get stuck for a story idea? Me too. Here's a fun writing activity you can do at home.

You use the last line in a book or story as the inspiration for a new story.

What To Do

1. Pick up a book or story you haven't read before and turn to the last page.

2. Use the last line of the last page to start your story.

Example

I have used the last line of Paul Jenning's story, Unseen.

I gave a laugh. "Well," I said. "Let's just say that he should have thrown a cane toad into the Land Rover before he climbed into it."

Use this line to start a new story. Here's what to do. Ask yourself
• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• Why?
• How?

Here's what I mean.

• Who is "I" in the story?
• What is this character laughing about? What has just happened to make him/her laugh? What is in the Land Rover?
• When and Where does this story take place? Where is the Land Rover going?
• Why should 'he' have thrown a cane toad into the Land Rover before he climbed in?
• How is he going to escape from the Land Rover?

You can use the answers to these questions to write a completely new story.

3. Ask yourself, Who, What, When, Where, Why and How about the line from the last page of the book or story you have picked.

4. Use the information you get from answering these questions to start your new story.

For more tips, writing activities, online writing classes and FREE competitions, check out Dee's Writing Classes for Kids blog or follow her on twitter @KidsWhoWrite

Dee also runs a writing blog at DeeScribe Writing. She is currently developing a series of e-books on writing that will soon be available from her sites.

A Book Chook Announcement

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Sun, 13 May 2012 19:21:00 +0000

Over the next couple of months, I'll be travelling. I expect to have intermittent access to the internet, so if you leave a comment, I may be late replying. If you wish to ask me a question, suggest a product for review, or propose an idea for a guest post at The Book Chook, you can email me thebookchook AT gmail DOT com. I will reply if I'm interested. Discover what I look for in guest posts, or check out my Review Policy.

Posts will be fewer here at The Book Chook. In May/June/some of July, expect to see one post per week rather than the usual three. I'm very pleased to say many of those articles will be from guests with expertise in children's literature, literacy and learning. Thanks to Blogger's scheduling feature, I'll be scheduling all those posts ahead of time.

If you want to read more articles here at The Book Chook, delve into the Archive. Or click on the buttons in the right sidebar eg Reviews, Creating, Reading etc. If you're new to The Book Chook, read through a sampler of popular posts and don't forget to check out The Book Chook Bag of Tricks.

Image Credit: Albrecht Durer via Wikimedia Commons

Let's Celebrate Mothers!

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:58:00 +0000

Sunday May 13 is Mother's Day in Australia. I thought it might be timely to ponder what mums have taught us down through the ages. If your kids are old enough, you might like to share this with them, and ask them what they've learnt from you!

WHAT I OWE MY MOTHER:

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
'If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.'

2. My mother taught me RELIGION .
'You better pray that this will come out of the carpet.'

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
'If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!'

4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
'Because I said so, that's why.'

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.
'If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the shops with me.'

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
'Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident.'

7. My mother taught me IRONY.
'Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about.'

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
'Shut your mouth and eat your dinner.'

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
'Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!'

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
'You'll sit there until all that SOUP is gone.'

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
'This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.'

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
'If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!'

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
'I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.'

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION.
'Stop acting like your father!'

15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
'There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do..'

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
'Just wait until we get home.'

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING.
'You are going to get it when you get home!'

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
'If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way.'

19. My mother taught me ESP.
'Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?'

20. My mother taught me HUMOUR.
'When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me..'

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
'If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up.'

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
'You're just like your father.'

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
'Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a tent?'

24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
'When you get to be my age, you'll understand.'

25. And my mother taught me about JUSTICE.
'One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you.'

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons and Picnik.

Children's Book Review, How Machines Work

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:47:00 +0000

Children's Book Review by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com

If your youngster has evolved from "Truck! Truck!" to "But how does it work? I want to know!" then I have a great non-fiction book suggestion for you. How Machines Work is a brilliant children's hardback book by Nick Arnold and Allan Sanders, produced by Quarto Children's Books and published by Walker Books (2011).

It's more than a children's nonfiction book. It's also an interactive guide to simple machines and mechanisms, and provides parts and instructions for children to make their own 12 working models of the machines described. The book's recommended for kids over 8, and I think it would appeal to both boys and girls with a strong curiosity about the physical world and how it works.

How Machines Work is a unique interactive guide to understanding simple machines and mechanisms. Each spread introduces you to a key mechanical principle that you put into practice by building one or more working models. This hands-on approach makes it easy to understand how these principles work and how they can be applied to everyday objects, such as cars, bicycles cranes and seesaws.

Arnold has used a no-nonsense approach to what many would find a complicated subject. He doesn't pull punches or talk down to kids - he uses correct scientific terms like "cam" and "pawl". But the writing itself is not complicated. Arnold uses clear and simple language, honing in on salient points and allowing diagrams and illustrations to add some detail.

Sanders' illustrations truly are perfect for the book. Colourful, clear and cartoon in style, they add humour to the subject matter. For example, there's a mouse on many pages, helping to explain. In the Egyptian picture, not only is the mouse helping slaves use a ramp to move a block, but one of the pyramids is mouse-shaped. Lovely to think we can add humour to non-fiction books nowadays!

The work that's gone into How Machines Work makes my brain boggle. Paper-engineering has always fascinated me, and I really admire the quality of this product. The machine parts supplied inside the cover are sturdy cardboard gears, pinions etc and the plastic screws and nuts even have thread. I also love the way the book works as an informational text - there are clear diagrams and labels, a timeline of each machine along the bottom of its double-page spread and the short text explanations are great models for kids to read and imitate themselves.

With an RRP of $Au24.95, I think this makes a great value gift for kids, and I can see dads and mums appreciating it too. Check out Susan's review of How Machines Work at KBR.

Find more Children's Book Reviews on The Book Chook by clicking Reviews in the right sidebar.

Review, Orijinz

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Sun, 06 May 2012 19:48:00 +0000

One of my Christmas presents two years ago was the word game Orijinz. (Why do so many manufacturers and websites feel impelled to misspell words? Should I change the blog name to Da BuKChuK?) I'm sorry it's taken me so long to tell you about Orijinz, which I really like.

Orijinz is aimed more at adults and teens than under-12s. If you have teens who like word play, I think they'll enjoy it. I know my family and friends do.

Basically, Orijinz involves one person reading aloud the origin of a word or phrase, and the others must guess the way we use it now. So for instance, I might read aloud:

"Guess the Phrase. Origin: Before the era of electric light, lighthouses and theatres burned a mineral to create a strong spotlight effect." If nobody makes a correct response, I give them a little more help by reading:

"Definition: A focus of public attention." People can call out answers and then usually someone clever works out that the phrase is "In the limelight".

I think Entspire have done a good job with this game. Yes, it tends to be US-centric. But with the world's exposure to US culture via TV and movies, that's not such a huge problem. I like that even if you don't know the origin of a word, and very often you don't, you can make an intelligent guess. And the product itself is a sturdy box of good quality cards that can be purchased online, and is small enough to pop into a backpack or flight bag.

Make Comics with UK Disney Comic Creator

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Thu, 03 May 2012 19:49:00 +0000

Here's another wonderful place where kids can have fun while creating and practising literacy skills. The UK Disney Comic Creator, once loaded, offers a range of templates with varying layouts of between one and six panels. Choose a background, choose characters, props, speech bubbles. Add text and special effects and you're on the way to telling a story with images and words. I think the UK Disney Comic Creator will appeal to kids who know the characters (I'm sure I recognised Mickey as the Sorcerer's Apprentice from Fantasia!)

The controls seemed a bit touchy. Re-sizing the background for instance meant I took a while to make it behave. That could be frustrating for younger kids. It's why I chose a white background instead. Each of the elements is editable, with corner handles etc. The speech balloons are editable too. Because of time constraints, I chose a one x one panel layout. But as I said before, kids can have multiple panels, plus they can add extra pages to their work. Once done, you can print, or save your comic as a pdf file to your desktop.

There are a couple of other activities under the Create heading at Disney UK - eg Paintbrush is a great little art editor, with lots of stamps and colourful effects for kids to play with. You can also link to many games.

Some other comic makers I've written about:
Comic Master,
Stripcreator,
Beanotown,
Creaza's Cartoonist,
Story Maker,
StoryJumper,
Make Beliefs Comix,
Myths and Legends,
Quickly Write at Write Comics,
Charlotte's Web Comic Maker,
Toon Books Comic Maker,
Make a Comic at Amulet,
Creating Comics with Professor Garfield,
LEGO Comic Builder,
more LEGO and Literacy (Using Comic Life and Minimizer to tell a story),
Creative Prompt - Start with a Hero (Using Skitch, CBP Hero factory and Comic Life to tell a story), Make a Comic at Digger and the Gang,
Comix at Aven's Corner,
Kerpoof,
Arthur,
Professor Garfield's Character Builder,
Boy's Life Comic Creator
DomoAnimate
Making Books at ToonDoo.
And trust me, there are still more posts in the pipeline. So many online resources that encourage kids to play with writing!

Lest you think I'm a tad obsessed with websites where kids can create comics, (I am!) I've written about lots more resources that promote children's literacy, literature and learning. Use the buttons in my right sidebar to find hundreds of treasures!

Children's Book Review, Unicorn Riders: Quinn's Riddles

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Tue, 01 May 2012 19:50:00 +0000

Guest Children's Book Review by Vicki Stanton

Unicorn Riders: Quinn’s Riddles by Aleesah Darlison, illustrated by Jill Brailsford (Walker Books)
PB RRP $12.95
ISBN 9781921529979
Reviewed by Vicki Stanton

Aleesah Darlison’s Unicorn Riders series is bound to be a hit with readers eight and up, particularly girls. Darlison includes all the ingredients of a successful story: firm friends, beautiful and magical animals, a mystery to solve and a quick-moving plot.

Living in the magical kingdom of Avamay are the Unicorn Riders, four friends called Willow, Ellabeth, Krystal, and the heroine of this story Quinn. Each has her own uniform, symbol, unique skill and unicorn with its own magical power.

In Quinn’s Riddles, Queen Heart calls upon the Unicorn Riders to rescue her son who has been kidnapped. A cryptic note has been left by the kidnappers and Quinn, who has a knack for solving riddles, is called upon to help find the whereabouts of Prince Simon. Throughout the quest, the kidnappers have left more notes and Quinn must use her skill to help them locate and save the young prince. But the greatest riddle that Quinn solves is the one of her very own family.

Jill Brailsford’s black-and-white illustrations add to the charm and the girl-appeal of the book. Liberally sprinkled throughout—there is barely a page without one—the illustrations break up the text making the book very child-friendly. A map of Avamay also allows readers to follow the journey of the Unicorn Riders.

This book is the first in a series of eight, of which three more titles are currently available. Girls will be anticipating the release of further titles in the series.

Vicki Stanton is the editor and publisher of Buzz Words, an e-zine specifically catering to writers and illustrators for children. She is currently undertaking an Australian Society of Authors Mentorship.

Looking Back to April 2011

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 05:23:00 +0000

Towards the end of each month in 2011, I revisited some articles I'd written in 2009 and 2010. Not only did that mean new readers of the blog might find something useful otherwise buried in the archives, but it also reminded me of content I could refer to when I wrote new articles.

And here it is April 2012! In each month of this year, I plan to look back to posts I've written in 2011. Don't forget you can always use the right sidebar to find earlier posts. Click Creating, Learning, Reviews, Reading, Writing and Celebrating to explore those themes, or try the Blog Archive to browse by months.

Here are some posts from April 2009 and 2010.

Some Book Chook ideas for performing a poem.

April 2011 was a month of celebrations. Get ready for World Penguin Day next year by reading April 25 is World Penguin Day! Let's Celebrate! And for World Book Day on April 23: Let's Celebrate Children's Literacy on World Book Day. Kids or adults, we can all use inspiration for being creative and innovative in our everyday lives: Let's Celebrate Creativity and Innovation.

Poetry is a wonderful way to develop children's literacy skills: Children's Literacy Through Poetry.

Have you thought of sharing the wonders of the natural world with your kids? Check out Bird Watching for Kids.

Let's Celebrate Save the Frogs Day!

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 19:40:00 +0000

April 28 2012 is the 4th Annual Save the Frogs Day.

Why do we need to save frogs? Are they in danger?

According to the Save the Frogs website,

"Frogs are the most threatened group of animals on the planet, and are rapidly going extinct. Nearly one-third of the world's 6,644 amphibian species are in danger of extinction and up to 200 species have completely disappeared in the last 30 years."

And by saving frogs, we may in fact be saving ourselves. As Dr Kerry Kriger, Founder & Executive Director of SAVE THE FROGS!, said on Save The Frogs Day, April 29 2011, "When we save the frogs, we’re protecting all our wildlife, all our ecosystems and all humans."

What can we actually do to help save frogs? I asked Penny Whitehouse, Zoo Keeper and Wildlife Education Officer, who blogs at WildlifeFun4Kids, if she could give us some advice.

Here are my top five ways you can make a difference:

Build your own frog pond!

The best and only way to save wildlife is to help provide them with a place to live and reproduce. If we can bring wildlife habitat to our backyards they are more likely to survive. There are plenty of resources available to help you build a frog-specific pond. We don’t really want to encourage toads to your backyard, especially if you have pets, so making sure you research your frog pond is a must.

Don’t use pesticides and chemicals

Much of the chemicals we use in and around our homes end up washed into our waterways and hence frog habitat. Many studies have shown that pesticides have a negative effect on frogs causing, immunosuppression, hermaphroditism, delayed metamorphosis and of course killing frogs.

We can help by using natural cleaning products and pesticides around our house. There are heaps of alternatives, like using chilli powder on your vegetable plants to stop bugs and tipping boiling water on grass and weeds you want to die (it breaks down the plant cell walls).

Keep your pets inside at night

It’s natural for our pets to hunt so it’s important we, as good pet owners, reduce the risk of wildlife being killed by them. We can do this by keeping our pets indoors from 4pm to 7am. If this routine starts from a young age, rarely do pets have an issue with being kept inside. Enrichment such as boomer balls, scatter feeds and frozen popsicles with a treat inside are an easy ways to transition a pet into becoming indoor animals.

Don’t touch frogs

If you find a frog and need to move it, try to use something other than your hand to pick it up. The oils and soaps on our hands seep through their skin and can make frogs very sick or even kill them. If you only have your hand, make sure you wash them well with water – no soap . Keep your hands wet and quickly move the frog to another location.

Donate to Save the Frog Foundation

It’s always better to act for frogs by using the tips above, but if you don’t have pets or a backyard for a frog pond think about donating to Save the Frog Foundation. Their pledge “We promise to convert your hard-earned dollars into time-tested, proven amphibian conservation actions that spread amphibian awareness to the farthest corners of the planet”. Donate here.

Want to know more ways to help frogs? The Save the Frog website has heaps of ways you can do it!

Here are some Book Chook ideas for celebrating Save the Frogs Day:

*Look at eggs, tadpoles and frogs and see if you can record some facts about the lifecycle of frogs. If it's not too cold where you live, visit a local creek or stream with your kids and try to catch a tadpole. Take it home and put it in an old fish aquarium and track the changes as it grows. Recording those changes with your camera would make an interesting project. Lettuce is something tadpoles will eat. Remember we're saving frogs and return the fully grown frog to his original habitat. The Frogs Australia Network has excellent information on tips and regulations for keeping frogs and tadpoles.

*Why not make a poster about our froggy friends? You could use an online Poster maker like Big Huge Labs Motivator, or draw/paint your own frogs onto paper or canvas. I found a frog drawing tutorial and followed it to make my wonderful frog above.

*Consider submitting froggy art work to the Save the Frogs Art contest. Get inspiration from the video below.

*Check out your local and school library's books about amphibians, frogs in particular.

*Sing some frog songs.

1. Mr Frog jumped out of his pond one day
And found himself in the rain
Said he, "I'll get wet and I might catch a cold."
Ah-choo!
So he jumped in the pond again.

2. Da-glook went the little green frog one day,
Da-glook went the little green frog.
Da-glook went the little green frog one day,
And his eyes went Glunk Glunk Glunk! (make froggy eyes)
But we all know frogs go:
"La de da de da"
"La de da de da"
"La de da de da"
We all know frogs go:
"La de da de da"
They don't go glook, glook, glook!
(Here's a similar version on Youtube.)

*Watch Kermit singing It's Not Easy Being Green.

*Bake a frog cake, or add some lolly frogs to green jelly.

More suggestions from Penny, including the cutest frog mask!

• Sing another song, Five Green and Speckled Frogs. Kate at Picklebums has a great frog printable for this.
• Hop over to WildlifeFun4Kids to download this froggy mask and feet (pictured just above), perfect for role-playing with songs.
• Write a frog story. What will you call your frog? Where does it live?
• Have a chocolate frog hunt.
• Make frog in a bog food (jelly in a cup with a red or green frog in the middle.)

Thanks so much Penny! Have a happy Save the Frogs Day, everyone!

Children's Book Review, It's a Miroocool

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 19:38:00 +0000

Children's Book Review by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com

It's a Miroocool was written by Christine Harris, illustrated by Ann James and published by Little Hare (an imprint of Hardie Grant) 2012.

I've read and reviewed some of Harris's Audrey novels and was delighted to discover that she'd written a children's picture book about the same character. Now little brothers and sisters can join in the Audrey fun!

Audrey lives in the outback, so when she loses her first tooth, she’s worried the tooth fairy will never find her!

How will she let the tooth fairy know where she lives...

and what will the tooth fairy leave her?

Here's a dramatic moment all kids can relate to - the loss of a first tooth. But the setting of this story is perhaps unusual to city kids, and therefore involves lots of incidental learning. We see Audrey kicking up clouds of red dust with her bare feet, putting her tooth for safety into a billy, visiting her cubby made from sticks in the scrub, and sitting on an upturned bucket in a paddock to make a wish. Kids will enjoy Audrey's determination, and perhaps do some creative problem solving of their own when next faced with a difficulty.

The choice of James as illustrator was inspired. She captures the outback light and dust and spikiness to perfection. With just a few lines, she portrays Audrey's inner exuberance one minute, and the aggression of an emu the next. The muted palette of ochre, washed out green and faded denim underpin our consciousness of the Australian bush way of life.

It's a Miroocool is a beautiful hardback book. It would make a great choice for libraries, especially schools looking for Australian Studies resources. And what a special gift it would make for a youngster with a wobbly tooth, or one whose older siblings are reading other Audrey books!

Find more Children's Book Reviews on The Book Chook by clicking Reviews in the right sidebar.

Activities for Children's Book Week 2012

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 18:26:00 +0000

This year, I want to give you plenty of time to prepare for what might be one of the most important celebrations ever: Children's Book Week 2012! It's set to take place in Australia from Saturday 18 to Friday 24 August.

The theme for 2012 is Champions Read. Here are some Book Chook ideas for learning activities you and your children/students might participate in to celebrate Children's Book Week 2012.

Read some of the short-listed books at the Children's Book Council of Australia website. You'll also find reviews at The Book Chook of For All Creatures, No Bears, Look, a Book! and The Last Viking. Write your own book review about one of the notable or short-listed books. Not sure how to get started? Check out How Do Kids Write a Book Review.

Organize a Readathon for your school, (perhaps to raise money for purchasing much-needed new books for your school library!) and have each student record the number of books he/she can read within a certain time frame eg four weeks. Design certificates for gold, silver and bronze readers.

Champions Read. There's no doubt about that! But what else could champion readers do with books? Consider inter-class contests where kids must build the tallest book tower, or set up a book-domino display. You could try writing a very short story using book titles, or even creating a haiku from book spines. Check out some examples at 100 Scope Notes. Use a video camera to capture footage of all these great events, or wrote an article about them for the school newsletter or website.

What other book-related contests can you dream up? How about a read-aloud marathon where classes nominate their champions and the champs go head-to-head? Can your school set up a world record breaking attempt like these schools in London? Investigate the Guinness World Record website for more book and reading ideas. If you have a reading contest, here is a free downloadable template for an award winner certificate.

Okay, so we know champions read. Who else reads? Do ducks read? Do elephants read? Or crabs? Or unicorns? If they did read, what books do you think they would like? Would your animal hero have any problems with reading? How could these be overcome? Can you create a simple picture book for a younger child about an animal character who reads? Extra marks if your animal hero is also a champion reader!

DLTK Custom Bookmarks

Here's a website where you can use templates to help make your own bookmarks: DLTK's Custom bookmarks. You just need to choose the options you want by clicking a radio button. I chose double-sided to make my dino-mite bookmark!

Tell a friend or relative about your favourite book of all time. Try to persuade them to read it too.

Write a book review about your favourite book of all time. If you're not sure how to get started, find help in my article, How Do Kids Write a Book Review?

Create a board game based on your favourite book of all time. Take a look at different board games to find a style or format you like, then come up with something unique of your own. You could include quiz cards with questions about literature, or chance cards with literary fates eg "You fall off wall and all the King's Horses can't put you together. Go back to start." You might even create a board game based on Champions Read!

Discuss what make a good book. What makes a bad book? Get together with some friends and invent the world's worst book title. Improvise an advertisement to trick people into buying that book. You might like to learn about methods advertisers use first. Perform your ads for an audience in a school assembly, another class or a family member.

Use Big Huge Labs to make some simple posters, signs and other fun items with images.

Create a Nota or Glogster about your favourite books and share it on your class blog or school website.

Design some posters or signs for your classroom or library about champions reading. Let your imagination go wild. Your poster could include famous people, book characters, animals, champions on the sporting field, or even you - reading! At top is a poster I found on Wikimedia Commons, then adapted for the Champions Read theme by adding text boxes and clip art. Or try ArtSkills' online poster maker. Use a photo site like school photo project to find images you can adapt to create your posters. Don't forget to give credit! Below is an image I adapted from SchoolPhotoProject and underneath is the attribution the site requires.

SchoolPhotoProject.com A Totally FREE Stock Photos Site!

Recommend some books for younger readers. Explain why you think these books will turn kids into reading champions.

Design the sort of medal you think a reading champion might like to wear. Construct a 2D or 3D model of it. Write a procedure explaining to someone else how to make it too.

Extreme Reading - take photographs of yourself and your friends reading in some unusual places. Which class can come up with the most extreme or most creative photos? Make it a contest and add bonus points if kids can include a staff member or celebrity reading in their photos. Highest marks to those who are reading a CBCA short-listed book!

Make comics about champions reading. You could use online superhero comic editors like Comic Master, StoryJumper, Storybird or Creaza. Or use Comic Life, reasonably priced software from Plasq for Mac, Windows and iPad, to create a digital story. Take some photos of yourself and your friends to use in the story. Or set up some shots using your toys and figurines. Then pop your photos in a template, add speech bubbles and text, and you have a champion writer's story!

Listen to some national anthems from other countries. Compose an anthem of your own about being or becoming a reading champion.

Watch this cute YouTube video : Pockyolympics. Can you and your friends invent your own Olympics?

Listen to some songs like We are the Champions (Queen) or Champions from World Cup 2010 (if suitable for your age group - check with a grown-up.) Can you learn the song, then innovate on the lyrics to create a song about champion readers?

Create a chant along the lines of Queen's We Will Rock You with a great percussion accompaniment and some moves to suit it. Maybe your chorus might be : We are, we are, readers!

Interview some people you consider to be champions. Not all champions are sporting heroes. Do they read? What sort of things do they read? Is reading important to them? Why?

Create a story about a champion bookworm. Draw your champion book worm. Give her/him a name. Who are her friends? Where does your bookworm live? What does he like to do? What is your bookworm's problem to solve? How is it solved?

Use your bookworm drawing to make a champion bookworm bookmark!

Invent a machine that has something to do with books and reading. Draw a plan or picture of your machine, or construct it. Perhaps it's a machine to help you read underwater or in the bath. It could even be a machine to convert a non-reader into a reader.

Get together with your friends to research and create a quiz based on children's literature. Maybe you could challenge another group of kids to see who knows the most about children's books.

Write some 30 second bed time stories based on well known tales. Practise telling the story aloud in only 30 seconds. Ask your friends to join in and act out the story really fast while you tell it. Perform your tales for another class.

Write a newspaper article that has something to do with champions reading. Brainstorm ideas and then choose your best one to develop. You could publish your finished article in this great newspaper powerpoint template.

Are there any people in your neighbourhood who have difficulty finding books to read? What could you do about that? Can you organise a book swap, a bookmobile or a teeny tiny library for them?

Follow the instructions to make your own 3D paper bookmobile.

Take a look at Google Doodles, particularly ones around the theme of books. Design your own doodle about reading.

Using this elephant song as a model, innovate about "Reading, I like reading…"

Write a reader's theatre based on your favourite picture book from when you were little.

Design a book cover for the book you would love to write.

These resources have more ideas you might use: How to Celebrate Book Week, Mrs Mac's Library, Kerri's Library Page.

Tell a Bayeux-style Digital Story

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:17:00 +0000

In a few weeks, I hope to see the Victorian replica of the Bayeux Tapestry in the Museum at Reading. Excitement! For some people it's racing cars, or the Eiffel Tower perhaps. But for me, the Bayeux Tapestry holds huge fascination. Is it because it's not really a tapestry at all? Is it because it was created by a group of women with the most amazing skill, artistry and perseverance? Or is it because, for me, it's one big ancient comic strip - a kind of Where's William from the 11th Century?

I also have a fondness for an application that allows us, kids included, to create our own digital stories with a Bayeux look. I wrote about it in Is There Anything Older Than The Book Chook?, giving details of how it works. It's called the Historic Tale Construction Kit, and the reason for this post is that its url has changed since that original post of mine.

Do consider playing with your kids there! Boys in particular will enjoy the warriors and weapons. But there are quaint buildings, animals, all sorts of elements that children can use to create a picture. And the text is in a lovely archaic font that adds a further touch of verisimilitude. Building a digital story from images and texts is such a wonderful way to develop creative thinking in kids.

For more information about the Bayeux Tapestry, check out Britain's Bayeux Tapestry website. I found links to other activities based around the Bayeux Tapestry there, including another interactive where you can build your own tapestry. The original Bayeux tapestry is located in France.

Children's Book Review, Thomas' Really Useful Word Book

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:39:00 +0000

Children's Book Review by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com

There was a time in my life when I lived and breathed Thomas the Tank Engine. I knew all about Gordon, Henry and the Fat Controller, and could recite whole chunks of the Rev W. Awdry's tales. My memory these days is a little shaky on details, but I have to admit, I was pleased to renew my acquaintance with Thomas and Friends through Thomas' Really Useful Word Book. It's a children's board book, published by Egmont, 2008.

Thomas' Really Useful Word Book is sturdy and kid-friendly, with bright, colourful illustrations, faithful to the Thomas style. I like the way the book has been designed. It starts with a map of Sodor that shows all the places kids will later find on each double page spread. I can imagine chubby fingers tracing the train line around the map, or pushing a toy train along to do it for them. The next pages show Sodor's highlights, the countryside, river, beach etc. We even get to see inside the Fat Controller's house, and attend a birthday party with him!

Kids love books that do double duty as a game. I believe this book qualifies. Children will enjoy finding the small images at the book edges inside the bigger illustration. They can also look for and identify Thomas' friends in the different Sodor places.

Word books are great options to offer kids. Some children may not want a linear story, but prefer to identify word labels through their nearby pictures. That's great for developing decoding skills through context. Word books also work well to encourage story-telling skills in kids. Thomas' Really Useful Word Book makes an excellent prompt for discussions about the illustrations or story-starters even in the library or classroom, because the illustrations are large, clear and easy to see.

Find more Children's Book Reviews on The Book Chook by clicking Reviews in the right sidebar.

Use Questions to Help Kids Start Writing

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 19:31:00 +0000

Staring at a pristine word document or gazing at a blank piece of paper may not be the best way to begin writing. Ask any writer! If your kids have trouble getting started, help them out by asking questions.

This technique works really well with picture prompts, so I found some pictures on Wikimedia Commons that might suggest a story idea, and accompanied each picture with questions I brainstormed. I'm sure you and your kids will come up with more. Ignore the questions that don't spark anything, and run with those that do.

Some questions will lead to more questions. Some will have kids tripping over their tongues in eagerness to express ideas. Kids can respond to question in thoughts, out loud to a partner, out loud and record themselves to listen to later, or try to jot down ideas via the computer or pen. The questions can even be answered in whole sentences, and used to build up character profiles or plot outlines.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Where might this be? Does the place have a name? What sort of place is it? (Setting) What sort of creatures are in the tree? Do they have names? How did they get there? What are they doing? What are they thinking? What are they saying? If you were there, what might you be able to hear/feel/smell? What is the sphere on the ground? How did it get there? What will happen next?

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

What is this? What does it smell like/taste like/feel like? How did it get here? What properties does it have? Can it change something or cause something? What is it called? Does everybody call it the same name? Who uses it and what do they do with it?

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

What is this? Where is it? Where does it lead? Who lives on the other side?

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

What's happening? Who is the man? What's his name? Why is he here? Where is he? How does he feel? What can he smell/hear in this place? What will happen next?

If you'd like more ideas about encouraging children to write, click on Writing in the right sidebar, or check out How to Encourage Kids to Write, or Fast and Fun Writing with Kids.

Make an Easter Card with Your Kids

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:24:00 +0000

Easter is a perfect time to do a card making project with children. Creating a card with your kids to send to a friend or relative is a great way to sneak some literacy and creativity into their days. Quite young children might like to try writing their own message (it will look a lot like scribble, but is an important stage in pre-writing), or dictating to a parent. Older kids could think about who the card is for, and help create an appropriate message for that audience.

Real craft is not my forte, alas, but googling will bring you thousands of delightful Easter card projects. I liked an Easter chick from Kaboose, and Activity Village UK has some cute printables you might use in a bigger project.

In case you don't have time for craft, I want to suggest some resources for creating a digital Easter card, something you can print perhaps, or attach in an email to someone your child loves.

Vintage Holiday Crafts has some truly lovely vintage images you can use. Be sure to read their terms of use first.

The Graphics Fairy has a search box that will bring you Easter images, eg this gorgeous Easter Bunny Family Portrait, above. Imagine buying chocolate eggs for that family!

Of course, you can also use a word processing program, and add free clip art to a blank document. Phillip Martin Clip Art has some colourful illustrations that tempted me to use them in the simple picture I created at the top of this post. Or perhaps your child would like to create an Easter-themed cartoon, using one of the websites I mention in Book Chook Favourites - Cartoon Creation? The important thing, I believe, is to experience the joy of creation, and have your kids reach out to the people they love.

If you do find an image your child wants to use, don't forget you can use an online editor like Picnik to add different effects, text, and stamps to it. Sadly, Picnik will close soon, but right now even their Premium service is available free to everyone.

*** The Book Chook will be taking an Easter break. Read me again here on 16/4/12, with some tips for using questions to help kids start writing.***

Children's Book Review, Wanted:The Perfect Pet

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 19:49:00 +0000

Guest review by Sue Stirling, who also reviewed Handa's Surprise on The Book Chook. Sue has a new blog where you'll discover great literature activities. Find more children's book reviews by clicking Reviews in the right sidebar.

Sometimes a book comes along that you just love - from cover to cover, and for so many reasons! Wanted: The Perfect Pet by Fiona Roberton, published by Penguin 2009, is one such children's picture book. The illustrations are created in a clever, child-like manner, with simple lines and creative use of colour.

Henry is a boy who is desperate to own a pet, preferably a dog. Regardless of the fact that he has twenty seven frogs, he wants an exciting pet, one with personality and capable of doing all manner of tricks. Without giving too much away he goes to great lengths to find a pet. The author cleverly writes the story in three very short chapters, giving children the opportunity to hold on to the sequence while another little tale is told until finally the story is woven together.

There are many opportunities in the story for children to further develop kindness, sharing and acceptance of others. The illustrations are endearing, the text is cleverly crafted and you feel a warm glow when you read it, even though you are an adult reading a child’s book. I've read the story to a group of pre- primary children, and they thoroughly enjoyed it. Many of the children understood the nuances of the story and one little girl said, "Oh, now I know why Henry got his Enormous Book of Incredibly Interesting Things off the bookshelf!" I won't spoil the story by explaining further!

I was delighted to find that Fiona Roberton has written another equally delightful story of the two friends. If it's possible, The Perfect Present is even more enchanting. The two friends are together again and in this story their friendship is tested.

Penguin publishers have put together teaching notes to accompany The Perfect Present so you will need to buy both of them! Here are the teacher notes.

Enjoy!

...................

Giveaway News: The Chris Haughton Limited Edition Print will soon be wending its way to Julie C, of SA.

Looking Back to March 2011

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:01:00 +0000

Towards the end of each month in 2011, I revisited some articles I'd written in 2009 and 2010. Not only did that mean new readers of the blog might find something useful otherwise buried in the archives, but it also reminded me of content I could refer to when I wrote new articles.

And here it is March 2012! In each month of this year, I plan to look back to a few posts I wrote in 2011. Don't forget you can always use the right sidebar to find earlier posts. Click Creating, Learning, Reviews, Reading, Writing and Celebrating to explore those themes, or try the Blog Archive to browse by months.

Online Inspiration for Young Poets Young poets need our encouragement. Here are some resources that might help.

Let's Celebrate Dr Seuss' Birthday Some ideas for sharing Dr Seuss activities.

Messing About with Words to Increase Literacy Word play can add so much to kid's lives and literacy skills. Here are lots of suggestions from The Book Chook.

Top Two Book Chook Silly Games Share some giggles with your family and friends.

Bullying? No Way! Here's a website that helps to combat bullying.

Online Resources for Reading and Writing Don't read this post unless you have lots of time! Way too long, it's a list of websites that help develop reading and writing skills in kids. I plan to split it and update it soon.

Write Stories and More at Kerpoof So much learning delight at this Disney site.

Play with Words and Images at Pizap Adding text to a photo with an image editor like Pizap is such an easy way to sneak some writing into family fun.

Looking Back to March Past Use this post to link to some great articles from 2009 and 2010. Lots of ideas for encouraging kids to read, write and learn, using web and other resources.

Image Credit: Graphics Fairy

Children's Book Review, Violet Mackerel's Brilliant Plot

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:31:00 +0000

Children's Book Review by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com

Thanks to a recommendation from Walker Books Australia's wonderful Leonie Jordan, I recently discovered Violet Mackerel's Brilliant Plot. It was written by Anna Branford, illustrated by Sarah Davis and published by Walker Books in 2010.

Violet Mackerel thinks she would QUITE LIKE to own the blue china bird at the Saturday markets. This is not just a SILLY WISH. It is instead the start of a VERY IMPORTANT idea. But what she needs is a PLOT. A BRILLIANT plot. Introducing readers to a new warm and loveable character, Violet Mackerel’s Brilliant Plot is a story not to be missed.

• Hardback illustrated fiction series that will appeal to all young girls
• Beautiful writing from an exciting new author, Anna Branford, with illustrations by award-winning illustrator, Sarah Davis
• Introducing the gorgeous Violet Mackerel, a character who girls 5 + are going to fall in love with

I LOVED Violet. I especially appreciated her theory of finding small things. She is just the sort of character kids will relate to - quirky, enthusiastic, and creative. Branford perfectly captures Violet's voice and shows us the way her mind works. I was in a constant ripple of giggles as I read of her exploits, and looked at the world through her eyes. Humour is hard to write well, and Branford does it brilliantly. Interestingly, Violet Mackerel's Brilliant Plot was written in the present tense, which works well, giving a sense of immediacy to the novel.

The hardback edition is robust, and perfectly formatted for kids who are delving into junior novels or chapter books. Davis' black and white sketches are gorgeous, and complement the text beautifully. They are soft but detailed, I'm guessing pencil sketches with watercolour. Davis really captures so much personality with just a few lines that we gain insight into what is going on in Violet's head. Davis also gives us Violet's own sketches and captions, adding to our enjoyment of Violet's character.

Violet Mackerel's Brilliant Plot is recommended for children aged 7+. I think it would be a perfect acquisition for libraries, as well as a great choice for kids who love series. They can follow up with Books 2 and 3, Violet Mackerel's Remarkable Recovery and Violet Mackerel's Natural Habitat. The books seem just right to use as a read-aloud for kids in Grades 2, 3 and 4, and Walker Books have again added value to them by including classroom ideas on their website. Violet even has her own website, where kids will enjoy reading more about Violet and downloading lots of interesting activity sheets.

Check out other reviewers' opinions at Aussie Reviews, Kids Book Review, Kids' Book Capers, and My Book Corner.

Find more Children's Book Reviews on The Book Chook by clicking Reviews in the right sidebar.

Encourage Reading with The Berenstain Bears

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 18:07:00 +0000

Should kids always read great literature? I don't believe so. There are many roads to becoming a lifelong lover of reading. Allowing kids to choose their own route and their own books makes good sense. But I hope all kids get the chance to read good literature, because it truly does feed their hearts, minds and souls.

The Berenstain Bear books might not be classed as great children's literature. But their colourful illustrations, zany antics, humour and readability have made them hugely popular. They can be found in classrooms, libraries and garage sales in many English-speaking countries. The books I remember include The Big Honey Hunt, The Bike Lesson and The Bears' Picnic - in other words, we're back in the 60s, folks! There are recent titles too as you can see in this list.

The Bears even have their own website. Here kids can read interactive books and visit the activities page:

Check out some hot tracks on Brother Bear's BearPod. Try the Maze to Bigpaw's Lair - just make sure you don't wake him up! Sister's got a secret message for you - can you solve it? Take a tour of the Bears' Tree House from the cellar all the way up to Brother and Sister's room. Visit the library or take in a movie. Send an e-mail to Mama, Papa, Sister or Brother (or the whole family).

The Berenstain Bear website might be just the encouragement your kids need to look for the books in their local library or at school. Lots of adults who love reading today learnt to read on Berenstain Bear books. Do you have a favourite?

***Co-creator of the Berenstain Bear books, Jan Berenstain, passed away last month. Her family honoured her memory by directing memorial gifts to Reading is Fundamental – USA’s largest children’s literacy nonprofit. What a legacy she leaves behind!

Interview with Chris Haughton and Limited Edition Print Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 18:38:00 +0000

My post today is an interview with author/illustrator, Chris Haughton. I've reviewed Chris's books, A Bit Lost and Oh No, George!

In conjunction with Chris's blog tour for Oh No, George! I'm delighted to tell you that one person who emails me [thebookchook (at) gmail (dot) com] - with "George" in the subject line and their postal details in the body of the email - during the next six days will receive this limited edition print from the book, pictured just below. One email per family. Australian or New Zealand postal address only please.

UPDATE: The winner is Julie C. Julie has been notified, and will receive her print soon from Walker Books.

Interview with Chris Haughton

BC: Chris, I very much enjoyed A Bit Lost which I reviewed at The Book Chook. It's won some awards. Can you tell us a little about that?

CH: Yes, Little Owl has been very, very, lucky! He has won awards in six countries: the UK, Ireland, France, USA, Holland and Canada. In Holland it won the Dutch Picture Book and as part of the award it was the centre of National Read Aloud week (Nationale Voorleesdagen) which meant it was read out and performed across the country and was even read out by the Dutch princess. I went over for some of the week and it was absolutely magical to see my characters and story being performed in Dutch and adapted to puppet shows and theatres. It has been a really amazing year and a half and I’m so happy it has had such a response. I had no idea it would have anything like the reaction it has had.

BC: Right now, you're visiting different blogs to promote your latest picture book, Oh No, George! Something tells me you may have a dog of your own - is that right?

CH: I had three dogs altogether while I was growing up in my parents house, but I don’t have one anymore. The first dog we had when I was very young was called Tammy. She was quite like George - she was pretty bold and had a habit of eating the things she wasn’t allowed. George’s story came about because the book was originally going to be called OH NO! and it had lots of accidents happening. There was going to be a cause on one page and then when you turn the page you would see its effect. I drew George and it seemed funnier to have a dog to blame for all the accidents. All the dogs I’ve ever had seemed to have had a problem with being good, and were very guilty whenever they did something bad.

BC: As an author/ illustrator, what comes first, the words or the pictures?

CH: The pictures. Really I just draw the pictures and the text underneath just writes itself.

BC: Which children's authors and illustrators do you admire most?

CH: I love the stories and subject matter of Dr Suess. Many of his books tackle quite abstract or poignant themes but he manages to do it in a way that everyone can understand and find funny. I like Leo Lionni for his simplicity. I really love Kitty Crowther and Beatrice Alemagna's work for their drawn details and patterns. Many of my favourite illustrators are French: Chamo, Marc Boutavant, Olivier Tallec.

BC: I read where you said you got inspiration for some characters in A Bit Lost from Mexican handicrafts and from Rousseau. What other art styles or artists have influenced you?

CH: I love all kinds of folk art. Anything that simplifies imagery in one way or another I think I am drawn to. Textiles, embroidery, Indian Madupani and Worli folk painting. Folk art is great because it flattens and simplifies everything unimportant and that leaves room to concentrate on the important story-telling elements of gestures and movement. Textiles tend to ignore realistic colours, which is quite refreshing, and it focuses on colour and decorative details.

BC: Can you tell us a little about Fair Trade and Node Rugs?

CH: I’ve been working with the fair trade company People Tree and others for the past 8 years and I think the work they are doing is really fantastic and much needed. They work with women’s shelters and other development projects around the world and try and provide income to disabled/illiterate or other disadvantaged peoples. Many of their products are bought as gifts so the design is important. It is very satisfying for a designer to be involved in.

I had wanted to get little more involved in the design process so I went out to Nepal for 5 months to visit the projects. One of the things I was most excited about while out there was a fair trade rug project. People Tree are more focused on clothing but I thought it was such a nice project. I had some rugs made and put some pictures up on the blog and in a pretty short while it got a lot of hits and was featured on design blogs. I was being asked by other illustrators if they could also make rugs. I got my Nepalese friend, Akshay, involved and we set up noderugs.com to facilitate that. We decided to call ourselves ‘node’ because it’s the Latin word for knot and at the same time we wanted to be connecting people to fair trade. The project supports a school and orphanage and they make amazing rugs so it’s all very exciting...! We are now selling the rugs through the design museum in London, and from our online shop.

BC: Thanks so much, Chris. I very much enjoyed your books and hope to read you again soon!

Children's Book Review, Oh No, George!

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:29:00 +0000

Children's Book Review by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com

Recently I reviewed Chris Haughton's A Bit Lost, so I was thrilled to see this talented creator had another children's picture book out. Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton was published by Walker Books.(2012)

It's hard work being good all the time. And it's especially hard for a dog like George!

Harris is off to do some shopping. "Will you be good, George?" he asks. George hopes he can. He really wants to ... but chocolate cake is just so very delicious and he does love to chase cat... What will George do now? Chris Haughton's distinctive artwork perfectly accompanies the innocent charm of affable George, a dog trying to be good – with hilarious results!

George is every dog I have ever owned. I'm sure our labrador didn't mean to scoff the whole leg of pork we HAD planned to eat for Christmas dinner. It must have just happened. Same with George I guess. The expressions the dog gets on his face will make any reader laugh and nod. The dichotomy between what George says and what he thinks is also cause for mirth.

Kids will so relate to George - they'll understand the effort it takes to be good, and the temptations not to be. The publisher advises the age range as 0-3 years, but I believe Oh No, George! would make a fine read-aloud for pre-school and Kindergarten too. There is lots to talk about in the book, and it would fit perfectly into a discussion about impulse control. Because the text is simple and predictable, I think it also makes an excellent model/template for children's own writing.

I love Haughton's illustrative style. Get more of an idea of it at Haughton's own blog - scroll down to see lots of images. I would describe his style as minimalist, with a strong design focus. Kids will adore the bright colours with a limited palette, and the wonderful character expressions. George's owner, Harris, is much smaller than George, adding to the humour. (Haughton chose "George" and "Harris" for his character names - perhaps a nod to another favourite book of mine, Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome?)

Check out the video preview of Oh No, George!

Don't miss my interview (including giveaway) with Chris Haughton here at The Book Chook on Friday March 23.

***Find more Children's Book Reviews on The Book Chook by clicking Reviews in the right sidebar.

Literacy Educators

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 18:34:00 +0000

I'm a member of Literacy Educators Coalition. Take a look. You'll find me under S.

Perhaps it may seem silly to you that I'm so proud of being a literacy educator when I'm not currently teaching in a classroom? Yet I believe that I teach and reach out to parents and teachers through this blog. Children's literacy, literature and learning are my passions; my dream is to ignite that passion in others.

One of the things I love about the Coalition of Concerned Literacy Educators is what they believe, their credo I guess. What I believe, so my credo too. I received permission to reprint it here in its entirety, because I think it makes such good sense, and thought you might like to read it.

What We Believe:

Learning to read begins at birth as family members read aloud to their infants.

Family members have an important role to play in their children’s literacy development by talking with them and demonstrating how print is used at home and out in the community.

The only reason for reading is to construct meaning. (Reading does not require the production of sound, but it may.)

Readers use a range of strategies to construct meaning. They draw upon the symbols (letters, signs, numbers, icons, etc) and the associated sounds of the language, the grammar of the language and the meanings of the language.

Without meaning, the associations between letters and sounds can not be known. Meaning is required to make these associations clear. (For example, no-one can read the word ‘lead’ using phonics alone. Is it ‘leed’ or ‘led’? The word must be in text which gives it meaning.)

The teaching of phonics is closely related to the teaching of writing; and the teaching of writing is closely related to the teaching of reading.

Reading and writing are inter-related and occur in every-day life practices. Readers read for many purposes: to be informed, delighted, challenged, amused, comforted, entertained and enlightened. In our teaching of literacy, the reasons for reading are highlighted, not forgotten.

Reading and writing help children to understand their own world, but also introduce them to wider worlds, both real and imaginary.

Real texts invite children to want to read. They foster curiosity, passion, joy and wonder.

Real texts include print-based materials and texts on-screen (eg computers, mobile phones, automatic tellers). Print-based materials may include signs in the environment, greeting cards and many other forms of print as well as traditional books. On-screen texts may include still and moving images, voice and music as well as printed words.

Reading requires an understanding that no text is neutral in its opinions. When authors create a text, their biases, points of view and prejudices are embedded. Readers need to be aware of how a text positions them or persuades them to the writer's point of view. We call this critical literacy. (It is not 'literary criticism' with which it is sometimes confused.)

Ready access to real texts in classrooms, school libraries and community libraries is crucial. We believe it’s essential for school libraries to be staffed by trained teacher-librarians.

Decisions about classroom literacy programs and assessment are best made on site by those working with the students. Only then can literacy instruction be tailored to students with different needs. Students learn in different ways – one size does not fit all.

Valid, reliable assessment is a continuous process; not a single event. The main purpose of continuous assessment is to inform teaching and improve learning. It is the basis of the most effective communication with parents about their children’s progress.

Teachers need to be involved in continuous professional learning. They need to be able to articulate their beliefs and explain their practices to parents and the wider community.

Whoever worked this out did such a great job! I love the emphasis on rationality and common sense, yet there are so many points I can and do feel passionate about. Did you catch the part about real texts, and how they invite kids to WANT to read? How about the importance of trained teacher-librarians? Do you agree that valid reliable assessment is a continuous process; not a single event? And that one size doesn't fit all with learning? Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful if all politicians and decision-making bureaucrats espoused these principles too!

The Literacy Educators site has an Information page with interesting and thought-provoking articles parents and teachers will enjoy. There's also a page of Links and a Good News! page. If you're an Australian literacy educator, perhaps a teacher, an author, or a literacy-loving blogger like me, why not stand up and be counted in Australia's National Year of Reading, and join the Coalition?

Use Images to Start Kids Thinking

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:59:00 +0000

A great way to get kids thinking is to offer them the chance to play with words and images. I've riffed on this theme several times here at The Book Chook. Today I want to suggest a simple project that nevertheless involves kids in research, reading, decision making, going beyond superficiality and delving into meaning (perhaps), and communicating a message to an audience. It touches on many aspects of visual literacy, particularly if we stay alert to opportunities to get kids thinking about what they see. It's also crucial to encourage children to think about how they can get their message across to others.

The project is to choose a quote and illustrate it. Yes, I told you it's simple. Having kids think about quotes and explain their meanings is an excellent discussion starter. Going a step further, to collect quotes and illustrate them, makes a great digital project. It's handy if teachers have a short period available on the computer, or perhaps for early finishers in the classroom. But it can also be done at home, or using pencil and paper, or photographs and lettering.

Mostly I'll focus on the digital. Where can we find images that are free and legal for kids to use? What resources are available to combine images and words? And where do we find quotes for children to use in such a project?

1. Image websites

These are some of the sites I use to find free clip art and photos that are made available under a license meaning we can legally use them. You and your kids always need to check an image's license to be sure it's legal to use it. Some licenses require attribution; others don't.

Wikimedia Commons: Repository of lots of public domain images which means they are out of copyright and able to be used. Some images are just free. Always check though, license should be under the image. Searchable - see top right search box.

Morguefile: Free even for commercial use. Searchable. No need for attribution, but courtesy to give it anyway.

Philip Martin Clip Art: Free for non-profit use, and lots of educational clipart. I love his cartoonish and colourful style.

Picnik: Picnik is not only an image editor, but has quite a lot of clip art available for use in your Picnik projects. Recently Google bought Picnik and decided to discontinue it, BUT it's available still through Google +.

2. Resources for combining words and images

All of the resources listed here are good places to go if you want to combine words and images. You may have software available that you prefer, and of course, Photoshop is the Rolls Royce of image editing. However, chooks prefer to keep it simple. At these websites kids can learn to upload an image, and add text to it.

Picnik: I discussed Picnik in Play with Words and Images at Picnik
Pizap: I discussed Pizap in Play with Words and Images at Pizap
Big Huge Labs Motivator: I discussed Motivator in Book Chook Favourites - Making Posters
Iaza: I discussed Iaza in Visual Literacy - Play with Images at Iaza

3. Quote websites

There are stacks of quotation websites online. Google "quotes" and your preferred subject, and you will get pages of hits. Some have ads, so be sure to supervise your child and check websites first. Here are two I found:

Wisdom Quotes

My Inspirational Quotes - Kids

Children should look long enough to find a quote that resonates with them. Perhaps they'll choose: "It is not the gift, but the thought that counts." (Henry Van Dyke) They might need help teasing out how best to illustrate that quote, or they might choose just to type it onto a plain background. With the Van Dyke quote for instance, it may help them to think of an instance where the quote would be exaggerated, or try for a play on words. Is one animal getting a gift that would be really no use to him? An elephant might get a luggage type of trunk from his friend, but still be glad of the thought. A mother might be secretly appalled by the mess produced by the making of a gift, yet love the thought behind it.

Some online quote collections may not be accurate, so consider triple checking with other sources. Or look inside your own books, your Bible, or Dictionary of Quotations and Proverbs. Song lyrics and poetry can contain treasure too. I think it's important to attribute the source of a quote if possible, so encourage kids who are making quote collections to remember to record the origin of their quotes.

Once children have chosen a quote, they need to think more about illustrating it. Can they find an appropriate photo or piece of clipart? Should they create a diagram, or a map, or a flow chart? Would a comic or cartoon convey the meaning best? What sort of font will best suit the subject matter? Younger children will stick with the literal meaning, but older kids will delve deeper into meaning. Can they use editing effects to create a mood to match their quotes and images?

You and your kids can play with the project and come up with variations. Instead of a quote, challenge kids to come up with a way to illustrate and communicate the meaning of abstract nouns like "optimism" or "fear". Or find an image, and create a caption that goes with it to make viewers laugh or pause for thought. So many thinking skills being developed and so much fun being had!

The finished product could be printed out. It would make a wonderful class project and the results could be made into a slideshow and embedded on a class blog.

Here are some quotes I liked :
No one is perfect – that’s why pencils have erasers. ~ Author Unknown I think drawing a pencil topped by an eraser would be within my scope as an artist, and I know kids could draw some kind of extremely imperfect individual wielding it!

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. ~ Walt Disney Find my illustrated quote third from top.

Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig. ~ Robert Heinlein Find my illustrated quote at top.

We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. ~ George Bernard Shaw

Once you learn to read, you will be forever free. ~ Frederick Douglass Find my illustrated quote second from top.

Here are some more articles you might like:
Visual Literacy Activities with Online Resources, Visual Literacy Activities with Children's Picture Books, Book Chook Favourites - Playing with Words and Pictures.

Image credits:
1. BookChook filled Skitch with colour, added clipart and text at Picnik.
2 Wikimedia Commons Text added at Picnik
3. Wikimedia Commons Text and frame added at Picnik.

Children's Book Review, The Truth About Penguins

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:43:00 +0000

Children's Book Review by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com

The Truth About Penguins is a children's picture book written by Meg McKinlay, illustrated by Mark Jackson, and published by Walker Books (2010, paperback edition 2011). I think it will produce giggles and guffaws from both children and adults.

The penguins are coming and there is great excitement at the zoo. But what’s a penguin? The animals don’t quite know what to expect - but they all have an opinion, each more outlandish than the last. When the truth about penguins is finally revealed, everyone is in for a surprise!

I love the humour of the contemporary animal voices in this charming children's picture book, and kids will too. From a wise old owl: "Pizza! They stop for pizza! Olives, pepperoni, double cheese. I read it in a book. They're all about the cheese, penguins." And then from the pelican: "Lazy little critters, they are. I tried teaching some to swim once, you know. They were all - It's too cold! Its too deep! It's too wet!"

Fortunately, the sensible zookeeper sets the other animals straight - or does he? Stand by for a delightful twist at the end.

I love Meg McKinlay's books. Read my review of Duck for a Day and No Bears. It's great the way McKinlay provides fun for the read alouder as well as the audience in The Truth About Penguins. I can still hear my internal chooky voice clucking "The penguins are coming!" in true "The British are coming!" style.

Jackson's illustrations are quirky and charming. Children will love working out which animal is speaking, and what we can tell about his character from the words and pictures. My favourite illustration is the page about the elephant - whose mother was a penguin, and whose imagined memory of himself as a baby is so cute. I like the way a range of animals are included in the story, making it an ideal resource for children learning about animals, or other countries.

Walker have added value to this delightful children's picture book by providing pdf notes and classroom ideas at their website. With excellent discussion points and activity suggestions to use with the book, these are a boon not just to teachers and librarians, but to homeschooling and literature-loving parents everywhere.

Find more Children's Book Reviews on The Book Chook by clicking Reviews in the right sidebar.

Sharing My Beautiful Curves

noreply@blogger.com (The Book Chook) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:42:00 +0000

Sorry to disappoint, but this post is not about a Book Chook squashing her feathery plumptitude into a tiny bikini!

At the end of 2011, in Fun and Easy Ways to Make Digital Art with Kids, I wrote about websites where kids can play with digital art, and ideas for using the results. Today I want to share a new toy: Beautiful Curves.

It's simple enough that anyone who can wield a mouse can use it. Choose a colour by clicking it, adjust two sliders - longer/shorter and thicker/thinner - then put your curser in the workspace and swirl. The result can be saved to your computer as a png file. My sample can be seen here ( I framed and resized at Picnik.).

Maybe Beautiful Curves isn't true art, but it's fun and I find it relaxing and satisfying. I think your kids will too. Besides, a debate on "what is real art?" would take more space than Blogger has room for!

Find more posts about children's creativity by clicking the Creating button in the righthand sidebar.