Helping children to access and use stories to understand and represent their world

I was asked recently to send one of my followers a conference paper on literacy that I presented in 1986! While looking for that paper it led me to sort through many of my older publications from the 1980s and 1990s. I stumbled across one piece I’d written for an international journal in 1990 on “Intertextuality”. This was a buzz word in the 1980s and early 1990s. My interest in the topic arose as part of classroom-based research I had done with children aged 5-12 years. The work was published in a number of journals. As I read the old article, I was pleased that I still agreed with it!

 

One of the papers was from research titled ‘Intertextuality: Infectious echoes from the past’. It was published in ‘The Reading Teacher’ (March, 1990). I opened the article with a quote from J.R. Tolkien, who had claimed there are no new stories, only a “cauldron of stories” into which we dip as we write. Of course, Tolkien wasn’t the first person to observe that writing always occurs against a backdrop of our prior literary experiences. And there will always be a level of reciprocity between reading and writing. In fact, the reading of one text will always prime and connect with the memory of other stories. So too, writing can be inspired by books (or other media).

 

Margaret Mahy (1936-2012), the great New Zealand author of children’s books and a dear colleague to many of us writing about literacy, expressed this point well when reflecting on her childhood experiences that helped to shape her:

 

“I wrote because I was a reader, and wanted to relive certain experiences more intimately by bringing them back out of myself”. (Margaret Mahy)

 

She suggested that stories “infected her” and she engaged in dialogue with them in a type of “reciprocating discussion”. Books offered her (and us) a “cauldron of stories” from which to draw inspiration, and even ideas.

 

When I suggested this in conversation with a very well-known Australian author she was indignant, feeling that I was suggesting writers plagiarise from other writers. But of course, this was not what I meant. Our ideas are formed as original ideas against a backdrop of others stories. This in essence is what “intertextuality” means, it is the interconnection between texts written and read. Such connections might affirm ideas, offer us new insights, or help us to grasp the depth of meaning of something in those “aha” moments, when another text challenges, inspires, or perhaps even creates dissension.  

 

The details of my work and the many scholars who inspired my research on Intertextuality can be found in my original articles. The many scholars included colleagues like Professor Jerry Harste (Indiana University), Margaret Meek, Umberto Eco and many more. Those who are more interested should source my original article and others on the topic. But for parents and teachers there are a few basic points worth stressing here:

 

1.   From birth, fill your children’s lives with expository, descriptive (including poetry, journals/diaries, novels, & plays) and persuasive texts (e.g. letters, advertisements etc).

2.   Parents, read to your children from birth. And teachers, always make time to share literature in the elementary years of schooling.

3.   Preschool, primary and Secondary teachers, never lose your own passion for literature, so that you might ‘infect’ your students with this same passion.

4.   Help children to celebrate each other’s writing, and acknowledge the inspiration for their writing and ideas.

5.   Encourage experimentation with writing, in form, at the ideas level and in purpose.

6.   Classroom teachers and parents, try to create an environment where stories are shared, talked about and celebrated.

7.   Make sure you use the school, and local library if you have one nearby, to consider books and borrow them.

 

Never forget that one of the most significant things we can do for our children is to provide access to a “cauldron of stories” into which we they can ‘dip’ as they grow as writers and readers.

Review of Children's Book Council of Australia Awards 2021

 

It's always a joy to review the Australian Children's Book Council Awards each year. This year my review is a little later than usual, but 2021 has been quite a year. In this post I review the winners and honour books for the following categories 'Younger Readers' (7-12 years of age), 'Early Childhood', 'Picture Book of the Year', and the 'Eve Pownall Award' (Factual material children 0-18 years).

1.     1. Younger readers (7-12 years)

Entries in this category may be fiction, drama or poetry and should be appropriate in style and content for readers from the middle to upper primary years. 7-12 years.

 

WINNER

‘Aster’s Good, Right Things', by Kate Gordon, Riveted Press 

Aster attends a school for gifted kids, but she doesn't think she's special at all. If she was, her mother wouldn't have left. And if she isn’t careful, everyone else will leave her too. Each day Aster must do a good, right thing – a challenge she sets herself, to make someone else’s life better. Nobody can know about her ‘things’, because then they won’t count. And if she doesn’t do them, she knows everything will go wrong. Then she meets Xavier. He wears princess pajamas and has his own kind of special missions to make life better. When they do these missions together, Aster feels free…but if she stops doing her good, right things will everything fall apart?

  

This multi-layered novel for 10-13 year olds addresses the all too common issue of family breakups and its impact on children. As children deal with this friendships can make a difference. Aster isn't the type of child who everyone is drawn towards. She's anxious and lives each day with rituals. Her Dad and an Aunt understand her and her anxiety, insecurity and fears. School is a great struggle, and is made much worse by Indigo, an angry girl who has her own inner struggles that trigger anger, hatred and frustration, which she projects onto the hapless Aster.

 

Aster tries to deal with her challenges by doing a good, and right thing each day. She sets herself these challenges to make someone else’s life better. But she does them secretly, because she figures that if they know about her ‘things’, then they won’t count.  This is a complex novel for younger readers (aged 10-12) which any teacher or parent should read before giving it to a ten year old.

Kate Gordon grew up in a small town by the sea in Tasmania. Previous titles include ‘The Heartsong of Wonder Quinn’ (UQP, in 2020), ‘The Juno Jones, Word Ninja’ series (Yellow Brick Books), Rhiza Edge, ‘Three Things About Daisy Blue’ (Allen & Unwin) and ‘Writing Clementine’ with Allen and Unwin.

HONOUR BOOKS

 

1. ‘The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst’ by Jaclyn Moriarty (illus. by Kelly Canby), Allen & Unwin

Long ago, the little Prince of Cloudburst was stolen from the seashore by a Water Sprite. Now, ten years later, the prince has found his way home. The King and Queen are planning the biggest party in their Kingdom's history to welcome him. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Kingdoms and Empires, Esther Mettlestone-Staranise is looking forward to another year at Katherine Valley Boarding School. But she arrives to find a number of strange and unsettling changes...

Jaclyn Moriarty is the author of a number of excellent novels for children, young adults and adults. These have included the international bestsellers 'Feeling Sorry for Celia' and 'Finding Cassie Crazy', as well as the 'Colours of Madeleine' trilogy. 

 

2. ‘Worse Things’, by Sally Murphy (illus. by Sarah Davis), Walker Books Australia

By Sally Murphy
Illustrated by Sarah Davis

This is a story of connections (and disconnections). 

When you’re part of the team, the sideline is a place of refuge, of rest, of reprieve. 

But when you’re out of the team, the sideline changes.

Suddenly it’s the loneliest place of them all.

Worse Things is a story about connections. How they are made, and what happens when they are lost or just plain illusive. Most children will experience these emotions from a very young age for a variety of reasons. 

After a devastating football injury, Blake struggles to cope with life on the sideline. Jolene, a gifted but conflicted hockey player, wants nothing more than for her dad to come home. And soccer-loving refugee, Amed, wants to belong. On the surface, it seems they have nothing in common. Except sport. A touching and inspirational story about the things that bind us all. As well as being a great author Sally Murphy is a university academic who "teaches teachers how to teach". 

Sally Murphy grew up loving books, babies and beaches, and nothing much has changed. Now she is grown up (though she tries hard not to be), she thinks a perfect day is one which involves reading, writing, walking or swimming at the beach, time with her six (also grown up) children, her grandchildren, and long-suffering husband. When she isn’t doing these things, Sally is a university academic, teaching teachers how to teach.

Sarah Davis is a multiple award-winning illustrator, and associate art director for Walker Books Australia. You'll see her work in many well-known books like the popular 'Violet Mackerell' series from Walker Books. She won the CBCA Crichton Illustration Award for her first picture book, Mending Lucille, in 2009, and since then has gone on to illustrate more than 40 titles, in a range of styles and genres.

2. Book of the Year: Early Childhood

 

Entries in this category may be fiction, drama or poetry and should be appropriate in style and content for children who are at pre-reading or early stages of reading. Ages 0-6 years.

 

WINNER

‘No! Never!’ by Libby Hathorn & Lisa Hathorn-Jarman (illus. by Mel Pearce), Hachette Australia. 

This is such an easy book to love! Co-written by the legendary Libby Hathorn and Lisa Hathorn-Jarmon, it is a story that every parent will understand immediately, and I guess, every child (from a different perspective of course)! Every parent will remember how quickly children can stamp their feet and perhaps show the flat palm and shout "No never" or words to that effect. It is bound to get attention, but it's also an opportunity for parents to learn how to deal with it, and for children to learn just when these words are appropriate, and when they might not help one's cause.

 

Honour Books

 

1. ‘Anemone is not the Enemy’ by Anna McGregor, Scribble Kids

Anemone lives alone in the rock pool. The tide comes in and the tide goes out.

Anemone lives alone in the rock pool. The tide comes in and the tide goes out.

All Anemone wants is a friend, but friends are hard to make when you accidentally sting everyone who comes near you.

Perhaps Clownfish has a solution to the problem ...

This delightful picture book might look like another amusing picture book with minimal text, but it is a quirky and funny book that teaches us about the wonder of rock-pool life. Any child who can recall the first time they looked into a rock pool how wondrous it was. And for those children who haven't, they might just pester their parents to take them to the seashore to explore one.

The colourful and digitally produced illustrations and simple text will delight all young readers.

 

 

 

 

2. ‘We Love You, Magoo', by Briony Stewart, Penguin Random House Australia

Magoo is a dog who has his very own ideas about a dog's life. What he can and should do in the kitchen, the car, dinnertime and bedtime! But there are so many annoying rules! Why are there Sooo many things a dog can't do? This is a book especially for Magoo (and those who love dogs like Magoo). 

This is a wonderful read-aloud picture book that will be read many times. Perhaps we'll recognise some of the Magoo in our own dogs?

The author and illustrator Briony Stewart is known internationally as an author and illustrator, including several award-winning books for children. Briony completed a double degree in Fine Art and Creative Writing at Curtin University. After graduating she won a Queensland based writing prize. The story soon became her first published book, Kumiko and the Dragon, which won the Aurealis award for Children’s short fiction in 2008.

In 2012, Briony completed a nine-month creative development fellowship in the UK after being selected by the British Council as one of five young Australian artists excelling in their creative field. Since then, Briony has published numerous successful titles. Most notably, her book Kumiko and the Shadow Catchers won the 2012 Queensland Literary Prize for Children's Fiction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Picture Book of the Year

 

WINNER

 

'How to Make a Bird' written by Meg McKinlay & Illustrated by Matt Ottley

When you have Matt Ottley and Meg McKinlay working together you should expect great things to result, and 'How to Make a Bird' does NOT disappoint. What a stunning book! How on earth can you take the idea of a child making a bird, and then turn it into a moving and uplifting tale of beauty and wonder at creatures in our world? First you need a writer who can craft words with minimalism and power, and second you need an artist who can turn words into images that create a work that is greater than the sum of its two parts. That's what we have in this extraordinary work. One of the most stunning picture books that I've seen for quite some time. 

We shadow the protagonist as she contemplates the blue print of an idea, collects the things that inspire from the natural world to shape a bird. And breathes life into it before letting it fly free. It shows how small things, combined with a little imagination and a steady heart, can transform into works of magic.

The story commences “To make a bird you will need a lot of very tiny bones …” But only when you have cast your bird into the air and you have watched it "stretch out just a little and ... tremble as it fills, inside its tiny, racing heart, with the dreams only a bird can dream of open sky and soaring flight" will you know that you have actually created a bird.

Children will return again and again to this wonderful book.

 Suitable for readers 5 to 100 years!

Honour Books

1. 'Not Cute', Philip Bunting, Scholastic Australia

'Not Cute' from author and illustrator, Philip Bunting is a worthy Honour Book in the CBCA awards for 2021. The illustrations are delightful with a Quokka (as you'd expect from the title) is, well, very cute! As much as tries to convince others that he is actually VERY dangerous, Dingo, Redback, and Crocodile are not buying it!

Once there was a quokka.
Quokka was very cute.
But Quokka did not like being cute.
Not one bit …

Not Cute is a simple story about self-acceptance, listening to others, and not succumbing to your own delusions. This is a story about being yourself. The end pages include a quote from fable teller Aesop, “The stubborn listen to nobody’s advice and become a victim of their own delusions”. A great story that will help children to understand that they need to beware of the unintended consequences of their actions. Readers from 2-5 years will love this book.

Philip Bunting's previous books, which he both wrote and illustrated include Mopoke, Koalas Eat Gum Leaves and Kookaburras Love to Laugh. 

2. 'Your Birthday Was the Best!' Written by Maggie Hutchings & illustrated by Felicita Sala

Hutchings and Sala work in perfect union to introduce the reader to the amusing antics of these cockroach anti-heroes. The result is a series of witty situations which encourages the reader to consider that bugs might revel in all things gross such as hairy cheese and toenails. The minimal and powerful text gives room for the illustrations to carry much of the story.

Maggie Hutchings is a counsellor, family-dispute mediator, writer and artist who spends her weekends covered in paint and scribbling lists that are never completed. In this simple story, a feisty young cockroach gate-crashes a birthday party  – with hilarious results. Funny, silly and surprisingly cute, Your Birthday Was the BEST! is the perfect blend of downright gross and delightfully entertaining.

Felicitas Sala is an incredible illustrator and author who is gaining a big reputation internationally. She is the author/illustrator for the best-selling 'Mermaid!' and 'Unicorn!' Felicitas was born in Rome in 1981. She grew up in Perth, where she graduated in Philosophy from the University of Western Australia. She now lives and works in Italy. She has illustrated many picture books for American, Canadian, Italian and French publishers. Her Book 'She Made a Monster' (written by Lynn Fulton) was selected among the 10 best illustrated books of 2018 by the New York Times.

A Recent Change of Importance to Followers

Followers of this blog have always had the option of being notified by email each time I post something new. This function was delivered by email from the blog through a service called 'Feedburner'. You accessed this simply by adding your email to the 'Feedburner' widget on the side bar of my site. 

Google has decided to end this service in about a week. So in order to ensure my followers remain subscribed, I have added a free equivalent service and transferred all email notifications to this new trusted service. This means you will continue to receive email notifications when I upload a new post. This service is called 'follow.it' and is free. 

This change will ensure you receive an email notification each time I post something. If you don't currently receive a notification each time I post, you might like to subscribe as well, by using the link on the sidebar of my blog.

Thanks so much for following my blog

Trevor Cairney

   

 

 

Children's Literature that Invites & Encourages Resilience - 6 Great Picture Books to Share

As I write this post in my home city of Sydney, we are locked down yet again due to our latest outbreak of Covid-19. Children are doing school at home disconnected from friends and their extended families. The world seems so different to them, and many wonder when things will return to normal. At such worrying times children's literature is a key resource to help them reflect and cope with life. Books can help children to see how courage and resilience give us strength to cope with many things. We talk much about resilience, but for children it is often hard for them to articulate why they feel sad, let alone know what they can do about it. Story is a wonderful way to shine a light on hidden fears, frustrations and deferred hopes. Bringing these to the surface can enable support to be given. Here are just six of the many books for children that address the broad theme of resilience.

1. 'Sad the Dog' by Sandy Fussell (Author), Tull Suwannakit (Illustrator)

This is the story of a clever little dog whose owners didn't even give him a name. Although they feed him and wash him, they don’t appreciate his many gifts, like his love of singing (“stop that yapping!”). When the people move, they simply leave him behind. He christens himself "Sad" and is heartbroken. But one day, a new family with a young boy arrives at Sad’s house in a big truck. Over time, it becomes clear that the boy is just the right person to make his life complete.

 

In its own way, this simple story offers an insight into how with support we can become stronger and more resilient even when our world is turned upside down.  

When his family leaves, Sad is heartbroken. But a new family with a young boy arrives at Sad’s house in a big truck, and it becomes clear that the boy is just the right person to make his life complete. Sandy Fussell's engaging story and Tull Suwannakit's illustrations combine to make this book memorable.

2. 'A Boy His Bear and a Bully' by Katie Flannigan & illustrated by P.J. Reece

For some kids, school is a place full of friends and fun. For others, though, it is a lonely place where bullies pick on them and it feels impossible to be brave. In this story we meet Scott, Buttons and Duncan, otherwise known as A Boy, His Bear and a Bully. All the ingredients needed for a special story.

 

The main character Scott, in his insecurity, takes Buttons to school every day to help him feel brave. But in spite of this Duncan the bully is still mean to him. He calls him "Scott no friends" tears up his painting, calls him names and steals his play lunch. But when Buttons goes missing he is devastated. Where does he look now to find his courage? But with inner strength, he surprises himself. On dress-up day he wears his dinosaur suit and somehow finds his 'brave' and no-one is more surprised than Duncan the bully.

 

Bullying is very real for many children which they often endure alone. But this sensitive book will allow parents and teachers to shine a light on challenges of this type. Scott's bravery inspires others to dig deep to find their inner strength.

 

Katie Flannigan is a full-time children's author. She worked once in the health industry as an Occupational Therapist. She was awarded a Maurice Saxby Mentorship award in 2016. Katie lives in Melbourne with her husband, three children and many dogs.

 

PJ Reece is an Australian illustrator. His delightful pen/pencil and wash illustrations help to bring this lovely story to life.

3. 'The Most Magnificent Thing' by Ashley Spires

Award-winning author and illustrator Ashley Spires has written and illustrated a delightful book about a girl and her dog, that is her best friend. It's a story about a little girl with grand ideas. She decides one day that she wants to make something that is truly magnificent!

 

In her mind, she can see just what this grand thing will be like, so she sets off to make it with the help of her dog. While she can make lots of things, the "magnificent thing" she wants to make proves to be a challenge. While she can see it in her mind, it proves much harder to create it. Instead of it being "Easy-peasy" as she thought, it's hard, and her many attempts don't live up to the plans in her mind.

 

Eventually, the girl gets "really, really mad". She is so mad, in fact, that she quits. But her dog is having none of this and convinces her to take him for a walk. When they come back she suddenly decides that she should try again, and not give up.

 

She decides that she will “make” her magnificent thing. She sets out to do so and "tinkers and hammers", measures, smooths, wrenches, fiddles, twists, tweaks and fastens. And while it never quite lives up to the image she had in her mind of the magnificent thing, she does complete her project and gains great satisfaction from the creation.   

 

This wonderful book is helpful not just for allowing teachers and parents to discuss with their children what it means to persevere, but also to reflect on what it means to demonstrate resilience. It will help teachers and parents to open up many discussions about the human need to set personal goals and challenges. In doing this, it will help to be prepare them for challenges, and to know how to work through them with other people. It is suitable for children ages 5-8 years.

 4. 'Little Frida' by Anthony Browne

This isn't a new book, but Anthony Browne's book about the life of Frida Kahlo was a worthy winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal. He is a former Children's Laureate and twice winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal. It is a story that will inspire young readers when faced with difficulties and challenges in life. The life of Freda Kahlo demonstrated that with resilience, hope and determination we can get through many difficult things.

Freda Kahlo was born Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón in Coyoacán, Mexico City, Mexico in 1907. Her father Wilhelm (also called Guillermo), was a German photographer who had immigrated to Mexico where he met and married her mother Matilde.

 

Around the age of six, Kahlo contracted polio, which caused her to be bedridden for nine months. While she recovered from the illness, she limped when she walked because the disease had damaged her right leg and foot. But her father encouraged her to play soccer, go swimming, and even wrestle. This was highly unusual for a girl in the early 20th Century, but he saw it as a road to recovery. 

 

There have been many books written about this famous artist but Anthony Browne has created a special picture book, that will bring the remarkable story of Frida Kahlo to a new generation and inspire them to consider what resilience can look like even when life throws up big challenges.

 

As well, the book explores the themes of belonging and hope. The story of Frida's lonely life, and how she discovered the power of her own imagination to open up new worlds of possibility, is inspirational. It is a wonderful book for 5-8 year olds. It also has a brief biography of Frida Kahlo at the back that parents and teachers will want to share after they've read Browne's story.

5. 'Dandelion' by Galvin Scott Davis and illustrated by Anthony Ishinjerro (Random House Australia and digital media company Protein)

Galvin Scott Davis and illustrated by Anthony Ishinjerro (Random House Australia and digital media company Protein)

This a wonderful picture book that focuses on the theme of bullying. Galvin Scott Davis explains its genesis:

The story for Dandelion came about when my son experienced bullying at school. As a parent, you are supposed to have all the answers, right? But as we all know, that is not necessarily the case. What to do? I needed to put myself in my son's shoes, draw on my own past experiences and offer him a solution to help him feel comfortable at school again.

This is an exciting project, starting out first as a concept by a Dad whose son was bullied which was then funded by people who like him wanted to say something about bullying to encourage those experiencing it. First there was the idea, then an app before finally a hard-covered book. The illustrations and animation are beautiful. In both formats the unusual sepia tone illustrations of Anthony Ishinjerro capture the reader/viewer and the white, block-letter text stands out from the black pages to support text in the form of rhyming couplets.

Whatever form you experience it, (app or book) it is a story that will encourage parents, teachers and children to talk about bullying and look at whether some problems can be solved with a little imagination and resilience.

6. 'Sunday Chutney' by Aaron Blabey

It's also exciting to see Aaron Blabey back again. This remarkable new talent is shortlisted for the second year in a row. His first book 'Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley' won the Picture Book of the Year award in 2008. You can read more about Blabey in my Author Focus on him (here).

The new girl at school has a glamourous life. What more could she want? Sunday Chutney is not your ordinary every-day girl. Sunday has lived everywhere and been everywhere. The only problem is this means she is always the new girl at school and she never really has a place to call come. But Sunday doesn't mind, not really. After all, she doesn't care what people think, she loves her own company, she has heaps of imaginary friends, so many important interests that keep her very busy . . . and traveling is so glamorous. What more could Sunday Chutney want?

The trouble is that Sunday Chutney always feels different. And as the one who is always the "new kid" that has its challenges. But somehow, in spite of the challenges, she doesn't seem to care. Why? She has learnt to enjoy her own company. And the secret is her excellent imagination, many interests. While there are lots of things she doesn't like - her lazy eye, creamed corn, sand in her swimmers, the first lunchtime at each school, bullies and grumps - she likes lots of things too. Like her own company, her own imagination, crumpets, marine biology, worthy causes and her optometrist. It seems that while she wished she moved less, Sunday Chutney has worked out that while lonely at times, she isn't much she would prefer, except perhaps, keeping the same home.

A FREE Program to Help Parents Support Preschool Learning

I co-wrote an online preschool support program for parents of children 0-4 years a few years ago with a colleague. I've posted on this before, but I thought I'd remind readers just in case they've messed it. It was released in 2018 by the 'Australian Literacy Educators Association'. The program is free and available on the Australian Literacy Association's site HERE. There isn't a catch, just free support and practical ideas for new parents who aren't sure how to help their children to learn in the preschool years. The program started out with my co-author Anita Ayre preparing activities for her daughter to support their first child. I was asked to partner with her to extend and develop an extensive online program for parents and grandparents. 

The online resource program is available FREE via the 'Australian Literacy Educators Association' website. The resource is called 'Little People's Literacy Learning: A guide for engaging parents and carers'. It offers practical help for parents and carers of children aged 0-5. And again, it's FREE! You don't need to be a member of ALEA to access to the resource is open to all.

This FREE online guide comes with hundreds of activities that you can enjoy with your child. Initially, there were 17 units. Now it has grown to 27 with new modules on 'Maths', 'Maths Language', 'Technology Use', 'Measurement', 'Space' and 'Pattern' just released. The modules will help parents to use simple activities as part of life. Some are incidental and others have some limited planning required. But all you need to know is explained in the modules. All activities are designed with an emphasis on learning through collaborative play and shared discovery. Why are so many of the recent modules related to maths? Because language and literacy have many important relationships to these topics.

Anita and I are experienced teachers, parents, and also (these days) active grandparents who love spending quality time with our grandchildren. In this resource, we offer a wealth of suggestions and hints for parents and carers who want to engage with their children in language, literacy learning and mathematics activities. Technology is also linked to many of these topics as well as now having a separate module. All activities are designed with an emphasis on learning through collaborative play and shared discovery. They can all be incorporated into daily life with very little (or often no) preparation! We offer hundreds of integrated examples throughout, including how new technology and multimedia can also enrich the learning experiences of your child with the same richness as other non-technology applications. You'll also find some advice on how to monitor and control screen time.

The resource contains practical and VERY doable common sense activities. You will find it HERE.