A commercial plug (but really an effort to boost the library budget): Wheelers Books

If you like shopping on line for books then please consider Wheelers Books. It is the on-line bookstore where I now buy many of our library and resource books. When you shop with Wheelers you can specify Rapaura as your nominated school which means that 10% of the value of your purchases is credited to our library. Click on the title of this post to learn more.

Are you wondering what to buy a small friend for Christmas?

Here are a few perfect choices:

1. Old Hu-Hu written by Kyle Mewburn and illustrated by Rachel Driscoll is a must have. You could say it is a book about death. Or you could say it is a book about a Huhu Beetle. Or you could say it is a visually stunning, beautifully written story about life, death and rebirth and so therefore is the perfect book for Christmas. (Or you could say it is the perfect book. Period.) Kyle Mewburn dedicated it to 'Momo', who apparently was his old cat. That's another good reason to buy it. Rachel Driscoll? May she never, ever stop illustrating children's books. I really, really love this book and if it doesn't win heaps of awards I will eat my hat.

2. A great pictorial version of the Christmas story can be found in Julie Vivas' The Nativity. No matter how you feel about the "Silly Season" or the Christian heritage of Christmas you cannot deny that this book is a joyful look at the famous old story of Jesus' birth. Washing on the line and hiking boots on the angels add amusing measures of domesticity and cheerfulness. (And I must say that Vivas' take on a large, pregnant, unwieldly Mary is very refreshing.) There are some out there - authors, singers - who use Christmas as a great opportunity for sales. Julie Vivas' book, on the other hand, uses Christmas as an opportunity to celebrate Life. Hallelujah.

3. There is a Bird on your Head! by Mo Willems is one of a series of books about Elephant and Piggie which, in future, will no doubt enjoy the same legacy as The Cat in the Hat and Dr. Seus. With simple line drawings chock-full of expression, a great plot and simple, repetitive yet well-written words this book is a perfect choice for an emerging reader or for anyone else who can appreciate pure genius.

4. If you are like me and have always had a hankering to show off your talent for Spanish, French and Texan accents The Perfect Nest by Catherine Friend (illustrated by John Manders) is the read-aloud book for you. This is a story of gluttony, greed, selfishness, deceit and avian brawls not to mention orphans, a male adoptive mother and an especially cosy, happy ending. Fabulous family fun, as they say.

5. Guji-Guji by Chih-Yuan Chen is a fab book because of the fun take on the Ugly Duckling tale, the gorgeous illustrations and the fact that Mother Duck is so absorbed in her book she doesn't notice a rather large addition to her clutch of eggs. You go, girl. It is also a splendid book because it is published by the incomparable Gecko Press.

Oh, and 6. Did I mention Room on the Broom??? LOL

More suggestions to come....

Star's cousins know all about atoms!

I never knew my Star is from such a smart family of dogs...

Morag's big brother helped to create this!

Rosa's review of Tiny's Big Wish

There is a little elephant that has a big wish. But all the other elephants have the same big wish. He wishes that he is big like all the other big elephants. Then his mum gives him a big hug and tells him he will be big when he grows up. I liked this book because it has elephants and because it was a happy story.

Library news

What an amazing and busy week so far culminating in the visit from Springlands Kindy.
A big thank you to everyone who contributed to making the library look so beautiful today for the little ones who came to visit. It made me really very proud to walk in and see everything in place and ready to go. Thank you all.
Today Maddox, Bella, Melissa and I were treated to an Elephant and Piggie story read to us by Kees. Great reading, Kees! I think your brother and sister are lucky to have you. And welcome to Maddox - you are now a library card holder. I hope you enjoy the book you issued today.
Another big thank you to George M. who was the first student in Room 3 to post a reply on this blog.
Shayne and Josh have been busy playing a card game at lunchtimes which is a change from writing a book and I have also been challenging them to a memory game. They are really good at it.
See you on Friday :-)

And the bookworm award goes to...

Georgie, from Room 3. Georgie read an awesome story to me about bees and then we looked at the honey comb Murray gave the library. Thanks, Georgie, for reading to me. It was lovely! :-)

The Bookworm Award goes to....

Ashley's mum, Karen Griffiths, the very first parent to ever post on the library blog. Yay!!!! Thank you, Karen, for your wonderful comments.