Benjamin: Picture Books

Graeme Base – The Eleventh Hour: A Curious Mystery

The Eleventh Hour sees the story of Horace planning and celebrating his Eleventh Birthday. The poetic words of Base create a world of excitement and mystery of who ate the feast that Horace made. This gives two levels to the story as those who can appreciate the images whilst others can appreciate the cryptic ways of the story and determine who ate the feast. This picture book is useful for older and younger children though you will need to read this for the younger children. An excellent read

Terry Denton – Home is the Sailor

Home is the Sailor is the adventure of a young boy named Claude and his friend Sparky the Penguin. The journey takes the pair to meet a walrus named Captain Hagar and then visit where he lives. The images that Denton has illustrated are beautiful and share the descriptive story. This can be used to look at families or engage a class on topic for the Antarctic. I found the book very fun to read and recommend this who loves any of Denton’s other works.

Christine Ross – Lily and the Bears

When we see children they don’t seem to be determined to obtain a specific job. In this case, Lily wants to be a Bear because they are strong and brave. The fact is that most adults do not like a child who dresses up like a bear and scare everyone they meet. The story moves to Lily getting accidently locked in a Bear cage with real bears who want to eat her. Lily learns the error of her ways but the next day she is something different. This wonderful story shows the imagination of children and the amount of determination they have. I would share this in a classroom looking at zoo animals or to just share in the fun.

Zoe Krause – I Spy

We have all played the game I Spy but when put you put it in a book and asked to look for objects that begin with a letter; this can lead to some fun. Krause gets readers to find objects in each illustration that relate a section of the alphabet. This story follows a day in the life of Didi the Duck and her search for objects that begin with all the letters of the alphabet. This is an excellent beginning book as it gets readers to look at letters and know their beginning letter to associate with the search.

Joy Crowley and David Cox – The Screaming Mean Machine

The screaming mean machine is the scariest roller coaster that the young girl (she is never named and is always in first person) has ever seen. She is not afraid of any of the other rides and has to wait a whole year more because she is too small. Her experience and the images are shared with the reader who is told the movements of the ride and the emotions that the main protagonist is feeling. I found the imagery very interesting and that it showed the stories actions very clearly. I found this book very good for those who want to thrill seek.

Jane Hissey – Little Bear Lost

For those who remember the television series Old Bear, this brings back memories. In the case of reading this picture book, the toys are in search of Little Bear who has gone missing. The search continues until towards the end where the toys find Little Bears location and the story ends well. The language of the story is from a narrators’ view which allows a teacher to read this to a classroom.

Lowen Clarke - Sam the Tram

Clarke depicts the trams of Melbourne with human features and emotions. This is loosely based on the rise and fall and the return of trams in Melbourne. The story itself is wonderfully depicted and the trams and trains in the story are illustrated and described well through Clarke’s words. This story got me up to read to children at work (I work for my local OSHC) and sharing the history and the importance of maintaining our resources rather than replacing them and putting them in scrap heaps.

A. A. Miline – Some Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

This particular story sees the introduction of Tigger to the Three Acre wood. Miline shares the tale with an individual style that plays with Winnie discover Tigger on his door step for the first time and learning what Tiggers do best. The unique style is easy to read and moves from the story to what the narrator is explaining with ease. A wonderful story that has always been a classic and I highly recommend reading them all.