Week 7 Books

I don’t believe in dragons, by Anna Walker:

This picture book was about a little boy who did not believe in dragons until he saw one with his own eyes. The setting was in a childcare centre, with the characters consisting of a group of small children, Miss May the carer, and a large but inconspicuous dragon. The illustrations are quite pleasant, and the narrative rather sweet and enjoyable.

This book could be used with early school children as a shared reading book. Most of the words are relatively simple, and the illustrations compliment the print creating a context to aid word prediction. Throughout the print there are a few examples of digraphs which would provide a good opportunity to develop student understanding of the way these letters sound when put together.

Oliver at the Window, by Elizabeth Shreeve:

This picture book was about a little boy with separated parents starting at a new school. The setting was primarily his new school, with the characters being Oliver, his stuffed lion, Miss BB his teacher, and a nameless new girl toward the end of the story. The narrative began creating feelings of empathy for Oliver and his situation; however, it concluded leaving you feeling happy for Oliver and his new friend.

This book may be used with lower primary students in a way that encourages them to understand how new students to their school/class may be feeling when they first arrive. Students may be asked to compare the way new students are viewed, to the way new students view existing students. The students may also examine how the book effectively tells the story from the perspective of Oliver (language used, how it is illustrated). Or it may be used to emphasise the fact that some children share their living between parents, highlighting the difficulties that may arise from that.

The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me, by Roald Dahl:

This chapter book was about a young boy who wishes to transform an old building into a sweet shop, he becomes friends with a giraffe, pelican, and monkey who are all friends and work as window cleaners. The trio of window cleaners have no work until they are hired by the rich Mayor to clean his mansions windows.  They started this new job and discover a burglar and catch him, the mayor is so happy he employs them indefinitely and gives them a place to live and buys and renovates the building for the boy turning it into a sweet shop. This story was easy to read, and provided an underlying message about the value of difference, and being rewarded for doing good.

This book would be a good addition for an upper primary catalogue of books used for independent reading. This is because the author is well known for his quality work; the cover is visually appealing; the narrative is interesting and and involves a diverse range of characters, adding to the interest of the book.  The language used throughout the book is generally easily read, with the occasional spreading of longer unusual words to test readers’ graphophonic knowledge. There are also illustrations throughout the book which provide readers’ with semantic cues to help make meaning of the print.