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Good Reading : July 2009
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word of mouth REVIEWED BY MERLE MORCOM Zen Tails: The know it all Peter Whitfield Illustrated by Nancy Bevington N o-one likes a know it all. In this story, Furball the cat thinks she knows everything. She is too clever to go to lessons with her friends. She lies around sunning herself while the o others are off learning such s dive from the tallest tree. But when Pierre the Hippo dives from the tall oak tree, thereby bursting the dam, will Furball believe her friends when she is warned of the impending danger? A wet cat is such a sorry sight. This is the latest book in the ‘Zen Tails’ series, classic philosophical stories adapted and beautifully illustrated for children. This book, as in each of the series, includes the original Zen tale and a gentle moral at the end. Simple and yet clever stories like this are often the ones that stay with children all their lives. ★★★★ New Frontier $19.95 Age guide 5+ Teaching books Teaching Poetry in the Primary Classroom Gervase Phinn I f you’ve read any of Gervase Phinn’s many poetry books, then you’ll understand what enthusiasm and practicality he brings to the subject of introducing poetry to the very young. His experiences in the classroom and as an education advisor and school inspector have given him lots of great ideas and the skills to pass on his passion for this sometimes neglected aspect of the English curriculum. He starts by showing how to create a rich and ur stimulating environment for children to enjoy poetry. Then he gives loads of examples, some written by him, and others by the children. There are patterned poems, limericks, riddles, ballads and, my favourite, conversation poems. The chapters include reading, writing, learning and performing poetry throughout all grades with the emphasis on fun. This book is so readable and would be a huge asset in all primary schools. ★★★★★ Footprint $52.95 44 goodreading ı JULY 2009 Everything about books ONLINE www.goodreadingmagazine.com C Il wish I’d had this beautifully presented book of classic poems when I was a high school student. Selected by Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen, these memorable poems have, as Michael says, ‘remained popular’ and ‘gone on mattering to people’. They include many of my favourites: Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Edward Lear’s The Jumblies, Hilaire Belloc’s Tarantella and Christina Rossetti’s Remember. I discovered from the sho I Ed short biographical sketches on each poet that Edward Lea Lear was the 20th child of a bsinessman and Elizabeth Barrett ed with her parents till she as 40, secretly married Robert rowning and then ran away Italy. The illustrations by Paul H pa an m p Howard are so varied: drawings, paintings, lino cuts, mono-prints and pastels all inspired by these memorable poems. This as a classic collection that would be a great introduction to poetry, especially in schools. ★★★★★ Walker $39.95 ★ Classic Poetry Selected by Michael Rosen Illustrated by Paul Howard skills as how to build a dam or swim underwater or d The Wrong Book Nick Bland N icholas Ickle is trying to tell a story but he keeps getting interrupted by characters from other books appearing on the pages. He shouts at them, ‘Go away! You’re in the wrong book!’ but they keep coming. An elephant, a pirate, a queen and even monsters and rats appear while poor Nicholas becomes more and more distressed. Somehow he has to get rid of them so he can tell his own story. ho Children will love this crazy book and delight in guessing which books the characters should be in. They’ll also love Nick Bland’s big, bold, full colour illustrations which become busier and busier as more characters appear. And as an added bonus, the reverse side of the dust jacket becomes a great poster. This is a perfect book to be read aloud to those littlies. ★★★★ Scholastic $24.99 Age guide 4+
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