That Dog! by Emma Lazell. A story of two dog nappers, Penny and Pat and the clever "THAT dog" who foils their plan. A hilarious take on a traditional format, with goodies, baddies, silly mix-ups and with great illustrations.
Thanks to Pavilion Books
This month I also started to take a look at some Early Childhood education and care frameworks from around the world, inspired by my continued reading around and reflecting on what we do...
In Great Numbers : How numbers shape the world we live in by Isabel Thomas, Robert Klanten, Maria-Elisabeth Niebius and Raphael Honigstein, and illustrated by Daniela Olejnikova. I love this book. OK, I did an A level in Maths, but the facts and figures in this book for young children, are mind-blowing. And the illustrations are stunning. We learn about time, symbols and representation of number, ancient mathematicians, measures, mass, money, temperature, seasons, calendars, time zones, pi, Ada Lovelace, the Enigma code.....wow!
Thanks to gestalten
Daniela Olejnikova Illustration
Out of the wreckage : A new politics for an age of crisis by George Monbiot. Published in 2017, but so relevant. This funny thing is that George Monbiot explains all about the crisis we are in, but you are left with a huge amount of hope and inspiration. Actually, just like when you see him speak live (which we were lucky enough to do last October). This sums it up for me, I quote "We witness the resurgence of the kind of politics that until recently seemed to be everywhere in retreat. The potential consequences are grave. Governments founded on lies and exaggerations are making promises they cannot possibly keep, and blaming an even wider array of scapegoats when they fail to materialise, " and "By recognising our good nature and coming together to express it, we can overcome the multiple crises we face that cannot be solved alone. By reconnecting with each other we can conquer loneliness, unhappiness and the loss of our sense of meaning and purpose...By helping each other, we help ourselves...By rebuilding community, we become proud of our society...our institutions...our nations...ourselves." He goes on to outline how it is possible to make this work, and to hope for, and work towards, a politics of belonging. Very accessible and, I would say, essential.
Lillicorn : The Adventures of Lillicorn in WooWoo Land by Lisa Moss and Dr Thomas Bernard. Inspired by their twin daughters' imaginary tales of WooWoo land, the authors want to inspire the next generation of leaders in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths), through story-telling. So the book is an adventure story about Lilli, who loves science and inventing, and who transforms into the superhero Lillicorn who teams up with the reader to solve problems to help save the day. The text is rhyming, and the illustrations are clear and bright. Instructions for the puzzles to solve are straightforward and link to STEM concepts such as pattern, trial and error, sequencing and spatial perception. This is a perfect for book for the older end of my usual reviewing range - probably 4 to 8. But an inquisitive 4 year old who loves a game within a story will love it. The story can be read and solved all in one go, or over several days. There are counters that are stored in the back of the book, used to solve the quests, and can be used over and over again.
More resources to accompany the book will be available on the website below. When all the quests are solved, your little scientist / engineer can download their own problem-solver certificate.
For more see - www.lillicorn.com and www.questfriendz.com
Scruff by Alice Bowsher. As always from cicada books, a perfect quality hardback book that's lovely to look at and hold, as well as to share. A scruffy guy and a scruffy dog, but Scruff doesn't roll and jump and play like the other dogs... Turns out that Scruff just loves being pampered, so a bath and a haircut later (for dog and owner), and a perfect ending at the dog show. Thanks to www.cicadabooks.co.uk
Special Delivery by elliot kruszynski. The house is getting a new delivery!! A baby!! Oh, hang on...not just one baby... A hilarious tale, told in few words and lots of gorgeous pictures, about getting the special deliveries mixed up, and getting them right in the end. Lovely. Thanks to www.cicadabooks.co.uk
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This is not a drill | an extinction rebellion handbook (Penguin Random House). A collection of essays introducing the climate and ecological emergency that we find ourselves in. From an introduction to the problem, to solutions and how to act, from politicians like Caroline Lucas and Clive Lewis, to scientists, economists and academics.
We are shocked, scared and ultimately hopeful that there is a solution ... we just have to convince the system and it's political leaders, or those that are wilfully ignorant, as well as extreme consumers of resources and producers of endless stuff driving the system, that now is the time to act.
And we have to do this with empathy and kindness for it is not us in the West, and in the Northern hemisphere that are already suffering (even though we are disproportionately responsible for the problem we are in), it is those in some of the World's poorest countries that are most vulnerable, but have contributed the least to the problem. And that's before we even get onto the mass extinctions and loss of biodiversity that is happening right now. I really recommend reading this, even if just to inform yourself or to raise awareness with others.
Challenge Everything, an Extinction Rebellion Youth Guide to Saving the Planet by Blue Sandford. A brilliant introduction to the climate and ecological emergency and to Extinction Rebellion for young people, written by a 17 year old youth activist, on a mission to inspire and encourage others to make their voices heard. It's accessible, explaining the concepts and why we need to act, it informs without pushing, and gives spaces for own reflection on what has been read, all interspersed with the iconic XR illustration style. She talks about being politically active, even without a vote, becoming educated and informed about the facts so that they can be explained to and shared with others. Topics such as civil disobedience and the possibility of arrest are discussed sensitively, while all the time reminding us that this is a personal choice depending on our own circumstances, and that there are many other ways to get involved. She asks us to challenge business, challenge government, challenge ourselves, and finally to QUESTION EVERYTHING.
Climate Justice - a man-made problem with a feminist solution by Mary Robinson. Former President of Ireland, and UN Special Envoy on Climate Change writes this highly accessible take on the climate crisis, looking at several people, mostly women, who are making a big difference in their communities, and on the global stage. We travel through Uganda, Mississippi, Alaska, Chad, Kiribati, Norway, Vietnam, Canada and Australia, meeting some amazing people with interesting tales to tell about how they are raising awareness of the climate emergency, while fighting for climate justice - realising that climate change does not treat all people equally, and so the solution must take this into account. Reading this you realise that our government could and should do so much more, but must have the will to do so, and we must fight to make them.
In the words of the former President of Kiribati - "I'd rather plan for the worst, and hope for the best", as he fights of save his home islands and those he shares them with, from rising sea levels.
Little Rufus and the purple squirrel by Femi Osewa. A lovely tale of friendship, about a boy called Rufus who travels to the town of Friendship with the purple squirrel. Along the way Rufus gets a bit scared, but learns that friendship is beautiful, but needs work, and that friends need to be patient, and must work together. Which they do, and Friendship is a wonderful place as Rufus discovers.
Such a simple tale of perseverance, introducing the benefits and challenges of friendship for the youngest audience, and beautifully illustrated too
Talking to my daughter, a brief history of capitalism by Yanis Varoufakis. Written by professor of Economics and former Greek finance minster, this book explains capitalism and economics in an extremely accessible way, written as if he is telling it as a story to his daughter. He winds into the story, by way of explaining the finer points of economics, ancient and modern tales and family stories, in answer to his daughter's question "Why is there so much inequality?" He does manage to disentangle the mysteries of our world, at least for me, and inspires us to call for change, to make the system fairer and more equitable.
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