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Posted by
Kathy Brodie on May 24, 2017.
Today is ‘National Simultaneous Storytime 2017′ in Australia, where all over the country children will be reading The Cow Tripped Over the Moon, written by Tony Wilson and illustrated by Laura Wood.
Linked with the fact that May is National Share a Story month which has the theme of ‘Picture a Story’ all about the illustrations, it seemed too good an opportunity to share all your favourite picture book ideas with everyone.
I had lots of great suggestions and you won’t be surprised to hear that the Gruffalo was strongly recommended by many, including Sharon Wood who was the first person to nominate this great book, illustrated by Axel Scheffler.
Pamela Davenport chose another classic: We are Going On a Bear Hunt. She says “The book and wonderful illustrations by Helen Oxenbury captured my children’s imagination, making up different endings to the story. Going on walks and exploring nature and the environment, my children loved to explore the swishing swashing grass, squelching mud and a variety of other senses associated with the story”.
Featured
Posted byKathy Brodie on May 5, 2017.
The month of May is National Share a Story month. For 2017 the theme is ‘Picture a Story’, encouraging children to look at illustrations and pictures in books. This is part of the Federation of Children’s Book Groups (FCBG) aim of bringing children and stories together.
It reminded me of a visit that I had to an art gallery with Early Arts many years ago. We were asked to look at the pictures hanging on the wall, and then to look at them through a kitchen roll tube. It was amazing how the pictures looked different when you viewed them in this way – picking out the details – even if the detail was a patch of colour or a seemingly insignificant piece of background, it suddenly came alive.
Of course, this is a technique that great authors have been using for many years, from the Ahlberg’s ‘Peepo!’ book to Nick Sharratt’s ‘Shark in the Park’. Another Ahlberg book where the illustrations are as much of the story as the text is ‘Each Peach Pear Plum’ (and I used to know this off by heart when my children were small!). These delightful illustrations encourage both careful observation and also an understanding of the nursery rhymes and stories, making it a great book to start discussions about different stories.
One of my absolute all time favourite writer/illustrators – and I have to confess I have many favourites
Kathy Brodie on May 24, 2017.
