Looking Back for Backwards Day

Some blogs have a regular feature where bloggers revisit earlier posts. I think this is a great idea. Partly that's because I have lots of new followers who might not have made it so far back in the archives yet. Mostly I think it might help me remember what I've written!

I've also been working hard to create a Table of Contents page here at The Book Chook. Look for that soon. It'll make it much easier for you to browse articles or search for your particular interests. Less chaos in the Chook Yard!

I was honoured to be included in a great line-up of useful blogs at Keith Schoch's blog, Teach with Picture Books recently. Check out his post, Great Minds Thinking Alike: Sites for Teaching Using Picture Books.  Do take time to explore while you're there - Keith has wonderful resources to help us all get the most from picture books!

Since January 31 is Backwards Day, let's look back to some TBC articles from January, 2009 and 2010.

2009

Can Books Be Our Friends? Access to kid-friendly books helps kids love reading.

Revving Up Reluctant Readers Ideas that might help your kids switch on to reading.

Celebrate the Joy of Language Puns, jokes and games involving words are great to share with kids.

You'll find lots of book reviews in the archive at right under January 2009.

2010

What's So Great About Children's Literature? It's wonderful, that's what!

Using Toys as a Springboard for Writing Writing and story-making ideas that revolve around toys.

Into the Book A great reading comprehension resource for K-4.

Make a Movie with the Zimmer Twins Tell stories using an online editor at Zimmer Twins that generates a little movie.

Turn a Catalogue into a Classroom Some Book Chook ideas for making playful learning activities from flyers and catalogues.

Have Fun and Develop Literacy Skills with Bookr  Great little digital bookmaker.

Fun and Useful Music Resources 

Boredom Busters Some Book Chook ideas for capitalising on kids' interests in play and learning.

You'll find lots of book reviews in the archive at right under January 2010.

Besides looking back here at The Book Chook, what else will you do to celebrate Backwards Day? Your kids might like to put their clothes on backwards, try walking backwards, or even reading and writing backwards. If you feel an urge to drive the car backwards, perhaps it's best to resist.

Changes at The Book Chook Blog

Did you realise we are already seeing some changes at The Book Chook? Thanks to Lady Java, I have a prettier and more spacious blog, a paler background and a tweaked banner. Those of you reading via RSS won't notice any difference, but I hope others like it as much as I do.

In 2011, my emphasis will still be on great children's literature, literacy and learning, but I plan to have many more guest writers, of both reviews and articles. If this is something that interests you, please get to know the blog first by subscribing to it, or browsing published articles. You should understand my emphasis is on great children's literature, literacy and learning. You should share my philosophy of encouraging kids to learn in a natural way, by playing and having fun where possible. And you should write clearly and concisely, in an easy conversational style.

Undaunted? If you're still interested in writing a guest post or review of a book or educational product for The Book Chook, email me with your proposal via the Contact Me tab, above. All I can promise you if I publish your article or review is exposure to a growing global audience, plus a link to your own blog and/or website in your bio.

One regular special feature on The Book Chook is "A Book That Impacted My Life - (your name goes here)". If you'd like to submit an article of between 250 and 500 words, explaining which book made an impact on your life, and why, use the Contact Me tab above. My preference goes to children's books. You can see an example article in the first of the series, A Book That Impacted My Life - Kelly Burstow.

Games for Toddlers - Owlieboo

If you'd like to find an online space where your toddler can play and learn some elementary computer skills, as well as interact with simple games, Owlieboo might be the answer. Games are grouped into Pressing Keys, Moving the Mouse, and Clicking and Dragging.


Games I tried:


Painter - lets kids colour simple scenes by dipping a paint brush into their chosen shade and dragging it to the scene to touch the space they want to fill with that colour.
Music - click on an owl and it makes some musical sound; add more owls; click again to stop, one after the other, and experiment with composition.
Animals - press any key for the animal to make its sound.
Egg - press any key and continue to press to see the egg crack and different animals emerge. Includes some Australian monotremes.
Nocturnal - move the mouse and shine your torch on animals of the night.
Puzzles - four and six piece jigsaw puzzles where pieces can be dragged into their correct position to make a scene.
Stickers - choose a scene eg polar landscape and then decorate it by dragging animal stickers to where you want them. Like a digital flannel board.


What I liked: the designers really have kept things simple. The interface isn't cluttered, it's intuitive, and it works smoothly and quickly. There's also an emphasis on involving kids in activities associated with music, art, and thinking that appeals to me. The games really are very simple and well-targeted at toddlers, and there are also colouring pages and wallpapers you can download. 


The only drawback are the ads either side of your working screen. The whole time I was playing, the ads were never inappropriate for kids - ads for foxtel, CDs and evening dresses. But I figure parents will be supervising toddlers so don't see these as a big problem. And we need to realize I guess that the people who create these websites try to pay for them somehow. It's either that or we pay to subscribe. I know what I prefer!


Other websites I've written about and like for younger children: Boowa and Kwala, Poisson Rouge, CBeebies, KneeBouncers and Fun with Spot. 


I think a certain amount of screen time for kids is fine, under parent supervision. I truly do believe that the greater part of a child's day should be spent playing, listening to stories, singing, rolling down grassy hills, painting, building, kicking a ball around outside, and pretending. However, websites like these help kids explore technology in a developmentally appropriate way. NB: I am NOT an expert anything - just a chook with an opinion! 

Let's Celebrate Australia Day with Boomerang Play!

Recently I wrote, "If we can keep playfulness at the core of what we do, if we can look for ways to incorporate play and fun into lessons and activities, I believe we will encourage creative thinking. Another huge benefit is that if we enjoy what we do, we are more likely not only to remember it, but to persevere with it."

That's a core belief of mine, and one that drives many of my articles here at The Book Chook.


As a teacher, one science lesson I knew I could rely on to use play as a spark for learning was exploration of the principles of flight. I wrote about some resources for this in Follow Directions and Fly. I found that getting kids to invent paper aeroplanes BEFORE we looked at the principles involved resulted in engaged and involved students during the research part of the lesson.


A similar lesson I could rely on to get kids hypothesising and inventing, adapting and testing, was one where I introduced them to paper boomerangs.


You probably know the real boomerang. It's a wooden weapon used traditionally by Australian Aboriginals. So what's a paper boomerang? It's a piece of thin card or paper of boomerang shape that you flick so it flies. If you're particularly clever, you can catch it on its return.


Today, to celebrate Australia Day, here is an activity I predict will get your kids thinking creatively and keep them occupied with learning for ages. (I gave some other ideas for playing last Australia Day, or you could try one of the trivia quizzes at The Australia Day website.)


Here's how I would do it. Show your children some different boomerang shapes and real boomerangs or pictures of boomerangs. Wonder aloud if a cardboard boomerang would fly, or even return. Have them experiment with drawing and cutting out different shapes - curved ones, symmetrical and asymmetrical ones, geometric ones etc. You'll hear them hypothesizing, predicting, analyzing - all the wonderful thinking skills we want to encourage. They might suggest trying different materials, or different thicknesses of the same material, or different ways to launch the boomerang. They might also want to decorate their boomerangs - graphic designers in the making!


I haven't tried large sizes like the *NASA four- winged boomerang below - my preferred size is around 3 or 4 cms. I like to launch one by making a fist with my left hand, laying my paper boomerang squarely on the back of my hand, and flicking one corner quite hard with my right thumb and middle finger. I took a photo top left to show you. (I used card from the back of a greeting card.) NASA have two they call finger boomerangs and they suggest launching on a book.


Next you could introduce some existing templates for paper boomerangs. Try googling "paper boomerang template" to see a good range, download an Instructables pdf, try this different shape at WikiHow, or check out this *NASA lesson which has a four-wing boomerang template. Do have a good look around at what NASA have to offer on Aeronautics while you're there.


Once you've experimented with some existing templates, I guarantee kids will be keen to modify these and invent their own. If they want to try even more models, here's a video about making an origami boomerang.

...........

Susanne Gervay, author of I am Jack,  is excited about being the Australia Day Ambassador for regional Australia in Wakool. She's flying by charter plane from Sydney on the 25th January, then it’s all day celebrations in Wakool on 26th January, including citizenship presentations at the Australia Day Breakfasts, flag raising ceremonies, official presentations & even a duck race on the Murray River. How kool is that!

Teaching Kids to Type

Learning to type correctly is an invaluable skill for anyone nowadays. With so much of our work, learning and leisure time centered around computers and the internet, being able to type fast and accurately is important.

I think the best way for kids to learn keyboarding skills is via games. There is software available for purchase in most computer stores, or you can access some games online.

Tux Typing features Tux, the Linux penguin. It's available as a free download for Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux. There are two games, Fish Cascade and Comet Zap and each comes graded from easy to hard. Games start with alphabet identification or finding the keys on your keyboard, and move on to practise fluency and accuracy.

Type for Gold is a game you don't need to download but can play online. Typing words you are given makes an athlete run faster. You need to wait a little until the ad disappears.

Dance Mat Typing is an offering from the BBC Online. I like that it starts with an explanation and teaches correct finger placement. Then it moves on slowly, emphasizing lots of drill. Kids might not find it as much fun, but it wraps practice up in an interactive package that's solidly based.

If your child wants to learn to type, games are a fun way to learn. Some kids can't see the wisdom of typing correctly, so it might be an idea to make a typing game something they do each day before they play a different game of choice. I believe it will pay dividends while children are students, and more so when they go for their first job.

(Image credit: klepas on Flickr)

Literacy Via Air Mail - Guest Post

It's my pleasure to welcome Joyce Grant as a guest on The Book Chook today with a game I know your kids will love! 

Literacy Via Air Mail

My son’s friend likes to play “air mail” whenever he comes over on a playdate.

It’s a great game and I know that it works on their literacy skills because I've seen improvements. It involves a bit of the adult’s time, but it’s such a fun game that I indulge them whenever they ask me to play.

Here’s the game:

• The kids run upstairs and hole up in their bedroom.
• They each, or together, write a note to me on a piece of construction paper.
• Then they run downstairs and throw the note in my general direction – and then run giggling, like criminals, back upstairs where they slam the bedroom door.

So we’ve got lots of good elements here. There’s some kind of “chase” which involves getting the note to the adult without being seen. The adult can add to the excitement by either pretending not to see the note, or suddenly flinching in the child’s direction as through he’s going to chase them.

The first note from the children will be something like:

“We want a snack!” or “Ask us a question!”

Then the adult writes a note on the other side of the paper. I usually try to get some kind of dialogue happening, like: “Ask the Oracle a mysterious question.” Last time, I tied two snack bags of jelly candy onto the note and then pitched it at their bedroom door where it made a very satisfying – and disconcerting – thump. That was the kids’ cue to gingerly open the door to see if I was still there (I wasn’t) and retrieve my note.

If you can picture it, there is a lot of silliness, giggling, whispering between the kids and slamming of doors. There’s a lot of running up and down the stairs and a lot of suspense about what the note will say, whether they’ll get caught sending or retrieving their notes and whether they’ll get a treat.

In the meantime of course, there’s reading and writing. And I don’t make it easy for them. I use big words and I make sure there’s a pay-off for reading and understanding each message.

For instance, in our most recent game “Ask the Oracle,” the kids’ second note didn’t include a question. I figured they probably didn’t know what an Oracle was. So my next note told them to look the word up in the dictionary to find out what an Oracle could do for them. There was a pay-off to using the dictionary (because Oracles are cool).

Sometimes I make my notes into paper airplanes and throw them at the bedroom door. Sometimes I load them with a treat or even carrot sticks. Usually there’s a payoff for them writing another note back to me—maybe it’s a knock-knock joke they’ll have to ask for the answer to. Or sometimes it’s a nugget of information that they have to ask for more details about. Just something to keep the game going and keep the kids reading and writing. And giggling.

Joyce Grant is a freelance writer and editor. Her non-profit children’s literacy blog is Getting Kids Reading.

Book Review, Henry the Goat

Children's Book Review written by Susan Stephenson, www.thebookchook.com


Here's a lovely new picture book! Henry the Goat was written and illustrated by Ella Watkins, and published by Hardie Grant Egmont (2011).

Henry, as perhaps you've guessed, is a goat. He loves to play. He also has great confidence in his own abilities, although the illustrations sometimes tell a different story. Henry bumbles and gambols his way through life, having great fun but leaving devastation in his wake. I loved Henry - he is the eternal optimist and has no thought of consequences like splattered eggs and layers of mud. Luckily, his family understands that a bath fixes everything, and his best friends forgive his exuberant hugs.

Watkins has gifted us with colourful and quirky illustrations that add another layer to the text. Her images are water coloured with details in fine liner pen. There is so much for kids to notice - the way Grandpa's whiskers trail in his dinner, the titles of the books that Henry's friend, Rufus, likes to read, the look of horror on Oscar the water-phobic crocodile's face when Henry knocks a glass of water over - so much to laugh at and enjoy.

There's a Henry the Goat website with an associated shop, and pages where kids can learn more about Henry and his friends, write an email to Henry, and download pages to colour.

I love the way some pages have dialogue in speech bubbles, just like a comic. It makes the book a kind of hybrid of picture book and comic which I think will appeal to both young readers, and young writers who would like to use Henry the Goat as a model for their own books. In fact, the book is doubly a great model for young writers - it was written and illustrated when author Ella Watkins was only fourteen years old. Ella actually first drew Henry when she was eight. I predict parents, teachers and librarians will love to share this remarkable success story with their children.

Find more Children's Book Reviews on The Book Chook via the Table of Contents.

Fairy Tales Online and a Fairy Tale Party

In Fairy Tales Online(1), I suggested some Youtube videos as a way to introduce your kids to the wonderful world of fairy tales. I bemoaned the fact that many fairy tale collections that are offered for sale in supermarkets are of poor quality writing. That prompted Rebecca Newman, editor of children's magazine Alphabet Soup, and Babette Reeves of The Passionate Librarian to recommend the book, Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales, by Lucy Cousins. I found it at Walker Books and hope to review it soon.

If you're looking for some more online places to explore fairy tales with your kids, read on.

Online Resources

Yesterday, I wrote about Scholastic's Myth Brainstorming Machine which has a fairy tale component for young writers.

CBeebies has many Fairy Tales to read. These are perfect for under 7s. Some, like The Elves and the Shoemaker, have associated printable booklets of the story and craft activities.

Grimm Fairy Tales has lots of the Grimm brothers' tales to read. There is nothing too glitzy about the stories - basically, you read text on a page surrounded by distracting ads. Still, if you want some idea of the tales, try this site. My suggestion is you then use the tales as a basis for stories you make up and share with your kids. Another one is Repeat After Us - listen to fairy tales while you read along. No bells and whistles, but copyright free.

Oneextrapixel have a great roundup of different illustrators' interpretations of fairy tale characters. These are great to use as inspiration for your children's own writing, for designing costumes for their dolls or plays, or just to share and discuss.

Storynory have a big fairy tale collection that you can read online or download and listen to as MP3. These are divided into Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Perrault, Various, Aesop and 1001 Nights. There are fairy stories within their Junior section too.

Kidoons have lots of fairy tales amongst their offerings, like Hansel and Gretel where you can read the story, text or a slightly animated version, play games, download stuff and try to ignore the blinking ads. This isn't the traditional version, but some kids may prefer it.

ABCTeach have some fairy tale printables.

Chase March has a great teaching unit on fairy tales and there's another one at Tooter4Kids. Woodlands Junior School has some useful links. There are lesson ideas at Kerpoof, and here's an online fairy tale crossword.

Let's not forget fairy tales from other cultures. You and your child might enjoy reading some together. You can find such tales via the search box at Paper Tigers, or here's a lesson on Russian Fairy Tales from Edsitement.

I found some ideas for Fairy Tale crafts at Canon.

I believe your children would love to go to Creaza to make fairy tale cartoons with Cartoonist. I made a Red Riding Hood cartoon and described the process in Cartoonist - Sharing Stories with Cartoons. I also quickly made the 1001 Nights image you see at top in about three minutes yesterday.

Storybird is another great digital story creator and although it doesn't have specifically themed illustrations, I think some of them definitely capture a fairy tale feel. You can see one of my Storybirds that is fairytale-ish below.



Princess Sophie on Storybird


There is a fairy story option at LearnEnglishKids from the British Council. This is simply a matter of choosing from a range of elements, then the story is put together for you, and presented as text which can be read aloud by a parent or printed out. There's also a cute matching activity for Red Riding Hood and you'll find other activities too.

You can listen to the audio version of Red Riding Hood or read the story yourself at ipl2.

LearnEnglishKids also has finger puppets for Red Riding Hood that can be printed out. Cute!

Songs: My Kindergarten kids loved When Goldilocks Went to the House of the Bears. It's a lovely little song with actions. You can listen to the music and find the lyrics and actions at LearnEnglishKids or watch these two cuties sing it on Youtube. Another favourite was The Three Bears Rap. and I found a different Three Bears song. Most of the Disney movies based on fairy tales have great songs associated with them.

Remember, I'm not proposing we do away with Fairy Tale books. Rather, I'm suggesting we use online resources together with carefully selected print books to maximize our children's fairy tale experiences. Add in some songs, rhymes, dress up clothes, paint and improvisation and you've got the makings of a memorable fairy tale experience.

Why not create a fairy tale party? There's a certain cherub I know with a Green Mama who's having a birthday party soon. Here are some ideas she might like.

If I were throwing a fairy tale party, I would try to keep it simple, inexpensive, safe and fun. I probably wouldn't ask kids to come in costume. In my experience, kids have more fun when they're in clothes that don't get caught in things and that are able to be thrown in the wash later. I tend to lean towards letting kids make their own fun, rather than imposing structured tasks. Here are some Book Chook ideas for activities:

Bubble blowing: I think this would be a lovely thing to do. The pretty iridescence of bubbles seems to fit the theme. You might set up an area where kids can experiment with a range of bubble blowers, or give each child their own little bubble blower. If you have time beforehand, the birthday child can help make the bubble solution and the blowers.

Decorate a castle: You know how kids usually have more fun with the box than the gift? How about going to an appliance shop or a suitable manufacturer and asking for a BIG cardboard box or two? Party guests can decorate the box with crayons, streamers, balloons, stickers, and fairy tale character portraits.

Listen to a fairy tale: Kids do need quiet time at a party. I would choose one fairy tale I like, or make one up with the children as characters in it, mentioning their names, and tell it to the kids. I would also have repeated parts the kids can join in. You could give The Three Little Pigs a touch of pantomime, and ask someone to appear as the Wolf. Tell the kids that if he suggests the pigs are hiding in a house, they should all shout out, "Oh no they aren't!"

Play with fairy tale puppets: I would definitely look out for fairy tale characters - your local Toy Library or Kindergarten class might lend you some. Set up a little theatre or just have the puppets where kids can access them and stand back to watch the creativity and fun.

Take out the dress up box: Find some lengths of material kids can use as cloaks, a cardboard sword or two, some magic wands and crowns, and some old clothes. Raid your local charity shop for inexpensive costumes from dance concerts.

Change the pace with more organized games: Try Pin the Nose on the Witch(tail/donkey), Pass the Treasure (parcel), Bobbing for Snow White's Apple or a big game of creep-ups with you as the witch. Kids need to freeze each time you turn around, or they go back to the start if you see them move (witchy nose optional.) You could also hide some cardboard cut outs of fairy tale characters and when kids find them, they can redeem them for a book prize (some you've purchased at garage sales or second hand stores.)

The cake: The Book Chook would be most likely to bake a huge square cake and let the birthday child decorate it with frosting, sweets, marshmallows, sprinkles etc. But some people aren't as lazy (or as frugal!) Here's a Fairy Village Cake.

Food: Keep it simple. I would suggest halved oranges filled with green jelly and set, then a green or chocolate frog added to make a Magic Frog Pond; cupcakes decorated ahead by the birthday child; and some tiny sandwiches or savoury morsels of some kind.

If you know any other good resources online that fit this fairy tale theme, please let me know in comments.

Myths Brainstorming Machine

The Myths Brainstorming Machine is part of Scholastic's Myths, Folktales and Fairytales, which has many excellent resources for young writers. You'll find Myth Writing with Jane Yolen, Fairy Tale and Fable Writing with John Sciezka, Folktale Writing with Alma Flor Ada and Rafe Martin, Exploring Everyday Follore with Nina Jaffe, and a Storytelling Workshop with Gerald Fierst, as well as more ways to learn about these fascinating tales. There's even a teacher's guide, and a related book list.

I urge you to explore the workshops with your children/students, because it gives them access to advice from experts, set at their level. There are engaging examples and step-by-step instructions, as well as humour and a lovely atmosphere of "we're all writers together" - which reminded me of how powerful naming children as writers really is. Children are urged to contribute their own tales (with parental/teacher permission) and Scholastic provide a gallery of submitted work.

It will likely come as no surprise to you that my favourite part of the site was the interactive part - the Myths Brainstorming Machine. In a nutshell, it's a way to generate a picture with a setting, hero and monster. This then leads to a story outline that kids can print out so they can begin writing their myth.

It doesn't have a lot of choices, so kids may not find the myth characters they want, but the machine works easily, and there is lots of support in the form of a step-by-step tutorial. Kids might prefer to use the picture they generate for a story unrelated to the outline, one where they let their imaginations dictate what's happening.

You may also be interested in my review of the Myths and Legends Website.

Let's Celebrate A.A.Milne's Birthday

I discovered via Adventures with Kids that today is A.A.Milne's birthday. Milne is an author I have loved since I was a child. I remember finding Winnie-the-Pooh at my cousin's house, and grabbing it because I thought it must be a rude book. Well, it wasn't rude, but it totally charmed me and I inhaled it the way kids do when they love to read.


I have many favourite Milne moments: The sign Trespassers W; the song Pooh sang to fool the bees; the time Henry Pootel Piglet had to escape from Kanga; expotitions and stoutness exercises and heffalumps and honey. I also loved Milne's poetry in When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six, in particular Forgiven ("Alexander Beetle"), The King's Breakfast ("I do like a little bit of butter to my bread") and Disobedience ("James James Morrison Morrison Weatherby George Dupree"). Pooh sticks is a game I still play whenever I cross a suitable bridge. (Am I the only one?)


Are you a Tigger or an Eyore? Truthfully, Eeyore used to bother me. I wanted him to have some oomph and look on the bright side for a change. My friends and dear ones tell me I am a Tigger; bouncing around, and rushing headlong from one joyous experience to another. It may also explain why I am currently hobbling about with a cracked rib!


Do you have a favourite Milne character? Or a marvellous Milne moment? If you don't know the books, I encourage you to seek them out to share with your children.


To celebrate the birth of this favourite Book Chook poet and author, I created a quiz for other Milnophiles. If you/your kids would like to play, leave any answers you want in comments.


1. Who had a battleaxe with great big knobs on?
2. Why did Pooh want Christopher Robin to give him a balloon?
3. Pooh was a bear of very little ____?
4. Who discovered the North Pole?
5. What little something did Pooh like to revive himself with?
6. Who had ten pink toes, two blue eyes and one red head?
7. What happens if you teazle a sneezle or wheezle?
8. What did King John want for Christmas?
9. What did Piglet give Eeyore for his birthday?
10. Who used Pooh's legs as a clothes line?


You'll find other ways to celebrate at the Penguin site in their Pooh Party pdf. Thanks to Kat at Adventures with Kids for finding it! Here is a website proclaiming itself as the largest Pooh community on the net. Disney have a Winnie the Pooh movie coming out in July 2011, and the trailer is below.  





Here are some posts from other blogs in the Kidlitosphere, celebrating Milne's birthday:


Honoring AA Milne at When Kate Blogs


18th January A.A.Milne (1882 - 1956) Raymond Briggs (1934) Catherine Anholt (1958) at Kinderbookswitheverything


As for me, I'm off to celebrate Milne's birthday by listening to Melanie singing Alexander Beetle. 

Image Credit, Nemo's Great Uncle on Flickr

100 Free Printables from MakeBeliefsComix

Bill Zimmerman is the creator of MakeBeliefsComix, and author of ‘’Your Life in Comics’’. I love the work Bill does in encouraging young people to express themselves in writing and artwork. You can read more about his work in my article, Book Review and Giveaway, Your Life in Comics


Free Printables Help Students Write, Read and Tell Stories
by Bill Zimmerman


As an author of interactive books to help young people find their writers' voices, I often am asked by educators and parents for help in reaching reluctant writers. 

With this goal in mind, I have added more than 100 free PRINTABLES on my online comic strip site, MakeBeliefsComix.com. Now you can print out, at no cost, interactive pages from my comic books to use for writing, reading, drawing and telling stories.


This enhanced MakeBeliefs PRINTABLES feature is the latest addition to the four year-old online educational comics site where educators and students from 180 countries come to build their own comic strips and practice language, writing and reading skills. The new printable pages are taken from my popular Make Beliefs books and drawn by cartoonist Tom Bloom, who illustrated the best-selling Children's Letters to God.


Now, a teacher or parent using the web site will be able to distribute graphic handouts to students in English-as-a-Second Language or literacy programs that ask for written or drawn responses to such imaginative questions as:

• Make believe you possessed a magic flying carpet. Where would your travels take you?

• Make believe you had a net to catch a favorite moment in your life. Which would it be?

• Imagine you could talk to your favorite book character. Who would that be? What would you say?

• Make believe that with the snap of your fingers you could change yourself. How or what would you become?

• Make believe you could create your own set of holidays. What would they celebrate?

For copies of these printables and more go to http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Printables. The feature also offers comix templates using characters from the web site along with blank talk and thought balloons that students can fill with text to create their own comic strips.


Google and UNESCO selected MakeBeliefsComix.com as one of the world's most innovative web sites fostering literacy and reading.




Users of MakeBeliefsComix.com make comics strips by selecting from 20 fun characters with different moods -- happy, sad, angry, worried -- and write words for blank talk and thought balloons to make characters talk and think. This site is used by educators to teach language, reading and writing skills, and also for students in ESL programs to facilitate self-expression and storytelling, as well as computer literacy. Some educational therapists use the online comics with deaf and autistic people to help them understand concepts and communicate. Parents and children can create stories together, print them to create comic books or email them to friends. 



PBSKids Cyberchase

PBSKids Cyberchase has lots of games that get kids to think creatively to solve problems. There are games where you have to invent things, estimate, or find patterns. There's also a crazy game show with the twist that you need to find the example that proves something is NOT true.


There's a kernel of learning in each game too, making it ideal for parents and teachers who want kids to have fun and learn at the same time. You'll find a list of all the games on this page.

Book Review, I Kissed the Baby!

Some picture books do double duty as a story and a game. I Kissed the Baby! by Mary Murphy and published by Walker Books (first published 2003, my edition 2011) is delightful as both.

This children's picture book is very simple in both illustrations and text, making it ideal for sharing with under fives. Animals excitedly discuss seeing, tickling, singing with and feeding the baby. Mother Duck says she not only kissed the baby, she is about to do it again. And she does. Making the baby burst into a chorus of "Quackie! Quackie! Quackie!"

Murphy has chosen almost stark black on white and white on black silhouettes for the animals. When we discover the baby is actually a duckling, she introduces bright yellow, and some lipstick pink kisses. My favourite page is the one where the duckling reacts to those kisses with his "Quackie!"s.

Kids will very quickly learn this book by heart. Toddlers will be able to predict answers to the questions like "I sang to the baby. Did you sing to the baby?" I can just imagine all the giggles and squirms when parents act out the kissing bits on little tummies and cheeks! That's what I mean about the book being a game too - it encourages acting out and also innovation - what other things can we do with the baby?

I Kissed the Baby! is a perfect read aloud for bedtime, for bath time (especially if you have a yellow ducky) and any time you need to share a story with little ones. It would also make a great mentor text for older kids who'll enjoy creating their own picture book using question and answer format, and simple silhouette pictures.

A Book That Impacted My Life - Kelly Burstow

Here is the first in what will be a special series of Guest Posts here at The Book Chook. If you're interested in submitting an article about a children's book that has had an impact on your life, please use the Contact Me tab above. Today's article is from Kelly Burstow. 



Kelly Burstow combines her passion for design, art, children’s books, photography, fashion, writing and parenting in her blog, Be A Fun Mum.
Be A Fun Mum is all about reclaiming the joy of parenthood in a fast-paced world. How? Three words: Love the Moment. By loving the little moments, parents can experience snippets of happiness and joy, which in turn, reclaims family life for what it is: a collection of small moments, like pieces of a puzzle, together creating a beautiful masterpiece. 

A Book That Impacted My Life

I purchased something on impulse today. It was something I HAD to have. It could have been shoes... but it wasn't. It could have been a handbag... but it wasn't. It even could have been chocolate... but it wasn't. This is what I bought...

Believe it: a stuffed toy. Surely I’m too old for such things!  I stopped at a book shop to pick up a present I ordered for my daughter’s birthday. As I was standing at the counter, I spotted a Grug stuffed toy based on the books by Ted Prior. I literally gasped and impulsively put it on the counter as the attendant said, “They only sent us one of those for some reason.” That one belonged to me; I knew it.


GRUG!  My first Grug book was Grug in the Playground.

I read it and loved everything about it: the simple story line, the look of the character and the droll humour. Grug made me feel better about myself because he wasn’t perfect and made mistakes. He was clumsy; he bumbled through things and learnt by making mistakes. Grug was just like me.


My Grug book survived every cleanout and I still have my copy today. Why? Why would such a simple story stay with me so very closely? I thought about the question and came up with this: It felt like Grug was written just for me. Grug told me something about myself I had not yet realised. I realised it was okay to “do then learn” rather than the norm through schooling of “learn then do”. I realised it was okay to be me, even if that meant I was not like everyone else.


I now have the entire set of Grug books for my children to enjoy. It’s special for me to watch them read the books.

My children love the Grug books but may not necessarily connect with or learn from them like I did. That’s why I expose my children to a variety of books, not only for the obvious literacy advantages, but because books can make a difference.


Books can make a difference by:
1. conveying a message through long lasting images;
2. explaining big issues in a way a child can understand; and
3. encouraging literacy and imagination.


What if I was never exposed to books as a child? What if I never found Grug? I wonder if I would be a little different today. Perhaps I wouldn’t be so accepting of my mistakes as an opportunity to learn. I’m glad I don’t have to find out.

Read books: they can change your life.

Books I read as a child that had an impact on my life:
• Grug by Ted Prior: It’s okay to make mistakes
• The Big Orange Spot by Daniel Manus Pinkwater: Be yourself even if that is different from everyone else
• The Bible: Gave me hope and taught me how to live
• Noddy by Enid Blyton: Took me to a place of colour and wonder
• Animalia by Graeme Base: Imagination is a wonderful thing

What book has had an impact on you?

Warning: this post may contain traces of violence

I'm definitely in the pro-peace lobby. But I cannot close my eyes to the reality that war exists, and that battles, fighting, guns and explosions are a very attractive part of our culture to many people. My husband and son both enjoy movies and books about the history of war, and also seem to thrive on movie scenes with plenty of action, massive bangs, and unlimited gore. Yet both are gentle and kind men who in real life go out of their way to rescue injured animals and help others.


So I'm in two minds about websites like this next one. It's called Michael Bayifier, after the producer/director, Michael Bay, and I found it via MakeUseOf.com. In essence, it's an image editor. You upload a photo or choose one of theirs the way I did. Then you click on clip art - gun, explosion, bomb, fighter jet etc - and size and position it the way you want on your image.


I suspect kids understand that fantasy is just that. Boys in particular seem to enjoy adding an element of danger to their stories and art work. If you're okay with that, you might like to allow your child access to Michael Bayifier. Starting with a picture can be one way for kids to begin writing, and in my mind, that's a definite plus!


If you're interested in using images as prompts for children's writing, you might like to read author Sandy Fussell's guest post, Becoming a Story Detective,  link to my series of Creative Prompts, many of which include pictures, or read Fast and Fun Writing with Kids, Quick Writing Online, and Keep Calm and Carry On. 

Picassopation

I don't know much about art history, but even I know that Picasso was one of the 20th century's most famous artists. I spent some time recently trying to learn more about him, and want to share a couple of finds with you.


Art galleries are wonderful places to take kids. Jeanne of A Peaceful Day blog has some great ideas for activities that will encourage a child to get the most from an art gallery. Read her article in Literacy Lava 7 which you can download free from my website. 


If you don't live close enough to a gallery that shows Picasso's work, try some virtual browsing. Here's a video featuring a range of Picasso's art work. You'll also find online collections via Art Cyclopedia, see some thumbnailed size images at Olga's Gallery (which are clickable to a size that gives you a better idea of the real paintings), and the Queensland Art Gallery is selling a paperback version of Picasso and His Collection online. 


Here's a digital timeline for Picasso, and a Life slideshow, Picasso - Drawing with Light.


At ArtyFactory, I found lithographs that show the progression of artwork Picasso took to proceed from a realistic artwork to the abstract. I think this might make an interesting activity to do with kids, to get them to analyse form and release an animal's essence or spirit in this way.

You'll find lesson ideas from real art educators (as opposed to chooks who wish they were!) here. One activity I found on Frank Curkovic's blog, learningIT, seemed easy enough even for me, so I gave it a try. You can see it at left. I'm not sure Picasso would have approved, but I know I enjoyed making it!


If you'd like your kids to experiment with some Picassso style art, why not let them loose at Mr Picassohead? It has a gallery where you can see others' experiments, and best of all, an online editor that allows you to drag and drop features onto a face, a la Picasso. You can see my Portrait of the Artist as a Young Egg at top. There's something very entertaining about Picassopation!


(Lower image created by Book Chook with texta, paper and finished digitally in Skitch; top image created by Book Chook at Mr Picassohead and framed at BeFunky.)

Make a Comic at Digger and the Gang

Here's another great offering from the BBC. At Digger and The Gang, there are three comic templates, and kids can simply click on each speech bubble to write their own words. Text needs to be short - about 20/30 letters and it runs out. Some frames are clickable, meaning the picture can be changed. Stories are about an underwater, jungle or city adventure. You don't need to register/log in, and you can print out your creation.


At the main website, kids can also read about the characters the templates were designed around, and enjoy other activities like mixing music, creating secret messages or reading comic style animations about the gang's adventures.


Some other comic creators I've recommended are Comic Master, Stripcreator, Beanotown, Creaza's Cartoonist, Story Maker, StoryJumper, Make Beliefs Comix, Toon Doo, and Myths and Legends.

Cartoonize Yourself

Cartoonize.net is a useful website that takes a photo you upload or choose from the web, and cartoonizes it. Simple. You can download the result and save it to your computer. You can also link from the main site to other editors which put an image on a magazine, or with the Simpsons etc.


There are other ways to cartoonize. Your own photo software may have it as a feature under effects. Befunky is an online image editor that offers it as a feature. Picnik, another online image editor, doesn't have cartoonize as an effect but has many similar ones. However, I found Cartoonize does the job quickly and easily with no sign up required. The top pic is from Cartoonize, the lower one from Befunky. 

I think this could add some fun to images your child or students want to use in a story. You could cartoonize some holiday snaps and weave them together into a short narrative. Try cartoonizing pictures of favourite toys and inventing captions for them, or take a journey into the world of comic creation and add dialogue in speech bubbles with inexpensive software like Comic Life.


Great family project for the school holidays!