Book talks

The second part of assignment two was to choose 2 books from my previous reviews for the panel, and expand on why our library really needed these two excellent books in our collection. 

Presentation of Booktalk: I will visually display the book as I am presenting my book talk, and I will have a projector set up to show the internet links I intend to talk about.

Tu Meke Tūī! Is a stand alone work of art, as well as a fantastic children’s picture book. Malcolm Clarke has teamed up with local Auckland artist Flox (Hayley King) to create this masterpiece of a book with it’s dynamic presentation. As many students are visual learners, this book will grip them automatically with its stunning illustrations created with spray paint, which are quite unlike any other illustrations in our library collection. Our native birds and fauna and foliage are represented in a fresh way visually. The layout and images cannot be separated from each other, as part of the nature of spray painting is the layering and stencils which Flox demonstrates perfectly. This book presents excellent teaching moments with strong links to the Visual Arts component of the NZ Curriculum (Visual Arts AO's) of motivation, creation, the use of different materials, and communicating a message. It also links perfectly to the science curriculum with a focus on the Living World (Science AO's), exploring native birds of New Zealand and their predators. I can see this book being used easily by teachers for the ignition process of an inquiry unit.

The text and tone are rhythmic and light-hearted, and make the ‘reading to’ experience a pleasant one. The Māori names of the bird and the phrase ‘Tu meke’ continue to normalise te reo in our everyday conversation, whilst also teaching us about our native birds and the correct pronunciation of their names with macrons.

There are a few digital connections for future learning that I would like to draw your attention to. First of all there is the main website for the book http://tumeketui.com/ which has a video showing the author, Malcolm Clarke, talking about the book and his collaboration with Flox. This would also link nicely to http://flox.co.nz to see Flox’s art, and how she is a real life artist, making her living from art. She also has a link to community projects that she has been a part of, often for free, visiting and donating her art to schools and charities such as Starship Hospital.

I would also personally show the class the Kickstarter page Tu Meke Tūī Kickstarter Project that enabled the book to be funded, and this shows children a new way that dreams can be achieved with the support of the community and on an international level.

As children are experiencing the world on a sensory level, we need to be showing them beautiful art images along the way. As Suzy Tutchell discusses in her book Young Children as Artists, (2014) children use their senses to piece together the world around them, and that they ‘develop an awareness of aesthetic appreciation’ through these senses. It is our job as educators and librarians to be providing them with beautiful art and texts so that they enjoy the world around them and experience wonder through the arts, and are maybe inspired to create their own beauty in their futures. I believe that Tu Meke Tūī! is a perfect example for this.

Samoan Heroes - In Don Long’s keynote address in Christchurch in 2003 he challenges that if one third of all children in NZ are Māori and Pacific Islands, then why does our kiwi literature not reflect that with representation? Enter author David Riley who is doing a fantastic job of filling that gap with showing cultural diversity. With other books in his series covering Pasifika heroes and sports stars I would like to continue to build up our collection of Riley’s book. Riley is also mindful of offering a fair representation of both male and female heroes, academics and famous people, and myth and reality.

Samoan Heroes, which won the Storylines Notable Book Award 2016 has a number of outstanding features. It has created a new genre of book with the perfect combination of ancient and new. This book feels holistic, from its beginning with the legend of Tagaloa, the creator of the world, to short biographies on real Samoans, who have changed their own lives, and sometimes history. Riley has interwoven the myths and legends of Samoa with the modern day seamlessly, providing an all-encompassing look at Samoan culture over time. Galway (2008) suggests that the connection between the past, present and the future for children is hugely significant in terms of identity, and Riley helps students make these connections to identity with each person’s village stated in their title, told alongside Samoan legends.

The text is easy to read and incorporates the mythical, historical and modern. In terms of accessibility to our readers, each person or story is only two to four pages long, so for our reluctant readers it is not too overwhelming. Students and teachers are free to pick and choose who is of interest to them, and can come back to the other stories later. As most of the people featured are still alive, this highlights the relevance of this book to our students. People from all walks of life are promoted, including national and international sporting stars, rappers, politicians, and actors alongside academics. It also gives a healthy dose of inspiration, as it delivers an honest look at the challenges that people have overcome for success. Also, due to NZ’s amazingly small world, most students have probably seen some of these people in action, especially the sports stars and actors. This means that they can easily identify with the heroes represented in this book.

The layout and design shows an interesting combination of illustrations and photographs, depending on the topic. The art is vibrant in the illustrations, and the photography displays both historical black and white photos alongside modern day ones.

An amazing thing about the NZ literary scene is how accessible our authors and illustrators are. I am hoping to have David Riley in this year to do some writing workshops with our students, and having his books in our collection will help to build anticipation for his visit.

As Jamie Naidoo and Sarah Park state in Diversity Programming for Digital Youth (2014), teachers and librarians need to be promoting making connections across medias, and this book creates the perfect opportunity for that, as each person featured is easily recognisable and researchable for more information.  

A fantastic non-fiction book will inspire and inform, and I believe that David Riley’s Samoan Heroes is the perfect example of this, to inspire all children at our school.

References

Galway, E. (2008). From nursery rhymes to nationhood: Children’s literature and the construction of Canadian identity. London, UK: Routledge.

Long, D. (2003). Pacific Voices. In J. McKenzie, D. Darnell & A. Smith (Eds.), Cinderella transformed: Multiple voices and diverse dialogues in children’s literature (pp. 59-68) Christchurch, New Zealand: Christchurch College of Education.

Naidoo, Jamie Campbell, and Sarah Park. Diversity Programming for Digital Youth: Promoting Cultural Competence in the Children's Library, Pearson Education, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/opt/detail.action?docID=1809531.

Tutchell, Suzy. Young Children as Artists : Art and Design in the Early Years and Key Stage 1, Taylor and Francis, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/opt/detail.action?docID=1682967.

Who's telling our stories - Reviews of some of Aotearoa's finest pukapuka

For this assignment, we were asked to pick 10 Kiwi books that we really wanted for our library. The aim was to present our wants to a panel, and why we needed these books in our collection. The school setting is loosely based on my own school. 

Setting and Users: My setting is a decile 5 primary school library in urban West Auckland. The community is diverse with 40% pakeha, 15% Maori, 15% Pacifica, 20% Asian, and 10% other ethnicities including Middle Eastern, Russian and Czech. The current library has lots of children’s stories with white families, teddy bears and dinosaurs, and simply not enough diversity represented in it’s collection.

The children all have 45 minutes allocated to their class each week, and the library is open for half of lunchtime everyday and is open to all. The library holds some lunchtime events and ‘reading to’ sessions a few times a term. Children at the school are readers, however writing can be a struggle for many. Fiction and picture books are very popular amongst our students, but the non-fiction section is lagging behind a bit. There is a focus this year to promote this section.

Teachers at the school are beginning their journey of integrating more Te Reo and Te Ao Māori into their lessons and curriculum planning. Diversity is a central theme to the school as they celebrate Matariki, Chinese New Year, and Diwali every year with whole school celebrations, alongside Pasifika language weeks. Environmental themes are always integrated into the year long curriculum.

(NB: I have only chosen books for a primary school, as I am a teacher in one and want to focus on books for my students and school library.)

Fiction

What	Tipene, T. (2016). Māui - Sun Catcher. Oratia: Oratia Media.
Where	This is a modern retelling of the traditional myth ‘How Maui Slowed the Sun’ by Peter Gossage. I will place this story in our fiction section, as our children will recognise and make connections to the older versions which can sometimes be lost in the non-fiction section. Our students will be impressed with the vibrant text and illustrations in the new version. Our current collection does not have many bilingual texts, and this will appeal to many of our school’s whānau, and might inspire non-Māori speaking homes to have the option to read it in te reo, as well as encourage the teachers to give it a go! Students who are fluent could be the kaiako (teacher), and read it to the class as well.
Why	This book has a superhero appeal which links to popular culture currently. We are in the process of building up our high interest books, and this one will fit right in. The hardcover book is sturdy, so it will survive general wear and tear, and for $25 is great value for money. The illustrations are vibrant and energetic, alongside the text which uses colloquial terms and typical kiwi phrases such as “gas up the car”. With the NZ Statistics Te Kupenga 2013 survey showing that the use of te reo Māori is growing, from 42% of Māori having some ability to speak te reo, to 55% in 2013, having a collection of bilingual books is important for our community, and our nation to continue to have texts available in both languages.

What	Aiono-Iosefa, S. (2007). The Pipi Swing. Birkenhead: Reed Publishing.
Where	Many families in our school have only solo parents due to death, separation or divorce, and there are not many quality books which normalise or address this. However, this special book does. The Pipi Swing tells of a whānau still grieving the loss of the father, but how through family, life can go on. The family is Samoan, and our collection is lacking in good quality books being told through a Samoan lens.
Why	This story represents a solo parent family excellently as the text handles the tough subjects of grieving and a single mum with the perfect combination of delicacy and a matter-of-factness. The main character, who’s affectionate nickname is Sweetpea (12 years old), lives with just her lawyer mum as her dad was killed a few years back by a drunk driver. The book gently shows the grieving process that her and her mum went through during that hard time, but how dad is still a part of their lives with daily traditions like kissing his photo. The main focus of the story involves family life and grandparents, and how life moves on while still being connected to our loved ones. The illustrations are gorgeous in this book, and the characters’ emotions are expressed wonderfully on each page. There are also pictures that our students can relate to including the beach and the Pak’n’Save grocery bags, our local supermarket.

What	Szekely, C. (2016). Rona. Wellington: Huia Publishers.
Where	Our current collection is lacking in good quality beginner chapter books written by Kiwis for students who are transitioning to harder texts. Rona is a funny, quirky character in this beginning-to-read chapter book. She lives with just her grandparents, and no explanation is given for this. I like the fact that this is presented as a normal living situation, as it is for many children in our community, many of whom do live with grandparents, as well as their parents. Rona is Māori, and it’s through her eyes that the story is told. Again, I am wanting to build up our collection of stories told through a range of diverse cultures, and this is another fantastic addition to our collection.
Why	Rona is only $15, an excellent price. The cover is eye-catching, showing the rambunctiousness of her character. The text can be quirky, coining terms such as ‘liar from Kaitaia’ which students will relate to, and it is just a jolly good read with lots of humour, and real life interactions with her cousin Jessie, which do not always go to plan.

What	Pulford, E. (2016). Rasmus. Auckland: Scholastic NZ
Where	I am wanting to include as many award winning books into our collection as possible, and Rasmas was a winner of the Storylines Notable Book List 2017. This heartfelt story explores boys and their emotions, and I think our collections can always do with more of that! There is a beautiful line when Danny is saying goodbye to his pet goat Rasmus: “As he did, it felt as if he was saying goodbye to a part of himself.” We need more examples of children, especially boys, processing emotions in a healthy way, and this is a prime example. This book also explores the tension for children who have had to move from a country location to an urban environment (or vice versa). Kiwi kids have many family connections to both the city and the country, and it’s great to see a story addressing this.
Why	This book has exquisite illustrations of human emotions with Danny’s down cast eyes when he is saying goodbye to Rasmus, to his sadness showing how lonely he is in the city, to his joy when seeing his dad again after a long time. The illustrations in this story could stand alone without the text, and is perfect for our juniors who are taught to ‘read the pictures’ when a text is beyond their level. It is a lovely story which shows some human emotions and truths.

What	Clarke, M. (2016). Tu Meke Tūī! Auckland: Mary Egan Publishing
Where	Admittedly our collection does already have lots of books on Native NZ birds, but what stands this apart is that this book is a work of art in itself. It is a fantastic book to have on display in our children’s picture books section, as children and teachers will be drawn to it immediately due to its dynamic presentation. The art gives it a fresh take on a common subject. Our community does have a graffiti problem, and this book can show spray painting being used for good as an art form.
Why	This book is great value for money, as it is a board book which is sturdy and will be a long lasting part of the library. The book covers themes of difference and being oneself, as well as friendships between an unlikely pair. I like the added feature of the ‘Did you spot…?’ section at the back where students are encouraged to go back and find other native creatures from Aotearoa.

Non-Fiction

What	Grace, P. (2015). Haka. Wellington: Huia Publishers.
Where	The haka is an important part of our kiwi identity, and just a plain awesome part of our rugby games. This beautifully illustrated book gives a historical background to the haka in story format, and tells of Ngati Toa chief Te Rauparaha and how he came to compose the haka. Many New Zealanders would be ignorant about the meaning and background of the haka, and this will give explanations to our children and their families, many of whom might not know either.
Why	The warrior cover will be of instant appeal, especially to our boys, some of whom are reluctant readers. The illustrations are beautiful pieces of art, with fine details right down to the dirt in the fingernails. The book encompasses some te reo, and again this normalises and exposes all our children to New Zealand’s Māori community and the importance of continuing to promote the language. Many Māori identify their language and culture as a taonga (gift) to pass on to future generations, and this gift can be extended to all New Zealanders by giving more understanding of the culture, and of the haka. One of our schools aims is to continue to build up and bring pride to our Māori students, and I think this book does a fantastic job of both, while also being a book that other students can relate to.

What	Riley, D. (2015). Samoan Heroes. Auckland: Reading Warrior
Where	As our library already owns We are the Rock, (2012), Tongan Heroes (2016) and Cook Island Heroes (2017), Samoan Heroes will complete our collection in this series. It is relevant to our school as we have a strong and proud Samoan community, and I want this to be represented in our library.  This book will be categorised as non-fiction but I will display it and discuss it at our whole school assemblies so that students know where to find it, as I believe it will be in hot demand due to its relevance, and to the connections to our students, both Samoan and other. I believe our reluctant readers will be drawn to this book, and the others in the series, due to the concise biographies on a great selection of inspiring people.
Why	This is another Storylines Notable Book Award Winner 2016. Due to the smallness of NZ, and our 6 degrees of separation, many of the public figures in the book have lived in New Zealand and are well known to most of our students. Samoan Heroes has so many people of relevance to our children and community as it showcases actors, rappers, politicians, academics, and both national and international sports stars. This book has a unique style of seamlessly weaving both ancient myths with current biographies, and it gives a sense of pride to the Samoan community.

What	Harper, G. (2016). Gladys goes to War. Auckland: Penguin Random House NZ
Where	Whilst our library collection holds many war stories about males, the female department is considerably lacking. This story is a breath of fresh air telling of Gladys, a female mechanic, who shows determination and grit and a drive to be herself during World War One. This book adds nicely to our other stories of Glyn Harpers, including Le Quesnoy: The Story of the Town that New Zealand Saved (2012), Jim’s Letters, (2014), and Roly the ANZAC Donkey (2015).
Why	I love books that encourage challenging social norms, and having the courage to be oneself, and this book is another fantastic example of that, whilst having the added bonus of being a true story. It is also a winner of the Storylines Notable Book Awards 2016. The illustrations by Jenny Cooper are outstanding and mostly light hearted, a hard balance for a book on war, but she has achieved it. This book reads like a narrative, but has the added bonus of more historical information on the real Gladys Sandford on the very last page for students who are curious to learn more.

What	McCauley, D. (2014). Mōtītī Blue and the Oil Spill. Tauranga: Mauāo Publishing.
Where	Our school has a big environmental focus each year, and this fantastic non-fiction book will be an asset to our school due to its real life situation. Its particular focus on one key character, Mōtītī Blue, a real little blue penguin who survived the Rena oil spill in 2011, gives the added benefit of seeing the actual effect of the devastating accident on one of our sea creatures. With it’s narrative style of writing, combined with facts in stand out boxes alongside the story, this book makes an impact. Living in Auckland with so many beaches available to us, our children have a natural understanding about the effects this could have on our day to day living and environment.
Why	This is another award winning book, with the bilingual text being a fantastic addition to this story as it continues to teach and normalise te reo Māori. There is so much information conveyed in this book, from the inside cover pages that give a visual representation of the 365 penguins returned safely back into the wild, to the boxes of facts on each page covering the smaller details of the rescue. It is well laid out and easy to follow, whilst still being visually appealing. Studies show that children can respond to and take action for their environment and can influence their families and peers to make sustainable changes that will impact on the future (Davis pg.22), and I believe that books that teach us about man made disasters will have a great impact on our future generations and will hopefully prevent further catastrophes like this.

What	McCartney, T. (2017). A Kiwi Year: Twelve Months in the Life of New Zealand’s Kids. Auckland: EK Books.
Where	This book will be displayed in our junior non-fiction and will be beneficial to junior and middle school teachers at the beginning of the year. I believe this is an excellent book to compare and contrast with ideas that are traditionally kiwi, compared to new traditions coming through, and how all families are similar, and yet different. It is unique in that it presents a vast array of different foods, activities and holidays in our country during certain times of the year, including Chinese New Year, Diwali, and Matariki. This is a great book that incorporates many different traditions and ideas about what it is to be “kiwi”, and is very representative and accepting of our diverse community and how that has changed in the past 40 years.
Why	I like how there is so much variety of tradition all captured in one book. The text and pictures are simple, yet capture the eye, and the text and illustrations are designed well in the layout without feeling cluttered. The text is also fun to read with different colours and size for words of importance.

References

Davis, Julie M.. Young Children and the Environment : Early Education for Sustainability, Cambridge University Press, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/opt/detail.action?docID=564447.

Stats New Zealand Tatauranga Aotearoa. (n.d). Te Kupenga 2013 (English) - Corrected. Retrieved from http://archive.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/people_and_communities/maori/TeKupenga_HOTP13.aspx

The Daily Cafe. (n.d).  Three Ways to Read a Book. Retrieved from https://www.thedailycafe.com/articles/3-ways-to-read-a-book