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.