Kaitlyn's PRP Week 7

This week I have read 2 novels.

Title: The Red Wind

Author: Isobelle Carmody

The Red Wind is a story about two brothers. They live off the land by foraging and growing what they can. The conflict of the story is the red wind which slowly descends on their home and destroys their way of life. The two brothers are not human, they are furry, have tails, and hatched from an egg. Their origin isn’t explained and the question of where they came from is an underlying question to the whole story. This would lend itself well to exploring inferred information. This story also has obvious links to the issues around the environment, which could be explored. The novel also includes illustrations. Students could explore how these affect the reader’s feelings and interpretations of the story, and why the author has included them.

Title: The Fall

Author: Garth Nix

The Fall is the first book in a series of 6. It has a very definite Quest plot. In the novel Tal needs to find a new sunstone, a source of magic and power, for his family. This will keep them in the elite society. Complications of this quest result in Tal being rescued by an unknown society. He is then forced to agree to gain a sunstone for them as well. There are many different this in the book that could be analysed. For example; how the author builds the story while also including points to continue with in further books, or, the issues of class, cultures, and merit as explored in the book.

Kaitlyn's PRP Week 8

This week I have read 2 picture books:

Title: The Two Bullies

Author: Junko Morimoto

The story in this picture book has been translated from Japanese. It is about 2 men. Ni-ou claims to be the strongest man in Japan. When he hears about a strongman in china he decides to challenge him. However they never fight. Both men become intimidated before they meet and are so sure that the other is stronger that they are glad they didn’t fight. This book has a lot of inferred information, especially in regards to the men’s actions. It is also well illustrated in a Japanese style and shows some Asian culture.

Title: The Wizard the Ugly and the Book of Shame

Author: Pablo Bernasconi

This is a story about a wizard’s assistant who wants to be handsome. He tries to use the wizard’s spell book while the wizard is away which results in the book becoming damaged. This causes the wizard to cast spells with uncertain outcomes until the assistant confesses. The solution to the problem is for the assistant to become handsome without the use of magic. This book has a large amount of text. The book has clear ideals, and it would be easy to explore the moral of the story with students. It focuses on the ideas of beauty, self esteem, and admitting mistakes.

Michael's final post PRP 7

The Last Alchemist by Colin Thompson

The Last Alchemist is a picture book that is written and illustrated by Colin Thompson.  Colin Thompson uses a range of brilliant descriptions accompanied with some very interesting and detailed illustrations.  In the story the king seeks to make gold and asks his alchemist ‘Spinifex’ to do so.  The alchemist then stole everyone’s gold and brought it back to try and create more.  No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t do so.  This story shows that gold or money can’t buy happiness and is not the most important thing in the world.  The resolution to this story occurs when the king realises that what is most important to him is his kingdom and the people close to him and not his wealth.

Michael's PRP 6

The Lorax by Dr Seuss (1971)

The Lorax is a fantastic story that is extremely suitable for kids of all ages.  It is not only written with Dr Seuss’ characteristics rhymes but with an underlying moral message.  This could be a great way to introduce environmental awareness with children.  The story begins with The Lorax’s favourite Truffalo Trees being cut down.  The Lorax then tries to fight against those who are destroying them but his fight is all in vain.   The area becomes baron as the Lorax sends all the environment away and the factory that was processing the trees shuts down.  The story is written in an extremely interesting manner and it is brilliant at drawing emotions when explaining the destruction that is occurring to the environment.  Could not only be an interesting read for students but could be used to begin a unit on environmental awareness.

Cat and Fish (2003) by Joan Grant and illustrated by Neil Curtis

This is a picture book with some very impressive black and white illustrations.  The text is very simple and due to this would b suitable for very young readers.  The book has a really nice story of friendship and about being mindful of differences.  Cat and Fish meet right at the beginning where they immediately become friends.  They then walk around on land doing all of the things that cat loved before going to the sea to do what fish loved.  In the end they decide to live on the beach so that they can remain friends but still do the things they love.  This is a good story in teaching kids about differences and explaining that differences are not bad.   The illustrations used throughout are very detailed and allow the reader to create a really nice visual image of the story.

Bianca's Last Post

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell is a classic story of a horse’s life from his own perspective, and the wonderful and terrible things that he witnesses and endures at the hands of various people. Not a particularly long story, this novel would be perfect for a student in early Middle Years or used for shared reading to a younger audience.

Willy the Wimp by Anthony Browne is a favourite picture book of mine. Browne’s character illustrations portray, like many of his picture books, chimpanzees and gorillas living, acting and talking as humans. The text is simplistic but the context-related humour in the story is best suited to students aged 7 to 10 years.

Great Ocean Walk

Written and illustrated by Jiri Tibor Novak.

The illustrations in this picture book are made up of a mixture of drawings and photographs. The plot follows a boy and his father as they walk along the beach, picking up treasures they find along the way. The elements of fantasy and adventure, linked with the reality of walking along the beach make this picture book interesting to explore.

Goggle-Eyes

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Written by Anne Fine.

This novel is a sweet story of two young girls having difficulty accepting their mothers’ new boyfriends. I like the way this novel is written because it is told from the perspective of one girl who has already been through what the other girl is upset about. The technique of being told as a reflection but in the present tense is an interesting combination.

Young Santa

Written by Dan Greenburg.

Illustrated by Warren Miller.

This children’s novel provides a fantasy about what Santa Clause was like when he was a young boy. I find this fascinating because Santa is often only thought of as an old man. Whether the reader believes in Santa or not, this is a funny beginners novel with large text and the occasional illustration throughout the chapters.

Goodnight, Mice!

Written by Frances Watts.

Illustrated by Judy Watson.

This picture book is written completely in rhyming couplets. When reading stories to young children, they often enjoy the short rhyming sentences. It also repeats the idea of doing things once and then twice throughout the story adding repetition to the rhyme. While the story is for younger children, it is fun to read, even as an adult.

Sunday Chutney

Written and illustrated by Aaron Blabey

The picture book Sunday Chutney uses quite simple text accompanied by pictures illustrating the ideas the author has written about. Dedicated to the new kids, Sunday Chutney is about making new friends and emphasises the fact that being different is ok! I like this book because it reminds me of myself.

Baby Wombat's Week

 Written by Jackie French.

Illustrated by Bruce Whatley

This picture book describes the week of a baby wombat. His adventures range from sleeping, making friends and trying to dig a bigger hole for him and his Mum to live in. The story is fun and illustrates to the reader some of the things a wombat does every week by relating them to things the child he made friends with does.

Bianca's Week 8 Post

This week I focused on three picture books that each identified a very important issue that society often finds difficult to communicate with children.

The Great Katie Kate Tackles Questions About Cancer by M Maitland DeLand, M.D. and illustrated by Jennifer Zivion is an information-rich picture book which aims to help children and their families understand many of the difficult and confusing medical procedures associated with leukaemia through the use of the fictional character ‘Katie Kate’ who acts as a superhero. I found this story to be very poignant because of the book’s context. This would be a very good picture book for children aged 7 to 10 due to the language and vocabulary used. It would also be a great aid for teachers wishing to explore difficult issues associated with children suffering from cancer.

Time To Pray by Maha Addasi (translated by Nuha Albitar) and illustrated by Ned Gannon is a picture book written in both English and Arabic that explores the story of a young girl visiting her grandmother in the Middle East. During her stay, she learns about the Islamic practice of the daily five prayers, and the rituals that are associated with these prayers. I find this book to be particularly refreshing because it gives us, as Australians, an opportunity to look into the ordinary life of someone who is Islamic and witness the positive spirituality that is evident throughout their day. The last page of the book is my favourite, with detailed information on each of the five daily prayers and when they should be undertaken.

Eli the Bipolar Bear by Sharon Bracken and illustrated by Joshua Nask is a picture book that focuses on bipolar disorder in children, and how this can affect them in all aspects of their lives as well as tat of their family and friends. The main character is a polar bear called Eli, who appears to suffer from some strange and confusing behavioural problems despite having a normal, healthy family. We later learn that he has bipolar disorder, and that medication and cognitive behavioural therapy is used to help treat and alleviate his symptoms. This book is an excellent read, not only for children but for professionals and teachers as well, as it helps to create a fictional and light-hearted scenario in which a very difficult behavioural issue is raised.

PRP Post 5

Fox by Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks (2000)

Fox is a picture book written by Margaret Wild and Illustrated by Ron Brooks (2010).  This books tells an emotional story that retells the story of European settlers from the point of view of animals.  Two of the main characters within this novel are the feral ‘Fox’ who has migrated to Australia and also ‘Magpie’.  The story is presented in a very interesting manner with some brilliant visuals of the outback desert.   These visuals encapsulate the beautiful red sandy landscapes and the scrub that accompanies it.  Although this is a picture book it would definitely be better read to older readers above the age of 7 as it deals with some quite complicated and emotion provoking concepts in regards to the settlers treatment of indigenous people.  This would be a great book to read children to get them thinking and hence begin a topic on indigenous Australians.

The Slobberers by Paul Jennings and Morris Gleitzman (1997)

‘The slobberers’  is the first novel in the ‘Wicked’ series written by Paul Jennings and Morris Gleitzman.  This novel is a great story of adventure with lots of wacky twists throughout the story.  It has a very deep message about getting along as both Rory and Dawn are forced to work together to survive despite their differences.  This novel also deals with the very sensitive topic of divorce for teenagers and shows the point of view of two children dealing with this.  It is overall a very wacky and entertaining tale and could be a very valuable and enjoyable read for young adolescents.

Week 7 Summary

This weeks reading talked about effective teaching of reading. This was done by discussing teaching strategies like shared (or modelled) reading, guided reading and independent reading.

I initially found the ideas of shared reading and guided reading to be confusing after reading about them in chapter 8. The examples given in chapter 10 made it much clearer that shared reading is a strategy that can be used to teach the whole class about a particular reading technique. Shared reading is lead by the teacher. Guided reading is the part that confused me a first because I thought it was the same as shared reading, but involved a smaller group. I now realise the smaller group allows the teacher to work closer with the students. The idea that the teacher guides students through the reading of a challenging book by helping them know what reading skills they should use makes more sense.

Shared and guided reading sessions are good ways to teach students the knowledge and skills they will need to be successful and independent readers.

Kaitlyn's PRP Week 6

This week I have read 2 novels

 

Title: Once

Author: Morris Gleitzman

 This book is about WW2. It is told from the perspective of a young boy. Each chapter starts with the word once. This starting sentence gives each chapter a dramatic sentence about what the boy will do in that chapter. Throughout the book the boy tells stories, this is a key part of the book. This would easily lend itself to getting students to write their own stories. With the story using a real past event there is also the opportunity for fact checking and research.

Title: Mahtab’s Story

Author: Libby Gleeson

This book is the story of a family of refugees. Libby Gleeson has used experiences taken from interviews to create this story. Reading this novel could help students build empathy by giving refugees a face and showing the refugee experience. Students could then make connections. Reading this book could also facilitate class discussions about refugee issues. Students could also discuss the reasons Gleeson had for writing the story.

PRP Post 4

The Arrival by Sean Tann
This is yet another extremely interesting picture book written by Sean Tann.  This is a story told in third person purely through illustrations.  The lack of text allows the reader to interpret the story in their own way.  Due to this it has a great impact on the reader and provides them with a powerful insight into the treatment of migrants and refugees.  The use of pictures allow readers to interpret the story and relate it to their own lives.  This could be very useful to show young students as it tackles a very sensitive topic that students need to be aware of.

Tales Fom Outer Suburbia by Sean Tann
Again I chose another book written by Sean Tann. Since being introduced to his stories at the beginning of this course I have become fascinated by his works.  This book is made up of 15 short stories each appear very twisted to normal life.  The book uses a range of narrative techniques and is written in a range of formats.  These stories are very emotive and could provide students with numerous opportunities.

Week 6 Group Discussion Summary

During this week’s discussion we were asked to express our thoughts on the reading (Winch chapter 2 and chapter 6) and in particular discuss which ideas were new and the most thought provoking. There was a general consensus throughout the group that a lot of the ideas if not all of them were new to us.  One of the key ideas that were most interesting and relevant was in regards to the context of a text and how this can differ.  We spoke about how the context of a text and hence the meaning of a text changes for a reader depending on their background as well as how it differs from the author to the reader.  We also spoke about how the purpose of a text for the author is very different to the purpose of a text for the reader.  Examples of reading context include, acquiring information, for leisure and the sharing of experiences.

    

The group discussion then shifted to looking at the glossaries of words that we had created.  We were amazed at some of the different definitions we had derived and discussed the difficulties that we had in finding some of the meanings.  A talking point for the group was the difference between grammatical information and phonological information.  We highlighted that grammatical information relates to the text while phonological relates to the sounds.  The final area of discussion was to do with the reading program and selecting text graph.  We thought it was interesting to read and was could be a basic guide to begin with when picking texts for students.  We thought that this could be interesting to push students to read books at their level or help out the students that were struggling.  We did however identify that telling students a book is too hard or recommending an easier book may create problems in itself.  We also thought that it would be necessary to have a greater understanding of books that could be suitable for students so that a book of the right level that interests the student can be found.  The readings were therefore very useful both in the explanation of terms and as a basic guide for picking children’s literature.

Bianca's Week 7 Post

The Oxford Book of Children’s Verse edited by Iona and Peter Opie is a beautiful and diverse collection of poetry and verse spanning from the medieval and sixteenth century to the twentieth century. Containing hundreds of works, this book has poetry to suit every age group and covers topics that are both historical and fantastical. I would recommend this book in particular to children between 5 and 9 because it will expand both their vocabulary and their ideas of poetry themes and techniques.

Holes by Louis Sachar is one of my favourite novels! With little twists and turns throughout the novel, this book is a great read. The story centres around an unfortunate boy called Stanley Yelnats who is wrongly accused of stealing and taken to Camp Green Lake – a barren prison camp for boys in the desert. Whilst forced to dig a large hole in the ground everyday as ‘punishment’, he discovers what happened to the lake, what the Warden is really looking for and meets a boy called Zero with an interesting past. This story is perfect as a middle school class text because the language and tenor matches that which students between the ages of 10 to 15 years would be familiar with. There are a number of themes within the novel, including friendship, luck and historical racial tension, that could be discussed. Numerous activites could be used with students including role-plays, alternative endings and identifcation of the characters' traits and roles. There is also a well made movie release to match that could be used for text comparison.

Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman is a novel written in journal format from the perspective of a strong-minded 14 year old girl called Catherine living in 13th century England. This novel is both historical and hilarious, detailing Catherine's determination to avoid marriage by almost any means possible. Catherine's character development over the course of the novel is remarkable and reflects the challenges she faces. Karen Cushman's high level of research is evident throughout the novel, as shown in the amazing detail she provides to reveal how Catherine and the people around her live their everyday lives, and their perspectives, beliefs and ideas about the world in which they lived. This novel would be excellent for a middle school class study, and also integrated into History classes.

Uglies

Written by Scott Westerfeld

In a world of extreme beauty, anyone normal is ugly. What adolescent wouldn't want to be made 'pretty' on their 16th birthday? Set in the future, the characters in this novel are constantly preoccupied with becoming pretty and only doing 'pretty making' things. The main character is forced to decide whether to stay herself and 'ugly' (normal) or to receive an operation that will brainwash her, but make her 'pretty'. This novel deals with real issues in a different way. The main character is appealing to me because she doesn't just do what she's supposed to; she makes her own decisions.

Peka-boo, the smallest bird in all the world

Written and illustrated by Eliza Feely

The illustrations in this picture book are built from line drawings and scribbles, starting off mostly grey and becoming more colourful throughout the book. The freeness of the drawings matches the craziness of the story. The author uses a lot of terms and sayings which the reader would need some understanding of Australia for them to make sense. I really liked the illustrations, but the storyline seemed a bit too crazy to me.

Ivan the Terrible

 Written by Anne Fine

Illustrations by Philippe Dupasquier

Ivan the Terrible was a fun novel to read. I enjoyed the storyline, but it is the technical aspects of this book that make it fun. The text uses a size 16 font and occasionally has illustrations throughout. It also has an accompanying audio book I used to read along while I was listening. These are the reasons I loved this book.

Memorial

Written by Gary Crew.

Illustrated by Shaun Tan.

This picture book is told through a family sharing the small memories that make up their day-to-day life, which they all relate to a memorial and tree in town. The text is quite specific, but the illustrations are more ambiguous and open to interpretation. I like this picture book because it's more about the nature of memory, rather than one specific memory.

Kaitlyn's Week 5 PRP Books:

This week I have read 3 books; 2 picture books and a novel.

Title: The Arrival

Author: Shaun Tan

The Arrival is a story told through illustrations, there are no words in the book. It deals with the issues of immigration. The illustrations create a world that is strange and confusing which means the reader shares the experience of discovery and learning with the character. The strangeness allows the place to be anywhere. The openness of the way that it is drawn allows the reader to make connections to themselves. The whimsical aspects of the illustration creates interest.

Title: The Water Tower

Author: Gary Crew

The Water Tower is a very interesting book. Its plot is mysterious and it uses very descriptive language. The illustrations enhance the story by showing part of the story not told through the text. The ending in the story is very open. It would be easy to use many parts of this book as starting points for activities in the classroom, especially predictive activities.

Title: Breath

Author: Donna Jo Napoli

This is a re-telling of The Pied Piper of Hamlin. Donna Jo Napoli expands the story and places it in a real world context. It takes out the magic and fills in gaps so that the story is more direct. However it also adds allusions to real-world  issues such as faith and multiculturalism. Napoli attempts to explain how the story could have happened.

Bianca's Week 6 Post

This week I've chosen to discuss three picture books that I read for my Personal Reading Program.

Mirror written and illustrated by Jeannie Baker is a story told solely through the use of Baker’s amazing collage illustrations. This book compares a day in the life of two families. One family lives in Australia, the other in Morocco. Although both families reside in very different environments, their day-to-day life is very similar and interesting comparisons can be drawn. The lack of text means that this book could be suitable for a wide range of ages, with younger children focusing on drawing parallels between the lifestyles of the two families, whilst older children may try to add dialogue, infer meaning behind the situations and activities the families go through and question perceived differences between cultures.

The Troll written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by David Roberts is a bizarre story that blends the old fairy tale of trolls living under bridges with a bunch of pirates looking for treasure. I did not particularly like this book. The resolution of the story was not clear enough to me, and lacked the finality that it aimed to achieve. The illustrations were far more interesting and informative than most of the text, and added depth to the rather shallow narrative, and although it created a more ‘fun’ element to the story; overall I found this book to be overrated. This book is best suited for 6 to 8 year olds.

This Is My Book written and illustrated by Mick Inkpen is an intesting read. The story revolves around a naughty dragon which eats letters from the text of the book whilst a brave mouse is tasked to retrieve them. Althoug the dialogue is rather simple, I really enjoyed the idea of interacting the actual grammar of the text with the audience. This is an excellent picture book for young readers and tackles punctuation and grammar in context with the narrative. The illustrations are also rather simple, but match well with the text. This books is best suited for children aged 5 to 7 who are learning about basic grammar rules.

Week 4 Discussion Summary

This week we began by discussing the emotion shown in a writing sample. As a group we agreed that it was a recount. We discussed the inconsistencies shown in the use of surface features. The group agreed that the missing punctuation made the text hard to read, and this detracted from the emotional impact of the writing. However we also discussed how the dialogue and urgency of the writing shows the excitement of the writer.

We had been asked to bring in samples of different text genres. After looking at several genres, comparing them to the text descriptions in the textbook (Winch, 2012, ch. 14) we discussed the different genres. What our group found most interesting was the way that some genres fit so well within the textbook’s description while others were more difficult to place. We found this to be the case when comparing procedural texts and exposition texts. The procedural texts brought in had many or all of the features described in the textbook, where as the exposition had to be closely examined to find just enough features to make a decision about where it fit.

Our group discussed why this might be. We spent a lot of time discussing how there are different ways to argue or examine an issue and how this could change a text. We analysed the exposition samples to see if they were primarily an interview, opinion poll, or balanced argument. Then we discussed how this could affect which genre the sample might fit into. This led us into a discussion of how the genres could overlap. It seemed that all we could do was place a text in the genre that it had the most features of, even if it didn’t fit exactly.

We finished the discussion with the agreement that it is important to teach different text types. We thought that this learning was important to students because they needed to know different, interesting, and relevant ways of communicating throughout their lives. However, we were concerned with the way that this would be taught. It was clear from our discussion of this that it is important that students; understand the purpose of the texts as well as the formulas to create them, have an interest in the content of the texts, and can connect their learning to real life applications.

Yours Truly, Goldilocks

Written by Alma Flor Ada

Illustrated by Leslie Tryon

This picture book combines the characters from a number of classic children’s books and is about their interactions after their own stories are over. It is told through the use of letters and a picture accompanies each letter. What I find interesting about the story is that without the pictures, half of the story would not make sense. This book is also a great example of the way that correspondence can tell a story.

Outback Ferals

Written by Hazel Edwards.

This novel is successful because Edwards has used language appropriate to the outback setting. She uses a trendy writing style and tells the story in the present tense. This appeals to me because I feel like I'm there, rather then having someone retell me a story. I couldn't put this book down because the plot is full of adventure and suspense up until the very last page. 

There's a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake

Written by Hazel Edwards.

Illustrated by Deborah Niland.

This picture book is about a young girl's imaginary friend who always understands her and how she feels. The idea of a hippopotamus living on the roof is ridiculous, but I think it is a good example of the way young children make things up to identify with other things that they don't understand, like their Mummy’s diet, being smacked by Daddy, or feeling like they have no friends.

PRP Post 3

Uncanny by Paul Jennings (1988)

Uncanny is a books of short stories written by Paul Jennings.  The stories written in this book are written in typical Paul Jennings style incorporating humour, some quirky tales and an underlying moral message.  I particularly liked Spaghetti-Pig out as it felt as if it had a very strong moral message against Bullying.  I thought this was very enjoyable and funny but was able to get me to connect emotionally with its hidden message.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (1987)

This is a novel I first read as a child and was one of the few that were compulsory through school that I enjoyed.  I really liked the way the author portrays the fear that the main character, Brian is feeling throughout the story and the exciting manner in which the story is told.  Some of the scenes during the novel are so intense that I found myself on the edge of my seat even after reading it once before.  It is also interesting the way that the author portrays Brian’s struggle to survive in comparison to his struggle to tell his father the truth about his mother’s affair.

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The Lost Thing (2000) by Sean Tann

This week I looked at the lost thing by Sean Tann.  Being previously unfamiliar with the work of Sean Tann I found this picture incredibly interesting.  I loved the pictures that were used throughout the book that were so thought provoking and emotion filled.  I really liked the underlying message in this book of something different finding their place in the world.  The use of pictures is just incredible in this book.

The Burnt Stick (1994) by Anthony Hill

This again is a picture book but it is completely different to the lost thing.  This book uses a lot more words that are accompanied by images.  I chose this as I am very interested in aboriginal culture and I was very impressed and moved by the portrayal of this story.  It really reinforced the sadness and emotion that the stolen generation would have felt when they were separated from their families and sent to missions.  It is a very good book for giving an emotional insight into the stolen generation.

Personal Reading Program: Week 3

This week I have read 2 picture books.

Title: Mirror

Author: Jeannie Baker

This book has no text in it; the story is read through the pictures, this is the most noticeable feature. The book has two sides which mirror each other. The two stories are about an Australian family and a Moroccan family. The two stories not only mirror each other but end up interacting with each other. The book focuses on the similarities of strangers, lifestyles and cultures, as well as the connections that can be made between them.

Title: The Hidden Forest

Author: Jeannie Baker

This book shows young readers an unknown world, the world under the sea. It describes and shows the sights, sensations, textures, and experiences of swimming underwater. The text prompts the reader to carefully examine the illustrations for what is being described. The narrative focuses on Ben and his experience, and shows how exploration and new understandings change his mind about fishing. What appears to be just a book about a boy fishing is also a lesson in respecting the environment.

Personal Reading Program Week 2:

This week I have read 2 picture books.

Title: Dust

Author: Colin Thompson

This picture book is about famine. It uses short powerful sentences to deliver its’ message. The use of minimal texts allows room for the reader to make connections to what they know about the issue and comparisons to their own life. This contemplation is aided by the illustrations which are each a response to the text by a different artist. This book would help introduce young readers to the issues of the 3^rd world.

Title: Fearless

Author: Colin Thompson

This book is a comical look at identity. The writing is conversational and easy to read, it gives information about the characters’ personalities and examples to support the information. It gives insight into the character Fearless. There is no dialogue, but the text is structured in an interesting way and is very descriptive.

PRP Post 1

Tomorrow When the War Began


Tomorrow When the War Began is a teen fiction book written by John Marsden.  This is a book that I first read during my final year of primary school.  Reading this book again brought back some great memories for me.  I found the book even more enjoyable now as I am now more equipped to understand the story and themes being presented through this book.  I can now see the emotion that is being conveyed through this story when the invasion begins and felt a real connection to the characters because of this.  This was something that I seriously missed as a child as I was more focused on the action that was presented by this novel.  It is a very enjoyable and entertaining read with an action packed story.


Toad Rage


The second Book that I am looking at for this week is Toad Rage by Morris Gleitzman.  As a child I had read many of Morris Gleitzman’s novels but not this one.  This like a lot of the other teen novels by him that I read during adolescence was very humorous and entertaining.  This story is based around the life of its main character, Limpy.  Limpy is an Australian cane toad who becomes tired of all of his relatives becoming flattened on the roads by humans so he sets out to find out why humans hate cane toads.  It is a very entertaining, light-hearted and funny novel to read for young adolescents.  The descriptions that are used within the book really help to capture the readers imagination.

Week 3 Team Leader Summary

This week we were asked to discuss story shapes and basic plot points outlined in our readings.

We first explored story shapes, and made some discussion regarding the purpose and intent of circular story shapes. Although it was agreed that circular story shapes are most likely to be found in narratives whose plot involves characters leaving and returning home, we all found that the books we had read over the previous week did not fit this plot line and were more easily constructed as linear story shapes. Complex shape structures, with several peaks and lows as well as ‘squiggly’ areas in between that represented chaotic events during which characters experienced happy and uncomfortable events simultaneously appeared most prominent in novels and short stories; and despite the chaos within the plot, each ended with a clear and satisfying conclusion that tied in the events of the story.
However, the picture books we examined proved to be much more complicated. One in particular presented a very confusing and ambiguous plot which we could barely decipher. Another was so depressing and had such little plot development throughout the book that we felt there was little to be said about the story shape – it might curve downwards or perhaps just point down like an arrow – but I felt that nothing substantial was gained through the reading.

The ambiguity of picture books continued in our discussion of plot points. Although we had not trouble identifying plot types for the short stories and novels that were discussed, once again we struggled to define several of the picture books. However it was our discussion about the differences between the ‘quest’ and ‘voyage and return’ plots that took up most of our conversation. I found it difficult to decipher a difference between the two types of plot, my argument being that any character embarking on a voyage is seeking something – although perhaps only metaphorically – just the same as a character on a quest. Although it was argued that a voyage and return plot refers to a character wandering far from home whilst a quest involves bringing something home, endeavouring to obtain something or complete a task, I have still somewhat failed to see a truly defined difference between the two.
It is evident to me that there is considerable overlap in plot types, particularly in novels with complicated story shapes, and that many stories are likely to contain elements from several plot types in order to enrich the narrative.

About Me

My name is Kaitlyn Smith and I originally went to university to study art. I then worked as a waitress for 3 years. This left me feeling unfulfilled and wanting to do more with my life. I decided to become a teacher. This seemed perfect as my I had a love of knowledge, I had always tried to share that love with others, and I’ve always loved interacting with children. As a teacher I plan to support a love of learning in all students and encourage in them a curiosity about the world.

As a reader, I became hooked when my best friend convinced me to start reading in primary school. I read as many books as I could. I loved fantasy and science fiction novels. I learnt that the thicker the book the more likely it was to have a detailed story, and the longer it would take me to read it. That is how I came to read many different authors, from Isobelle Carmody, to Sara Douglass, to Sherri S. Tepper, to Brian Aldriss, to J.R.R. Tolkien. I still read avidly, although now I read a wider range of genres. I still read fantasy and science fiction but it is now interspersed with biographies and histories, classical and general literature, and the occasional crime or horror novel.

Bianca's Week 2 Post

This week I've chosen to discuss two picture books that I read for my Personal Reading Program.

The Black Book by Menena Cottin (translated by Elisa Amado from Spanish) and illustrated by Rosana Faría was very physically striking as the entire book was presented on black paper with white text accompanied by Braille. Written from the perspective of a blind child called Thomas each page discusses how he “sees” various colours through the use of other senses including taste, smell, touch and temperature. The illustrations are unique - rather than colour on paper, the pictures are raised line artworks which must be felt more than seen.

In addition to being an interactive and original method for young children to explore colours and senses, it is also an introduction to the lives and perspectives of the blind, and how aspects of the world in which we live and often take for granted might be viewed from a different perspective. As a teacher, one might ask children to describe each colour mentioned in the book without using the sense of sight, giving the students an opportunity to explore various adjectives and descriptive words and enhancing their vocabulary. I suggest this book be read with 5-7 year olds.

I’m Sure I Saw A Dinosaur by Jeanne Willis and illustrated in watercolour by Adrian Reynolds is an entertaining story composed in rhyme. A young boy is sure he sees a dinosaur at Sand Bottom End, but is it really a dinosaur? As the whole town gets involved in the search, it’s clear that someone’s up to something!

I particularly enjoyed the poetic devices used, including consistent repetition and excellent use of alliteration. The surprising but humorous plot twist at the end accompanied with hidden dinosaur illustrations and clues mixed into the pictures on each page were also entertaining; and left the reader returning to the beginning to read the story through again with a greater understanding of the real motive within the narrative.

Interestingly, this book was listed at my local library for 4-5 year olds but is likely to be better suited for older children between 7-9 years who can read the somewhat challenging text independently.

About Me

Hi my name is Michael Menadue,

I am currently studying a master in teaching primary and middle school.  Initially as I grew up I was not interested in becoming a teacher and in fact was completely against it as my mother is a teacher.  From a young age I have been very passionate about sport and love almost all aspects of it, due to this I have played a huge range of sports in my time such as football, basketball and table tennis.  Due to this I began a degree in human movement at UniSA.  It was during this degree that I realised that despite initially not wanting to become a teacher, working with children was something that I really enjoyed.  This is the reason that I have become my masters of teaching after the completion of my human movement degree.

English has not been a topic that has interested me greatly in the past although I don’t mind reading when I find a good book.  This will be an interesting course for me and will hopefully provide me with a greater interest in reading and the English language in general. 

A Bit About Rose

My name is Rose Paton. This year I started a Masters of Teaching (primary and middle) and I want to be a primary school teacher. Some people think it is strange that I want to teach because I was home schooled my whole life, but I love to learn and I love to teach kids.

I've always loved reading; when I was little I used to take a whole pile of books to bed with me, just in case! More recently I have been enjoying reading books by Paullina Simons and Jodi Picoult. Of course, my all time favourite series would have to be the Harry Potter books. Nothing has ever caught my imagination as well as the Harry Potter series does. They were the first real novels I had ever read, and for that reason, they will always be special to me.

About Me

Hi, I’m Bianca Pandopulos.

My interest in teaching began at the age of seven, a peculiar period of my life when it was considered fashionable to want to be a princess, model or teacher when we "grew up". However, with terrible acting skills and little chance of marrying royalty, I gave up these ideas and instead developed a passion for understanding how other people’s minds worked, particularly children.

In 2010 I completed a Bachelor degree in Science majoring in psychology and physiology at the University of Adelaide, and then spent several months contemplating what to do with it other than fold it into a rather expensive origami paper crane. After working for a brief and unpleasant stint as a research assistant in allied health (main job roles: mail in, mail out, photocopy and repeat!) I have since returned to my teaching roots.

Now currently studying a Masters of Teaching (Primary and Middle Years) at the University of South Australia and privately teaching piano to children, I am fulfilling my childhood dream of becoming a teacher – arguably less glamorous than a princess or model, but certainly more satisfying to me.

In my spare time I play and teach piano, and read obsessively. My dream is to one day live in North America.