Tappity-Tap! What Was That? By Claire Freedman and illustrated byRussell Julian

Claire Freedman's picture book story, Tappity-Tap! What Was That? Is a charming story about friendship and facing your fears. On a dark and stormy night, Owl, Mouse and a Rabbit hear a knock at the door and fear the worst - The Monster of the Woods. As the story progresses we witness them as they support each other in facing their fears: from Owl's plan just in case they should encounter the Monster, to curling up together in front of the fire with a cup of hot cocoa to finally finding the courage to peep through the peephole to see who it is at the door.

This is a beautiful book to share with young children. It would generate a great deal of discussion around the subject of fear: the kinds of things that children fear, who they turn to when they are afraid and the sorts of things that make them feel better. Owl, who is the largest of the animals in the story, takes on the traditional role of being the 'wise old owl' and as such the parental figure that the smaller animals turn to. This makes the text ideal to discuss charaterisation. What are Owl's qualities that make others turn to him for comfort? What evidence is there in the story to support the children's views?

For children in year 2, who need to develop their vocabulary and use a variety of synonyms for 'said', the text proves to be a good model of how to do this. Teachers need to consider with the children why Freedman has chosen to use the variety of words for 'said' that she does. What additional information do these choices give the reader. For children in year 3, it would be interesting to 'collect' the different words and then categorise them. Which synonyms for 'said' does Freedman use to indicate fear? 'gulped', 'trembled', 'shivered' etc. How might you categorise the other synonyms?

In terms of scene setting, Freedman creates the atmosphere of the storm through the use of onomatopoeia: crash, bang, howl, thump. The atmosphere of the story is further enhanced by Russell Julian's illustrations. The darkness that envelops owl, literally and metaphorically as he pretends not to be at home when he hears the tappity-tap tap, how the peephole in Owl's door enlarges the eye when rabbit looks in and reduces the size of the Monster when the three of them look out, the eeriness of the shadows as we peer through Owl's window. The black silhouetted image which contains the words 'The Monster of the Woods' depicts how through fear we tend to make things much bigger than they are in reality. Note the size of the spider and the unidentifiable fronds in comparison with the three friends. The images of the woods in the end papers could provide a stimulus for some descriptive writing. How could the children describe the trees to create that same sense of eeriness?

A picture book which could be read and enjoyed by children of all ages and in terms of the classroom can be used in a variety of ways to develop children's reading and writing.

Publisher: Scholastic

Publication Date: 2009

ISBN: 978-1-407131-68-9

              

Toby and the Ice Giants written and illustrated by Joe Lillington

Toby and the Ice Giants is a story and an information book rolled into one. It tells the tale of the young Toby, a bison, as he ventures away from the herd for the first time. Like other similar stories (Monkey Puzzle by Julia Donaldson, The Bad Tempered Ladybird by Eric Carle, Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you See? By Bill Martin ) Toby meets other creatures as he journeys, many of which are quite scary to Toby. However, unlike these other stories all the creatures that Toby meets are genuine animals that were around during the Ice Age.

The book would support any study of the Ice Age as each page includes a fact file of the creature that Toby encounters which details its Latin name, size, weight, diet, habitat and when it died out. The fact file also includes an illustration which demonstrates how big the animal was in comparison to a human.

During the Ice Age, it would have been impossible for Toby to have met all if these creatures as they originate from various countries all over the world. We are made aware if this fact in the author's note at the end of the book. At the very beginning of the book Lillington includes a very useful and informative map of the world which illustrates the countries each of the animals would have been found.

The back of the book has a size comparison chart ranging from the smallest (a young human child) to the largest, the woolly mammoth.

In terms of English, much of the story is told through dialogue which is highlighted in small ovals which are paler than the rest of the illustration, almost speech bubbles. This would provide a model for that important transition for children: moving from speech in speech bubbles to punctuated direct speech embedded in the written text.

As the majority of the story is told through direct speech teachers could explore with children how authors develop characterisation through speech without having any descriptions. We can identify with Toby's emotions throughout the story through the things he says. 

Lillington's rich style of illustration brings an almost retro charm to the story. The facial expressions on each of the creatures again gives insight into their thoughts and emotions.

Publisher: Flying Eye Books

Publication Date: Sept 2015

ISBN: 978-1-909263-58-1 

How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth by Michelle Robinson and illustrated byKate Hindley

Michelle Robinson's picture book How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth is a delightfully quirky instructional text. The teacher is a freckle faced little girl. She meticulously takes us through the ten essential steps of the process. Robinson's minimal text is supported by Hindley's clever illustrations.

For teachers at Key Stage 1, this will provide a welcome alternative to the usual instructional texts that are available. It contains all the features of the genre: a goal in the form of the title; step by step instructions that are chronological in order; diagrams to support the instructions. It is also written using the imperative form of the verb 'fill', 'add', 'start', 'wash' etc. Each step also contains adjectival noun phrases, thereby providing a good model for children's own writing. The little freckled girl charmingly warns us about some of the possible difficulties we might encounter when attempting to wash our mammoth 'a mammoth's tummy is terribly tickly'.

Many of the steps are accompanied by illustrations and diagrams to exemplify the instruction. For example step 1 'fill the bath' is supported by 2 diagrams on what appear to be post-it notes Fig. 1: Empty and Fig. 2: Full. Others are humorous drawings depicting how the reader might get their mammoth into the bath.

When the little girl shampoos the mammoth's hair, she can't help but experiment with a range of hair dos for her mammoth and these are delightfully illustrated in the form of eight square frames. Hindley portrays how the mammoth reacts to this pampering session through the use of facial expression: from closed contented eyes, to wide startled eyes. We learn of the mammoth's emotions by paying careful attention to the illustrations throughout the whole of the picture book.

The end papers determine the actual beginning of the story and the end. At the beginning the little girl is playing with a bright blue star patterned ball and at the end after successfully washing her mammoth her wellies and ball are carefully placed together. The back cover depicts a whole range of mammoth related toiletries from bubble bath to tusk whitener and these have been cleverly used to display the ISBN of the book, the price and the synopsis.

How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth would be a useful and entertaining resource for any teacher who is studying instructional texts with his/her class as well as those who are investigating the Stone Age in history.

Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Publication date: 2013
ISBN: 978-0-85707-580-2

   

The Mixed-Up Summer of Lily McLean by Lindsay Littleson

The Mixed-Up Summer of Lily McLean is Lindsay Littleson's debut novel. It tells the story of Lily, who is about to leave primary school and transfer to secondary school. Littleson convincingly gets into the head of this 11 year old girl so much so that you forget that this is in fact told by an adult pretending to be a young girl! 

Leaving primary school for secondary school is a very emotional time for Lily. She has loved her time at primary school and has some longstanding friends. That prospect of change brings with it thoughts/musings that 11 year olds will easily relate to. In particular, will her best friend she has known since she was little remain her friend or will she 'move in with' what Lily describes as the popular crowd? 

 On top of this Lily is experiencing a complex and often bewildering time at home. Her mother has been married twice (Lily's father has died) and her mum has subsequently divorced her step-dad. Consequently, they live in a very small and cramped council house and Lily has to share a room with her younger brothers. She also has an older sister, who appears to have undergone a personality change since entering puberty, and a baby sister who Lily dotes on. The insights we get into her home life are sometimes funny, sometimes sad and at other times deeply moving.

Lily's life gets even more complex as she begins to experience some very strange and disturbing goings on in the form of a 'disembodied voice'. In fact, these experiences are so strange she dare not tell anyone about them, including her very best friend.

The Mixed-Up Summer of Lily McLean would appeal especially to pupils in year 6 and therefore would make an ideal text to have in year 6 class libraries. 

It also has a great deal to offer in terms of support for pupils' literacy development. Pupils could examine how authors create and develop characters by studying Lily. As the story is told by Lily, there are no long descriptions of her. The reader learns everything about Lily through her actions and her speech. A really good model of 'show not tell'. Pupils could identify adjectives to describe Lily and then justify their choices by finding evidence in action and speech. This would facilitate both pupils comprehension and composition skills. This is in contrast to the vivid description we get on page 40 of Lily's friend Rowan. 

Littleson's writing style is beautifully rich without being flowery. Her choice of vocabulary is particularly thoughtful and as such portrays her characters' emotions and actions in such a way that pupils and teachers could engage in discussions about when and why authors opt to use the word 'said' as opposed to 'taunts', 'screams' or 'replies'. 

Littleson's writing is so clear readers will find it easy to visualise the setting. The fact that it is set in real places in Scotland makes the novel an ideal resource for a joint English and geography unit of study. For teachers in England, it could be used as a stimulus for study of a location beyond the local area. Research would lead to ample material for pupils to use in preparation for a whole range of different types of writing including persuasive writing in the form of tourist leaflets and brochures.

Overall, the story is engaging, tender, humorous. 

The Mixed-Up Summer of Lily McLean won the prestigious Kelpies prize in 2014.

Publisher: Kelpies (an imprint of Floris Books)
Publication date: 2015
ISBN: 978-178250-180-0 

Superkid by Claire Freedman and illustrated by Sarah McIntyre

Superkid is a superhero story with a twist. In Claire Freedman's tale, the superhero is there to save children from their everyday troubles: the bully at school, eating healthy vegetables and room tidying, as well as the extraordinary: pirates that make you walk the plank. What makes this superhero special is the fact that he or she is most probably the reader's friend!

The story is told through a series of humorous incidents where Superkid saves the day. The story could be enjoyed simply as a 'read aloud' text to promote a love of books in foundation stage and Key Stage 1. However, it also has the potential for developing children's understanding of character. Although Superkid is quite likely to be a classmate, he also possesses the powers you would expect of a superhero: changing into his superhero costume in an instant, x-ray eyes, flying, making things disappear, putting things in order, rescuing people from evil monsters. 

Like Sue Hendra's Supertato, Superkid utilises some of the features you would expect to see in comic strips, in particular onomatopoeia, e.g. Zapp, whoosh and puff. Sarah McKintyre's illustrations take this one step further. You will find examples of the zig zag frame to indicate something happening quickly, lines after a character to indicate movement, the action of the story told through a sequence of brightly coloured frames. Her illustrations also provide the opportunity to examine how different facial expressions indicate different thoughts and emotions: shock, surprise, fear, relief, delight.

The end papers also merit comment. At the beginning of the book, you have a wordless text which tells the story of a superhero through comic strip frames which again use a number of conventions associated with comics. As such, this provides the opportunity to explore and discuss these features with children before creating their own comic using an application such as comic life. The papers at the end of the story are annotated character portraits: a possible stimulus for work in class.

As you would expect from Claire Freedman, the text is presented as a rhyming story. It is fun and fast paced and could be decoded by children who are working at phase 5 or beyond.

Publisher: Scholastic
Date of Publication: 2013
ISBN: 978-1-407124-06-3

     

Supertato by Sue Hendra

Sue Hendra's Supertato is a quirky take on the standard superhero tale. It's set in the vegetable section of a supermarket, not a child's first choice of where to find a hero of any sort, usually. The hero of this story is a rather rotund potato! Nevertheless, he has all the characteristics you would expect of a superhero. The evil villain is the smallest character in the book, the pea. 

This is a pacey read. The style of the writing includes a number of authorial questions to engage readers. The simple plot moves swiftly along through the use of dialogue which will appeal to young children. The story is delightfully silly. The narrative coupled with the dialogue has all the features you would expect in a comic superhero tale: slapstick, good versus evil, mild peril and the inevitable happy ending.

Alliteration is used for comic effect to describe how Supertato stealthily creeps up on the mischievous pea. 'Crept through the cakes'.....'checked the cheese'. There is also an element of comic strip writing with features such as 'kerpow!' Children will love rewriting this as a comic strip using an application such as comic life. This could be used to emphasise the words within the speech marks or develop the use of temporal connectives (adverbials).

Other writing activities might include wanted posters, newspaper reports or play scripts.

The illustrations help the story along enormously. Supertato is depicted as a typical superhero, with his super belt around his rather plump middle, his bandit-like eye mask and his superhero red cape. Evil pea's eyes look demonic at the beginning of the story. The facial features of all the characters are full of emotion, ranging from horror, surprise, shock to the twinkle of Supertato's teeth to illustrate just how good he is. The pictures are bright, with lots of primary colours and plenty to see on each page. This would be really fun 'read aloud' to a group of children in foundation stage or Key Stage 1. It would also make an ideal book to read as part of any project on Superheroes or healthy eating.

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Date of Publication: 2014

ISBN: 978-0-85707-447-8

The Great Ice-Cream Heist by Elen Caldecott

The Great Ice-Cream Heist is a fast paced adventure, full of 'edge of your seat' drama, about sticking up for your friends. The story, being action-packed, will appeal to both boys and girls and is ideal for children at Key Stage 2 who need more sustained stories.

The main protagonist, Eva, lives a quiet life with her over-protective Dad. Eva cannot read and as such is quite happy to spend her time at home with her Dad and invent adventures with him. This soon changes though when a new family move in next door. Both Eva and Jamie (the boy from next door) are 'forced' to attend  the local youth centre over the summer holidays.  They quickly become friends. But then everything goes wrong and Jamie is in trouble. Eva knows it's down to her to help him, even if it means upsetting Dad in the process. 

The Great Ice Cream Heist is a lesson about not judging people on appearances. Warm-hearted, moving and never heavy handed, it approaches a range of issues including bereavement, dysfunctional families and children in care with sensitivity and directness. 

The book contains some loveable characters, in particular Eva, and as such provides an ideal text with which to study characterisation. Eva is timid and loyal and readers will witness her grow as a person: watch her get outside of her comfort zone, overcome fears, make new friends and even address her embarrassment about not being able to read. 

Teachers could use a range of drama techniques to help children empathise with Eva, such as conscience alley to consider the options Eva has and the decisions she needs to make, hot-seating to understand Shan's prejudice and how it is completely shaken by the end of the book; thought-tracking to understand and reflect upon the reasons behind Gran's actions. Elen Caldecott's brilliant writing also exemplifies how authors 'show not tell' how their characters are feeling through their dialogue and actions.

The climax of the story, is really fun, edge of your seat stuff. The pace and excitement of the drama is masterfully achieved through the use of a range of authorial devices such as short sentences, simile, dialogue, alliteration and sibilance. Coupled with this is the fact that Shan is supposed to be appearing on local radio. Teachers could use this part of the story as a springboard to a whole range of writing including the pupils writing their own exciting, dramatic chase using the devices identified in the book, a newspaper report of the incident, a television interview or even a playscript.

Poignant yet full of humour and fun, this is a carefully-balanced story with a clear message about the value of friends, family and the local community - and the importance of not judging others.

Published: 2013

Publisher: Bloomsbury

ISBN: 978-1-4088-2050-6