The Angel and the Wild Animal by Michael Foreman

The Angel and the Wild Animal, first published in 1988 (the year my beautiful daughter Nicola was born), is a beautiful book for preschoolers by well-known  and prolific writer/illustrator Michael Foreman. Most parents could  well and truly relate to the story; I know I can. No-one's child is ever a complete saint or a horror, they just flit between one extreme and another and fortunately at certain points in the day level out to be just normal children.The luminous water colours are a  Foreman trademark and exemplify both the magical and the trying moments well. 

"Sometimes we have an Angel in the house.
Most times at night, and mostly asleep.
But sometimes awake,
a golden head in the dark.
In the day, in the park,
the Angel is brighter than the sun.

In some ways this book reminds me of Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, especially the illustrations.

....'

The Singing Hat by Tohby Riddle

I just adored this completely absurd story The Singing Hat by Tohby Riddle. Colin Jenkins awakes one day after a nap under a tree only to find that his head is now adorned with a bird's nest complete with bird. Not wishing to interfere with nature, he decides that he can carry on his daily routines with his new hat. The bird brings both positive and negative things into his life. Life becomes even more challenging when the eggs in "hat" hatch just as he is being dismissed from his job! It is a book of contrasts, as too is the illustrative style with solid and lightly sketched images. The pen and ink gouache, collage are cartoon like and add to the humour in the story. It's definitely a book to share with middle and upper primary students as they would appreciate the ambiguity and the amusing incidents much more than a younger reader. This book was first published in 2000 in Australia and has one a number of awards for both literature and design. These include Honour Book in the Australian and CBC Picture Book of the Year Awards and APA Best Designed Cover. So if you enjoy the bizarre you will love this book. The following website has some excellent discussion and teaching ideas on the book as well as some questions which could be explored:

http://www.tohby.com/Images/Notes_on_TheSingingHat.pdf

Gorgeous by Caroline Castle & Sam CHilds

If only giving birth was as easy as "Ouch!" Big Zeb gives birth to Little Zeb at the beginning of this beautifully illustrated children's book.  This is a perfect book for toddlers and preschool children with its bright illustrations and minimalistic bold  text. It's all about first words spoken by the innocent. Little Zeb's first words are gorgeous and tip top and these are his main means of communication with others, along with a few other phrases he picks up along the way.The day is passing nicely when along comes a growling lion, now how will Little Zeb deal with him?

Pilgrim by Jo Oliver

A boy's first time on the sea with his father in their boat Pilgrim is a journey of wonder, intimacy and at the same time a celebration of the legacy of  past Australian war heroes. It is primarily about a spiritual journey and the idea of arriving home safely; a father and son moment as they set out on their first fishing trip together in a boat the young boy's great grandfather (an ANZAC) built. This book was produced primarily to commemorate ANZAC day and the beautiful lino print illustrations tell it all. The young boy protagonist attempts to come to terms with his fear of the sea and is able to appreciate his new experience. This book reminds me so much of another picture book by Peter Goldthorpe called First Light, although that particular book does not have war references. 

Lone Pine by Susie Brown & Margaret Warner

Lone Pine by Susie Brown and Margaret Warner is an emotionally charged picture book which focuses on the Battle of Lone Pine, the loss of life, and the ramifications it has on the home front which was a very lonely existence of waiting for many women whose sons and husbands had gone off to war. It is also a book about remembrance and the tree which lives on today in various propagated forms as a symbol of hope and endurance. The book is based on a true story. The story commences in Turkey in August 1915 at the well- known Battle of Lone Pine describing how the trees were used by soldiers on both sides to disguise and protect their trenches. At the heart-wrenching conclusion of the battle a brother collects a pine cone to send home to his mum. Some time later on the mum takes the cone from the drawer where she has kept it and plants out some of its seeds. She nurtures three saplings which have grown from the seeds, but only two survive, just as only two out of three of her sons returned from the war. One tree is planted at Inverell where the boys grew up and the other at the Australian War Memorial in 1934. Today, the pine at the memorial it reaches over 20 metres in height. This book beautifully illustrated by freelance artist Sebastian Ciaffaglione is a welcome edition to my war literature for children collection. Click on the link below to appreciate some of his amazing works of art:

http://www.sebastiancreative.com/index.php?/gallery/picture-books/

Arno the Garbo by Gary Crew & Craig Smith

Arno the Garbo by Gary Crew and Craig Smith is an off-beat book about a boy who basically, smells like and looks like garbage. You see Arno lives smack bang in the middle of a tip and this of course makes him the target of many jokes at school where he is known as Rat Head, Stink Bum, and Arno the Garbo. Academically, his performance is dismal and he has no friends. In fact his only consolation in life is his ability to make amazing inventions out of garbage. One day he decides to build a mechanical boy in his own image; the replica turns out to be smart, heroic and popular with the girls, and best off all minus the junkyard pong. This is certainly not in my top five favourite Gary Crew books, nevertheless the quirky illustrations by Craig Smith are up to his usual standard with many jokes to be had from the illustrations.

Magic Eye A New Way of Looking at the World by N.E. Thing Enterprises

Magic Eye mania hit Australia in the early 1990's and was a popular craze in Japan. You can stare into the seemingly abstract fields of colour and a 3D image will materialise. You don't need any funny glasses! Some students will get the hang of it straight away whilst others will have to work on their viewing technique for quite a while. Grab this book off our bookshelves and start training your gist for deeper vision today. Some simple instructions for how to achieve a good viewing outcome are available on the back of the book.