Posted on: 16/06/2014
Our books this time reflect the good moods we’re in – it must be summer! Not only is one solely centred on how to do help people be happy through good deeds, but the other two books tell tales of people carrying out good deeds, and then literally saving the day, a football cup and a squirrel!
Just as football fever is taking hold of the nation, a plethora of footy themed texts come to the fore but this offering from Simon Bartram is one to treasure long after the fever has died down.
We meet Charlie and his Dad at the point where their beloved Seaburn City have made their way to the cup final for the first time ever! Now, we learn that all football players have their pre-match rituals, but at Seaburn City, their star, Julio Poom has a very special way of preparing for a match – using alphabet spaghetti to spell out a message for luck.
But on cup day, just when Julio preparing for the day of his life, disaster strikes – in the form of a missing alphabet letters!
Simon Bartram’s illustrations add a sense of nostalgia, with a combination of comic book style speech bubbles and ‘Footy Facts’ boxes, which break up the text and will help children to keep interested to the final part of the cup final, where we will learn of Seaburn City’s fate and how Charlie helps his team to make history.
Although this has been out in hardback for a while, this is now available in paperback and very worthy of a mention, given that this won the prestigious 2014 Newberry Medal. There are hooks, but maybe none as powerful as noticing your neighbour hovering up a squirrel. Meet Flora Belle Buckman, a cynical hero who has learnt how to manage disastrous situations from the comic strip ‘Terrible Things Can Happen to You!’ and from this, knows how to save the day – by saving the squirrel. We loved the format of this: a novel with a comic strip, by K.G. Campbell. What becomes of that day is a tale of an unlikely friendship between Flora and Ulysses, the now supersquirrel!
Our information bookthis time is all about how to make kindness cool. Ever fancied planning a surprise treat for a friend? Trying to find a way of secretly planning a way to cheer a member of your family up? This book reminds us that the most simple thoughts and actions can be used as random acts of kindness.
‘Do Nice’ is great to inspire creative and practical ideas, such as sending a hug through the post by lying down on a piece of large paper, by getting someone to draw around you with your arms out. You then cut the image out, fold it and post it to a loved one. Once they unravel the letter, they receive a hug through the post! We think this book could be used in assemblies, or in class and that children could come up with their own random acts to create their own class or school book.
