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I think I've had this blogpost in my heart and my mind for years, ever since I decided to set three novels on Hayling Island ( off the south coast of England, opposite the Isle of Wight.)
Mud is a major geographical feature of the Island and one of its greatest attractions. Which might sound a bit weird but bear with me.
Hayling Island is not much more than a sandbank or a 25 mile square mudflat itself. It is ruler flat, five miles in length and when the tide goes out it drains from the mainland to the Solent revealing the most marvellous terrain and providing food and sanctuary for thousands of birds. The mud for me is one of the greatest attractions and I never tire of the landscape.
I've been down on the mudflats at low tide at all sorts of different times of the year and of the day. This photo was taken at 7.00 am on an August morning this year, in the week of Hurricane Bertha. That was quite an exciting time to be down on the Island. At high tide the water flowed straight over the top of the quayside flooding the cars and benches. Our holiday let sprang a leak and I even wrote a poem about it. But despite the flooding, at low tide everything drained away completely to leave the mudflats bare, exposed and in all their glory.
That week in August was also the time when the moon was closest to the earth for 20 years. I went out to photograph it and nearly got blown down by a Force 4.8 gale.
The mudflats have their dangers too and I am very careful not to walk away from the pebbly edges. People have to be regularly rescued by coastguard as they can get stuck and it was this feature of the mud which became a focus in my second Hayling Cycle novel, ILLEGAL, which is hinted at in this extract :-
"If the boat goes to ground here we'll be stuck," said Jess.
"Don't be stupid," said Sean. "We can walk, it's not far."
"Too far in this mud. Once when I was little I walked away from my Dad and started to sink. Dad had to heave like mad to get me out. He sunk to the top of his gumboots. Hayling mud sucks you in and never lets you go."
It's like a prophecy of what is to come in the book.
Hayling Island didn't have a bridge until 1824 and it was a toll bridge. Before that the only way to reach the mainland was by ferry or by the Wadeway. This was a path built across the nudflats, marked by wooden posts and ensured that the traveller stayed out of the mud. I've walked on parts of it and it takes you right out into the middle of Chichester Harbour.
You can't walk right across to the Island anymore because they dug a deeper channel for the boats. It's a very slippery muddy walk, but quite safe because the water comes in so slowly you can easily avoid getting wet. Not like Morecombe Bay!
The mudflats change colour almost each time the tide changes. The birds swoop and settle, pecking in the mud, and out in the middle of the harbour there is a silence and a smell of wet and salt and seaweed which takes you back to another age, a time when life was slower and if you wanted to take your potatoes to market on the mainland, you loaded them on your cart and pushed them right down the Wadeway, timing your return with the tide.
I still return to Hayling several times a year despite finishing my Hayling cycle and I am never happier when messing about in the glorious mud.
Head to either blog to find reviews as well as dozens of links to other blogs filled with reviews!
On Tuesday I will welcome ten students into my brand new classroom, my new home away from home. I've taught 3rd and 4th grade for eight years in a public school. I've seen many changes in education in those few short years. And I can't say they were all positive changes. I don't believe we need to test kids to the extremes we have begun to accept as normal. I wasn't excited about the prospect of my son entering school in a few years to a technology filled kindergarten setting. I was saddened by the policies and frustrated by my time being filled with goal setting and observation write-ups and ipad trainings and common core EVERYTHING.
And then I saw a job posting at an independent school.
I applied, and I got it.
I'm truly going to miss seeing some of the amazing people I worked closely with for the past eight years. But, I have to say, I am getting to know some very amazing people at the new school.
And the best part, the very best part: politicians and policy makers will not be deciding what I teach, how I teach it, or how I report out on it. I will be the person running my classroom. The teacher running the classroom. Imagine that. My hands are untied and I suddenly feel lighter.
I have many future photos to share, but this one is so special to me.
The building my classroom is in was undergoing a huge expansion this summer. For many days I arrived on campus hoping to be let into my new room, only to find that the move-in date had been pushed back another day. With the school year rapidly approaching I was getting anxious.
So, there I was, sitting in an early meeting this week-literally on the edge of my seat, waiting for the go ahead to begin moving into my classroom. My parents were meeting me at school with a U-Haul trailer filled to the brim with my collected belongings (mostly books). The day was going to be long, that trailer was packed.
So as I sat there feeling equal parts anticipation to get into the new room, and dread at the amount of work ahead of me, I heard the most wonderful words come out of the Head of School's mouth...He urged all staff to go help the Lower School teachers move into their building-including unloading that beast of a U-Haul.
So, there they are, the amazing faculty and staff at the school I now belong to.
It's going to be a great move forward.
And look who has been helping me sort and organize my things once the boxes were opened:
Just my very favorite small person in all of the world!
Books I Read this Week:
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood by Nathan Hale
Amulet Books, 2014
Historical Fiction/Graphic Novel
128 pages
Recommended for grades 5-8
This time Hale takes on the ambitious task of putting WWI into a short, understandable, graphic novel. The who, what, where and whys are not easy to keep straight with no background knowledge, so Hale decided to represent each involved country with a different animal. If you can remember that Russia are the bears-or was that Germany-then you are all set! I've got to admit, I found this installment tougher than the previous three, but that could be due to the fact that I was reading it at all hours of the night while feeding the baby.
Even so, I love this series, and think it is a must for classroom libraries 4th grade and up.
Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord
Scholastic, 2014
Realistic Fiction
224 pages
Recommended for grades 3-6
If you've read Cynthia Lord's work then you know she has a knack for writing touching, realistic stories with a timeless feel. Set in New Hampshire, Lucy is relocating yet again with her parents. When she befriends a neighbor and his family, Lucy finds herself having a wonderful summer learning about loons and honing her photography skills with Nate. Lord decides to include a character with onsetting dementia, and I think she handled that character well. Dementia is an awful thing that many of us are familiar with. For a child the idea of a beloved grandparent no longer acting like them-self is scary. Nate and Lucy can help young readers understand this better, and will perhaps open avenues of conversation around this topic within families.
Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell
illustrated by Christian Robinson
Chronicle Books, 2014
Biography
104 pages
Recommended for grades 4+
Do you know who Josephine Baker was? Well, good for you, aren't you clever! In reading this book I was introduced to her, so her story was new to me. I adore the illustrations in this book. Like the text, the illustrations at times are sparse, yet so alive.
Josephine's life was an amazing journey through show business and beyond, and this book left me wanting to know more. I'm especially curious about all of her adopted children. What became of them, her Rainbow Tribe? Go pick this one up, you'll enjoy it.
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Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful reading week!
With pretty much all clock-watching abandoned for the summer holidays we’ve been sneaking reading into unusual places. First we boosted breakfast feasting on books with our toast rack displays, and since then we’ve been squeezing in extra reading at the other end of the day – at bathtime. When the kids were little we were big fans of the plastic books you could immerse in water but now we tend to have a stack of comics and magazines (for all ages) on hand in a magazine rack.
It doesn’t matter so much if comics and magazines get wet – a short spell on the washing line or a radiator fixes that, and if they end up really too wrinkled and dog-eared for reading, they’re ripe for recycling as collage material.
Of course, another way to enjoy reading at bath time is simply to sit on the floor and read a favourite book to your kids whilst they can’t escape from the tub, and what better than a bath-time themed book for such an occasion (Scottish Book Trust has some great recommendations here)?
When news of a flying bathtub which saves animals in distress reached our ears we had to check it out…
In The Flying Bath by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by David Roberts there’s a hotline to a team of firefighting, thirst-quenching, mud-washing pals who use their bath to fly the world over, saving animals who have come unstuck thanks to a lack of water.
As you’d expect from Donaldson, the superhero antics are told in rhyme, with a refrain which kids will quickly sing-song along with. Roberts’ illustrations are detailed and have an older feel to them especially when compared to some of the other illustrators Donaldson is often paired with. I personally love his eye for pattern and texture. His architectural drawings are beautiful in their clarity and precision, and Roberts has had enormous fun with the choice of telephones used to dial 999.
Despite all this, I have to admit that this isn’t a book I’ve fallen madly in love with. I found Donaldson’s text requires a little practise to read out loud (a surprise, given that normally her poems-in-picture-book form trip off the tongue). This makes me too aware of the technicalities of the rhyme to simple enjoy the ride with the rescuing animals. And the text is more a series of flights of fancy rather than an extended narrative with a traditional story arc.
HOWEVER.
However, however, both my kids thought this book rather delightful and funny, and had a lot of fun spotting nods to other books Roberts has illustrated. Indeed my kids enjoyed this book so much they immediately came up with an idea for ‘playing by the book’ by creating a bathtime mosaic set, mirroring the tiled wings of the flying bath.
We grabbed a bunch of foam sheets (such as these) and cut them up into squares before letting them loose in the bath.
The kids loved having the tiles floating all around them – it was like “bathing in a rainbow” said J! Both kids enjoyed making different tiled patterns around the bath, exploring repetition – a visual rhythm, if you like!
Whilst it turns out this book was great for maths play, it’s also a book that could be used in science classes for kids in nursery and the first years of school, gently exploring drought, forest fires, and the need for water for life (both for animals and plants). You could team it up with some research about water charities, for example Waterbridge Outreach.
I’m a supporter of this particular charity because it aims “to give children in developing communities hope for the future through nourishing their minds and bodies with books and water.”
Yep, water and books. A good combo, no?
Waterbridge Outreach donates books in English and local languages and funds clean water and sanitation projects in communities and villages in the developing world. You can read about some of their projects here.
So it turns out that even if a book isn’t the best thing I’ve read all year, there’s still a lot to be said for it. It can inspire play, it can make children laugh, it can start conversations, it can even lead to a good deed or two!
If you want music to go along with reading The Flying Bath you could try these songs:
Bartleby Finkleton Will Not Take a Bath by Steve Weeks
Bath Time by The Sing Sings
Bathtime Blues by Uncle Moondog (listen for free on Myspace)
For more extension activities which work well with this book why not try:
15 Fun Bath Time Activities That Don’t Include a Rubber Duck! (from Babble.com)
Water Math & Science Activities for Kids Ages 3-6 from The Measured Mom
Taking books and bath times one step further with this bath tub made out of books!
Are you a bath or a shower person? Do you have a bathroom library?
Disclosure: I received a free review copy of The Flying Bath from the publishers.
So, this morning...it's raining and Freya went outside to do her business and came RIGHT back in before she finished. At least we know she's smart enough to come in out of the rain. When the rain let up, she ran way out into the cornfield to do it! Good dog! I was so proud of her...until I noticed her foot prints...uh, maybe this will accelerate my ripping up of the carpet in my house.
Yesterday, Gwen and Roger brought Buster Brown, their brown Newfy up to play with Freya. We had a blast. Dogs swam, retrieving things unto exhaustion. Here they are, shaking in tandem. There was quite a bit of slobber in the kitchen all at once.
Photos on blogger: I give up. I put them up in order; I rearrange them. The way they appear has nothing to do with how I posted them. It's not worth spending time rearranging. Back to working on my writing.
Mudkin by Stephen Gammell
Check out my review on Waking Brain Cells. This blog will stop being updated at the end of the week. Change your bookmarks and RSS feeds!
**Today’s your last chance to enter the world wide giveaway for a beautiful children’s bookcase – click here and leave a comment to be in with a chance of making it your lucky day!**
Today I’m happy to once again be hosting the Nonfiction Monday roundup. Every Monday bloggers across the kidlitosphere celebrate the best of nonfiction books for kids by writing about this sometimes overlooked category of books. If you’ve a recent post about a nonfiction book for children please leave a link to it in the comments and as the day progresses I’ll update this post to include all your reviews, comments and insights 
My own contribution to NF Monday is all about a series of fantastic science project books I’ve recently discovered.
Heinemann Library’s Science Projects series consists of 10 books jam packed with stimulating, engaging science projects on topics ranging from Astronomy and Space to Ecosystems, Cells and Systems to Matter and Energy.
Each book includes an introduction with clear, thoughtful information on how to carry out scientific research appropriately pitched at 10-12 year olds. Both my husband and I have taught research methods and were very impressed by the discussions in these books including the importance of background research, what an experiment is, how to formulate a hypothesis and how to keep records.
Today is the start of the UK’s Children’s Book Week, a celebration of reading for pleasure for children of primary school age (5-11) with special events taking place all over the country in schools, libraries and bookshops. 79 years old and going from strength to strength, the theme of this year’s Children’s Book Week is “books from around the world“.
Illustration: Shirin Adl for Children's Book Week 2010
As part of Children’s Book Week a special pack has been created (primarily with teachers in mind, but available to anyone to download) including book lists relating to this year’s theme for different age groups, for example:
For younger children:
Around the World with Mouk by Marc Boutavant (Gecko Press): join adventurous bear Mouk on a trip around the world
A Balloon for Grandad by Nigel Gray and Jane Ray (Orchard Books): a journey over mountains, seas, deserts and rivers
Sweets by Sylvia van Ommen (WingedChariot): the Netherlands
Starlight by Gillian Lobel and Nic Wickens (Tamarind): a journey to the North Pole and under the sea
For emerging readers
Fruits by Valerie Bloom (Macmillan Children’s Books): Carribean counting poem
Frog and a Very Special Day by Max Velthuijs (Andersen Press): the Netherlands
When We Lived in Uncle’s Hat by Jutta Bauer (WingedChariot): Germany (Here’s my recent review in case you missed it!)
Handa’s Surprise by Eileen Brown (Walker Books): set in Kenya
Big City Butter-Finger by Bob Cattell and John Agard (Frances Lincoln): a Caribbean boy comes to London
Poetry fro
Apparently when almost three feet of snow melts within two weeks, you get a lot of mud. And you get that mud for an extended period of time that seems approximately forever. Not being used to this much mud, it's been top of my mind - and bottom of my shoes - whenever I go outside. Mud. Mud. Mud.
For Poetry Friday, I found a poem that gives mud a positive spin - one that I will try very hard to keep in mind as squish and squelch my way to school pick-up.
Mud
by Robert William Service
Mud is Beauty in the making,
Mud is melody awaking;
Laughter, leafy whisperings,
Butterflies with rainbow wings;
Baby babble, lover's sighs,
Bobolink in lucent skies;
Ardours of heroic blood
All stem back to Matrix Mud.
(poem continues here)
Poetry Friday is hosted today at
TeachingBooks
A little late this week... but definitely very muddy *:)
I have been working to finish a picture book for
Stemmer House Publishers. And while I was in the midst of it my older wacom tablet began to behave badly. Why? Well after 5 years of heavy use the overlay became very scratched up from the pen nibs which were wearing down.
I had to choose between getting a CINTIQ much earlier than I could afford or trying out the
Wacom Intuos 4. I chose the latter and I am delighted with the new large tablet. It is sleek, large enough for me to be happy with, and even has little lighted keystroke buttons. So if I press a button I actually Know what it will do. The new pen is a joy as well. It comes with a holder that has a secret compartment for the pen nibs...ten in all. My favorite is the black and white tipped one. With the new tablet and the pen it really feels like your brush or pen is gliding across real paper. MMmmmmm what a nice addition to a digital artist's supplies*:)
Another reason for my decision, my Macintosh screen is much larger than the cintiq, so I rationalize that I will be more at home with the tablet ... at least for now.
I didn't really intend to create a duck character, too - But there he is. Right now I'm just calling them "Duck n Dog" in my head.
By:
Valerie Walsh,
on 2/5/2010
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Living in Topanga I know a lot about mud because here we live in the dirt. I am sad to report that more people are moving in and pouring a fair amount of concrete to make it less dirty! It always makes me wonder why a person would want to live in a rustic State Park when they could easily live in Calabasas which is much more paved and upscale. Have you noticed that I talk a bit more when I really don't have anything for the word and I don't have time to make anything either :(
This image has a little to do with mud, muddy and Topanga because this doggy plate that I made for my mom about 15 years ago is made with Topanga mud in a little garage clay studio belonging to Jan Mitchell right down the lane. Good clean mud! We taught children, we had girl's Monday Night Clay where we played, talked and laughed. My submission for Illustration Friday's " muddy" theme is a painted clay plate "Happy Day" I made for my mom Babs who has not been feeling well. I love you Mom!
"happy day" plate 1995 valerie walsh photo of babs 2007
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Roberta Baird,
on 2/5/2010
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“Don’t pray for rain if you’re going to complain about the mud!”
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Roberta Baird,
on 10/2/2009
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Be kind to the swine. Don’t give them the blame.
Treat all pigs with kindness. Shake a hoof, ask their name!
As a gesture of kindness, consider biscuits and tea.
I’ve heard roast beef and pound cake makes a pig squeal with glee!
Or…
You could take a piggy to market and buy some new shoes…
add some bloomers, some stockings and a handbag or two!
Yes be kind to the pig. Turn his gray skies to blue.
But first wash your hands. Please don’t give him Swine Flu!
Achoo!
_R.Baird
Three more days to vote…. Won’t you please help us win the ABC Children’s Picture Book Competition? Voting Link:
http://www.abcbookcompetition.org/5th_comp/SorryDoesntCleanItUp.html
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Be kind to the swine. Don’t give them the blame.
Treat all pigs with kindness. Shake a hoof, ask their name!
As a gesture of kindness, consider biscuits and tea.
I’ve heard roast beef and pound cake makes a pig squeal with glee!
Or…
You could take a piggy to market and buy some new shoes…
add some bloomers, some stockings and a handbag or two!
Yes be kind to the pig. Turn his gray skies to blue.
But first wash your hands. Please don’t give him Swine Flu!
Achoo!
_R.Baird
Three more days to vote…. Won’t you please help us win the ABC Children’s Picture Book Competition? Voting Link:
http://www.abcbookcompetition.org/5th_comp/SorryDoesntCleanItUp.html
I use to work as a designer at Scholastic book clubs years ago. As I worked on these book club catalogs, I had a dream that one day, one of my books would be in them. My name would be in the illustrator by-line.
That dream finally came true.
Here is the October Firefly book club catalog, where The Mixed-Up Alphabet, a book I illustrated, is on page 4. It means alot to me because I know I am moving ahead towards all the goals and dreams I've set for myself. I better take a moment and acknowledge it.
A special thanks to Kritty who told me she saw my book in the catalog and ordered it! I can't begin to express how much it means to me.
And Tracy, who is a teacher, recommended it as a book pick in a newsletter she sends home to the kids. Holy smokes! WOW!
Thank you so much.
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3 Comments on Really brilliant science books for kids, last added: 11/28/2010
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Fun ideas! I used to read to the girls all the time when they were little ones in the tub but I haven’t thought to leave reading materials for them now that they are on their own. Thank you for the reminder!
The foam squares in the bath looks like so much fun. We were big fans of plastic bath books when my kids were younger. My daughter had a fear of water from about 18mths old and that meant baths were not a fun experience for any of us. I found some lovely plastic bath books and they certainly helped encourage her back into the bath. I now always try to read to my kids while they are in the bath.
Thanks Stacey – let me know how you get on if you do introduce a reading pile into the bathroom!
Hi Melissa, lovely to hear that books made it feel a little bit safer for your daughter.
We read The Flying Bath last week too. It isn’t quite right, is it? We were quite disappointed. We went back to older books and soon forgot about it though.