News
Our Junior Librarians for the final half term of this academic year are: Joshua, Inez, Emre, Francesca, Christina, Zara, Seb and Mahi. They have the responsibility for the library environment and choose our Book of the Week. Watch this space for their forthcoming suggestions!
This week’s Junior Librarian, Seb from 2SD, has selected a very playful and interactive picture book as his Book of the Week.
Seb has selected There’s a Superhero in Your Book by Tom Fletcher.
Mrs Harvey would also support Seb’s choice. Tom Fletcher has been a children’s author for more than ten years, following his career as a musician in the band McFly. We have a wide range of his stories in our Grimsdell Library but the most popular are those in his There’s a … In Your Book series. The interactive nature of these stories appeal to all our Grimsdell children.
In There’s a Superhero in Your Book, Tom Fletcher joins forces with illustrator Greg Abbott to create an evocative sequel to their bestselling There’s a Monster in Your Book and There’s a Dragon in Your Book. In this brilliantly interactive picture book, the reader has to help the new Superhero friend take on the terrible Scribbler. The reader must use his/her power of imagination to unlock Superhero’s super powers. You need to act quickly before the scribbler runs the book completely!
Children love to tap, stretch, poke and flap the book to make magic happen as they turn the pages. Can they help Superhero defeat the villain and save the day? This infectious, read-aloud story invites children to use their powers of imagination – along with some stamping and blowing – to save their book from the tricky Scribbler! There is a satisfying twist at the end which celebrates the power of kindness and the true meaning of being a hero.
As well as firing the imagination, this story also challenges the reader to consider the author’s intent. Many authors in children’s books use the font to evoke meaning. Tom Fletcher is well-known for his adventurous use of typography – using different fonts as a ‘voice’ for different characters or situations, hoping to bring animation into the layout of the page.
Our second Book of the Week has been chosen by Christina from 2SD. This text forms part of the Year 2 Adventure Reading Road Map, a reading for pleasure initiative.
Christina has selected What about the Tooth Fairy? by the author and illustrator Elys Dolan.
Christina explains her choice: “This is a really funny story and I think all the Grimsdell children will enjoy reading it.”
Mrs Harvey would also support this graphic (comic genre) picture book. Elys Dolan is a well established children’s author and in this newly published story we meet a very fed up Tooth Fairy. How come Father Christmas, Easter Bunny, Scary Pumpkins and Valentine all have a special day and she doesn’t?
She applies to the Celebration Committee who scoff at her idea. They decide she must pass 4 challenges to be able to have a day of her own, but alas, these don’t go well. “That’s it!” she says, feeling a failure.
But who will do her nightly duties?
As Christina states, this is a very funny story all about the fantastical entities who visit our lives.
From a literary perspective, the colourful illustrations really engage the reader and provide an added dimension to the written text. The graphic (comic book) nature of the layout gives the reader the opportunity to read material which combines images with text to express satire, symbolism, point of view, drama, puns and humour in ways not possible with text alone.
A graphic format challenges the reader to read between the lines. This is a great way to reach pupils to draw inferences and synthesise information. Inferencing can be an abstract skill for young pupils. Comic books can give meaning to the use of this cognitive strategy. When children understand the purpose behind a strategy, they have more motivation to use the strategy independently in a variety of text situations.
Comic books require readers to visualise. The action-packed writing styles of many comic writers cause readers to create vivid story-pictures in their mind. Class discussions about the art of visualisation may stem from comic book text. Comic books cause readers to visualise without realising they are using a cognitive strategy.
When reading a comic book, pupils must interact with both text and images, and they do so out of authentic interest in the text, not because the teacher is necessitating the process. This application of cognitive strategies is true reading. In this way, pupils are self-motivated to comprehend text.
Happy Reading!
Mrs Harvey
