tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8741003627867900402024-02-07T10:58:50.720+00:00The Squeaky DoorJuliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.comBlogger355125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-3294302674935138552020-09-30T12:01:00.004+01:002020-09-30T12:01:46.114+01:00Reinventing...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h5BjgzHAcFA" width="320" youtube-src-id="h5BjgzHAcFA"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div>The last few months have been many things and one of them was a very steep learning curve and a complete recalibration of how us kids' writers and creatives do our job. Because it's not just sitting at your desk all day and typing or doodling away, it's not just time alone thinking and dreaming and imagining. It's also, of course, getting out there, meeting young readers and writers and their families, their teachers, their librarians, their teddies! <div>With 'out there' being essentially out of bounds, we've have to reinvent how we do things. Over the past while, I've been busy experimenting with online workshops (junior book club, toddler time, writing club, even Zoom baby book clubs!), pre-record videos (writing challenges, desincarnated residencies...) and also outdoors events. </div><div>Those are the new ways we'll get to reach out to kids, families, schools, libraries and festival goers for the next while. It's been intense and intensive and, sometimes, very enjoyable!</div><div>So, teachers, librarians, festival programmers, if you want to keep young readers and writers engaged, chat to a creative today, they'll have come up with something! (such as my Poetry Treasure Hunt or my Ninja Writer's Workout, <a href="http://juliettesaumande.blogspot.com/p/workshops-and-visits.html">more here</a>)</div><div><br /></div>Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-75964831045837451582020-05-19T15:04:00.000+01:002020-05-19T15:04:54.455+01:00Keeping the little ones busy: Pirates!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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How are you all getting on? Have you begun to lose count of the days in confinement and to forget what the old normal was yet? It feels a bit like that here...<br />
To help with the long days, I'll be sharing some of the tried and tested activities we've enjoyed in Baby Book Club. You'll need very few materials and could get hours of entertainment out of these!<br /> <br /><b> Today, I give you: Piratic adventures!</b><br />
There tons of books about pirates and you possibly have some lying around. If you don't, it doesn't really matter: there's still plenty of fun to be had. You can enlist the help of older kids there as well, as they can push the pretend play into some detail.<br />
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Today, <b>pretend you're all part of a pirate crew</b>.<br />
First, you are going to need a <b>ship</b>. The couch could do very well, or bunk beds, or under the kitchen table, or, the ultimate holy grail of pretend play, you might have a cardboard box lying around? Decorate it together. What could you use for sails? Do you want a flag? And what will you call your ship?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NO3zpbNdc9uMmmrIGau6SK3RgYCECOFj44fXztwphYiZW3yGb6aH3I0dLABoIya6e7fW4KR-_hUgp_3R87jG2URuGV05MckAahv5mozN679E_YE0tHbLCKp6vHDON3_fxQXeZSuMC1yH/s1600/IMG_1142.JPG" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NO3zpbNdc9uMmmrIGau6SK3RgYCECOFj44fXztwphYiZW3yGb6aH3I0dLABoIya6e7fW4KR-_hUgp_3R87jG2URuGV05MckAahv5mozN679E_YE0tHbLCKp6vHDON3_fxQXeZSuMC1yH/s320/IMG_1142.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Next you'll have to look the part. What you need is <b>a hat</b>! Take a sheet of A3 paper if you have it (if you don't, tape together two A4) and fold it in half. Draw a piratic hat shape and cut it out. Unfold it again and let your little one decorate it. They can draw, use stickers, stampers, whatever you have to hand! Refold the paper and staple the sides together, it should sit nice and snug on your young pirate's head, as in the pic above.</div>
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Finally you'll need a place to go, in other words,<b> a treasure map</b>! Print an island shape off the internet or draw one yourself and add detail to it with your child. Trees, rivers, mountains, sheep, scribbles, etc. and don't forget to place an X to mark the spot!<br />
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Now you're ready to set sail! Remember to use your <b>best piratic words</b> (you'd be amazed how many of those really young kids know!). You can find more in this <a href="https://www.syddware.com/cgi-bin/pirate.pl">English/Pirate dictionary</a> and you can also<a href="http://gangstaname.com/names/pirate#.Xnn00252vIW"> generate your own pirate name over here</a>!<br />
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Why not round off the day's adventures with a bit of <b>water play</b>? Take out a basin, pour some water in it and throw in plastic containers, slotted spoons, colander, anything that will pour in an interesting fashion. Hours of focused fun guaranteed! (You may want to strip your pirate down to the bare essentials first, though)<br />
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As before, here are a few more links to keep the fun going! :)<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Peter
Pan - A Pirate's life </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Pirates
of the Caribbean Orchestral Medley, He's a Pirate </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="height: 109px; margin-left: 333px; margin-top: 49px; position: absolute; width: 292px; z-index: 251674624;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Flannery Brothers
Children's Music - "Pirate or Parrot?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms";">Hang on in there, me hearties!</span></div>
Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-50545782219983649532020-04-06T12:31:00.000+01:002020-04-06T12:52:38.816+01:00Creativity Bingo!Feeling overwhelmed by all the things you and your kids 'should be doing'?<br />
Can't face another day of cleaning up after a bake-off or a water-colour marathon?<br />
And yet worried about your young ones missing out and not doing enough creative activities?<br />
It's true,<span style="background-color: white;"> b<span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">eing creative will help with your energy levels, your problem-solving, your mental health and more. But<span style="background-color: transparent;"> c</span></span></span>reativity isn't just about making art and big complicated enterprises. It can be found in everyday activities (like brushing your teeth or getting dressed); it can be practised and grown.<br />
Creativity is a state of mind that will get you (whatever your age) through times happy and hard.<br />
To help you spot and create creative moments in what you and your family are already doing, here is a handy Creativity Bingo put together by illustrator Margaret Anne Suggs and yours truly.<br />
We hope that you find it helpful, useful, stress-free and a bit of fun!<br />
Feel free to share and let us know how you get on!<br />
Hang on in there, one and all,<br />
Juliette and Mags<br />
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<iframe height="480px" src="https://docs.google.com/viewer?srcid=1B09YhmaA6orITPaHR17D9hZ6YEpSh4R8&pid=explorer&efh=false&a=v&chrome=false&embedded=true" width="580px"></iframe>Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-78688519144425644582020-03-23T16:25:00.000+00:002020-03-23T16:25:08.644+00:00Keeping Little Ones Busy: Bringing the Library Home!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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No creche, no play group, no storytime, no play dates… The days and weeks ahead are going to feel like one very long break-less, nap-less afternoon.<br />
That said, once everyone has adjusted to the new routine, there are really fun, simple things you can do to keep your little one busy, amused and, yes, learning!<br />
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Over the next while, I will share here some of the tried and tested activities we've enjoyed in Baby Book Club. You'll need very few materials and could get hours of entertainment out of these!<br />
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<b>Today, I give you: Bringing the Library Home or… Solo Book Clubbing!</b><br />
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If your child is especially missing their trips to the library, why not recreate a story-time setting at home by simply placing teddies and/or other family members in a comfy circle and following the routine you are used to.<br />
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In my sessions, we always start with the same songs (one to say good morning, a couple to get moving and get energy out of our systems, one to calm down and get ready to listen), before moving on to the books, anything between 1 and 4, depending on the group. Pick up some books, ask your child to choose some too, and off you go!<br />
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Follow your little one's lead: if they want to spend ages poring over the pictures of one story, let them at it. Ask them questions, point and name the things in the illustrations and listen to what they have to say. If they want to skip ahead to the next book, you can always come back to it at a later stage. And if they want to tell the story themselves, your work here is done!<br />
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To finish up, you can throw in a craft. One lovely activity that works with really young kids is to get them to make their own book. Fold and staple together a couple of A4 sheets, bring out old magazines and newspapers, some glue and kiddie scissors and off they go! They love cutting (so do the parents, admit it), lifting pictures from supermarket catalogues and messing about with glue.<br />
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When you're done, make sure you share your little one's work with other family members (in real life, but also remotely) and display it somewhere around the house: on the fridge or on your kid's bookshelves...<br />
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For a perfect finish, you might want to blow some bubbles to mark the end of the 'session' and provide even more lasting fun!<br />
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Prolong the fun with these songs and videos!<br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Qk3C1SNvtSU/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qk3C1SNvtSU?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The Library Song, a fun kids’ song from
New Zealand.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span>
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<span lang="EN" style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; padding: 0cm;">Lil B Dub / The
Rapping Bookworm, a thing of silliness!</span><br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TStPNqex3uA/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TStPNqex3uA?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<span lang="EN" style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; padding: 0cm;">Martians Discover a
Book, classic Sesame Street madness.</span><br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/J6zcIFUvdJ0/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J6zcIFUvdJ0?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk Parody:
Unread Book (you’ll never look at your librarian in the same way!)</span></span><br />
<span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="height: 121px; margin-left: 309px; margin-top: 21px; mso-ignore: vglayout; position: absolute; width: 367px; z-index: 251659263;"><br /></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The
Mount Desert Island High School version of Meghan Trainor's "All About The
Bass/Books"</span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><br />
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Hang on in there!<br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-55627258223595462182020-02-11T13:08:00.000+00:002020-02-11T13:08:32.525+00:00Let It Snow<br />
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<img alt="Image may contain: food" aria-busy="true" class="spotlight" height="218" src="https://scontent-dub4-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/p720x720/84300362_10157255677489039_8347988230833963008_o.jpg?_nc_cat=110&_nc_ohc=qvGlrCTw0aUAX-68LFi&_nc_ht=scontent-dub4-1.xx&_nc_tp=6&oh=b1b97c15516c3b4aae1d6a8f3945f812&oe=5EBC919E" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-image: none; border: 0px; color: #1d2129; display: inline-block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; height: 581px; letter-spacing: normal; max-height: 100%; max-width: 100%; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: top; white-space: normal; width: 775px; word-spacing: 0px;" width="320" />The babies braved the snow, the rain and everything in between today! We, very aptly, looked at books with a wintery feel where polar bears featured prominently. We explored textures and our senses with Usbourne's <i>This is Not My Polar Bear</i> and enjoyed another 'touchy-feely' book, <i>Making Tracks: Snow</i> by Cocoretto, this time following grooves in the sturdy cardboard with our fingers and guessing who might me hiding behind the flaps.</div>
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We also made connections with our bear-loving siblings and had a lovely sensory moment playing with cotton wool to give our very own polar bears some fur. Your fridges will look glorious tonight, babies!<br />
As promised, here are the links!<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">World’s coolest snow sculptures: </span></b><br />
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<span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></i></b></span>
<span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Do The Funky Penguin</span></i></b></span><span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> by Rufus Thomas :</span></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; padding: 0cm;">Penguins ice-skating</span></b><span lang="EN" style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; padding: 0cm;">, clip from a BBC documentary: </span><br />
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<b>Pingu!</b><br />
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<br />Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-60734962294260168972020-02-04T12:55:00.001+00:002020-02-04T12:55:09.607+00:00Roaaaar Like a Baby<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The little ones in this group are really little, which means you see them grow week by week. Today, the wobblers were a wee more steady, the shy ones came out of themselves a bit more and the talkers got super chatty thanks to Dinosaur Roar. There was a lot of interaction with the book, with what was going on in the pictures, a lot of description and general excitement. You know, dinosaurs!<br />
We then played freely with a bunch of plastic and soft dinosaurs, shared them, swapped them, gave them tea and some even spotted other dinosaurs in other books around the room...<br />
As promised, here are the links to the songs and videos.<br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: FR;">The
Dinosaurs Song by Big Word Club</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: FR;"><br />
</span><span lang="EN" style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: FR; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; padding: 0cm;">The Dinosaur Song by Johnny Cash</span></div>
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Running from a T-Rex by Daddy Donut</span></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-44230519460035045982020-01-28T13:11:00.001+00:002020-01-28T13:11:16.499+00:00Don't Worry, It's Baby Book Club!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What do babies do? They grow! It's been a while since I last saw some of our regular Baby Book Club members and the changes are astonishing! We now crawl, walk, look out, make sentences!<br />
Today we went for a dip in Chris Haughton's huge-enormous-massive waves as we read <i>Don't Worry Little Crab</i>. They enjoyed 'holding tight' before each wave and the colourful fish the pair of crabs meet on the sea floor. They loved when Little Crab introduces themselves to said fish, as they saw it as an opportunity to say 'Hello, fishy!' and started on a round of introductions of our own: 'Hello, fishy, I'm Juliette! Hello, fishy, I'm Flynn...' The excitement to 'find' themselves in the book!<br />
Overall, I think this crowd might have been a little too little for this book. It's longer than Haughton's previous offerings and didn't keep their attention as well as, say, <i>A Bit Lost</i> or <i>Goodnight Everyone</i>.<br />
Our activity today was… to go fishing! I had drawn and cut out sea creatures and plants inspired by the illustrations and stuffed them into a box full of shredded cardboard, a leftover from my Christmas book shopping.<br />
The kids really enjoyed the challenge of touching the strange-to-them texture and rummaging through it. It took some longer than others to go for it, but everyone took part in the end. They were then plied with blue paper and glue sticks and got a chance to create their own seascape. The concentration and seriousness as they worked was fantastic. These guys are aged 10 months to 2 and a half!<br />
As promised, here are the lings to the songs and videos.<br />
Until next time!<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The Monterey Bay Aquarium</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> has a great YouTube channels with
lots of videos. Try the Bell Jellies:</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> the Galloping Bay Pacific Seahorses:</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> or the Pelagic Red Crabs:</span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">That’s What Makes the
World Go Round</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">
(the fish scene from the Sword in the Stone): </span><br />
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-83321254877152206122020-01-24T12:03:00.001+00:002020-01-24T12:03:41.159+00:00Lost: Poetry - Have You Seen It?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What a morning we've had with Second Class!<br />
Since January is Poetry month and we're all finding it a bit mysterious, we decided to look into it, or rather to look <i>for</i> it.<br />
We kicked off with a really interesting brainstorming session where we wondered about things like What does a poem look like? Can it be about anything? What does it do? Suggested answers, in no particular order, included: rhymes, patterns, feelings, mystical creatures, doom and death, detail, lines, breath and nervousness. These 8 year olds are on the ball.<br />
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We then had a look at what <i>wasn't</i> poetry. After all, what's the difference between<a href="http://www.resourceshop.co.uk/rliteracy/rpoem/Hoban/friendlyCinnamonBun.pdf"> 'The Friendly Cinnamon Bun'</a> by Russel Hoban and the cookery book version? Or between the nursery rhyme <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/nursery-rhymes-wiggly-woo/zvj8gwx">Wiggly Woo</a> and a few lines from the National Geographic website on earthworms?<br />
We were now ready to sort through a big bunch of texts (some found in poetry books, some elsewhere) (some in French!), in groups, and decide what belonged to poetry what didn't.<br />
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This wasn't a test, there was no 'wrong' answer, each group could make their own decisions. It was so interesting seeing what was selected (nearly everybody went for short rhyming texts), but it was equally fascinating to see what wasn't. Shape poetry was a flop, for instance. Presentation mattered: anything illustrated with photos was automatically deemed, in some groups, as 'facts'. Some texts were selected on the basis of having illustrations of cute bunnies or nasty dinosaurs.<br />
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I then asked each group to vote for their favourite poem and tell us what they had liked in it. 'Good rhyming' was clearly high on the kids' checklist, even when they picked (as one group did) something in French (which they don't speak). Subject matter played a part, while one group liked the image that <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/news/poem-my-sister-1.1260040">Margaret Mahy's 'My Sister' </a>painted in their heads ('My sister is remarkably light/ (…) We use her instead of a kite'). We noted that the poem worked even if you didn't have a sister yourself. We talked about poems that were funny and poems that used repetition and made you want to dance and wriggle.<br />
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After all that thinking it was time to move around, if not wriggle and dance (but that was ok too) and launch into our poetry treasure hunt! Everyone came back with a series of words that belonged just to them and was invited to combine them in a striking image. Each kid added a stanza (usually illustrated) (sometimes a full-blown epic) to a collective piece that grew and grew, over three long hall tables.<br />
Criminal hairdressers, colour-changing dogs, evil rubber ducks (they seem to be a thing), football-playing skeletons, officers in rubber duck costumes (told you), vampires, peacocks, the moon, and much, much more made an appearance in our crazy poem!<br />
There was a lot in it, for everyone, (enough for 2 sessions, even), but this bunch was game and almost no-one noticed when the bell went for break!<br />
Take a bow, poets!Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-72195260401929302112019-12-23T19:09:00.002+00:002019-12-23T19:11:36.039+00:00Kids' Books Quiz 2019!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikDjK3FrXNDRRcDTXPlrplXZMB2cDkFb4ZRvKeRp6-4OmKqy9IJbNqNSrLrAhCcycoyj7GrU7e50IuDOGoqsAelG4CxuzraCs7vTlFGhzpJgP48ES8kBpdz8HxJmuiHvSTGArdyDUjeu3m/s1600/guardiansofmagic1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="420" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikDjK3FrXNDRRcDTXPlrplXZMB2cDkFb4ZRvKeRp6-4OmKqy9IJbNqNSrLrAhCcycoyj7GrU7e50IuDOGoqsAelG4CxuzraCs7vTlFGhzpJgP48ES8kBpdz8HxJmuiHvSTGArdyDUjeu3m/s200/guardiansofmagic1.PNG" width="132" /></a></div>
<b>Randomness alert!</b> These questions were originally designed for the young readers in my life and therefore based on their favourite reads of the year. Some of the books are very current, others date a little, some are huge best-sellers others not so much, but ALL were deeply loved and read many times.<br />
You can take <a href="https://www.quiz-maker.com/QP9SZ3O">the quiz online at this link</a> or, if technology fails, the questions are listed below.<br />
Check out answers <a href="https://juliettesaumande.blogspot.com/2019/12/answers-and-some-great-books.html">in this other post</a>, and revel in the bibliography of what an 11- and a nearly-8-year-old have enjoyed in 2019.<br />
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<br />
<br />
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1. What are the three magical items found by the three heroes of The Cloud Horse Chronicles?<br />
a. A runcible spoon; a worpal sword; a cello<br />
b. A tin of Tearful Tea; a gingerbread warrior; a sentient clock<br />
c. A subtle knife; a reliable hammer; a discreet colander<br />
<br />
2. What does the main protagonist of <i>We Won an Island</i> want to build on the island?<br />
a. An ice-cream factory<br />
b. A donkey sanctuary<br />
c. A year-round fun fair<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1477876177l/982394.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1477876177l/982394.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
3. Thanks to the blood of which animal can Charlie Ashanti of<i> Lion Boy</i> speak to cats?<br />
a. A tiger mother<br />
b. An ocelot pack leader<br />
c. A leopard cub<br />
<br />
4. Where are the adventures of the Warrior Cats set?<br />
a. White Hart Woods<br />
b. Hundred-Acre Wood<br />
c. Farthing Wood<br />
<br />
<br />
5. Where can you find the Marram Marshes and the House of Foryx?<br />
a. in The Chronicles of Narnia<br />
b. in Harry Potter<br />
c. in Septimus Heap<br />
<br />
6. Where do Jill, Terry and Andy live?<br />
a. in the 13-storey tree house<br />
b. in the magical school bus<br />
c. in Lamonic Bibber<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://readinggroupchoices.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Raymie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="443" height="200" src="https://readinggroupchoices.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Raymie.jpg" width="136" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 300; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 30px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">7. What extra classes is Raymie Nightingale taking this summer?</span><br />
a. Baton twirling<br />
b. opera singing<br />
c. ancient greek<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 300; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 30px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">8. Why is Boot called Boot?</span><br />
a. it's the name his previous owner gave him<br />
b. he found a boot in his chest compartment when he woke up in the scrapeyard<br />
c. it's from 'Reboot', the first word he said when he woke up<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 300; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 30px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">9. For which space program do the Catstronauts work?</span><br />
a. MEOW<br />
b. COOKIE<br />
c. CATSUP<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 300; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">10. What are Greg Heffley’s brothers called?</span><br />
a. Jeff and Kinney<br />
b. Harold and George<br />
c. Rodrick and Manny<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://i2.wp.com/media.boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ZITALARGE.jpg?ssl=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="800" height="134" src="https://i2.wp.com/media.boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ZITALARGE.jpg?ssl=1" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 300; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 30px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">11. Who is the Space Girl?</span><br />
a. Zita<br />
b. Alien<br />
c. Lula<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 300; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">12. What does Friday O’Leary keep shouting in the Mr Gum books?</span><br />
a. Truth is a lemon meringue!<br />
b. Life is always greener in Lamonic Bibber!<br />
c. What's for dinner Mr Gum?<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 300; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 30px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">13. What do you get if you assemble Officer Knight and Greg?</span><br />
a. the Dynamic Duo<br />
b. Dog Man<br />
c. Cat Boy<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 300; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 30px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">14. 'I wrote to the zoo to send me a pet.' Which was the perfect one?</span><br />
a. a frog<br />
b. a puppy<br />
c. a duck-billed platypus<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 300; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">15. What is Garfield’s favourite dish?</span><br />
a. lasagna<br />
b. burger and chips<br />
c. he will eat anything<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://photoboothjournal.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/drnoelzonecartoon.jpg?w=545" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="324" height="200" src="https://photoboothjournal.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/drnoelzonecartoon.jpg?w=545" width="163" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 300; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 30px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">16. Which of the following is a famous dangerologist?</span><br />
a. Doctor Noel Zone<br />
b. Doctorr Noel Zone<br />
c. Docter Noel Zone<br />
<br />Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-43280244615613271622019-12-16T19:10:00.000+00:002019-12-23T19:10:45.235+00:00Answers and some great books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/aplus-media/vc/7582ecd0-a225-461f-9ff1-8f14252abd34.__CR0,0,970,300_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="800" height="122" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/aplus-media/vc/7582ecd0-a225-461f-9ff1-8f14252abd34.__CR0,0,970,300_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>1. What are the three magical items found by the three heroes of The Cloud Horse Chronicles?</b></div>
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a. A runcible spoon; a worpal sword; a cello</div>
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<a href="https://nosycrow.com/wp-content/uploads/imported-books/We-Won-an-Island-491909-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="521" height="320" src="https://nosycrow.com/wp-content/uploads/imported-books/We-Won-an-Island-491909-1.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<b>2. What does the main protagonist of <i>We Won an Island</i> want to build on the island?</b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
b. A donkey sanctuary</div>
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<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1477876177l/982394.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1477876177l/982394.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<b>3. Thanks to the blood of which animal can Charlie Ashanti of<i> Lion Boy</i> speak to cats?</b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
c. A leopard cub<br />
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<br /></div>
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<b>4. Where are the adventures of the Warrior Cats set?</b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
a. White Hart Woods</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://media.bloomsbury.com/rep/bj/9781408814932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.bloomsbury.com/rep/bj/9781408814932.jpg" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="420" height="320" width="207" /></a></div>
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<b>5. Where can you find the Marram Marshes and the House of Foryx?</b></div>
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c. in Septimus Heap</div>
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<a href="https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61v1x1fYLRL._SY346_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="228" height="320" src="https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61v1x1fYLRL._SY346_.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<b>6. Where do Jill, Terry and Andy live?</b></div>
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a. in the 13-storey tree house</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://readinggroupchoices.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Raymie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="443" height="320" src="https://readinggroupchoices.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Raymie.jpg" width="218" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 30px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>7. What extra classes is Raymie Nightingale taking this summer?</b></span></div>
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a. Baton twirling</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://thereaderteacher.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/81cwzm8osml.jpg?w=424&h=652" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="424" height="320" src="https://thereaderteacher.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/81cwzm8osml.jpg?w=424&h=652" width="208" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 30px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>8. Why is Boot called Boot?</b></span></div>
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c. it's from 'Reboot', the first word he said when he woke up</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474540575l/31420732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="271" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474540575l/31420732.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 30px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>9. For which space program do the Catstronauts work?</b></span></div>
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c. CATSUP</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>10. What are Greg Heffley’s brothers called?</b></span></div>
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c. Rodrick and Manny</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 300; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 30px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 30px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>11. Who is the Space Girl?</b></span></div>
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a. Zita</div>
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<a href="http://www.mrgum.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/9781405274920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.mrgum.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/9781405274920.jpg" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="572" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>12. What does Friday O’Leary keep shouting in the Mr Gum books?</b></span></div>
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a. Truth is a lemon meringue!</div>
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<a href="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1456963971l/28691896.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1456963971l/28691896.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 30px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>13. What do you get if you assemble Officer Knight and Greg?</b></span></div>
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b. Dog Man</div>
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<a href="http://www.alaskaparent.com/_images/books/Dear-Zoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alaskaparent.com/_images/books/Dear-Zoo.jpg" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="764" height="320" width="318" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 30px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>14. 'I wrote to the zoo to send me a pet.' Which was the perfect one?</b></span></div>
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b. a puppy</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6M8onI-JiooKis7bB_VD1H0JUMmRFKYh2PYxK7LjpoXumFUcqoMHAtWTowDWfWd2FnABlobkf0y8TtVQhiRSkYdnGi6Mrc9f-LBxQAvQNpafiZGsbtfSbOKDKQkZnL5g8yja4hJQNVtA/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="449" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6M8onI-JiooKis7bB_VD1H0JUMmRFKYh2PYxK7LjpoXumFUcqoMHAtWTowDWfWd2FnABlobkf0y8TtVQhiRSkYdnGi6Mrc9f-LBxQAvQNpafiZGsbtfSbOKDKQkZnL5g8yja4hJQNVtA/s1600/3.jpg" width="302" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>15. What is Garfield’s favourite dish?</b></span></div>
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a. lasagna</div>
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<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61En0q1shhL._SX342_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="342" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61En0q1shhL._SX342_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1b1b1b; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 30px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>16. Which of the following is a famous dangerologist?</b></span></div>
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c. Docter Noel Zone (yes, with an E, a bit like Anne of Green Gables)</div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-79958916826300754512019-12-03T12:37:00.005+00:002019-12-03T12:40:51.696+00:00The Most Wonderful Time of the Year<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQJCdxMRpn_-IGJUoae9pHy6WdE9H7WaeUVxKH17hXMCsS9NODgSx822oLEQAjV2lIXp7stcc69X_y1n5l4ZKJNn1QMCaNZBI2BUCkBcpeNm0VC4ClJgcs9TlcN6X-Tn99Ln10foVp3g5/s1600/IMG_3516+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQJCdxMRpn_-IGJUoae9pHy6WdE9H7WaeUVxKH17hXMCsS9NODgSx822oLEQAjV2lIXp7stcc69X_y1n5l4ZKJNn1QMCaNZBI2BUCkBcpeNm0VC4ClJgcs9TlcN6X-Tn99Ln10foVp3g5/s320/IMG_3516+%25281%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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We had a very lively session today with a selection of Christmas stories, Christmas FM in the background and mince pies! The little ones, most of which will be celebrating their first xmas in a few weeks, were in a showing off mood, practising standing on their own two feet and showing us how Head Shoulders Knees and Toes is done. We loved looking at how Maisie and her friends decorate their tree (it's a bit like how we do it), listening to the sounds of the <i>Noisy Christmas Book</i> and driving Santa's scooter from <i>Whizzy Santa</i>. </div>
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As our members are really quite young at the moment, we try and come up with activities that will appeal to their senses and will amuse their grown-ups. It turns out cutting shapes out of wrapping paper is a hit with both, and that babies LOVE exploring cotton wool. So we had the ideal materials to decorate our own Christmas tree, inspired by Maisie and co. The babies enjoyed manipulating the paper and the cotton, passing them to be glued to the 'tree' and rolling about in the books.</div>
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We left everyone full of seasonal spirit… and ready for a good nap!</div>
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As promised, here are the links to the songs and videos.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7TjSvmlTn90/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7TjSvmlTn90?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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It's the Most Wonderful Time Of The Year - <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Muppets Christmas Song</b>: </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/L63go57o3_k/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L63go57o3_k?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;">You're a mean one, Mr
Grinch</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"> (Original 1966 Version)</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZE9KpobX9J8/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZE9KpobX9J8?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;">Watch the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Snowman</b>,
based on the book by Raymond Briggs</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nP8CuAAKZ30/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nP8CuAAKZ30?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">For an amazing
display of lights, check out </span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Trista Lights 2016 Christmas Light
Show - Featured on ABC's The Great Christmas Light Fight</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Tune in to </span><a href="https://christmasfm.com/" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">ChristmasFM </a><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">online or on 105.2 FM.</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-39927612182474788622019-11-26T13:52:00.005+00:002019-11-26T13:52:56.880+00:00We Like to Move It, Move It, at Baby Book ClubToday we were all about moving around freely within our space at Baby Book Club. We had a ball reading <i>Jump!</i> by Tatsuhide Matsuoka, meeting all the animals and experimenting with jumping just like they do. For the wobblers who felt more like Snail ('A snail jumps./ Mmh. Maybe not.') than like Frog ('A frog jumps./ Boing!'), fear not: it will come to you!<br />
The little ones enjoyed practising sharing the teddy ball and exploring the barrier of bean bags set up around our rug: not very much can stand in the way of a determined baba!<br />
As promised, here are the links to get you and your young person moving!<br />
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Toddler Completes Obstacle Course</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Throw your own <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Baby Rave</b>! See how Young at Art does it (above)</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">, try<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEUmFQq9-Ok3A03_r9Z9SRpgu2a19XOJL"> this great playlist from Kitty Lynn</a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">, or make up your own! </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.cosmickids.com/category/watch/">CosmicKids</a> </span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">have loads of videos for kids to do yoga,
relaxation and learn about mindfulness. You can choose by length, energy level
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I Am Yoga</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> Song - Emily Arrow</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-66513162576840364052019-11-12T13:04:00.000+00:002019-11-12T13:07:39.225+00:00Press this!<br />
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We had a bit of a magic session this week in Baby Book Club, thanks to Hervé Tullet's <i>Press Here</i>. His are books that typically look weird and confusing to grown-ups but that little ones just get and can't get enough of. In <i>Press Here</i> kids are invited to press, rub, shake, upend and generally manhandle the book and <i>stuff happens</i>! They stroke a yellow dot on the page and suddenly, on the next one, it turns red! They tap another and, tada, there are now 5 dots where there had only been one! Absolute magic!<br />
They loved manipulating the pages, interacting physically with the pictures and being, it seemed, in charge of the magic.<br />
We clapped, we danced, we squealed with delight. This is <i>not</i> a quiet book.<br />
To add to the general volume levels, we then taped some bubblewrap on the floor and set the babies loose...<br />
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If you don't know Hervé Tullet's books, seek them out! If you do, why not read them again and try making your own colourful masterpiece inspired by his dots and squiggles, like we did before?<br />
As promised, here are the links to the songs and videos.<br />
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In the Wind </span>Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-23503816159536813992019-10-29T14:18:00.001+00:002019-10-29T14:18:08.723+00:00Frances Hardinge Fest 3/3<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">To celebrate the release of Frances Hardinge's latest novel, </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Deeplight</i><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">, here is a bit of a Frances-fest!</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.readings.com.au/products/27752605/deeplight" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff4135; font-family: "arnhemweb",georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: medium; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img alt="deeplight" src="https://www.readings.com.au/system/uploads/assets/0004/9812/c6c79e4a24228090b72336721a84f33c.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: currentColor; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: currentColor; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-color: currentColor; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-color: currentColor; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; box-shadow: 0px 2px 8px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0.3); box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; display: block; float: left; margin-bottom: 3rem; margin-right: 3rem; max-width: 60%; position: relative;" /></a>Let us skip Frances' next offering,<i> A Skinful of Shadows</i>, which I place quietly beside <i>Cuckoo Song </i>in my mental Hardinge library, and move on directly to her latest, <i><b>Deeplight</b></i>, just out this week. </div>
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30 years after the dramatic disappearance of the gods in what has become known to the natives of the Myriad as the Cataclysm, teens Hark and Jelt scrape a living thanks to the very valuable pieces of 'godware' that can still be found under the waves. Life is hard enough, but then something wants to be found and it becomes… complicated. </div>
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Dead gods, smugglers, mad scientists, winged submarines, sea-kissed people, insular slang and sign language, priests, militiaemen… <i> Deeplight</i><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> suffers a little from 'too much imagination'. But can you really hold it against this vast, well-developped world? </span>Right from the killer two-page prologue, you want to know what the story is with those gods, who the sea-kissed are, what caused the Cataclysm, how come you can breathe in the mysterious Undersea, how a submarine with wings can possibly work and more… </div>
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The reader's enthusiasm is fuelled by this thirst for knowledge (take me there, tell me more), perhaps even more so than by their attachment to the various characters. Fractured, rough around the edges, they can be hard to like or to understand, and it's mostly with time and continued acquaintance that Hark and Selphin and the others earn their place in the reader's heart. The depiction of the friendship between Hark and Jelt could have done with more showing of the good times rather than telling, and that would have probably placed me more quickly on Hark's side. </div>
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But back to this thirst for knowledge, this desire to know. As you read on, some questions are answered, some not, new ones arise, in a constant flow, as new characters add new stories, new perspectives to an already-known (or seemingly known) state of affairs. The remaining questions (around the gods, around Jelt and Hark's story) become like an itch in the back of the reader's mind, like sand grains between your toes after a trip to the beach.</div>
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But by the time you reach the ending, everything you thought you knew has been revisited and uncovered anew by the tide of the narrative, an outgoing tide, ready to carry the characters (and the reader) towards new shores. This overarching ebbing movement of rediscovery is pretty masterful and will probably stay with you for a fairly long time.</div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-20351424132581066612019-10-29T14:18:00.000+00:002019-10-29T14:19:47.277+00:00Frances Hardinge Fest 2/3<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">To celebrate the release of Frances Hardinge's latest novel, </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Deeplight</i><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">, here is a bit of a Frances-fest!</span><br />
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<img alt="A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge" class="image-preview js-image-preview" data-src="https://panmacmillan.azureedge.net/pml/panmacmillancorporatesite/media/panmacmillan/cover-images/frances-hardinge/__thumbnails/9781447225942a%20face%20like%20glass_7_jpg_792_1200.jpg" height="200" src="https://panmacmillan.azureedge.net/pml/panmacmillancorporatesite/media/panmacmillan/cover-images/frances-hardinge/__thumbnails/9781447225942a%20face%20like%20glass_7_jpg_792_1200.jpg" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; background-image: linear-gradient(45deg, rgb(237, 237, 237) 25%, transparent 25%, transparent 75%, rgb(237, 237, 237) 75%, rgb(237, 237, 237)), linear-gradient(45deg, rgb(237, 237, 237) 25%, transparent 25%, transparent 75%, rgb(237, 237, 237) 75%, rgb(237, 237, 237)); background-position: 0px 0px, 10px 10px; background-size: 21px 21px; border-image: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; height: 395px; letter-spacing: normal; max-width: 100%; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: middle; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" width="132" />Now we come to my joint all-time favourite. <i><b>A Face Like Glass</b></i>. This is a staple of my recommendations as Book Doctor when I meet a young patient whose reading age tends to be quite a bit above their actual years. It's brilliant for those clever clogs who have read everything in the middle-grade section, who have hoovered up the classics, but are still too young for teen and YA titles. (The exploding cheese is what cinches it, usually). <span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Once again, Hardinge manifests her amazing talent for world-building, complete with a cornucopia of incredibly rich and quirky detail. Her style is fantastically evocative and imaginative without ever being obscure or pretentious. The plot is gripping, the characters very engaging </span>(read my full review in the <a href="https://childrensbooksireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Recommended-Reads-2012-13-full-book.pdf">2012 Children's Books Ireland Reading Guide</a> p25!). You <i>had</i> been warned about the gushing.<br />
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<a href="https://www.readings.com.au/products/24437758/the-lie-tree" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff4135; font-family: "arnhemweb",georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; outline-color: invert; outline-style: none; outline-width: medium; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img alt="lietree" src="https://www.readings.com.au/system/uploads/assets/0004/9731/de70a933711af097413f4261f785ba8a.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: currentColor; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: currentColor; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-color: currentColor; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-color: currentColor; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; box-shadow: 0px 2px 8px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0.3); box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; display: block; float: left; margin-bottom: 3rem; margin-right: 3rem; max-width: 60%; position: relative;" /></a>Next up and second all-time favourite is <b><i>The Lie Tree</i></b>. Its success as children's and overall Costa award perhaps speaks for itself. This one is darker and older, compared to previous novels (except <i>Cuckoo Song </i>which didn't work so well for me for some reason). <span lang="EN-GB">Always the wordsmith and expert
tale-spinner, Hardinge weaves seamlessly the strands of her narrative, from the
investigation into a mysterious death, to a reckless search for a mythical
plant via the battles of a terrific heroine against prejudice, the weight of
conventions as well as her own grief and rage. My only quibble with this one, is t</span><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB">he introduction of magic into a story that
seemed rich enough without it. This feels, very briefly, problematic, especially as
the darkness and scariness attached to it were already present. But it provides
fantastic imagery and underlines the starkness of a cruelty that is all too
real. </span></span><i>The Lie Tree </i>is an empowering read for any teen who feels equally excited and awed by the world of possibilities that opens to them when they reach the brink of adulthood. (<i>Inis</i> review)</div>
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While you wait for my take on Deeplight, why not take a look at <a href="https://www.readings.com.au/news/frances-hardinges-books-ranked-by-scariness">Dani Solomon's 'Frances Hardinge’s books ranked by scariness'</a> for the day that's in it?!</div>
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</aside><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-32343489637429467822019-10-29T14:17:00.002+00:002019-10-29T14:17:51.726+00:00Frances Hardinge Fest 1/3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01MVh9kIvIod_h5EYt-8vvLCqDI0harZULVJ8Y1qwBcBLMPTCgZCiTWCpVI2_phf4cIZuUcawKLTiGcOXvvMcV61BLlR4kmJNpdAb5-f3JR2msBXLS5WJq9UIYrA9mRszyyMX2FSZWoLm/s1600/13244748_10153877443209039_8478720420964791686_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01MVh9kIvIod_h5EYt-8vvLCqDI0harZULVJ8Y1qwBcBLMPTCgZCiTWCpVI2_phf4cIZuUcawKLTiGcOXvvMcV61BLlR4kmJNpdAb5-f3JR2msBXLS5WJq9UIYrA9mRszyyMX2FSZWoLm/s320/13244748_10153877443209039_8478720420964791686_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
To celebrate the release of Frances Hardinge's latest novel, <i>Deeplight</i>, here is a bit of a Frances-fest!<br />
I am a long-time fan of her prose and have been known to gush a bit...<br />
<br />
Reading her books in the order they were published, you will see a writer growing and honing her craft. From her very first books (<i>Fly by Night</i>, <i>Verdigris Deep</i>), it seems as if Hardinge has always had a way with words and 'too much imagination' as Patrick Ness once said in his review of her wonderful third novel, <b><i>Gullstruck Island</i> </b>(<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/feb/28/gullstruck-island-frances-hardinge-review">read the review her</a>e): '<span style="background-color: white;">T<span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">here's more,' writes Ness. 'There's a lot more. There is, in fact, probably too much more, not in terms of page length but in that Hardinge lets herself get bogged down too often in necessary explanations.' </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">So, it is</span></span></span> fascinating to see her nail down plot, gradually, book after book. Certainly, no-one can complain, from <i><b>Twilight Robbery</b></i> onwards, that there is 'too much.' Having dealt with backstory and all 'necessary explanations' in <i>Fly By Night</i>, Hardinge hits the ground running with this sequel to Mosca's adventures. And what a delight it is to allow the terrific rhythm of action and the equally awesome efficiency of the style to carry you away in this brilliant romp.<br />
<br />
Before moving on to my all-time favourites, why not have a read of <a href="https://childrensbooksireland.ie/features/picking-destinys-pockets-an-interview-with-frances-hardinge/">my interview of Frances Hardinge for <i>Inis</i> magazine</a> from a couple of years ago?<br />
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<br />Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-53158207440638142522019-10-22T13:46:00.000+01:002019-10-22T13:46:15.089+01:00Magic!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhaGniFy5251_HpT8pLeMKnkxdvx_CMw368JUOEAjl6e8n1FjLBNrfRF-9jcMxFN1JhPmKET6Ww2Mhs8ecyKiozqFBdWot8t0hABTp3i3ETCaxBv9iNy9jXrfiu5ATP0Ezr-1fIE_AuBHm/s1600/20191022_095413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhaGniFy5251_HpT8pLeMKnkxdvx_CMw368JUOEAjl6e8n1FjLBNrfRF-9jcMxFN1JhPmKET6Ww2Mhs8ecyKiozqFBdWot8t0hABTp3i3ETCaxBv9iNy9jXrfiu5ATP0Ezr-1fIE_AuBHm/s320/20191022_095413.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Baby Book Club is nothing if not topical, so with Halloween fast approaching, we started off our session with Satoshi Kitamura's wonderfully effective <i>Hat Tricks</i>, about Hattie, a small bunny and great magician, who can make some pretty spectacular stuff come out of her magic hat.<br />
We tried to guess what would next appear and to figure out how it could all fit in there. We particularly enjoyed the humongous octopus and the elephant whose bum gets stuck in the hat.<br />
We continued our magic-themed session with a bit of witchcraft, courtesy of Meg and Mog, who cook up a wriggly-worm of a storm for their dinner before going to bed.<br />
We then proceeded to prepare for our own magic show and made some very fetching hats, complete with stars and bats and black cats. Who knows what will come out of those?<br />
As promised, here are the links to the songs and videos.<br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Satoshi
Kitamura reading <i>Hat Tricks</i> with the help of a kamishibai: </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Bibbidi
Bobbidi Boo from Cinderella: </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Paul
Daniels - Rabbit from a Hat: </span><br />
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Happy Halloween, all!Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-69320367434566457572019-10-21T16:43:00.000+01:002019-10-21T16:43:15.664+01:00Spooky reads for Halloween!<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fff9eb; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,"Palatino Linotype",Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.4; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Fancy something a little (or very!) scary this Halloween?</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,"Palatino Linotype",Palatino,serif; font-size: 15.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fff9eb; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,"Palatino Linotype",Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.4; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Why not sink your fangs into one of these?</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,"Palatino Linotype",Palatino,serif; font-size: 15.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fff9eb; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,"Palatino Linotype",Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.4; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">They are roughly split in primary-school age groups: Junior and Senior Infants (4-6 year olds); 1st and 2nd Class (6-8); 3rd and 4th (8-10); 5th and 6th (10-12).</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fff9eb; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,"Palatino Linotype",Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.4; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Feel free to read up or down the age groups, but beware!</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,"Palatino Linotype",Palatino,serif; font-size: 15.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fff9eb; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,"Palatino Linotype",Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.4; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Some are proper spooky, some are funny, and there are a few terrifying ones in there too. So maybe don't read those </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,"Palatino Linotype",Palatino,serif; font-size: 15.4px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">too</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fff9eb; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia,Utopia,"Palatino Linotype",Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.4; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> late at night...</span><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><iframe height="480" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByClRRLbbJSeSWFpQmFMOU94cmc/preview" width="640"></iframe><br />Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-73585121750908791552019-10-15T13:09:00.005+01:002019-10-15T13:09:38.886+01:00Baby You Can Drive My CarIt was all go in Baby Book Club this week thanks to Pippa Goodheart and Nick Sharratt's Car Car Truck Jeep. We enjoyed following the blue car as it drove around busy roads, naming all sorts of vehicles and adding our own sound effects. But of course, the best bit was driving our own cars on our own road.<br />
The little ones enjoyed manipulating the toy cars while the slightly older kids had a ball cover our 'road' with big, purposeful scribbles and collecting all the crayons available. Eating the crayons was also nice, apparently. And I suspect the grown-ups enjoyed adding their doodles to the big roll of paper on the floor too...<br />
As promised, here are the links to the songs and videos.<br />
Until next time!<br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fff9eb; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 15.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang song! </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fff9eb; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 15.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fff9eb; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 15.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Drive My Car by the Beatles: </span><br />
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fff9eb; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 107%; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">For
an action-packed day at ‘Digger School’, watch Here Comes A Digger: </span><br />
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-85790740416784040972019-10-08T13:41:00.000+01:002019-10-08T13:41:02.830+01:00A Bit Lost... A Lot Found<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzR9lwnSPYBxGnXWqUQQczGkh9HqBwcEyjO5Ve_t85eP6EVifUaA4j6gVyTsrYYQH0SdKO_n66KxwOxsx7t5C5pAG8G6-Z8fdfeAOcPFETKy22Yrht31jotXs6GIZUx16sGYPkcV1hVtjB/s1600/IMG_20170123_174211.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzR9lwnSPYBxGnXWqUQQczGkh9HqBwcEyjO5Ve_t85eP6EVifUaA4j6gVyTsrYYQH0SdKO_n66KxwOxsx7t5C5pAG8G6-Z8fdfeAOcPFETKy22Yrht31jotXs6GIZUx16sGYPkcV1hVtjB/s320/IMG_20170123_174211.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
And we're off for a third round of weekly Baby Book Club sessions in Crumlin with a fresh new gang as most of last year's veterans have now graduated to preschool and the like.<br />
Our new recruits, aged 2 and a lot under, enjoyed discovering a space that was new to them and meeting new potential friends.<br />
We sang, we read, we laughed, we cried, we teethed, we shared, we hugged… all in a day's work at Baby Book Club.<br />
After reading the always-excellent <i>A Bit Lost</i> by Chris Haughton, we made our own owls out of collage. Some of our members revelled in wielding the glue sticks while others thought long and hard about the colour pattern of their creation.<br />
Everybody was well ready for a nap at the end, which is of course the secret plan behind all this!<br />
As promised, here are the links to the songs and videos.<br />
Until next time!<br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mkFSJrNBsDE/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mkFSJrNBsDE?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fff9eb; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 15.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The Owl Song, by the Whizpops</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2niXLIm8Aiw/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2niXLIm8Aiw?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fff9eb; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 107%; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The Old Owl Said, "Who?", by Eric Ode</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 15.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fff9eb; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 15.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">And A Bit Hungry, a tiny play inspired by A Bit Lost</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 15.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 15.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">And why not relax with non-stop birdsong! </span><a href="http://birdsong.fm/" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #7d3000; font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 15.4px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #0563c1;">http://birdsong.fm/</span></span></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-76858129923453557652019-09-30T13:57:00.000+01:002019-09-30T13:57:00.398+01:00Buses are the Best<img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-2474 alignleft" height="225" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" src="https://www.obrien.ie/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/bus3-300x225.jpg" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; display: inline; float: left; font-family: "Libre Franklin","Helvetica Neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; height: auto; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 1.5em; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" width="300" />Here is a triple-decker of an interview for the O'Brien Press blog with yours truly, illustrator <a href="http://tarsilakruse.com/">Tarsila Kruse</a> and editor Helen Carr.<br />
<a href="http://www.obrien.ie/blog/my-little-blog-post-of-dublin/">Click through</a> to find out what first brought me to Dublin, how My Little Album came into being and where's my favourite place to people-watch...Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-26188759458990098192019-06-20T21:31:00.000+01:002020-02-10T20:41:59.414+00:00The Whole Wide World Fits in My HeadIt really does! Check out the amazing work done by Fourth Class as part of this project with illustrator Tarsila Kruse and yours truly.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwAXjk_u4X6casl3hNDpBnvFW7n8O9ahLaqLyy2U9cuvTCDRivo2nW-E27lWv7UYqWsLDRJH4gi8Aqy3VdyHg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Well done, team!Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-88145582768634424632019-05-27T11:38:00.000+01:002019-05-27T11:38:05.142+01:00Shadowing the CBI Book of the Year Award, 2/2<div>
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The short version of <a href="http://juliettesaumande.blogspot.com/2019/05/shadowing-cbi-book-of-year-award-12.html">my previous post</a>, in video!</div>
Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-60343503120495750532019-05-27T11:26:00.003+01:002019-05-27T11:26:41.205+01:00Shadowing the CBI Book of the Year Award, 1/2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After months of giving out about the lack of a junior book club in our local library and of thinking about running one myself, I finally took the half-plunge this year and organised a shadowing group for the CBI Book of the Year Award.<br />
I first gathered my material:<br />
- A dozen kids, aged 6-12, who wanted to be there;<br />
- 6 titles suitable for the age range;<br />
- 3 to 5 copies of the books for sharing and/or reading aloud;<br />
- A venue or two;<br />
- Enough activities to engage all the ages represented and fit in the time and space allocated;<br />
- Plenty of time and energy;<br />
- A ceremony to attend.<br />
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<b>Members</b><br />
We had 18 kids originally signed up, with about 12 materialising. We never quite had our full quota present at the same time, but everyone was reading away in between sessions. The parents' role was invaluable here, as we were not a school group. They took the time to bring their kids to the meetings, they made sure the books were read or at least given a go, they made sure nothing got lost! And I believe they enjoyed reading some of those books themselves (the weather one in particular!).<br />
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<b>Books</b><br />
We identified 6 titles that were suitable for our shadowers' ages and abilities, and we managed to get quite a few copies of those through the public libraries. We bought extra copies so that we had enough to go round and swap.<br />
Because we were tight on time, we didn't get to discuss one book as a group, so it might be an idea for next time to decide on a limited number of titles, regardless of how many are suitable age-wise.<br />
We also have to decide now what to do with the books we own and how we can share them fairly between the members of the group.<br />
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<b>Venue</b><br />
Securing the venue proved easy enough as our local library, while not in a position to run a junior book club themselves, was more than happy to host us for what turned out to be some very lively sessions. On the plus side, there was room enough for all (including the parents who tagged along), we could borrow/renew/return other books at the end of the session, we had tables and chairs for our activities. It was free! On the other hand, we couldn't actually run around and let off all the steam some of us needed to let off; there was a closing time which meant we were sometimes pressed for time.<br />
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But on the whole, it worked out great and the librarians were very understanding!<br />
We also ran a session in somebody's home when only two members had read a particular book; this was lovely as it ended up with lots of tea, cupcakes and in-depth conversations about the future of humankind and robots. But you couldn't do it with the whole group.<br />
Finally, we had our Easter break meeting in <a href="http://www.richmondbarracks.ie/">Richmond Barracks</a> where we treated ourselves to a spot of lunch before invading the old school room for our session on <i>Hibernica Finch</i>. This was the kids' initiative and the museum staff let us run away with it although we hadn't cleared it in advance with them. Ahem. We'll know for next time!<br />
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<b>Discussions and Activities</b><br />
We made good use of the <span id="goog_1202809325"></span><a href="https://childrensbooksireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/BOTYA-Shadowing-Pack-2019-A4-for-web.pdf">shadowing pack</a>, where we found plenty of questions for our discussions and crafts ideas to try out. <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">They all enjoyed listening to and chatting about the picturebooks, even though some felt they were for younger readers. </span>What struck me was how generous the kids were in their appraisal of the books, most of the time. No matter how many plot holes I could see and gently hint at, they were ready with their own explanations and solutions, making the book bigger than it first appeared and making it satisfying by their own standards. And when they didn't like a book, they had very good, articulate reasons for their dislike. They also felt comfortable not finishing a book on that basis and telling the rest of the group why.<br />
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Because of where we had our sessions, some activities were not an option (like, sadly, the <i>Mucking-About</i>-inspired food fight). We also had to deal with the wide range of ages in our unusual group. I tried offering several activities for the same book and the kids could choose what they wanted to do. But it ended up in some confusion. What worked better was picking one activity and let the kids adapt it themselves to their abilities and interests. This worked splendidly with <i>Between Tick and Tock</i> where we created a soundscape based on all the noises present in the book. We were going to then organise our sounds into <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dNLAhL46xM&t=56s">a 'stripsody' (taking our inspiration from the wonderful Cathy Berberian)</a>, but by the time I got to explaining this to everyone, one group (the 11 and 12 yos) had written a rap using the onomatopoeias from the book. It was terrific!<br />
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<b>Voting</b><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Each kid was given a reading journal to record their thoughts and ideas as they read the books. I didn't see those journals again, so I've no idea how useful (or not) they turned out to be. But who doesn't like a notebook?</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Every member was given a chance to vote on the books they had read or been read, and most of them took it. The concept of scoring a book was quite alien to the younger shadowers who tended to give 100/100 to anything they enjoyed. Some readers felt shy giving 'bad' scores even to books who had done little for them, as if it was a reflection on the author as a person or on their own character. </span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I gave the kids some scoring guidelines to help with the process. Inspired by the Irish voting system, I suggested they first rank the books they had read in their order of preference. Then they could decide if a particular book deserved to be in the 0-24 band ('I didn't enjoy it at all') or the 76-100 ('I loved it and I'm going to recommend it to my friends'), or anywhere in the in-between categories. </span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Once we collated the votes and calculated the average, our overall winner was very clearly <i>Hibernica Finch</i> with a solid 85/100. </span><br />
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<b>Time</b><br />
Time proved the trickiest thing. Because we weren't a school group, we had to find times outside of school hours that suited most people, if not everyone. We also had to work around the Easter break. We settled on Friday afternoons, which was not always ideal after a long week. Tiredness and giddiness levels were sometimes high. (And that's only the grown-ups!) But everyone always appeared happy to be there.<br />
We managed four meetings in the six weeks we had between the announcement of the shortlist and the deadline for the votes to be in. Each session was packed and seemed too short, even though we were usually at it for an hour and a half!<br />
We also had to figure out the timing of each meeting to make sure the kids had time to read the books and swap them around. With the picturebooks, I read them aloud at the beginning of the relevant sessions, so everybody was on the same page. We kept the longer titles till later, to give everyone a chance to make progress and picked activities that either helped them discover the book a bit more (like the quiz on <i>Hibernica Finch</i>) or else didn't require them to have read much of it (like illuminating our names in the manner of <i>Mucking About</i>).<br />
Not sure what can be done about it, except, again, strictly limit the number of titles (and therefore of meetings) we read and vote on.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZbX1e2scftVCbQPNkI_NJINlLi5ig7oF6id1RozyaAq6QTJvb4SjyaE5xMjbLDO0XPyv0MytIM3j0_oKJlDp8TVfOe5KObatSPH1cZ8HTgmnj3P7YyIVycGZQOqHRkW4cbxsymiZ1ysF/s1600/IMG_1175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZbX1e2scftVCbQPNkI_NJINlLi5ig7oF6id1RozyaAq6QTJvb4SjyaE5xMjbLDO0XPyv0MytIM3j0_oKJlDp8TVfOe5KObatSPH1cZ8HTgmnj3P7YyIVycGZQOqHRkW4cbxsymiZ1ysF/s320/IMG_1175.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<b>The ceremony</b><br />
We were lucky enough to make it to the award ceremony in Smock Alley with nine shadowers for two grown-ups. Some of the kids weren't quite sure what it was all about (in spite of several explanations beforehand) with some expecting to be featured in the video (in spite of no camera crew appearing at our meetings) and others thinking there would be prizes awarded to children ('It does say <i>children's</i> books doesn't it?').<br />
They were happy on the whole, even though they felt a bit disconnected to the actual laureates as, out of the six awards, four went to books they hadn't read (as they were for teens/YA), especially the overall and children's choice awards. Some suggested there should be two children's choice awards: a junior and a senior one. I'm just going to leave that there…<br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">It was a brilliant experience and I really enjoyed hearing<br />what you, dear shadowers, had to say,<br />and seeing what you created out of each book. </span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
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Thanks once again to everyone involved<br />and huge congrats to the young readers,<br />the shortlisted creators and the award recipients! </div>
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<br />Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-874100362786790040.post-81555136290133533772019-05-21T11:25:00.002+01:002019-05-21T11:25:48.620+01:00Until next time!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhlHaD6O9Kc28Tv1Mb-NoN_0bWp1zQSE-JtCzYcvpS7C20deRowQ4FJLyXnQLmi6pHDtUwsaxlb2sdAOj_f8Ww5m4sVbq7yKI9PzTEuGHE6GKoXhlnUhA5WBbds9I4T4PLUZJ_SeDOAX1/s1600/IMG_1307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJhlHaD6O9Kc28Tv1Mb-NoN_0bWp1zQSE-JtCzYcvpS7C20deRowQ4FJLyXnQLmi6pHDtUwsaxlb2sdAOj_f8Ww5m4sVbq7yKI9PzTEuGHE6GKoXhlnUhA5WBbds9I4T4PLUZJ_SeDOAX1/s320/IMG_1307.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Another brilliant year of reading, crafting, playing, chatting, spilling milk, demolishing biscuits, swapping tips, running, footballing, dancing, laughing, sharing, taking turns and all other manner of learning comes to an end with the final session of Baby Book Club.</div>
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This time, we took a stroll through Dublin with <a href="http://juliettesaumande.blogspot.com/p/my-little-album-of-dublin.html"><i>My Little Album of Dublin</i></a>, and were delighted to spot things that we knew, like a Luas! a slide! a dog! a football! a scooter! and even… ourselves!</div>
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To celebrate the end of the year we danced, we got out the balloons and we had an official award-giving ceremony. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IySfFHj0WgvVIq-lOl4OgRzxF4vmPB8Nz3EFQOuuLK27J_tuftim1CxSWYdeZtN5PP15vUet4Hli7bXS6mEc_4N1oeNA_JW-ljDuJRtCHF-d-whoDXAAG1mD3nbNa3HdY-H_IK2CrmDD/s1600/IMG_1309.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IySfFHj0WgvVIq-lOl4OgRzxF4vmPB8Nz3EFQOuuLK27J_tuftim1CxSWYdeZtN5PP15vUet4Hli7bXS6mEc_4N1oeNA_JW-ljDuJRtCHF-d-whoDXAAG1mD3nbNa3HdY-H_IK2CrmDD/s320/IMG_1309.jpg" width="240" /></a>A huge thank you to everyone who came a long over the weeks, to Liz and Jane for keeping the show on the road and to David for setting it up in the first place!</div>
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Until next time!</div>
Juliette Saumandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03093503908560642287noreply@blogger.com0