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Tag: Compassion

Published on Leave a comment on Mina and the Whole Wide World by Sherryl Clark

I can’t wait for my room
down the hallway
Mum’s old study
Dad said one more lick of paint
and it’s mine!

Mina has been waiting forever for her own room, gathering her treasures and eagerly planning the perfect layout. Until…

‘someone is coming
to stay with us
for a while,’ mum says
‘someone who needs a home
and…a room.’

Mina’s parents have offered to foster a refugee boy from Afghanistan who needs a place to stay. Mina knows her family is doing a good thing, but her heart is broken and it’s hard to be kind to the stranger who has taken her new room. His name Azzami means ‘one who is fierce like a lion’, instead he is a boy who is scared and small as a kitten and doesn't seem at all grateful to be in Mina's room.

At school, Azzami doesn’t speak and when Oliver and his mates bully him, Mina can’t understand why he won’t stand up to them and instead ‘curls up in silence like a snail in his house’. In class, she doesn’t know if Azzami can read or write, but soon discovers he has his own way of storytelling. When Mina looks closely at Azzami's detailed drawing she sees his life in Afghanistan through his eyes. Azzami's story opens her heart and an unexpected friendship begins.

Mina and the Whole Wide World by Sherryl Clark is a gentle verse novel about friendship and kindness. The world comes to Mina’s house not just in the world globe she finds, but also through Azzami. Mina discovers that even though the world is wide, we are all connected and there is room for us all.

The story is told from Mina's point of view using simple poems and imagery complemented by Briony Stewart's black and white illustrations that beautifully capture feelings and moments as they weave through the text adding another layer of meaning.

Mina and the Whole Wide World is a heartwarming reminder of the power of story to connect us.

Thank you for the copy of this book to review UQP.

Happy reading!

 

 

 

 

Published on Leave a comment on I Saw Pete and Pete Saw Me by Maggie Hutchings

 

I Saw Pete and Pete Saw Me  by Maggie Hutchings is a gentle story of kindness and compassion, looking closely at the world around us and opening our hearts to others.

A small boy is the only one who sees Pete's warm smile and bright drawings as he sits quietly with his dog on a busy footpath. When the boy says hello, Pete gives him a picture of a yellow bird like flying sunshine and their friendship begins. The boy makes Pete visible to others and through small acts of kindness, the boy and his local community care for Pete. While snuggled in his bed, the boy wishes he could give Pete a safe and warm home of his own. When Pete gets sick and nobody knows where he's gone, his little friend knows the best way to get a message to Pete.

Yellow sunshine flows through Evie Barrow's hand-drawn pencil illustrations highlighting kindness, friendship and hope in this tender story. I especially love that the endpapers wrap the book up in the warm colourful blanket given to Pete. Can you find the blanket in the story? 

I Saw Pete and Pete Saw Me shows us the connections we can make when we open our eyes to see the people around us. During lockdown here in Melbourne, I have enjoyed meeting and talking to people on my daily walks, especially older people who have the most interesting stories to share when you take the time to stop and listen. Everybody has a story.

One dollar from each sale is donated to The Big Issue that helps homeless and disadvantaged people make positive changes to their lives.

Happy reading!

 

Published on Leave a comment on My Dog is a Winner by Elizabeth Fensham

 

My dog, Ugly is a genius. All the kids in my class reckon he is too. He’s the school hero. I’m not showing off. It’s a fact.

If you’re a dog lover like me, you’ll love the adventures of Eric Bright and his best mate Ugly who was Eric's present for his eighth birthday. My Dog is a Winner by Elizabeth Fensham is the third book in the series including My Dog Doesn’t Like Me and My Dog Gets a Job.

These days Ugly is a star companion dog at Eric’s school where he proudly wears his therapy-dog vest and blue-and-gold school tie. Ugly and Eric’s Grandad volunteer to work with kids like Barnaby who is autistic and Maryam who has recently arrived from Syria. Ugly seems to know just the right thing to do to support and encourage them and be a friend. He can even talk in his own doggish way. Every school needs an Ugly!

Eric is sad to discover what is making his big sister Gretchen miserable and even meaner than usual and is determined to find a way to help her. 

With the school pet show coming up, Eric has plans for Ugly to win big time, then Ugly goes off his food and refuses to play. Eric knows something is up with his best mate.

Can Eric’s famous quiz help him with a plan to fix both Gretchen and Ugly?

My Dog is a Winner is a fun read that celebrates the gift of friendship, the joy of pets and the importance of caring for others.

Elizabeth Fensham has dedicated this book to Angela Davies, a headmistress and her dog, Chad who was a member of the school staff. I have often wished I could have a dog in my school library. My local Yarra Plenty Library branches have Doggy Tales so after school children can read to dogs who love to listen to stories.

jarmoluk / Pixabay

Thank you  to UQP for a copy of My Dog is a Winner to review. 

Happy reading!

 

 

 

 

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Published on 2 Comments on The Mulberry Tree by Allison Rushby

The Mulberry Tree by Allison Rushby is mysterious, a little spooky and one of those books you can't put down because you need to know how the story ends. 

When ten year old Immy and her parents move from Sydney, Australia to a small English village they shrug off the legend of the ancient and fierce-looking mulberry tree in the backyard of Lavendar Cottage that has cast fear over the village for years. The villagers believe the mulberry tree steals away girls living in the cottage on the eve of their eleventh birthday and they superstitiously cross the road to avoid the mulberry tree and Immy's family. Immy struggles to make friends at her new school, her dad is still not himself after an incident and life is not working out as well as her family had planned. 

When Immy starts hearing a mysterious rhyme in her head she is determined to find out what happened to the two missing girls. Immy researches the legend at the local library and has help from her elderly neighbour Jean whose best friend Elizabeth was the second girl to disappear in 1945. Tension rises as Immy's eleventh birthday draws closer when she notices changes in the mulberry tree outside her window. The tree no longer looks angry, but rather tired and weak and even sad. Immy begins to feel sorry for the tree and wonders what could have caused the vicious marks on its trunk. "You can trust me" she told the tree. "I won't hurt you." 

Can brave Immy solve the mystery of the mulberry tree before she too disappears on her eleventh birthday?

Happy reading!

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