‘Snailing ship, rise and shine.

Hoist your sails and trim them fine,

Taste once more the salty brine,

For with this spell I make you mine!’

With this begins the enchanting Legend of the Golden Snail. Wilbur, a wide-eyed clever young boy with a wild imagination decides to follow his dreams and go on a voyage to seek out the Golden Snail that has been banished to the end of the Earth by the Grand Enchanter.  He prepares well for an odyssey of a hundred years and sets sail with his trusty cat into the vast gleaming ocean.

During his quest he encounters many challenges in the form of a bush of blossoming butterflies wilting away in the sun, earwig pirates, lantern fish and monstrous magical creatures.

Will Wilbur choose to be like the ruthless Grand Enchanter or will he lend a helping hand? Will his acumen lead him to prosperity and return him safely home?

Does he make it past the dreadful doldrums, the slithering sea and the maze of madness and accomplish his mission of roaming the vast oceans for a hundred – maybe even a thousand years on the majestic Golden Snailing Ship?

With dazzling sprightly illustrations packed with intricate detail that you can venerate for hours and still find something fascinating every time, this book will leave you mesmerized. The vast horizons and infinite cloudscapes are a representation of the author’s incredible journey to England and back during his childhood.

Filled with melodious rhymes and alliterative prose, this instructive book engages all, young and old. It will surely capture the hearts and minds of all inquisitive voyagers setting sail on the high seas in search of their very own Golden Snail.

It builds on the literary themes of true mateship and compassion and reiterates the importance of relying on qualities of fortitude, helpfulness and veracity to propel us forward on our pursuit through turbulent seas to reach our ultimate goal.

The bonus mini book and the task of finding the hidden ‘snail n’ crossbones’ in every picture for an opportunity to bring the golden snail magically to life enhances the reading experience and will surely bring on endless hours of cheer and entertainment.

So what are you waiting for? Put on your captains hat and indulge in this captivating story of wondrous adventure!

Book Details:

Author/Illustrator: Graeme Base

ISBN: 9780670073498

Format: Hardback

Publisher: Viking (Penguin Australia), September 2010

Awards:

Shortlisted in 2011 for the Australian Book Industry Awards

Notable book in 2011 for CBC Book of the Year

Shortlisted in 2011 for the Neilsen BookData Bookseller Choice Awards

Shortlisted in 2011 for the W.A Young Reader’s Book Awards

RRP: $29.95

It is National Families Week in Australia. It is a time when “everyone is encouraged to think about the valuable role families play in helping children to develop, learn and grow, and reflect on the influence families have on a child’s wellbeing.”

I thought I’d share some of our favourite family books. Each of the following books is incredibly beautiful, which is why we enjoy reading them so much. Although, they are each quite different they all highlight the importance of family, in all the shapes and forms they take.

Please share with us your favourite books that celebrate the importance of family.

Tanglewood

Margaret Wild

Illustrator: Vivienne Goodman

ISBN: 978-1862915701

Format: Hardback

Publisher: Omnibus Books (Scholastic)

Published: Australia, April 2012

RRP: $26.99 (AUD)

Tanglewood is an incredibly  precious story that reinforces our inability to live without family. It is about a single tree that stands alone on a remote island wishing for company and wondering whether it was possible to die of loneliness.

For a short time, the tree enjoys the company of a seagull until the seagull returns to his own family. Understanding the importance of family to one’s health and happiness, the seagull eventually returns with some tanglewood seeds so the tree could have a family of his own to keep him company.

Out of interest, this book took 7 years to make- WOW! It is easy to see why. The illustrations are so emotive and life-like.

Suitable for ages 4+ (★★★★★)

Family Forest

Kim Kane

Illustrator: Lucia Masciullo

ISBN: 978-1921564703

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Hardie Grant Books

Published: Australia, May 2010

RRP: $24.95 (AUD)

Family Forest is a clever book that represents a blended family. Their situation may seem complicated on paper, but their family is just as fun and loving as any other family. Together, Kim Kane and Lucia Masciullo, play on a range of family-related words (half-sister, whole-sister, step-mother and big-brother), making it a witty and entertaining book.

Suitable for ages 3+ (★★★★★)

My Sister Olive

Paula Russell

Illustrator: Gaye Chapman

ISBN: 978-1921272882

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Little Hare Books (Hardie Grand Egmont)

Published: Australia, June, 2010

RRP: $24.95 (AUD)

This book is incredibly charming, and highlights the importance of sisterly relationships.  My daughter and I both love it for different reasons though. I love the vintage inspired illustrations: shabby-chic collages and classic pastel colours. Cam loves the adoration Little Sister has for her big sister, Olive. The ending is heart-warming, when Little Sister realises that she is equally loved by Olive. Every time we read this, Cam wishes for a little sister of her own.

Suitable for ages 2+ (★★★★★)

You’re Lovable to Me

Kat Yeh

Illustrator: Sue Anderson

ISBN: 978-0375860157

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, December 2009

RRP: $22.95 (AUD)

The family in this book is represented by mischievous children and a tired mama. The take- home message from this soft, charming picture book is the strength of parental love: it doesn’t matter how much mischief a child gets up to, they will always feel loved as long as they hear it often enough.

Suitable for ages 2+ (★★★★★)

You might also be interested in looking at some of our other family-related book lists:

-Mothers

-Fathers

-Grandparents (This list is a work in progress)

You could be mistaken for thinking this is a simple book by Oliver Jeffers. He has certainly stepped away from using the rich, lustrous colours we’ve come to love in his picture books. But, any sign of simplicity ends with the predominately colourless illustrations; the meaning behind the story of The Huey’s in The New Jumper (The New Jumper) is incredibly philosophical.

Jeffers’ illustrations retain the same level of quirkiness and charisma, but the choice to use fewer colours is certainly symbolic. The lead pencil sketches are representative of a society (The Hueys) which lacks individuality and personality. The Hueys all look the same and think the same. Every now and then a page is filled with a pop of colour- a sign that changes are taking place in this society.

Rupert is a Huey. One day, he breaks out from the uniformity of the crowd and knits a bright, new, orange jumper. He is the only one with a jumper and others begin to talk.

After a short period of rumour-mongering, the Hueys all begin to admire Rupert’s jumper and individuality. They like the idea of being different, and one by one they get a jumper; one just like Rupert’s.

The Hueys all think they’re being different, but the group-shot image of the Hueys together tells a very different story. The use of the contrasting text and image on this page creates a clever, tongue-in-cheek message.

The endpapers are the highlight of the book for me. Readers are left with a wordless illustration, and in doing so, Jeffers’ had created a gap between the final page of the story and the  endpaper illustration. The gap allows your imagination to run wild with ideas about what happens to the Hueys once the story ends. I suppose it is another symbolic gesture of Oliver’s that societies are ever-evolving.

I have an inkling that I’m not the only one who will love the endpapers because Oliver has created a special website based on the final illustration, where readers can create their very own, unique Huey (Mine is below).  You can create your own here.

Jeffers’ storytelling is clever. He doesn’t do the hard work for you. Instead he makes you read between the lines and think thoughtfully about the message.

The New Jumper is a wonderful springboard into a discussion on identity. It will encourage you to explore and think about the nature of people; where you fit into the mix of leaders and sheep; how you define yourself as unique or similar to others; what you lead yourself to believe about your actions and how you grow and develop over time.

Although my 2.5 year old daughter is entertained by the story, it is this catalyst for deep, philosophical discussions that makes The The New Jumper just as (if not more) relevant to older children, tweens, teenagers and adults.

With a title like The Hueys in The New Jumper, I think it’s safe to assume that we’ll be reading a little more about the Hueys in some of Oliver’s future books. Yay!

Book Details:

By Oliver Jeffers

ISBN: 978-0007420650

Format: Hardcover (Also available for iphone and ipad)

Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books, April 2012

RRP: $24.99 (aud)

Suitable for ages: 4+

Thanks to Wilkins Farago, we have one signed copy of A Dad Who Measures Up to giveaway.

If you need some more encouragement to enter this giveaway, find out a bit more about the book and check out how you can get your children’s dad involved in this fun reading activity.

To enter:

• Leave a message below and tell us one interesting fact about author, Davide Cali. (Click here to read more about him)
  

The winner:

• A random draw will take place to find a winner

Terms and conditions:

1. Each reader may enter only once.

2. Entrants must live in Australia. The prize will only be awarded to entrants living in Australia.

3. All entries must be received by 8pm (EDT) on Wednesday 16 May, 2012

4. The winner will be selected using www.random.org

5. The  winner  will be notified via email

6. The winner will also be announced on www.mylittlebookcase.com.au, facebook and Twitter.

7. The winner is asked to send a reply email with their delivery address. The book will be signed by Davide when he arrives in Australia and will be sent directly from Wilkins Farago.

Book Inspiration for this activity:

Book Details:

Author: Davide Cali

Illustrator: Anna Laura Cantone

ISBN: 9780958557191

Publisher: Wilkins Farago, 2007

RRP: $16.99 (aud) -paperback

Suitable for ages: 3+

The young girl in this story thinks her mum is wonderful. There is no other mother in the world who is as tall, as strong, as beautiful, as intelligent or as athletic as hers. The warm, textured illustrations help to evoke this sentiment. They are both endearing and comical at the same time, and are a real credit to the story.

It is just as well she feels this way about her mother because they only have each other. Unlike other children, this young girl doesn’t have a father. That is until she puts an ad in the paper for a dad.

She is looking for someone who would make a good match for her mum; someone strong, handsome, athletic, intelligent and kind. Many men come knocking but there is only one man that they invite to stay.

Although he is small, they let him stay because he is kind, he can cook, he remembers poems and tells two stories at bedtime (and we love any dad who enjoys telling stories)

This is a beautiful book about the importance of fathers. It highlights the importance of being loved and showered with kindness. Most importantly, Davide has written a story for all children to enjoy. Whether they are from single parent families, separated families, blended families or nuclear families, they will be able to relate.

If this book sounds delightful to you, make sure you enter our latest giveaway. We have one copy of this book to giveaway.

After reading A Dad Who Measures Up, we felt inspired to see how our own dad measures up.

Our family activity:

We collected our materials:

We asked Dad to lie on the paper and traced the outline of his body:

Cam gave Dad some facial features and some nail polish (creative licence):

We talked about what we love about Dad and what he does with us (and wrote it all over his body):

Here is a photo of Cam attempting to write ‘swimming‘ :

We measured Dad’s height, and the length of his arms and legs:

Cam and Dad went on a hunt to find items around the house that measured the same length as Dad’s arms and legs:

Finally, they discovered that the width of the fridge measures the same as the length of Dad’s arm:

Going Further:

If Cam was a little older there would be a few more tasks I’d like to try to extend the activity:

• Trace and measure all family members

• Use scraps of material to dress up our paper-dad

• Write an advertisement describing our dad (and other family members)

Author, Davide Cali, is about to undertake his Australian Tour. To celebrate, he is visiting a few bookish blogs before arriving. Click on the banner below to find out more about him. You can also read our review of his latest book, 10 Little Insects.