Week 9- Looking for Alibrandi, The Little Refugee & Home and Away

Hi guys, Julia here for the final time!

Today I’m writing up about a novel I read in year 7 called Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta. Basically the novel is about a young adolescent girl called Alibrandi. She is finishing her last year of primary school at St Martha’s and she is experiencing many issues around her cultural background, family and relationships (with friend and boyfriends). It is a great story that takes the readers through many teenage issues but ends with a happier ending where Alibrandi finally accepts her ethnic background, being proud to be an Italian-Australian.

The novel uses simple language and short sentence structure. It is admirable for upper primary school students as it covers many issues teenagers face in today’s society. It is also in first person meaning that the author can really get inside the main characters head and talk on behalf of her (learnt this in lecture 2).

Themes covered in the novel included relationships between mother and daughter, feeling out of place, relationships with boys and loss. It is a great text that I would explore with my students because it talks about important issues from a teenagers point of view.

Next I’ve read the picture book The Little Refugee by Anh Do and Suzanne Do. This book is absolutely fantastic as it talks about the journey of a refugee family from a child’s perspective. It is about a family fleeing from Vietnam during a time of war. It follows their boat trip and their experiences once living safely in Australia. I am reading this book to my students on placement because I am teaching Refugees as a topic. They are in year 3 and this book is very appropriate because it is simply written, it has great imagery and it is not violent or inappropriate at all. It is a great teacher resource that is an e-book in the Uni library!

My last book is also another book about refugees but it is more suitable for an older audience (year 7’s up to year 12’s!). It’s called Home and Away by John Marsden. If you were at the lecture in week 2 I think you might remember this book as it was talked about in relation to the author study. Basically it is about a very ‘normal’ family who suddenly become refugees when their country becomes part of the war. They are forced to flee their country to find safety and experience many horrific things along their way to a better place. However, once at this better place the members of the family who are still alive find out that they are in fact outcasts and not welcome. It is a fantastic story in teaching the hardships of being a refugee. It focuses not only on their journey but their treatments in places like Australia where they are put into concentration camps. The books images are so powerful. They (like what we learnt in lecture 3 [I think]) tell another story to what the author is writing. For example, the first few pages when the family are safe in their own home are written in a typed text. As the war begins, this typing turns into writing on a note pad, and as the families situation gets worse the writing becomes messier and on scrappier pieces of paper. This technique of imagery shows the readers the situation the family are in. It shows the lack of resources they have and this writing along with the pictures show the emotions the characters are feeling. Home and Away is a great picture book. If you ever need to teach refugees to older students I recommend it 100%!!

That’s the final post of my blog guys!

I’m off to Bali in the second week of the holidays so I will reply to any comment when I return.

Have a safe break :)

Week 8- Annie with Attitude, Creative Fun with Cardboard Tubes & Where's God

Hi guys, Julia here,

This week I’ve done quite a bit of reading! Just worked out that this is due soon and I still need to read another 4 picture books and 2 novels.

I started by reading Annie with Attitude by Margaret Clark. The author has written this book for a teenage audience (those who are going through the blues of puberty). Basically it is about a mother and daughter who have broken away from their crazy father and husband. However instead of supporting her daughter, Annie’s mum seems to be more interested in finding a new boyfriend. Annie is left to face her struggled past memories and the struggles of living a teenage life by herself.

The text is written in first person and it really makes the story seem personal that way. The author allows the main character Annie to use lots of adjectives and really expresses her feelings well. The book is fast moving and it therefore keeps the readers interested. Overall it is a great book that expresses that all teens go through puberty and may have problems amongst friendships and family.

Next I decided to look at a craft book called Creative Fun with Cardboard Tubes by Nikki Connor. It was an interesting book that had procedures all the way through it. A good teacher resource when teaching procedures to students! Each craft task obviously included a cardboard tube. There were step-by-step instructions on how to do the tasks with pictures to support them. Even the materials needed were shown with pictures. Showing visuals makes the book appealing to young children. The methods were simple and if anything was difficult it was clearly stated that an adult would need to help. However, the children themselves could construct most of the activities and this for many is extremely satisfying. The final product was also clearly shown in a photograph format. This book is a picture book that is something different and I’m glad I got the opportunity to look at it.

Lastly I read the text Where’s God? by Victor Kelleher and Elise Hurst. This book is one of the best picture books I’ve read. It is so powerful and explains one of the biggest questions a child has in the most beautiful way. In fact, I love this book so much that I am reading it to my students in Par 2 class as part of their Religion Unit I am teaching them! It is also a great way to explain to teachers the big issue of where is God? Especially those who need to teach Religion but know not a lot about God and his practices. The book is simply written and supported with great images. It is absolutely fantastic and I highly recommended you get your hands on it and have a read!

Week 7- Fishy Facts & The Angle and the Soldier Boy

Hi there, Julia here,

This week I've read two very interesting picture books!

The first is a non-fiction book about fish. It's called Fishy Facts by Ivan Chermayeff. Basically it is a very simple written text that gives all sorts of interesting facts about fish. The sentences are short and the content is very easy to understand. The interesting information is supported with great pictures which makes it appealing to young children! The pictures have bold colours and draw the attention of readers. Students after reading a book like this could present their findings in an information report. The book is written in a way that is does not have to be read in a linear manner. It is similar to the books we looked at in class but a lot more simple.

The second book I read was The Angel and the Soldier Boy by Peter Collington. This book had absolutely NO writing but yet a child could still understand it! Basically the entire story is told via pictures and can be interpreted in many ways! The basic story line is evident in the book (a child goes to sleep with of her 2 toys and they undertake an exciting adventure while she is sleeping) but the details are left to the reader’s imagination… It is a good book because the reader has to use their imagination and it is also easy to reader because it has no words. It can build a child’s confidence in being introduced to books and all their functionalities.

These two pictures book are definitely worth a read! I particularly liked the book without writing because it gave even myself the opportunity to use my imagination (something young children find very easy!).

Week 6- Smart Ice Cream

Hi guys, Julia here,

This week I am writing about another one of my author study books by Paul Jennings. The books is a short story called Smart Ice Cream and it is found in the larger book Unreal!

The book was basically about the main character who breaks into an ice cream van and eats ‘smart’ ice cream leaving him waking up ‘dumb.’ It is very short but also extremely funny and well written.

Jennings uses great imagery. For example he introduces the main character saying:

‘Every year I win a lot of prizes: top of the class, top of the school, stuff like that.’

This phrase using the verb win and adjective a lot make the reader imagine someone that is smart. However it is not until the text reads on and more information is revealed that the reader can start to recognise the main character is in fact not only intelligent but obnoxious and rude too!

The book is clever in the way that is has a sly coda which according to Gamble and Yates basically shows how characters have changed or what they’ve learnt. In this story the ending (where the main character wakes up ‘dumb’) is Jennings way of incorporating a coda. Jennings last paragraph is written with poor grammar showing the reader that the character has been punished for his actions. It light-hearted coda but it does convey that there are consequences for actions.

This short story was magnificent and would work great in the classroom! It has great imagery and themes and is appealing to young people. 

Week 5- The Gizmo

Hi there, Julia here,

I’m just writing up about another of my author study texts The Gizmo by Paul Jennings. You have probably all heard of the text and possibly read it because it is a hit amongst primary school students. It is a short novel (which is appealing) and Keith McEwan supports it with illustrations. The illustrations add a lot to the character profiles and create this kind of ‘three dimension world’, which Winch talks about in his text. They also contradict each other (illustrations and text). Jennings presents the main character as a popular student in the way he dresses in a blue jacket, t-shirt and a cap. Where as, McEwan illustrates the main character as a naïve child. He illustrates a character that is being pressured to be popular and superior when in fact he is worried, scared and little immature. It is amazing how this is done and I recommend you have a look if you can get your hands on the book!

Overall it was an enjoyable book that was weird and funny like all of the other books Jennings writes. It explores the themes of stealing, peer pressure and guilt by the storyline where the main character succumbs to peer pressure and is left to deal with the repercussions of stealing through finding himself in many embarrassing situations. Jennings uses great techniques when he deals with these themes because he portrays them in a humours way while still displaying to the reader that there are consequences for actions.

See you in class Wednesday :)

Week 4- A Dozen Bloomin Roses

Hey all, Julia here,

This week I’m writing up about one of my author study stories. It is called A Dozen Bloomin Roses and it is short story that is part of a larger text called Quirky Tails by Paul Jennings. It is a very interesting and twisted story that is basically about a young boy who slyly buys flowers in a flower store that the main character works at. It is not until the last page that we learn that the flowers were for the main character that is in fact a girl (we think the main character is a boy until the last page).

Jennings uses lots of good characterisation techniques by the way he incorporates imagery.

For example this is how he explains the main character:

‘I have a black belt in judo and if I do say myself I am quite good in a fight (pp. 23).’

The adjectives quite good and black belt along with the verb fight creates an image that the character is strong and possibly male. Jennings creates suspense in his story and explains not much more until the end when we find out that the judo fighter is in fact a female called Samantha! 

Jennings also uses good similes, for example to explain a nervous character he writes:

‘He looked around like a hunted rabbit (pp. 25).’

The story also covers the themes of unrequited love and bullying. The themes are addressed in a funny way to keep the reader entertained.

It was an overall weird and twisted story that I enjoyed! I liked exploring it in my author study but could not be happier that the assignment has now been submitted and is 100% out of my life!!!!!!!!

Next week I will write up about The Gizmo also by the famous Paul Jennings.

Week 3- Workshop Summary

Hi guys, Julia here,

Just giving a recap of what we discussed today in the English Language and Literacy workshop!

First we talked about what inspired us in the Gamble and Yates reading. We discussed many points which were made about narratives but came to the conclusion that objective points were extremely interesting. An objective point (or dramatic viewpoint) is one where the writer does not enter the minds of any characters. All is revealed through actions. We talked about how the writer expresses actions by adjectives and verbs and thought it was interesting that the actions of someone can determine a viewpoint. I guess it is like someone’s body language!

We then went on to explain story shapes and clarified any confusion we had. When we compared our shapes they were indeed similar. We liked how they broke down the classic way books and movies tell stories (setting, action, climax, resolution, etc).

Next we linked our story shapes to the basic 7 plots. Our books incorporated the plots of

-          Comedy

-          Tragedy

-          The quest

An example of a book using basic plots was The Steadfast Soldier. It incorporated the basic plot of the quest. Around 90% of the book was the quest (the soldier was on the quest). After the climax however the resolution was a tragedy (the soldier dies).

Lastly we talked about narrative techniques. I talked about some techniques that were incorporated by Paul Jennings into his book The Gizmo. Jennings uses imagery well. He used adjectives and verbs to explain character profiles and they often contradicted the illustrations. This technique gave deeper meaning to the book. Jennings also writes in first person so he can get inside the narrators head.  

This week’s readings have helped us analyse the structure of narratives and be aware of the different techniques that can be used by authors.

Week 3- Have You Seen My Cat?

Hi, Julia here,

This week I have read the picture book Have You Seen My Cat? by Eric Carle. The book was very simple but also quite interesting. The entire book had 3 phrases in it!

-          Have you seen my cat?

-          That’s not my cat

-          This is my cat!

However, there was a story to follow and this was because of the books illustrations. Like we learnt in lecture 2, a book can be told once from its text and again from its illustration. This book did this!

It is a book suitable for very young children and they could purely flick through it and still understand what the book was about. It was basically about establishing different types of cats. That is wild ones and pet ones. The book supports Winch’s idea of how illustrations represent a 3 dimension world.

Have You Seen My Cat? was an overall enjoyable book.

Next week I will post about The Gizmo by Paul Jennings which I'm reading as part of my author study!

Week 3 Pinocchio

Hi guys, Julia here,

This week I finished reading Pinocchio. It was an interesting book overall. It started like any other fairy tale (‘once upon a time’) but it actually went on to talk about some very important morals and values. The entire book gives the message of the importance of family to readers. It is through Pinocchio that the reader is able to realize that children can't live without a guardian or parent. The book also shows why not to trust strangers when Mr. Fox and Mr. Cat promised Pinocchio that if he buries gold coins they'll turn into money trees. This obviously did not happen and Pinocchio was left facing the consequences. Funny enough it was through his consequences that the learnt about the consequences of lying. Pinocchio's nose grew whenever he lied!

I could go on and on about the book but the main message I think the author wants to show the readers is that we make our own decisions. We need to learn to not be influenced by others and to take responsibility for our own actions! Basically Pinocchio in the book was not a 'real boy' and he could not grow up because he was unable to make his own decision and not lie.

The text is a great transition from a picture book to novel because although it is still a picture book there is a lot more writing. The book still uses simple language however and the author incorporates many descriptive adjectives making the text enjoyable.

I am now starting to read another picture book called Have You Seen My Cat?

Julia Fergusson

Hi my name is Julia Fergusson and I am a pre-service teacher. Currently I am studying at The University of South Australia doing a Bachelor of Education (Primary and Middle) degree. I am in my second year of study and I major in SOSE and Catholic Studies. At university I enjoy making new friendships and exploring topics that are new to me. In my personal life I enjoy catching up with friends and family, shopping and traveling. I have been to Bali many times and love it there because it is an opportunity to escape from a busy life. In Bali I like to relax and absorb the friendly and fascinating Balinese culture. 

This week I have started to read a picture book called Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. Pinocchio was one of my childhood favourite books and I have read many different versions of the story. I decided to explore Collodi's version because it is illustrated beautifully and has great detail for a picture book which can help a child with their transition from a picture book to novel.