June 17, 2015

FOLLOW THE SWALLOW :: because we all need a little diversity in our lives

June 17, 2015/ Kim Fulcher

Ages baby to pre-teen
Two little birds learning to fly literally bump into each other! And they begin a friendship that teaches them both about acceptance, trust and the world they live in.

There’s Chack the Blackbird and Apollo the Swallow who, when they meet, begin a fun and witty dialogue about themselves. At first they repeat to each other over and over again, “I don’t believe you!” as they tell about their lives. Apollo tries to tell Chack that he’ll be flying to Africa, but Chack says, “I don’t believe you!” And sure enough, the day comes and Apollo is gone – to Africa.

May 15, 2015

5 books to connect us all, each in different and wonderful ways

May 15, 2015/ Kim Fulcher

Connections—momentary or spread over a lifetime—change the world. Here are 5 favourite books that help to provide a foundation for children so that, when the moment arrives, they will be ready to make a connection.

May 13, 2015

TERENCE THE TOILET TRAVELS THE WORLD :: a toilet with a yearning for enlightenment :)

May 13, 2015/ Kim Fulcher

Ages 4 to grown-up
I mentioned to my adult children that I was going to do a top 5 on ‘poo’ books, and Terence the Toilet was the first book they each thought of!

When you’re a ‘bog-standard’ toilet, chances are there are magazines left in the bathroom with you – magazines that show ‘exotic bathrooms in exotic places all over the world’. And that can leave you feeling restless and unsatisfied.

That’s what happened to Terence – and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that most of us have felt that way too after leafing through the magazines left in the bathroom.

April 27, 2015

My Two Blankets: the transforming power of friendship

April 27, 2015/ Kim Fulcher

My Two Blankets is a charming story about a young girl who ‘came to this country to be safe’ and the way she was able to reclaim a safe, happy and loved childhood. Positive, enlightening, it engages on many, many fronts.

ages early childhood to teen

April 20, 2015

the joys of coming home from far away places, geographically or symbolically

April 20, 2015/ Kim Fulcher

ages 8 years to teen
For non-Australian readers: Along the Road to Gundagai is much-loved folk song written in 1922 and Gundagai is a small town a couple of hours inland from Canberra (Australia’s capital city). It’s a lovely memorable tune and in this book it’s given a whole new (and solemn) slant.

Here, it’s a young soldier musing on the words to the song and the completely beautiful illustrations show scenes from home and scenes of war.

March 25, 2015

sometimes we fall into a hole, but home is always at the end of our travels

March 25, 2015/ Kim Fulcher

ages 2 to 8 years
Alison Lester has a gift for writing words that bounce – there’s a rhythm to her words that's easy for the reader to catch and hold onto. The Journey Home isn't a rhyming book, but it does read in a lyrical sort of way. There’s a repeated refrain of ‘come inside and stay’ making this a good early reader.

March 04, 2015

Jambo Means Hello: a joyous book about Africa and the lives that are lived there

March 04, 2015/ Kim Fulcher

ages 4 to 10 years

Set in Africa. Essentially an alphabet book, Jambo Means Hello assigns a Swahili word to each letter of the English alphabet. And along with the words goes a short paragraph explaining something about culture, traditions and everyday life in Africa.

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