January 30, 2015

A Nice Walk In The Jungle: vindication for every child who has been ignored!

January 30, 2015/ Kim Fulcher

Age guide: 2 to 8 years & grown-up
With the friendliest looking boa constrictor ever greedily gobbling children on a nature walk with their teacher (it’s pink and green instead of the usual yellow and green or brown) – this is a joyful and funny book. It’s especially funny if you could possibly be one of the people the book is inscribed to: ‘all absent-minded parents and enthusiastic teachers’.

Which I imagine covers most adults at one time or another.

This is the story of a school nature walk gone horribly wrong, then most satisfyingly redeemed.

January 12, 2015

Mile High Apple Pie: a child's love and a tender look at Alzheimer's

January 12, 2015/ Kim Fulcher

I don’t normally like books that overtly teach. I prefer the teaching part to settle gently in the recesses of small minds ready for them to catch and adapt as life throws circumstances to them that don’t quite match the books they’ve read. Mile-High Apple Pie is an exception - there's the obvious, plus much more.

ages 4 to 12 years

December 12, 2014

Silent Night, Holy Night: ever wondered how this beautiful carol came to be?

December 12, 2014/ Kim Fulcher

Truly, this is a lovely book. In a time of poverty and despair, two young men - a priest and a teacher - recognised the gift that comforting words could be and created a carol that would drift and echo through the ages.

ages 4 to 12 years

November 12, 2014

The Librarian of Basra: the value of culture - and one woman's great courage

November 12, 2014/ Kim Fulcher

Set in Iraq. The true story of Alia Muhammad Baker - a middle aged Iraqi woman living in the town of Basra and working as a librarian. Alia knew that war was coming to Basra and she knew that war brings fire which would likely destroy the precious books. This is the remarkable and impressive story of her work to save them.
ages 4 years to grownup

November 10, 2014

Let The Celebrations Begin!: a gentle and soft introduction to holocaust literature

November 10, 2014/ Kim Fulcher

ages 4 years to grownup
Set in Europe, this is one of my absolute favourite books. It's a book to give perspective to small bingles and it's a book to plant notions of empathy, courage, and resilience in children. Definitely one to have in your home library, Let the Celebrations BEGIN! speaks across a wide range of age groups and relates to so many sets of circumstances.

October 26, 2014

The Butter Man: the challenge and beauty of delayed gratification

October 26, 2014/ Kim Fulcher

Set in Morocco—the baba (father) in this story is telling his little girl about a time when he was a child living in Morocco. There was a drought and his family was running out of food, so they ate less and less each day. Eventually, the gnawing hunger pervaded all of his thoughts ...
ages 4 to 12 years

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