The Pipi Swing

By Sarona Aiono-Iosefa

Illustrated by Bruce Potter

Reed Publishing, Auckland 2007

ISBN 9781869484408

Grandparents can teach their grandchildren so many things, and in this story Sarona Aiono-Iosefa shares how the family tradition of collecting seafood is passed on.

A 12 year old girl known only as “Sweetpea” lives with her mother, a lawyer, and they are still coming to terms with the death of her father four years previously when he was killed by a drunk driver.

Sweetpea is invited “dancing” by her grandparents, but the strange thing is she is told to wear her board shorts with her swimming togs underneath, and when they arrive she sees her grandparents are also wearing their beach clothing. They drive to the beach, walk down to the shallow water, and she is told to do the “twist” – they bend their knees and wiggle their hips and feet. Then Sweetpea feels something hard under her feet, and discovers she has found some pipi shellfish.

Sweetpea and her grandparents have a fun half hour at the beach doing the Pipi Swing  and collecting enough pipi for tea. But it is not only a time of dancing, it is the time she learns they used to bring her father to the beach to do the Pipi Swing when he was a boy, and they have found it hard to come back without him.

The death of a parent can be devastating for a child, but they don’t necessarily understand the impact on the adults in their family, or realise that person is someone else’s adult-child. This story shows how sharing with those you love can help everyone come to terms with the empty spaces in their lives.

For more information on this and Aiono-Iosefa’s book Two Cans Of Corned Beef And A Manulele In A Mango Tree: A Pacific Christmas  go to

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/622001.Sarona_Aiono_Iosefa

If you want to find out more about New Zealand shellfish, have a look at the Shellfish Identification Guide booklet at

www.arc.govt.nz/albany/.../Shellfish%20Identification%20Guide.pdf

Sunshine Home

By Eve Bunting

Illustrated by Diane De Groat

Clarion Books, New York 1994

ISBN  0-395-63309-5

Timothy is very fond of his grandmother,and when she falls and has to go to hospital he finds it hard to see her in her wheelchair. He knows his parents are upset about her injury and can’t understand why everyone is being very upbeat and happy when they visit. When he sees his grandmother in the hospital he is pleased to see that she looks well, “except that her hair is curly instead of straight” – even small things that make a loved one look different can be upsetting for young children who want to see the same person they are used to. He takes her for a walk around the room and they talk about things they can see outside the window and she asks if the finches still come to her window, so he is able to reassure her of this. They have to stop when the nurse brings Gram her dinner and he is embarrassed to see them put a bib around her neck – as is she.

When they leave the hospital Timothy’s mother bursts into tears and they have to wait for her to calm down, but then she realises she has forgotten to give her mother the new school photo of Timothy she had brought. Timothy returns to the ward and find his grandmother slumped down in her wheelchair “crying hard”. She tries to sit up straight but needs Timothy’s help as the seat belt has slipped higher on her body. She tells him not to tell his mother that she is upset and he begins to understand their bright behaviour when they were together – they were trying to protect the feelings of the other. He tells her his mother is crying as well and tells his Gram that it would be better if they were honest with each other about their feelings.

Timothy runs back outside and tells his parents that Gram needs them, so they hurry back inside. This time they are honest with each other and talk about how things really are, and Gram admits she is really wanting to be able to go back home again.

A sensitive story that parents can share with their children to help them talk about how beloved grandparents can be helped with love and honesty.

Review of this and other good books can be seen at

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/902101.Sunshine_Home

and

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/sunshine-home 

 

My Little Grandmother Often Forgets

Reeve Lindbergh

Illustrated by Kathryn Brown

Pub. Candlewick Press Massachusetts 2007

ISBN 978-0-7636-1989-3

Many people begin to find it difficult to remember things as they age, and the onset of Alzheimer disease in a family member can be very upsetting for others. This charming story with its quirky drawings handles this issue in a gentle and heartwarming way, and shows how children can help their affected grandparent with little things during the course of their day.

The young boy talks (in rhyme) about how his “little grandmother” – who is drawn not much taller than he – forgets simple things and becomes confused, so he and his parents need to keep finding things for her and reminding her where they are and what she is doing – “She doesn’t know why, and she doesn’t know how; when she thinks about THEN, she forgets about NOW.”

For primary-school aged children. Though they may not be able to read it for themselves, parents can read this with them and it would provide a safe opportunity to talk about their own family member and work out ways they can help them keep themselves safe.

For New Zealand families, Alzheimers New Zealand has a very useful website where they can learn more about this condition

http://www.alzheimers.org.nz/

Alzheimers New Zealand

is a support and advocacy organisation for people with dementia, their carers, family, whanau and community.  Dementia is a neurological disease which affects memory, cognitive function, personality, emotion and quality of life.

I Know a Lady
By Charlotte Zolotow
Illustrator James Stevenson
Pub. Greenwillow ooks, New York, 1992
ISBN 0-688-11519-5

Told from the perspective of the main protagonist, a young girl, this looks at an elderly woman who lives alone in their neighbourhood. She observes the changing seasons through the flowers growing in the lady’s garden, and likes being waved at when they are going to and from school. The elderly neighbour invites them in to share the different celebrations, and her home baking – her warm fire and candy apples at Halloween, her decorated tree and cookies at Christmas, and little cakes with yellow frosting at Easter. And what is really important to the narrator is that the little old lady always smiles at her and know her name is Sally and that her dog’s name is Matilda.

Many people have elderly neighbours, but they don’t all take the time to acknowledge and include them in their community. Zolotow’s charming story shows just how easy it is to create warm memories and learn from each other.

If you want to find out how to use this book in the classroom, you can find out more at

http://www.charlottezolotow.com/neighbors_&_neighborhoods.htm

Mr. George Baker

By Amy Hest

Illustrated by Jon J. Muth

Candlewick Press, Massachusetts 2004

076361233-2

Historically the concept of a fully-literate community is a relatively recent phenomenon. In Mr. George Baker Amy Hest has paired a young white boy with a 100 year old Black American and is sending them both to school.

Harry runs over to sit on the porch step with Mr. George Baker every school morning and together they wait for the school bus. Harry is fascinated by everything about Mr. George Baker, and describes the clothes he wears - baggy pants held up with suspenders, pockets big enough to hold candy for them both, his crumpled hat, and his crumpled shoes with long shoelaces that don’t come undone, unlike his. Mr. George Baker shows him how to do a double knot so Harry’s shoes don’t come undone either. They both have red book bags, but Mr. George Baker can’t read the book he has inside as he has never learned how to read.

Mrs Baker comes out to give her husband his lunch bag, and he bows and invites her to dance on the lawn, after which she goes back into the house, giving Harry a wink and a wave and telling them to be good.

Harry and Mr. George Baker continue sitting on the front porch waiting for the school bus, and Mr. George Baker starts drumming on his knees – some people say he is a famous drummer man. Then the bus eventually arrives, they climb aboard and drive to school.

Mr and Mrs Baker show Harry that age and race are no barriers to friendship, and we are never too old to learn. What a wonderful message to share with any child.

You can read more about this book at Good Reads

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/305637.Mr_George_Baker 

A similar story is told in the movie The First Grader, which is about an 84 year old man in Kenya who is determined to learn to read and refuses to be denied the right to a free education. This is reviewed on the Rotten Tomatoes website

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_first_grader/

Taming the Taniwha

By Tim Tipene

Illustrator Henry Campbell

Huia Publishers, Aotearoa, New Zealand 2001

ISBN 1-877266-52-3

Tim Tipene is committed to the self-empowerment of children, “to equip children with the tools and skills to face whatever comes their way, now and in the future”.

Bullying at school is a fairly common occurrence and can have a seriously negative effect on children. In this story Tama enjoys school, but James, one of his classmates, picks on him and does his best to ruin his work, and even takes Tama’s lunch.

Over the course of a week Tama consults members of his family for ways to deal with the bully – the “taniwha” - but none of their suggestions work and Tama gets into even more trouble with James. Eventually Tama asks his grandfather how deal with the bully, and his suggestion is surprising – “You have to get to know the taniwha”. Over the next few days Tama gradually befriends James by sharing his lunch and asking him to play – James is surprised, but cooperates and they become friends. Tama’s grandfather’s understanding of human nature helps him solve the problem, and gives him strong strategies for living.

James is drawn as a scary, scaly, green taniwha, but over the course of the story, as Tama breaks down his aggression, his scales start to drop away, and by the end of the story he is just a regular boy.

The reasons for bullying are many and varied, but often it comes down to how the bully feels about themselves, and in this story being accepted by his classmate is enough to let James relax and cooperate.

Taming the Taniwha was selected for the White Ravens International Youth Library Catalogue as one of the world's top 250 children's books for 2002.

You can find out more about Tim Tipene’s programme for children at :

http://www.timtipene.com/

and

http://www.nobully.org.nz/advicep.htm

Amelia Bedelia’s First Apple Pie
By Herman Parish
Illustrator Lynne Avril
Publisher HarperCollins Children’s Books, New York 2010
ISBN 0061964093

The original Amelia Bedelia books were written by Peggy Parish, the first published in 1963. Following her death in 1988 her nephew Herman Parish decided to continue them, with his first being published in 1995.

The range of Amelia Bedelia books includes early readers, but this particular book is for more skilled readers, or for an adult to share with children. Amelia tends to take things literally, so discussion on the dual meaning of some words is necessary with younger children.

In Amelia Bedelia’s First Apple Pie Amelia is visiting her grandparents, and she and her grandfather are working in the garden. Granddad tells her to watch her step, and Amelia gets dizzy looking down at her feet while walking.

Grandma asks them to go to the farmers’ market for some apples to make a pie. This provides a learning opportunity for the reader as well as Amelia, as a double-page spread is included that shows a range of apple varieties.

Back home again, Amelia and her grandmother prepare the ingredients for the apple pie, and more misunderstandings occur. Grandma asks Amelia to get her “a little flour” and Amelia picks a flower she sees in a pot on the windowsill. Grandma tells her to “watch your fingers” when she is rolling out the dough, so Amelia lifts her hands and watches her fingers very carefully, wondering what that has to do with making a pie. For a sensible Grandma, she then makes an unwise choice and puts the baked pie outside to cool, where the birds destroy it, and they are left with the single small pie Amelia Bedelia has made, which the family shares when her parents arrive.

The relationship between Amelia Bedelia and her grandparents is relaxed and caring, and it provides a good example of the freedom some retired grandparents can have to spend time with their grandchildren. Teaching them gardening and baking are two positive examples, and with this book the recipe for the apple pie is included at the back.

Further discussion on this book is available on a number of book review sites, including

http://booksforkidsblog.blogspot.co.nz/2010/10/pastry-practice-amelia-bedelias-first.html