The One Minute Manager

By Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

It was a few years back when I first read this book but something prompted me to take a second look. I've decided to become a "One-Minute Teacher" - I've just made it up but I'm going to try and put into practice the One Minute Goal Settings, One Minute Praise and One Minute Reprimand with my class. I've been struggling of late with a certain few of children for various reasons. At this point I think anything is worth giving a go. So here I go...

Synopsis

 "I'm a One-Minute Manager"
"You're a what?"
The manager laughed and said, "I'm a One-Minute Manager. I call myself that because it takes very littel time for me to get very big results from people."

How does the One-Minute Manager do this?
Behind his success lie just three secrets.
The leaders of American and Japanese industry have made this book compulsary reading for all their managers. You can't afford to miss out.

Author

 Kenneth Hartley Blanchard (born May 6, 1939) is an American author and management expert. His extensive writing career includes over 60 published books, most of which are co-authored books.

Patrick Spencer Johnson (November 24, 1938 – July 3, 2017) was an American physician and author, known for the ValueTales series of children's books, and for his 1998 motivational book Who Moved My Cheese?, which recurred on the New York Times Bestseller list, on the Publishers Weekly Hardcover nonfiction list.

Other Books

K.H. Blanchard

• The One Minute Manager (co-authored with Spencer Johnson) (1982)
• Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach To Customer Service (1993) 
• Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Leadership® (1985)
• Gung Ho! Turn On the People in Any Organization (1997) 
• Whale Done! The Power of Positive Relationships (2002) 
• Leading at a Higher Level: Blanchard on Leadership and Creating High Performing Organizations (2006) 

P.S.Johnson

• The One Minute Manager (1982) 
• The One Minute Father (1983)
• The One Minute Mother (1983)
• The Precious Present (1984)
• The One Minute $ales Person (1984)
• One Minute for Myself (1985)
• The One Minute Teacher (1986)
• "Yes" or "No": The Guide to Better Decisions (1992)
• Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life (1998)
• The Cheese Experience: an amazing way to deal with change in your work and in your life ... presenters handbook to direct people through the maze (1999)
• An A-mazing Change Profile (2000)
• Paradoxical Commandments: finding personal meaning in a crazy world (2002)
• Who Moved My Cheese? (2002)
• The Present: The Secret to Enjoying Your Work And Life, Now! (2003)
• The Value of Learning (2007)
• The Value of Friendship ( 2007)
• The Value of Helping (2007)
• The Value of Respect ( 2007)
• Peaks and Valleys (2009)

The BFG

By Roald Dahl

This term's novel study was a huge success. The BFG is such a classic tale. Adored by children and teachers everywhere. The movie was a delight too, the new Steven Spielberg film was a true delight. I think a big part of the magic of the book is the clever way in which Dahl has the BFG talk. I'm sure there is a system or style he speaks in but all I know it is very clever and I enjoyed using 'the voice' twice as much as the children enjoyed listening to it.

Synopsis

The BFG is a nice and jumbly giant. In fact, he is the only big friendly giant in giant country. All the other giants are big bonecrunching brutes, and now the BFG and his frined Sophie must stop them guzzling up little human beans - with some help from Her Majesty THE QUEEN.

Novel Study

The BFG Novel Study Unit - This 147 page novel study for The BFG, by Roald Dahl, includes comprehension by chapter, 22 additional Common Core aligned activities, Culminating Project Choices, assessments, bookmarks, and answer keys.Open-ended questions and graphic organizers are easily adaptable for every type of learner. Common Core codes are listed on each resource, along with a student-friendly "I can" statement. No prep, and perfect for whole class, small group, or even independent study.

Author 

Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short story writer, poet, screenwriter, and fighter pilot. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide.
He chronicles his childhood in Boy and his early adult life in Going Solo. 

Books by the same author

Children's books


Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)
The Magic Finger (1966)
 Fantastic Mr Fox (1968)
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (1972)
Danny, the Champion of the World (1975) 
The Enormous Crocodile (1978)
The Twits (1980)
George's Marvellous Medicine (1981)
Revolting Rhymes (1982)
The BFG (1982)
Dirty Beasts (1983)
The Witches (1983)
Boy: Tales of Childhood (1984)
The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me (1985)
 Going Solo (1986)
Matilda (1988)
Rhyme Stew (1989) 
Esio Trot (1990) 
The Minpins (1991)
 Roald Dahl's Guide to Railway Safety (1991)
My Year (1991)

Other works
The Gremlins (1943)
Over To You (1946)
Some Time Never (1948)
Someone Like You (1953)
Kiss Kiss (1960)
Switch Bitch (1974)
James and the Giant Peach (1961)
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More (1977)
My Uncle Oswald (1979)
Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories (1983) 
Two Fables (1985)
Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life (1989)
The Vicar of Nibbleswicke (1991)

A series of Unfortunate Events

By Lemony Snicket

I've had a wonderful holiday week with my boy. We've done some lovely things despite it raining non-stop for 5 days.
He's reading the Lemony Snicket books at school then, during the holidays we discovered the NetFlix series starring Neil Patrick Harris.
What a brilliant series. Although I have not yet read any of these books beyond "the bad beginning" my boy assures me this series plots very closely to the original books. Each book is covered through two episodes of the series.
It was great to see Rhys Darby in an episode or two. It's always nice to see a New Zealanders in such successful shows.
We watched 8 episodes, the first four books, and the first thing we did when we'd finished was check on iMDB to see if they were planning on televising the whole series… it looks promising.
(Update: It certainly is, the next 8 episodes are out on Netflicks now, and we are enjoying those too) 

Synopsis 

Dear Reader,
 I'm sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.
 In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast. It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.
With all due respect, Lemony Snicket

Novel Study

This is a literature guide to A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket. This novel unit would be great for use in a literature circle or novel study group. Activities contain higher level thinking reading comprehension questions, vocabulary, as well as extension activities. A complete answer key is included in page format, so pages with answers could be printed for students with IEPs.

Author 

Daniel Handler is an American writer, musician and journalist. He is best known for his work under the pen name Lemony Snicket, having published children's series A Series of Unfortunate Events and All the Wrong Questions under this pseudonym.

Other novels 

The Bad Beginning (1999) 

The Reptile Room (1999) 

The Wide Window (2000) 

The Miserable Mill (2000) 

The Austere Academy (2000) 

The Ersatz Elevator (2001) 

The Vile Village (2001) 

The Hostile Hospital (2001) 

The Carnivorous Carnival (2002) 

The Slippery Slope (2003) 

The Grim Grotto (2004) 

The Penultimate Peril (2005) 

The End (2006)

The Jungle Book

By Rudyard Kipling

I've always loved The Jungle Book. It was one of my favourite movies as a kid and with going to Cubs and Scouts as a kid, of course the whole thing is particularly special for me.
What I didn't realise was that the story of Mowgli is one of a few short-stories that actually make up The Jungle Book. The book I read included Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, Toomai of the Elephants, The White Seal and Her Majesty's Servants.
The new movie blew me away and was the kick I needed to get reading this piece of classic literature.

Synopsis

The Jungle Book introduces Mowgli, the human foundling adopted by a family of wolves. It tells of the enmity between him and the tiger Shere Khan, who killed Mowgli's parents, and of the friendship between  the man-cub and Bagheera, the black panther, and Baloo, the sleepy, brown bear, who instruct Mowgli in the Laws of the Jungle.

Author

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist. Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book, Kim, and many short stories, including "The Man Who Would Be King". Wikipedia

 

Other Books 

 The Jungle Book (1894)
Just So Stories (1902)
Kim (1901)
Captains Courageous (1897)
"If—" (1895)
"Gunga Din"(1890)
"The White Man's Burden" (1899)

...and Other works

The Art of War

By Sun Tzu

I am sure this classic is enormously helpful to military strategists and those at the Imperial War College. It might even be required reading for corporate raiders and winners on Wall Street but for this lowly old teacher it was little more than a time filler between other, more interesting reading material. The reason I chose to read it was the classic read that it is, most recently published in the orange cover by Penguin PLUS it is constantly mentioned in dialogue in movies and I wanted to know what all the fuss was about.

Synopsis

 Conflict is an inevitable part of life, according to this ancient Chinese classic of strategy, but everything necessary to deal with conflict wisely, honourably, victoriously, is already present within us. Compiled more than two thousand years ago by a mysterious warrior-philosopher, The Art of War is still perhaps the most prestigious and influential book of strategy in the world, as eagerly studied in Asia by modern politicians and executives as it has been by military leaders since ancient times. As a study of the anatomy of organizations in conflict, The Art of War applies to competition and conflict in general, on every level from the interpersonal to the international. Its aim is invincibility, victory without battle, and unassailable strength through understanding the physics, politics, and psychology of conflict. (GoodReads)

Author

Sun Tzu was a Chinese general, military strategist, and philosopher who lived in the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. His birth name was Sun Wu. The name Sun Tzu by which he is best known in the West  which means "Master Sun".

Stuart Little

by E.B. White

I remember watching the Stuart Little movie years ago and really enjoying it. I have always enjoyed Michael J Fox and it was good to hear his voice again. 1999 was the year after I graduated and I worked in Scunthorpe in the UK when I first enjoyed this movie with my class. It's a real favourite of mine so when I came across this classic in the school library I wondered how closely the movie was to the original novel. The movie and novel begin the same but the endings differ considerably. I'm not sure whether I'd recommend it as a novel study but it might be worth making these resources available for an independent reading group to choose for themselves. I enjoyed the novel, though I did feel it finished rather abruptly for me.... might be worth having students continue the story themselves. That's my final brainwave.

Synopsis

Nearly being dumped in the Atlantic Ocean along with a whole boat-load of foul-smelling rubbish was just one of Stuart Little's amazing adventures.
E.B.White has created a fascinating character - a debonair, intelligent mouse, game for every kind of adventure- whose exploits are a delight to read.

Author

E.B. White was born in New York in 1899. In 1927, White joined The New Yorker magazine as writer and contributing editor—a position he would hold for the rest of his career. He wrote three books for children, including Stuart Little (1945) and Charlotte's Web (1952). In 1959 he revised The Elements of Style by the late William Strunk Jr., which became a standard style manual for writers. White, who earned a Pulitzer Prize special citation in 1978, passed away at his home in Maine in 1985. 

(Biography)

Books by the same author

The lady is cold (1929)
Is Sex Necessary? Or, Why You Feel the Way You Do (1929)
Alice Through the Cellophane (1933)
A Subtreasury of American Humor (1941)
One Man's Meat (1942)
 The Wild Flag (1943)
Stuart Little (1945)
Here Is New York
Charlotte's Web (1952)
The Second Tree from the Corner (1954)
The Elements of Style (with William Strunk, Jr.) (1959)
The Points of My Compass (1962)
The Trumpet of the Swan (1970)
Letters of E. B. White (1976)
Essays of E. B. White (1977)
Poems and Sketches of E. B. White (1981)

Unit Study

This novel-study resource contains a whopping 37 student page guide to use with the book "Stuart Little" by E.B. White. Do you want a literature guide for a story about an adventurous little mouse with a big thrill for life? Then this is the book guide for you.

Movie Tie-in

 Stuart Little (1999) The Little family adopt a charming young mouse named Stuart, but the family cat wants to be rid of him.
Stuart Little 2 (2002) Stuart and Snowbell set out across town to rescue a friend.

Available for Purchase
Stuart Little: Novel (Amazon)
Stuart Little: Movie (Amazon)
Stuart Little 2: Movie (Amazon)

Around the World in 80 days

By Jules Verne

This has to be one of my favourite classic reads. When I was a kid there was a cartoon version of this tale entitled "Around the World with Willy Fogg". It got me hooked. There have been several versions of movies through the years but I have always enjoyed reading the book. I was gifted a version of the book in my Grandfather's estate when I was 13 and as a result I've always treasured the adventure. As part of this second year of blogging I've decided to revisit some of the stories I've read and enjoyed all those years ago. Starting right now with this.

Synopsis

One ill-fated evening at the Reform Club, Phileas Fogg rashly bets his companions £20,000 that he can travel around the entire globe in just eighty days - and he is determined not to lose. Breaking the well-establised routine of his daily life, the reserved Englishman immediately sets off for Dover, accompanied by his hot-blooded French manservant Passepartout. Travelling by train, steamship, sailing boat, sledge and even elephant, they must overcome storms, kidnappings, natural disasters, Sioux attacks and the dogged Inspector Fix of Scotland Yard - who believes that Fogg has robbed the Bank of England - to win the extraordinary wager. Around the World in Eighty Days gripped audiences on its publication and remains hugely popular, combining exploration, adventure and a thrilling race against time.

Author

Jules Verne was born to bourgeois parents in the seaport of Nantes, where he was trained to follow in his father's footsteps as a lawyer, but quit the profession early in life to write for magazines and the stage.
Verne has been the second most-translated author in the world since 1979, ranking between Agatha Christie and William Shakespeare.

Novels

Five Weeks in a Balloon (1863)
A Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864)
From the Earth to the Moon (1865)
In Search of the Castaways (1868)

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870)

Round the Moon (1870)

Around the World in Eighty Days (1872)

The Mysterious Island (1874)

Master of the World (1904)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Potter #2)

By J.K. Rowling

When the seies of Harry Potter Books first came out it wasn't until a write up in the newspaper about this one that I went back with my class and began my very first novel study. I have often heard it said that the biggest contribution to boys literacy was when J.K. Rowling began the Harry Potter series- it got boys back into reading once more. Equally though all those gains were lost when she sold the movie rights a few years later. Well, it was fun while it lasted.

Read: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Mighty Ape
Amazon

Synopsis

Harry Potter is a wizard. He is in his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Little does he know that this year will be just as eventful as the last...

Author

Born in Yate, England, on July 31, 1965, J.K. Rowling came from humble economic means before writing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, a children's fantasy novel. The work was an international hit and Rowling wrote six more books in the series, which sold hundreds of millions of copies and was adapted into a blockbuster film franchise. In 2012, Rowling released the novel The Casual Vacancy.

Books by the same author

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007)

Other novel studies on this site

 Study Unit

There are a raft of study units for supporting literacy through Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
But here is my favourite:
This novel study resource is a 72 page literature unit for J. K. Rowling's novel Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It is a digital copy in PDF format. Each chapter of the novel has two chapter study worksheets and there are 20 additional worksheet activities to reinforce key concepts. In total this resource is 72 pages long. Answers are included for the chapter study worksheets.

Movie tie-in

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) - Harry ignores warnings not to return to Hogwarts, only to find the school plagued by a series of mysterious attacks and a strange voice haunting him. 

Available for purchase: 

Mighty Ape

Amazon

The Incredible Journey

By Sheila Burnford

Many years ago I worked in a Closed Brethren school, establishing the Intermediate Classroom. It was a tough ask. One of the things I wanted to do was develop these novel studies but back then I didn't have the plethora of resources online as we do now. What's more there were only a limited number of books that passed the council of elders approval. This was one of them. Unfortunately, I never go to read this back then for I left before we reached it. Enjoying this book was something that has sat on my 'to-read' list for 11 years.  It was well worth the wait. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And my memory stretched back to that movie I wanted as a kid. But now there's a new movie, newer shall we say, made in 1993.

Synopsis

A classic tale of friendship that survived in the wilderness.
Luath, a young Labrador.
Tao, a Siamese cat.
And Bodger, the Bull Terrier.
Left in the wilderness, three animals who walked and ran, fought and struggled, who escaped death at every step - and who finally came home.

Author 

Sheila Burnford, (11 May 1918 – 20 April 1984) was an English novelist.
Born in Scotland but brought up in various parts of the United Kingdom, she attended St. George's School, Edinburgh, and Harrogate Ladies College. In 1941 she married Doctor David Burnford, with whom she had three children. During World War II she worked as a volunteer ambulance driver. In 1951 she emigrated to Canada, settling in Port Arthur, Ontario.

Other Books

The Incredible Journey (1960)
The Fields of Noon (1964)
Without Reserve (1969)  
One Woman's Arctic (1972)
Mr. Noah and the Second Flood (1973)
Bel Ria (1977)
Bel Ria: Dog of War (1978)

Novel Study

The Incredible Journey Novel Study Teaching Guide is a comprehensive resource consisting of character and chapter summaries, chapter questions and vocabulary, mini-assignments and project ideas, a novel quiz, and answer guide for both chapter questions and the quiz. This is a great resource for a classic novel that has also been adapted into two movies.

Movie tie-in

The Incredible Journey (1963) The story of three pets, a cat and two dogs, who lose their owners when they are all on vacation. Can they find their way home?
Homeward Bound:The Incredible Journey (1993) Three pets escape from a California ranch to find their owners in San Francisco.

Purchase

The Incredible Journey Novel (1960)
The Incredible Journey Movie (1963)
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey Movie (1993)

Hatchet

By Gary Paulsen

I was recommended this book quite a while back and it's been sitting on my 'to be read pile' for much of the year. I read Bear Gryll's book Way of the Wolf and was told that it had a similar senario. But, although I enjoyed Bear's story, I loved this Hatchet. It really got me thinking, it was a real page turner. And written for 9-11 year olds as well.

I've decided to use this book as my novel-study this term for a number of reasons:

• It was a real page turner with a relatable character for my students. 
• It fits in beautifully with the EOTC focus we have next term. 
• There is a study unit available on Teachers-pay-teachers. 
• There are a number of sequel novels Gary wrote. 
• There is a movie available based on the book.   

Synopsis

There was a wild crashing sound, a ripping of metal and the plane blew through the trees, and over the water and down, down to slam into the lake...
Brian is a city boy. Not used to living rough. Until his lane crash-lands in the Canadian wilderness.
All he has is a hatchet - and a desperate will to survive. Now Brian must learn to live the hard way - or die.

Author 

Gary James Paulsen (born May 17, 1939) is an American writer of young adult literature, best known for coming of age stories about the wilderness. He is the author of more than 200 books and has written more than 200 magazine articles and short stories, and several plays, all primarily for teenagers. He won the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 1997 for his lifetime contribution in writing for teens. Wikipedia

 

Brian's Saga

Hatchet (1986)

The River (1991)

Brian's Winter (1996)

Brian's Return (1992)

Brian's Hunt (2003)

Other works

Dogsong (1985)

The Winter Room(1989)

Woodsong (1990)

Winterdance (1994)

Harris and Me (1993)

And more...

Study Unit

Hatchet Novel Study Unit: comprehension, vocabulary, activities, tests. This 133 page book study for Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen, contains comprehension by chapter, vocabulary challenges, creative reading response activities, projects, and tests
You will find this literature guide to be teacher and student friendly. It contains a wide variety of question types, along with open-ended graphic organizers and unique activities, all carefully crafted for this particular story. Focus standards include figurative language, character analysis, theme, plot, point of view and opinion writing.

This complete book unit requires very little preparation on your part. Included is a unit map that lays everything out for you. Perfect for whole class, small group, or independent study!

Movie tie-in

A Cry in the Wild: Based on the book "Hatchet" By Gary Paulson, 13 year old Brians Parents are divorced, and he heads to Canada to stay with his dad, but his pilot has a heart attack and crashes the plane. Brian now has to survive in the wilderness until he is rescued.

Centennial

By James A. Michener

I think this will be my final submission for the Hastings District Library Reading Challenge. Centennial was number one on the New York Times Bestseller List on the week I was born. So I’m sure it more than covers the “Read a book from the decade you were born”. This is a massive book written in celebration of two centuries of the United States. It’s a massive saga covering an area of Colorado just south of Greely and a little west of Saint Louis. I really enjoy American History, especially early American. I particularly enjoyed the chapters following the non-chief Lame Beaver and the adventures he has. I really enjoyed how his adventures crossed over those of the lives of the beaver trappers Pasquinel and Alexander McKeag. I can see how Edward Rutherford was inspired by this, and other works of John Michener. They are sweeping grand novels that captivate the imagination. He certainly educates while he entertains.

“An engrossing book… imaginative and intricate … teeming with people and giving a marvelous sense of the land.” – The Plain Dealer

Synopsis 

Written to commemorate the bicentennial in 1976, James A. Michener’s magnificent saga of the West is an enthralling celebration of the frontier. Brimming with the glory of America’s past, the story of Colorado – the Centennial State – manifested through its people: Lame Beaver, the Arapaho chieftain and warrior, and his Comanche and Pawnee enemies; Levi Zendt, fleeing with the child bride from the Amish country; the cowboy Jim Lloyd, who falls in love with a wealthy and cultured Englishwoman, Charlotte Seccombe. In Centennial, trappers, traders, homesteaders, gold seekers, ranchers, and hunters are brought together in the dramatic conflicts that shape the destiny of the legendary West – and the entire country.

Author 

James Albert Michener (February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American author of more than 40 books, most of which were fictional, lengthy family sagas covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and incorporating solid history. Michener was known for the popularity of his works; he had numerous bestsellers and works selected for Book of the Month Club. He was also known for his meticulous research behind the books (Wikipedia)

Other Works

Tales of the South Pacific 1947
The Fires of Spring 1949
Return to Paradise 1950
The Bridges at Toko-ri 1953
Sayonara 1954
Hawaii 1959
Caravans 1963
The Source 1965
The Drifters 1971
Centennial 1974
Chesapeake 1978
The Watermen 1978
The Covenant 1980
Space 1982
Poland 1983
Texas 1985
Legacy 1987
Alaska 1988
Caribbean 1989
Journey 1989
The Novel 1991
South Pacific 1992
Mexico 1992
Recessional 1994
Miracle in Seville 1995
Matecumbe 2007

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

By Eleanor Coerr

This is another of the 100 books to read before you grow up that I spotted at Barnes and Noble in New York when I was there a while ago. It's a very simple story, easy to read, but it'll pull at your heart strings more than any book I've read so far. The girls in my class, particularly, are going to really enjoy it. But hopefully it'll get them thinking, and questioning.

Synopsis

Hiroshima-born Sadako is lively and athletic - the star of her school's running team. And then the dizzy spells start. Soon gravely ill with leukemia, an aftereffect of the atom bomb that fell on her city when she was only and infant, Sadako approaches her illness as she did her running - with irrepressible spirit. Recalling a Japanese legend, Sadako sets to work folding paper cranes. For the legend holds that if a sick person folds one thousand cranes, the gods will grant her wish and make her healthy again.

Author

Eleanor Coerr was a Canadian-born American writer of children's books, including Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes and many picture books. She was born in Kamsack, Saskatchewan, Canada, and raised in Saskatoon.
Her Japanese childhood best friend inspired her enduring interest in Japanese culture and history, which, in turn, eventually led her to write her most famous literary work.
She was born and raised in Saskatchewan, Canada. During her three-decade marriage to diplomat Wymberly De Renne Coerr (which ended with his death in 1996), she lived in the Philippines, Thailand, Brazil, Taiwan, the United States, and Japan.

Other books she has written:
Twenty Five Dragons (1971)
Biography of a Giant Panda (1975)
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (1977)
The Big Balloon Race (1981)
The Bell Ringer and the Pirates (I Can Read Book) (1983)
The Josefina Story Quilt (1986)
Lady with a Torch: How the Statue of Liberty Was Born (1986) 
Chang's Paper Pony (1988) 
Chang's Paper Pony (1993)
Mieko and the Fifth Treasure (1993)
Sam the Minuteman (1995)
Buffalo Bill and the Pony Express (1995)
Sadako (1997)
Prairie School (2003)
S Is for Silver: A Nevada Alphabet (2004)
Circus Day in Japan: Bilingual English and Japanese Text (2004)
Josefina Story Quilt (Spanish: Josefina y la colcha de retazos) (2006)

Now we are six

By A.A. Milne

When I was 6 I was gifted this book from my aunt. There is an inscription on the inside cover:
To Simon 
with love 
Emily-Louise
xxx
because everyone should have this when they are six. 
Happy Birthday.

This is one of my favourite poem books from when I was going up. Reading it now though as changed my perspective a little there are certainly poems in here that I adore, like The End and Waiting at the Window, Twice Times and A Thought and my personal favourites The Old Sailor and Forgiven. But there are certainly others that hold no affection for me at all. I guess, when I really think of it, I doubt I have even read this book from cover to cover before, until now.

Whilst researching this item I discovered that "Winnie the Pooh" was a tiny portion of A.A.Milne's work. Have a look below at the list of 'other books' abd you'll see what I mean... I wonder how many of his other works are still in print.

Synopsis

'Whenever I am, there's always Pooh. There's always Pooh and Me.'
This book, as When We Were Very Young, contains A.A. Milne's verses about Christopher Robin and of course Pooh, who wouldn't like to be forgotten, and is packed with Earnst Shepard's beautiful illustrations.

Author

Alan Alexander Milne was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work. (Wikipedia)

"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

Other books

• Lovers in London (1905. Some consider this more of a short story collection; Milne did not like it and considered The Day's Play as his first book.)
• Once on a Time (1917)
• Wurzel-Flummery (1917)
• Belinda (1918)
• The Boy Comes Home (1918)
• Make-Believe (1918) (children's play)
• The Camberley Triangle (1919)
• Mr. Pim Passes By (1919)
• The Red Feathers (1920)
• The Romantic Age (1920)
• The Stepmother (1920)
• The Truth about Blayds (1920)
• The Bump (1920, Minerva Films), starring Aubrey Smith
• Twice Two (1920, Minerva Films)
• Five Pound Reward (1920, Minerva Films)
• Bookworms (1920, Minerva Films)
• The Great Broxopp (1921)
• The Dover Road (1921)
• Mr. Pim (1921) (A novelisation of his 1919 play Mr. Pim Passes By)
• The Red House Mystery (1922)
• The Lucky One (1922)
• The Truth About Blayds (1922)
• The Artist: A Duologue (1923)
• Give Me Yesterday (1923) (a.k.a. Success in the UK)
• Ariadne (1924)
• The Man in the Bowler Hat: A Terribly Exciting Affair (1924)
• To Have the Honour (1924)
• When We Were Very Young (1924) (illustrated by E. H. Shepard)
• A Gallery of Children (1925) 
• Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) (illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard)
• Portrait of a Gentleman in Slippers (1926)
• Success (1926)
• Now We Are Six (1927) (illustrated by E. H. Shepard) 
• Miss Marlow at Play (1927)
• The House at Pooh Corner (1928) (illustrated by E. H. Shepard)
• The Fourth Wall or The Perfect Alibi (1928) (later adapted for the film Birds of Prey (1930), directed by Basil Dean)
• The Ivory Door (1929)
• Toad of Toad Hall (1929) (adaptation of The Wind in the Willows)
• Michael and Mary (1930)
• Two People (1931) (Inside jacket claims this is Milne's first attempt at a novel.)
• Four Days' Wonder (1933)
• Other People's Lives (1933) (a.k.a. They Don't Mean Any Harm) 
• Miss Elizabeth Bennet (1936) [based on Pride and Prejudice]
• Peace With Honour (1934)
• Sarah Simple (1937) 
• Gentleman Unknown (1938)
• It's Too Late Now: The Autobiography of a Writer (1939)
• The General Takes Off His Helmet (1939) in The Queen's Book of the Red Cross
• War With Honour (1940)
• Behind the Lines (1940)
• War Aims Unlimited (1941)
• The Ugly Duckling (1941)
• Chloe Marr (1946)
• The Norman Church (1948) 
• Before the Flood (1951).
• Year In, Year Out (1952) (illustrated by E. H. Shepard)

The Thirty-nine steps

By John Buchan

This week's reading challenge was to tackle a classic. 'Classic' is defined as a book more than 50 years old. I think it safe to say 1915 is more than 50 years old. I loved this book, though the language in it is quick tricky to follow in places, especially as Buchan attempts to write in a Scottish accent.
I often feel I was born in the wrong era, I think I would have liked to have 'had dinner at the club' or 'sat in the reading room with the paper'. It's certainly a romantic notion of mine.

I much prefer Buchan's writing to Joesph Conrad's Secret Agent. It has a better momentum to it. But don't know if that is more to do with the authors' writing style or the reader's lack of book-learning.

Synopsis

When Richard Hannay returns from a long stay in Africa, he becomes caught up in a sensational plot to precipitate a pan-European war.
After the discovery of a corpse in his flat, Hannay flees the attentions of both the conspirators and the forces of the law, and the pursuit turns into a thrilling manhunt.
Set against the hot summer which precedes the outbreak of the First World War. The Thirty-nine Steps is one of the finest and most highly admired thrillers ever written.

Author 

After a brief legal career, Buchan simultaneously began his writing career and his political and diplomatic careers, serving as a private secretary to the colonial administrator of various colonies in southern Africa. He eventually wrote propaganda for the British war effort in the First World War. Buchan was in 1927 elected Member of Parliament for the Combined Scottish Universities.

(Wikipedia)

Other novels

Prester John (1910)
The 39 Steps - Richard Hannay, #1 (1915)
Greenmantle - Richard Hannay #2 (1916)
Mr. Standfast - Richard Hannay #3 (1919)
The Three Hostages - Richard Hannay #4 (1924)
The Island of Sheep - Richard Hannay #5 (1936)

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

By Douglas Adams

Back in the age of the dinosaurs, when I was about 12 I was given this book on tape. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but later I discovered it was the BBC radio play and I promised myself that one day I'd buy the book and read the original novel. I still laughed out loud in places. (is wrong to laugh when the Earth gets destroyed by a Vogon construction fleet, making way for a new intergalactic by-pass?)
The reason I decided to read it now was because I've just signed up to the Hastings District library adult reading programme called "Turn Up the Heat with our Adult Winter Reading Programme!"
There are all sorts of different challenges from simply reading a book of your choice to reading a memoir or biography. I decided to fulfill the "Read the Book that's been on your To Be Read list forever". Its not quite forever but I figured 30 years was long enough. 

Everyone remembers the answer to "Life, the Universe and Everything"... I remember the question too, but I was mightily disappointed to discovered I'd 'mis-remembered' the character who came up with it. 

Synopsis

Seconds before Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor. 
Together, this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by a galaxyful of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox- the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian (formally TriciaMcMillan), Zaphod's girlfriend, whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone.; MArvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot  (whose voice I can still hear from that radio play); and Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student obsessed with the disappearance of all ballpoint pens he's bought over the years. 
Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time in between wearing digital watches? For all the answers, stick your thumb to the stars! 

Author

 

Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, scriptwriter, essayist, humorist, satirist and dramatist.
Adams is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which originated in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold more than 15 million copies in his lifetime and generated a television series, several stage plays, comics, a computer game, and in 2005 a feature film. Adams's contribution to UK radio is commemorated in The Radio Academy's Hall of Fame (Wikipedia)

Books by the Author

• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979) (novel)
• The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980) (novel)
• Life, the Universe and Everything (1982) (novel)
• The Meaning of Liff (1983 (book), with John Lloyd)
• So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (1984) (novel)
• Young Zaphod Plays It Safe (short story) (1986)
• Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (1987) (novel)
• The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (1988) (novel)
• The Deeper Meaning of Liff (1990, with John Lloyd)
• Last Chance to See (1990, with Mark Carwardine) (book)
• Mostly Harmless (1992) (novel)

We're going on a Bear Hunt

By Micheal Rosen & Helen Oxenbury

"A dramatic and comic masterpiece... Beautifully produced, written and illustrated, this is a classic."
The Independent on Sunday
I can only whole-heartedly agree. I love this book. I always have and always will. Even my class, a bunch of 7- and 8-year-olds loved it too. It's always fun and must read for everyone growing up.

Synopsis

We're going on a bear hunt.
We're going to catch a big one.
What a beautiful day!
We're not scared.

Authors

Michael Wayne Rosen is an English children's novelist and poet, the author of 140 books. He served as Children's Laureate from June 2007 to June 2009.

Other Books from Michael Rosen

• Don't Put Mustard In The Custard (1985)
• Hairy Tales and Nursery Crimes (1987)
  We're Going On A Bear Hunt (1992)
• Little Rabbit Foo Foo (1992)
• This Is Our House (1998)
• Sad Book (2004)
• Mustard, Custard, Grumble Belly and Gravy (2006)
• And more...
  

    

Helen Gillian Oxenbury (born 1938) is an English author and illustrator of picture books. She lives in North London with her husband John Burningham, another children's literature author and illustrator.^[1] She is a two-time winner and four-time runner-up for the annual Kate Greenaway Medal, the British librarians' award for illustration.

Other Books by Helen Oxenbury

• Farmer Duck (1995)
• Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes (2011) 
• Three Little Wolves And The Big Bad Pig (2015)
• The Giant Jumperee (2017)
• And more...

The Big Sleep

By Raymond Chandler

Being a big fan of Michael Connolly I discovered that he enjoyed reading Raymond Chandler and the darker side of LA society portrayed within the pages of his numerous books. But it really wasn't until I go some vouchers for Christmas did I think to get myself a couple of his books.

As always, I much prefer to begin at the start of a series, though I don't think it really matters too much as each Philip Marlowe adventure is pretty much stand alone.

"The Big Sleep" has been turned into a movie back in 1946, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Becall. But I haven't seen the movie, the book however, was a great read.

Marlowe is a detective, contemporary to 1940's/50's. He's employed by a retired old general who is being extorted. But the general has two wayward daughters who cause Marlowe more and more trouble as the detective delves deeper and deeper into their lives.
A I was reading I could picture each seen vividly in the film noir style... a style that some might even say these novels, and the movies that they spored, defined.

Synopsis

Los Angleles PI Philip Marlowe is working for the Sternwood family. Old man Sternwood, crippled and wheelchair-bound, is being given the squeeze by a blackmailer and he wants Marlowe to make the problem go away. But with Sternwood's two wild daughters prowling LA's seedy backstreets, Marlowe's got his workcut-out - and that's before he stumbles over the first corpse.

Author

Raymond Thornton Chandler was a British-American novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Great Depression.
 
Other Books by the Author
The Big Sleep (1939)
Farewell, My Lovely (1940)
The High Window (1942)
The Lady in the Lake (1943)
The Little Sister (1949)
Trouble is My Business (1950)
The Simple Art of Murder (1950)
The Long Goodbye (1953)
Playback (1958)

Danny Champion of the World

By Roald Dahl

I shared this book with my class this time last year. As I began the novel studies with my class there was no better author to choose than Roald Dahl. And as I had enjoyed the reading of this back when I was their age I had to pick Danny Champion of the World. I love this story.
 This is not Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with its crazy descriptions, nor is it The Twits with its revolting descriptions. This feels different, it feels like a real story with depth of character.
I love the realtionship Danny has with his Dad. I love the way they are breaking the law for the greater good. I love the way they eventually 'stick it to the man'. Their are so many opportunities to teach students, about literature, writing, but more so than that about integrity, justice, fairness, tenacity and bravery.

Synopsis

Danny thinks the world of his father, but imagine his surprise when he finds out he's been breaking the law! Even grown-ups bend the rules sometimes, but Danny knows his father is still good, kind and clever and full of exciting ideas.
Join them in this thrilling adventure as they hope to pull off the most daring and dangerous plan ever.

Author 

Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short story writer, poet, screenwriter, and fighter pilot. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide.
He chronicles his childhood in Boy and his early adult life in Going Solo. 

Books by the same author

Children's books


Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)
The Magic Finger (1966)
 Fantastic Mr Fox (1968)
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (1972)
Danny, the Champion of the World (1975) 
The Enormous Crocodile (1978)
The Twits (1980)
George's Marvellous Medicine (1981)
Revolting Rhymes (1982)
The BFG (1982)
Dirty Beasts (1983)
The Witches (1983)
Boy: Tales of Childhood (1984)
The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me (1985)
 Going Solo (1986)
Matilda (1988)
Rhyme Stew (1989) 
Esio Trot (1990) 
The Minpins (1991)
 Roald Dahl's Guide to Railway Safety (1991)
My Year (1991)

Other works
The Gremlins (1943)
Over To You (1946)
Some Time Never (1948)
Someone Like You (1953)
Kiss Kiss (1960)
Switch Bitch (1974)
James and the Giant Peach (1961)
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More (1977)
My Uncle Oswald (1979)
Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories (1983) 
Two Fables (1985)
Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life (1989)
The Vicar of Nibbleswicke (1991)