Recommendations of Reading Materials by Participating Teacher-librarians

Complete list

*Book titles are arranged in alphabetical order.

Jack and the beanstalk

Author/Editor : Jacobs, Joseph

Place of Publication : Loughborough

Publisher : Ladybird

Year of Publication : 2010

        "Jack and the Beanstalk" is a well known fairy tale around the world, it is written in simple terms and phrases with pleasant illustrations. Children, therefore, can follow the stories with ease. Teachers do not need to summarise the story because it is almost known by everyone.

        Summary of the story: Jack was a poor boy living in the forest with his mother. One day his mother asked him to take the cow to the market to exchange for some food. On the way he met a man who gave him five magic beans in exchange for the cow. His angry mother threw the beans into the garden. A huge beanstalk grew overnight in the garden and this changed his life afterwards.

        The plot of this fairy tale is familiar to most students and therefore it is not difficult to comprehend. The story sequences are put in correct order of occurrence and it provides the opportunity for students to explore moral values. It is suitable for P.4 to P.6 students.

The last donut

Author/Editor : Graham, Amanda

Series : Wings

Place of Publication : Australia

Publisher : ERA Publications Pty Ltd

Year of Publication : 2002

        "The Last Donut" is from the Series "Wings", a series of readers at the earliest Guided Reading Levels. "The Last Donut" has two common characters, Mr. Bear and Mr. Wolf as well as some other stories in the series. These familiar characters help students get into the story.

        In this book, Mr. Bear had some donuts. He shared them with the giraffe, the monkey, etc. Finally, there was only one donut left. Mr. Wolf got this donut without Mr. Bear’s permission. Surprisingly, Mr. Bear still had a donut for himself because he had hidden a donut in advance. This unpredictable ending can surely arouse students’ interest to read the story.

        This book is well illustrated and is written in simple English. It is suitable for P.1 to P.2 students.

Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood story from China 

Author/Editor : Young, Ed

Publisher :  Puffin Books

Year of Publication : 1996

        "Lon Po Po" is a Red-Riding Hood story from China. Three young sisters; Shang, Tao and Paotze were left alone while their mother went to visit their grandmother on her birthday. While the mother was away, a wolf, disguised as the grandmother tried to convince the sisters to let him enter into the house. The girls allowed the wolf to enter their house. After the sisters climbed into bed with the wolf, they became suspicious that it was not their grandmother. They asked the wolf, "why is your foot so bushy?", "why do your hands have thorns?", etc. One sister eyed the wolf’s face and tricked the wolf out of the house by asking him to climb a gingko tree to eat a nut, stating that it was magical to eat it directly from the branch. The wolf climbed to the top and then fell to his death. This allowed the girls to safely enter their house.

        Pairing this book with other similar fairy tales is a great way for children to practise making connections, comparing and contrasting. There are a lot of texts but the pictures explain the story for the students. It is a great book for kids who treasure a little thrill. This book could also be used in collaboration with the art teacher. The librarian could read the book and show the pictures so that children can see the art techniques used. The art teacher could teach the children how to use colour to convey emotions.

        This is another story that lends itself well to reading as it is similar to Little Red Riding Hood, a story which the children are familiar with.

The magic brush   

Author / Editor : Yates, Karen

Series : Let’s Read

Place of Publication : London

Publisher : Popular

Year of Publication : 2006

        "The Magic Brush" is a book from the series "Let’s Read". According to the number and the difficulty of the words in the story, this book is in Level 3 of the series.

        In the story, Ma Liang was a kind boy. He liked drawing very much. One day, an old man gave him a magic brush. The things drawn by the magic brush could become real objects. Ma Liang used the magic brush to help many poor people. After that, the king ordered the soldiers to bring Ma Liang to his palace. The greedy king asked Ma Liang to draw more gold for him. Ma Liang did not want to help the king. He drew a horse with the magic brush instead. At last, the horse turned to a real horse and helped Ma Liang to go away.

        "The Magic Brush" is originally a classic Chinese story that students are familiar with. Students may have interest in reading the English version of the story. It is suitable for P.3 to P.4 students.

美田學跳芭蕾舞 = Martine’s ballet lessons

Author / Editor: Delahaye, Gilbert

Place of Publication: 香港

Publisher : 晶晶教育

Year of Publication: 2007

Remarks: A bilingual book

        This book is written by the Belgian author, Gilbert Delahaye.  He is well-known for his Martine books.  A series of illustrated children’s stories he created with illustrator Marcel Marlier in 1950s.  The books have been translated into many languages and came to be popular around the world.

        The story is heartwarming and delightful.  It is about Martine taking her ballet lessons with great effort.  Finally, she got the chance of performing on stage. 

        Like fable, this moral tale is short and entertaining.  It teaches children to always do their best, including participating in extra-curricular activities and learning a musical instrument. One must work hard for success because no pain no gain.

        It is highly recommended for P.1 to P.2 students who want to read something more related to their daily lives.

The monster who loved books

Author / Editor: Faulkner, Keith

Series: 小寶寶驚奇立體書

Place of Publication: 台北

Publisher : 上人文化

Year of Publication: 2002

Remarks: A bilingual book

        This is a wonderful pop-up book written by Keith Faulkner.  The big blue creature on the book cover easily draws the young boys’ attention.  Keith Faulkner writes a lot of popular pop-up books, some even come with 3-D features.  They all create a unique delight to thrill the senses of our young readers. 

        The interesting story is about a monster who loved reading and eating books very much.  Bradley detected his existence when he found half-eaten books in his father’s bookstore.  He shared different storybooks with the monster and forbade it to destroy them. 

        Various story characters pop up from the pages when readers flip the book.  It is a marvelous book which gives delightful reading experience to young children.