Poetry Book of the Month

A Year of Nature Poems by Joseph Coelho

A poem for every month, this is a beautiful anthology of nature poems by best-loved children's poet, Joseph Coelho

encourages a love for the natural world and the importance of looking after it.

See how animals behave through the seasons, and the cycle of trees and plants, from the first blossoms of spring through

to the stark winter wonderland in December. Twelve inspiring poems from Joseph Coelho, one for each

month of the year, paired with folk art from Kelly Louise Judd give this

book year-round appeal. A beautiful book for your bookshelf, to spark an idea for your own poem, or

to teach a love for nature and to help children foster a love for the

natural world.

Early Years Recommendation

Greta and the Giants by Zoe Tucker and Zoe Persico—Greta is a little girl who lives in a beautiful forest threatened by Giants. When the Giants first came to the forest, they chopped down trees to make houses. Then they chopped down more trees and made even bigger homes. The houses grew into towns and the towns grew into cities, until now there is hardly any forest left. Greta knows she has to help the animals who live in the forest, but how? Luckily, Greta has an idea… A section at the back explains that, in reality, the fight against the 'giants' isn't over and explains how you can help Greta in her fight.

Across the Savannah by Libby Walden and Clover Robin—This is an excellent first information book: full of facts that will

intrigue the very young and spark their imagination. Each page features a different wild animal, native to the savannah, as a sturdy pop-up that will surprise and delight with each reading. We meet and learn about lions, giraffes, hippos, meerkats and elephants as well as about their shared habitat. The animals are captured in lines of rhyming text, with extra lines providing additional factual information. The illustrations are bold and eye-catching, and it all adds up to an excellent package.

After a half term of settling in, the Aragon Review is back up and running—written for parents, teachers and children alike! Eye opening facts, mind-blowing information, incredible stories about real life, brilliant tips to help us master new

skills—National Non-Fiction November is an annual celebration of all things factual, created by the Federation of Children's Book Groups. Non-fiction can be a great way to boost your child’s love of books, even if they are a reluctant

reader. For some young children, reading about the real world is far more appealing than made-up stories. As a genre it covers an enormous range of topics – anything and everything factual. A non-fiction book could be about chemistry,

Ancient Egypt, skateboarding, LEGO and everything in-between!

Do you have any unwanted or

unloved books on your bookshelf at

home?

If you have any unwanted or unused books at home, that your children have

outgrown, please think about donating them to our school so the class's book corners can be

refreshed.

Author Visits

Children in Year 6 have been very fortunate to

attend two author workshops at Glenthorne High School this month. One was delivered by

Anna James and the other by Kwame Alexander.

Year 1-2 Recommendations

Survival by Louise McNaught—From the rainforest to the savannah to the depths of the ocean, animal life in every continent and habitat has been affected by human activity. Louise McNaught’s powerful animal portraits bring to life 20 stunning creatures and their fight for survival. Discover the dangers they face, the action being taken to protect them and their vital importance on Earth. Be inspired to join the movement to conserve species and find out how you can make a difference.

The Big Book of the Blue by Yuval Zommer—Why do octopuses have eight arms? Why do crabs run sideways? Are jellyfish made of jelly? Yuval Zommer’s beautiful new book provides the answers to these and many more fishy questions. His wonderfully quirky illustrations show off all kinds of slippery, shimmery and surprising sea creatures, including sea turtles, whales, sharks, rays and seahorses. Chatty, funny and full of amazing facts, it will be devoured by children eager to find out about the most exciting creatures from the deep blue.

Year 3-4 Recommendations

You Smell!:(and so does everything else) by Clive Gifford and Pete Gamlen— Everyone smells! The sense of smell plays a crucial part in survival, communication, and taste, and is the basis of a multi-billion-dollar industry. But, despite all this, it's the sense we often know least about.

This hilarious and fact-packed book puts that right. Find out everything you could ever want to know about stinks, whiffs and pongs, from the fruit so pungent it's banned from public transport to the top-secret military programme developing the stinkiest stink bomb.

Illuminatlas by Kate Davies—Set off on a journey around the world with this follow up to the bestselling Illumanatomy. Use your three-colour lens to explore the continents: use your green lens to see the landscape, the blue lens to see plants and animals, and the red lens to see cultural highlights and famous buildings.

Packed with facts and stunning illustrations, this is an atlas like no other from Milan-based design duo Carnovsky.

Year 5-6 Recommendations

Rise Up: Ordinary Kids with Extraordinary Stories by Amanda Li and Amy Blackwell—This book tells the stories of girls and boys from around the world and the challenges they have faced and overcome. It features over 29 tales of amazing young girls and boys who have achieved the unimaginable from surviving a plane crash in the jungle to striking against climate change. There are tales of triumphing over illness and injury, and of overcoming bullying. Entries include Greta Thunberg, Boyan Slat and Phiona Mutesi, to name a few. A perfect gift for every fearless child you know, these empowering stories show that no matter who you are, how old you are, and what you do, you can rise to the challenge.

The Lost Book of Adventure: from the notebooks of the Unknown Adventurer by Unknown Adventurer and Teddy Keen— On a recent expedition to the Amazon, outdoor enthusiast Teddy Keen stumbled across a sealed metal container in a remote hut on the banks of the Jari River. Inside the box were tattered sketchbooks and survival

notebooks by an unknown adventurer, full of details of their extraordinary adventures and escapes, expedition advice and survival methods. The sketchbooks are attributed to an “Unknown Adventurer” who appears to have created a guide to adventuring for two young relatives, hoping to inspire them to explore hidden places around the globe. Restored and pieced together, the mysterious Unknown Adventurer’s notebooks are now available for everyone to share. Featuring tales of peril and danger weaved with practical tips, children can discover how to camp in the wild, create their own rafts, make different types of shelters with what the environment provides, first aid and essential supplies in an explorer’s kit.

Staff Recommendations Miss Gore—Y5 teacher and Maths Lead

Favourite Children's Book: The Twits by Roald Dahl is my all time favourite book and I have loved it since I was little! I absolutely love all the tricks they play on each other - like the worm spaghetti and the glass eye in Mr Twits drink! They are both so mean-spirited, selfish and spiteful, with looks to match! I love the description of all the food that has found its way into Mr Twit's knotted, black beard - YUCK!

Currently Reading: Just William by Richmal Crompton this is about a very mischievous little boy set just before the Second World War. William is forever getting himself into trouble and causing absolute mayhem. He has an adorable dog called Jumble who joins him on these adventures and he has a trusty group of friends who are called the 'Outlaws'. It will make anyone of any age laugh! Recommended Reads:

EYFS: Guess How Much I love You by Sam McBratney. This follows the story of two Nutbrown Hares, Big Nutbrown Hare and Little Nutbrown Hare. Little Nutbrown Hare asks Big Nutbrown Hare the title question, "Guess how much I love you?", and the book continues as the two use larger and larger measures to show how much they love each other in answer to the question.

KS1: The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman. This tells the story of a little girl called Lucy hearing noises in the walls of her home and she tries to warn her family that the wolves are coming. However, they do not heed her warnings – until it is too late!

KS2: Oranges In No Mans Land. Tells the story of Ayesha whose life is torn apart by the civil war in Beirut in the 1970s. Her Granny falls desperately ill, and she has no choice other than to set off on a terrifying journey to reach a doctor living in enemy territory! This gripping story will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat!

Author Spotlight— Matthew Syed Matthew Syed is one of the world’s most influential thinkers in the field of high performance and cultural change. He has worked with leading global organisations to build a mindset of continuous improvement.

I’m no good at sport … I can’t do maths … I really struggle with exams … Sound familiar?

If you believe you can’t do something, the chances are you won’t try. But what if you really could get better at maths, or sport or exams? In fact, what if you could excel at anything you put your mind to? You Are Awesome can help you do just that, inspiring and empowering young readers to find the confidence to

realise their potential. The first children’s book from Times journalist, two-time Olympian and best-selling mindset author

Matthew Syed, it uses examples of successful people from Mozart to Serena Williams to demonstrate that success really is earned rather than given, and that talent can be

acquired. With hard work and determination, practice and self-belief, and, most importantly, a Growth Mindset, there’s

no reason why anyone can’t achieve anything.

Why Should Kids Read?

@kwrundell (Katherine Rundell, author of The

Explorer)

“Because books are an invitation to the ball. They let you live a 100 lives and visit a million places: world after world after world.”

Non-Fiction Book of the Month

Dr Maggie's Grand Tour of the Solar System by Maggie Aderin-Pocock

This mind-blowing book invites readers to join BBC presenter and renowned space scientist Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock (MBE) on an epic journey through

the Solar System - visiting planets, moons, asteroids and satellites, and travelling to places where no

human has been before. Along the way, kids can discover how we could live on Mars, learn about the hunt for a mysterious super-Earth, have a snowball fight on Mercury, climb the tallest mountain in the

Solar System and much, much more. From spotting solar flares

on the Sun to exploring objects at the edge of the icy Oort Cloud,

this fun, action-packed title leaves no question unanswered

and no meteorite unturned.

Waterstones Book of the Month

Frostheart by Jamie Littler

Returning for a second month, Frostheart has

already proved to be an instant favourite with

readers and booksellers alike. Glittering with wintry wonder, this debut children’s novel takes a sleigh ride into

the heart of a magical adventure. With a wonderfully visual sense of

storytelling honed by an illustrious illustrating career providing pictures for the likes of Danny Wallace’s Hamish series and modern editions of The Famous Five, Jamie Littler pitches a diminutive Arctic hero and his disagreeable yeti guardian into a rollicking

adventure aboard the mighty sleigh Frostheart.

Below are the list of books mentioned in this edition of The Aragon Review. If you click on the book title you are interested in, it will take you straight to the correct

Amazon page. Happy Reading!:)

Across the Savannah (3+)

Greta and the Giants (3+)

Survival (5+)

The Big Book of the Blue (5+)

Illuminatlas (6+)

You Smell! (7+)

You Are Awesome! (7+)

Dr Maggie’s Grand Tour (8+)

Frostheart (8+)

A Year of Nature Poems (9+)

Pages & Co (9+)

The Lost Book of Adventure (9+)

Parent Volunteers

Here at Aragon, we are always on the look out

for parent/grandparent/adult volunteers to come

and read with our children. If you could

spare some time to help our children read then

please contact the school office, who will pass your details onto the teachers.

Roald Dahl Wordsearch

Blue Peter Book Awards 2020

Since 2000, the enomously popular and influential Blue Peter Book Awards have been recognising and celebrating the best authors, the most creative illustrators and

the greatest reads for children.

Click on this link for the best children’s books this year has offered.

How to Read Aloud Well! Perform

When reading aloud to children we must show enthusiasm for a story. And when appropriate, we

should use funny voices or pull different facial expressions. Sometimes our voices need to be as loud as

thunder. Sometimes we need to be as quiet as a mouse.

Some books need to be told with the reader sitting down and some need to be read standing up and

moving around. Sometimes, we want children to join in with their voices and bodies - 'Run, run as fast as you

can! You can't catch me. I'm the Gingerbread Man!' Sometimes we want them to sit still and listen

quietly.

Make sure to think about the pictures when you read children's books aloud. Great examples to try include

the suggestions offered by Michael Rosen - Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins and books by Anthony Browne.