Tag Archives: music

Reece give me some peace by Sonia Bestulic and Nancy Bevington.

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Musicians young and old will love this story – even if the onomatopoeia is a little too noisy for you!

 

Reece give me some peace is a fun story which will introduce young readers to the delights of different musical instruments and the sounds they make.

The story begins on a sunny morning with Reece’s mother enjoying some peaceful rays of sunshine…that is until she hears a ding, dong ding, ding, dong, daloom!

And discovers her son, Reece, playing the Xylophone!

From here Reece explores all different types of instruments and the sounds that they make – possibly driving his mother crazy with all the noise.

Reece give me some peace is a wonderful way to introduce young children to different types of musical instruments.

Readers can hear the sounds of the instrument, see what the instrument looks like and also view how it can be played.

Music can be seen floating through the air with illustrations by Nancy Bevington – some instruments produce sharp lines while others produce wispy lines – a great way to show young children how music can be felt without worrying about the musical notes.

Reece give me some peace by Sonia Bestulic has been enjoyed by all young readers and with the predictive text, “Reece, give me some peace!” this book gives young readers some sense of being able to read along with the story.

Music plays a vital role in our lives and the younger we introduce young children to the joys and wonder of music, the better than can appreciate the diversity of the instruments that can create the different sounds that we hear.

So what else can you do with this book?

Find some images of what the instruments look like or even find some videos of these instruments being played in different ways.

Create your own musical instruments out of tissue boxes, cardboard boxes and toilet rolls!

Explore onomatopoeia and the different ways we can represent sound with words.

And join in the blog tour:

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And my facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/educateempower11/

Or closed facebook group where we talk about big issues and how we can chat to children about them:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sociallyconsciouschildren/about/

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The trouble in tune town by Maura Pierlot

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Practice should never be a fight.

If you’re having fun, then you’re playing all right!

It’s day 6 on the Just write for kids Books on tour and I can’t wait to share this award winning picture book with you!

The trouble in tune town by Maura Pierlot is a must read for any student who is learning an instrument – or any child who wants to learn one!

Meg, the best musician in tune town but she is having a lot of trouble getting the notes to sound right. She tries different instruments but still doesn’t feel the rhythm, the beat or the tune. So the notes ……. escape!

The notes move through different places where they can be played in different ways by different people on different instruments. They mosh and mash, shimmy and shuffle in their quest to find a place where someone can feel them and enjoy them – not worry too much about being perfect.

Maura has cleverly created this rhyming picture book to show children that playing music is all about having fun and feeling the notes in all their splendour. Throughout the story we are shown different notes, where they live on the stave and the different ways music can be played.

Different instruments are shown throughout the story as well as different styles of music. The reader can see that notes can be used in so many different ways and can be used to have lots of fun too.

Practise can be hard work when your having difficulty with reading the notes, understanding the beat or feeling the tune – but Maura Pierlot shows us that when we relax and let the music find us, we can have the most wonderful time!

Sophie Norsa’s illustrations are full of colour and life. We can see how the different notes feel as they glide through the different styles of music and different types of musicians. The colour adds to the vibrancy of the story and show all that there is when you pick up an instrument!

You can visit Maura Pierlot’s website here: http://maurapierlot.com to purchase a copy or to find out more about her creations!

Or buy your own copy through fish pond here:  The Trouble in Tune Town

And don’t forget to join in with the Book blog tour on these websites too!

Design

Interview with Karen Tyrell, author of Song Bird Two: The Battle of Bug World.

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Welcome Karen, and thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I hope that these questions will give my readers some more insight into how you have developed the characters in Song Bird , how music inspires and how we can all take better care of the world we live in.

 Song Bird 2 The Battle of Bug World

What inspired you to write the Song Bird series?

Two life changing events.

Fan girls of my Super Space Kids series requested I write a new series with a girl superhero as the main character, especially written for adventurous girls.

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Songbird Superhero, AKA Rosella Ava Bird character is based on my experiences as a 11-year-old geeky, bullied girl. Each night, I dreamt I could fly, to escape my bullies. Later, I joined the choir and learnt how singing boosted my self-esteem and self-confidence. The following year, I started high school where I discovered my love of science and maths. I wanted Songbird to represent the powerful and free spirit I aspired to be.

Music is so important to all of us and can give us strength. How does music play a role in your life and why did you think your superhero needed music to help her?

Music plays a key role in empowering me in tough times. As a bullied 11-year-old girl, I joined the choir and learnt to sing. My voice was something no bully could defeat.

When I was a bullied teacher, music comforted me when I developed PTSD and anxiety. My student and his parents bullied me to breaking point. Music gave me joy and certainty, a place where I drew confidence and peace.

Like me, Rosella Ava Bird joined the school choir discovered her superpowers lived within herself.

Rosie is such a strong and confident character, even when she doubts herself. Is your character Rosie based on anyone you know?

Rosie is a mix of me and the girl I dreamt to be. I would love to sing and to fly… And use my superpowers for good, to save and protect others.

I really love that you have included children with disabilities in The Battle of Bug World and portrayed them as strong, clever, brave and very able – what inspired you to do this when most books do not?

Two important reasons.

I have a mental illness that’s invisible. Many people label my illness as a disability. I don’t. My illness is part of me. I’ve found writing lets me express my struggles and successes in ways that empower myself, and help others. I want to encourage kids to connect with their inner superhero and live strong.

I once taught a boy-genius who was smart and brave, and an incredible maths science whizz. He also happened to move about in a wheelchair. In Songbird, I wanted to shatter the disabilitry stereotype. Like the boy I knew, Amy Hillcrest, is quite the hero.

How do you think teachers and parents can inspire young children to step up and think for themselves when it comes to looking after our planet?

Children should read and learn about their environment. Realise, they are a part of it and can make a difference to it.

My message: We can all lend a hand to care for our environment. Many hands make light work.

Did you research to learn more about how bees and insects function in our world?

YES. I studied how insects and bees behave, especially the bee’s waggle dance. I spoke to beekeepers of honey bees and Australian stingless bees. I spoke to the director of Bee Aware at the Logan LEAF eco festival.

How do you look after bees in your life? Do you have any tips for our young readers as to what they can do?

I do simple things like plant brightly coloured flowers and fresh herbs in my garden. I grow purple agapanthus and native grevilleas to attract bees. I put out clean dishes of water for the bees to drink. I’m careful not to spray pesticides on the grass or the garden. That would poison the bees. Instead, I pull out weeds.

How do you think children can make a difference in our world in relation to the degradation of the environment without having to always rely on adults?

Kids can plant and nurture their own garden, pick up litter especially in parks and waterways, pack their own lunches without plastic, turn off lights and taps, sort out family rubbish into glass, paper and cans ready for recycling bins.

 

What is in store for us in Book 3?

Song Bird returns to save the lost rainforest, revealing an ancient mystery.

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Thank you Karen for taking the time to answer all of my questions. Such honest responses and really drawn on your own life experiences and those who you have come across that show their own super powers. I am really looking forward to reading more of your inspiring and adventure filled stories.

Make sure you get your copy of Songbird Superhero and The Battle of Bug World here:

Song Bird Superhero and The Battle of Bug World available on Amazon

Karen Tyrrell Bug World

 

Wendall the Narwhal by Emily Dove

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This book was the find of the year. My three year old son loves Whales and therefore had a great interest in Narwhals and then we saw the name of the narwhal: WENDELL!! Wendell rhymes with our surname – who would have thought?!?!

AND it is a fantastic book!

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Wendall is a Narwhal who lives in the ocean with many other noisy sea creatures. As Wendell listens to the sounds the talented creatures make, the reader is able to experience the beauty of onomatopoeia.

Pop, Pop, Pop, Wubba, Wubba Wub, Tweeeeeedly Dee, Whoosh, Clap, clap Clap! 

And then there is Narwhal who can’t make a sound….luckily he has friends who are kind and think of a way that he too can join in with the undersea orchestra!

Wendell the Narwhal is a great way to introduce musical sounds to your young reader and also bring awareness to the amazing creatures that live in our oceans.

The illustrations are cute and add depth to the onomatopoeia. Emily Dove’s illustrations really personify each sea creature as they play their sound and feel different emotions. .

We spent some time after reading the book looking at videos of Narwhals, clams and whales. Perhaps you can too!

So what can you do at home or in the classroom?

Conservation and sustainability.

  1. Research why Narwhal’s have tusks – you will be intrigued! Try to draw your own conclusions as it seems that scientists still haven’t worked it out.
  2. Where do all of these sea creatures live? Do they live side by side in reality?
  3. Are any of these creatures at risk due to human behaviour?

Language

  1. Explore the onomatopoeia words and think of some more!

Music

  1. Create your own piece of undersea music or even change the location to amongst the trees or sand dunes? Use words instead of instruments – just like the undersea orchestra in this story!

Ada’s Violin by Susan Hood

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How does music allow us to connect with others?

If waste did not exist, how would your lifestyle be changed?

Poverty is a necessary evil – do you agree or disagree?

Ada’s Violin (The story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay), written by Susan Hood and illustrated by Sally Wern Comport is a true story is told about the people who live in Cateura in Paraguay, a town on the edge of a garbage tip.

Have you ever wondered what happens to all of the rubbish you put in your bin?

I am sure many of us never put a second thought to it, especially if you live in a developed country where tips are away from human habitation.

What we put in our bins should be on our mind as landfill is taking up more space with more things that will never break down. In a perfect world there would be no landfill as people would make their own food, recycle, reduce consumption and reuse products themselves or gift to others what they don’t need.

In the story of Ada’s Violin, The main character who is a young girl named Ada lives on the edge of the tip and often views the garbage truck as a vehicle of surprises – it could be full of toys, jewellery or even plastic which had a going rate of ten cents per pound.

Ada’s grandmother notices a sign up for music lessons and promptly enrols Ada but a large problem arises – the lack of instruments to learn on.

It was the creativity and persistence of Senor Gomez , Tito Romero and Senor Chaves that led to the creation of instruments made totally from junk !

After many hours of practise the Recycled Orchestra was born! This orchestra has since toured the world, enthralling audiences with their talent, amazing sound and ability to rise up from the poverty that bequeathed them.

So what can you do with this story?

Sustainability 

OI.3: Sustainable patterns of living rely on the interdependence of healthy social, economic and ecological systems.
OI.4 : World views that recognise the dependence of living things on healthy ecosystems, and value diversity and social justice, are essential for achieving sustainability.
  • Investigate where your landfill goes in your neighbourhood. Are their any tips that recycle rubbish?
  • Investigate how long different items take to break down.
  • Investigate poverty in the world – how many people in the world are living on the edge of a tip? How many people live off a tip. Is it fair that people live like this?
  • Reflect on your own waste habits – do you do enough to minimise landfill? Keep a rubbish diary and note how much you throw out to waste for a week. How much do you recycle? Use for compost/wormfarm/backyard animals?

Music & Science

  • Create your own instrument out of rubbish. How can you make it solely of rubbish? What can you use for glue? binding?

Literacy

  • Investigate the word ‘recycled’. What does it mean to you? What did it mean to Ada? Explore how we can go beyond the meaning in the dictionary depending on perspective and context.
  • Investigate the word ‘orchestra’ .  What does it mean to you? What did it mean to Ada? Explore how we can go beyond the meaning in the dictionary depending on perspective and context.
  • What does this quote mean to you? They had discovered the surprise waiting in the landfill. Buried in the trash was music. And buried in themselves was something to be proud of.

  • How do the illustrations help the story? Explore different pages throughout the book to highlight how they work together.

    ** Create your own recycled instrument, write a description of it – how it looks, how it is made and the items you would need to create it.

    ** This is a story about music. Does it make music throughout the story? How does this book sound? Explore musical words and sounds throughout the story.

    Two lessons for you: 

    Lesson One

    To help students re ne their understanding of the word recycle, have them complete a concept wheel about the Recycled Orchestra. Have students answer the following questions on the appropriate section of the wheel, using both words and illustrations:

    • What does recycled mean? What does orchestra mean?
    • Who recycled? Who is part of an orchestra?
    • Where did this recycling take place? Where can orchestra’s be?
    • What did they recycle? What music did they play?
    • Why did they recycle? Why did they want to be in an orchestra?
    • What were the results of the recycling? What were the results of creating this orchestra?

    Lesson Two

    In order to create the Recycled Orchestra, Favio Chávez had to solve several problems. Explain how he solved the following problems:

    • Problem #1: There were not enough instruments for the children.
    • Problem #2: It wasn’t safe for the children to have expensive instruments.
    • Problem #3: There were no classrooms.

    • Problem #4: The children struggled as they learned to play their instruments.