Clara’s Corner August Edition

Welcome to our August Edition of Clara’s Corner!

This month Clara will be reviewing three books, ‘Does a Bear Wash Its Hair’, ‘The Girl and the Mermaid’ & ‘Someone Just Like You’

Don’t forget to use the code ‘CLARA’ at checkout to get 10% off all books included in Clara’s Corner.

Does A Bear Wash Its Hair? By Moira Butterfield & Adam Ming

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we really can’t start too soon with informational texts. Informational texts foster problem solving skills and knowledge development and make for wonderful shared reading experiences! Does a Bear Wash Its Hair? is an ideal text for the little fact seekers and question askers in your lives. With a rather clever twist, the author manages to combine self-care routines with fascinating animal facts. From Orangutang sleep patterns to the poo of Blue Whales, from Meerkat school to Decorator Crab clothing – this little paperback is packed with unusual facts and nuggets of quirky information sure to ensure that this book will be reached for again and again! The perfect text to trigger hearty conversation and a really lovely one to house in the class library for independent exploration. Entertaining, informative, and intriguing – a must for your non-fiction armoury.

Things to try at school:
● Choose an interesting animal from the text. Do some additional research and write an informative report about the animal. What other interesting facts did you learn?
● Group discussion: If you could be any animal from the book, which animal would you choose, and why?
● Group discussion: What is the most interesting fact that you learned from reading this book?
● Phonological Awareness / Rhyming: Bear rhymes with hair. List some more animal names – can you think of a rhyming word to match each one?
● The book explains lots of everyday routines for animals. What is your daily routine?
● Recount practise: Can you recount the animals from the book and list them in the correct order?

Things to try at home:
● Dinnertime discussion: If you could be an interesting animal, what would you be?
● Family routines: Discuss the daily family routines. What are the things we do every day in our home?
● Family pets: If you have a family pet, think about and discuss their routines and habits!
● Discuss: Which animals from the text would we find / not find in Ireland?

The Girl and The Mermaid by Hollie Huges and Sarah Massini

Review
Do you know that feeling when you pour through a picturebook and the illustrations just make you think ‘wow’ …? Well, that’s the effect The Girl and the Mermaid had on me during my first read. Prettiness aside, this is a truly enchanting text. I’m always drawn to texts with leading grandparent characters and this didn’t disappoint. Alina lives and works with her Granny in a beautiful but creaky, old lighthouse ‘on a wave-swept ridge of rock.’ Alina loves her Granny’s stories, but with the passing of time, Granny’s memory and stories are beginning to fade. Alina encounters a mermaid who helps her locate her Granny’s stories ‘and many more besides’. An enrapturing rhyming text ebbs beautifully across the intricate illustrations, as Alina makes her way to the source of the stories. This is a really beautiful picturebook; it’s a gift for the imagination. Ideal for 1st class and upwards. An example of a picturebook that will appeal across a range of ages and stages.

Things to try at school:
● Lighthouses: Are there any lighthouses in your locality? Use the internet to explore
the interesting lighthouses of Ireland.
● Mermaid tales: Read the folk story ‘The Mermaid and The Fisherman’.
● Explore the illustrations: There are many sea creatures to be discovered across the illustrations. Revisit the pages and explore the creatures. Can you name them?
● Illustration inferencing: A lighthouse is an unusual place to live. What inferences can we make about Alina and Granny by exploring the items in their home.
● Lighthouse craft: Using recycled materials, create a lighthouse!
● Mermaid tails: Create a shimmering mermaid tail with scraps of fabric and fibre.
What materials could you use to help the tail shimmer and sparkle?
● Lighthouse lingo: Explore the word ‘lighthouse’ in different languages. Are there any similarities to the English version of the word?
● Making connections: Can you think of any other stories that feature lighthouses or grandparents?

Things to try at home:
● Dinnertime discussion: Would you like to live in a lighthouse? Why / why not?
● Family stories: Alina’s Granny told wonderful stories. Are there any stories that
have been told or passed down by the grandparents in your family?
● Mermaid tail: Using an old pair of stretchy pyjamas, can you use one leg to design and create a mermaid tail?

Someone Just Like You by Helen Docherty and David Roberts

I think the dedication from this book offers the perfect introduction: “For every child who has had to leave their home behind.”

At times we often don’t give young children enough credit for how much they absorb andeven overhear. We live in what can only be described as a deeply problematic world and for a plethora of reasons, it’s increasingly important that we share literature with young children that celebrates diversity, solidarity and compassion for others. Through a very simple text, Helen Docherty has created a poignant book encouraging us to reflect on our similarities as opposed to differences. A direct yet subtly hard-hitting narrative, perfectly accompanied by David Robert’s sensitive illustrations, this text succeeds in highlighting the importance of human empathy and friendship. A picturebook powerful enough to speak to readers of all ages.

“You may speak a different language, You may have a different name, On the outside you look different, But your feelings are the same.”

Things to try at school:
● Explore the names on pages 3 and 4. Can you work out which countries some of the names originate from?
● The author reminds us that we have many similarities in things that make us giggle, mad, curious, and sad. What things make you giggle? What things make you mad? What things make you curious? What things make you sad? Turn and talk to a partner. Are any of your points the same?
● Group discussion: If someone new were to join the class, how could you make them feel welcome?

Things to try at home:
● Dinnertime discussion: If a new family from a different country were to move next door, how could you help them feel welcome to the area?
● If there was someone just like you, what things might they enjoy doing / eating / playing?

About Clara:

Clara Fiorentini is a former primary school teacher, now lecturing in initial teacher education at Marino Institute of Education, Dublin where she specialises in literacy education and children’s literature. Clara provides CPD for teachers and early childhood educators in the areas of literacy, children’s literature, playful learning and school transitions. Clara is completing her PhD research on preschool literacy practices at Trinity College Dublin and is the current President of the Literacy Association of Ireland (2024). Clara is a huge advocate for children’s literature and the use of the read-aloud in school and the home.

You can connect with Clara via Instagram, X or via her website.
For contact and enquiries, please email: [email protected]