Tag: jon foye

Captain Jimmy Cook Discovers Third Grade by Kate & Jol Temple ill Jon Foye

I discovered three things tody:

Captain Cook was the greatest explorer that ever lived.
Captain Cook is my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great- great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather
Third Grade is going to be the best year of my life.

It’s History Week and learning about Captain Cook is the second-best thing that has ever happened in Ms Fennel’s class. The first, of course, being the escape of Ambystoma mexicanum, which is Wikipedia for axolotl.

I discovered three things today:

  1. Captain Cook was the greatest explorer that ever lived.
  2. Captain Cook is my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great- great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather
  3. Third Grade is going to be the best year of my life.

It’s History Week and learning about Captain Cook is the second-best thing that has ever happened in Ms Fennel’s class. The first, of course, being the escape of Ambystoma mexicanum, which is Wikipedia for axolotl.

Jimmy Cook has just discovered a link to Captain James Cook and decided that these genes mean that he is destined for Big Things. He’s keeping a log – a Captain’s log – of all his plans and observations. One of his plans involves completing some of Captain Cook’s unfinished tasks. But first he has to overcome some obstacles, the most troublesome of which is fellow classmate and all-round pest Alice Toolie. No matter what he does, she seems to get there first. But Jimmy is undaunted. World class explorers have to expect a few setbacks. Illustrations scatter throughout to help Jimmy be sure that readers understand his world.

If bright ideas and enthusiasm are what spins the world, then Jimmy Cook is sure of many whirlwind adventures. His Captain’s log overflows his brilliance and capabilities. Nothing shakes his confidence, nothing gets in his way. Not pesky classmates, not the doubts of others, not reality. He is ready to take on the world. Whether or not the world is quite ready for some of his wilder ideas, is another matter. Young readers will be carried along in the excitement of Jimmy’s missions and laugh out loud at some of the absurdities. Recommended for newly confident readers who still like a few illustrations to break up the text.

Captain Jimmy Cook Discovers Third Grade by Kate & Jol Temple ill Jon Foye

Allen & Unwin 2016 ISBN: 9781760291938

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

I Got This Hat by Jol and Kate Temple ill Jon Foye

I got this hat in China

I got this hat from a miner

I got this hat from a deep-sea diver

I got this hat from a racing car driver

I got this hat in China

I got this hat from a miner

I got this hat from a deep-sea diver

I got this hat from a racing car driver

I Got This Hat features a small child trying on all manner of hats. Across the story, he showcases hats from his – clearly extensive – collection. Each opening offers text on one page and hat with young child under it. In fact, all that is ever seen of the child before the final spread, is the upper half of a head. Text is rhyming and builds to bedtime when the child must decide which of  the hats will be worn to bed. Text is mostly capitals, painted and fills the page. Pencil and water colour illustrations are set in almost-white space and childlike.

It’s easy to imagine I Got This Hat being used in a classroom to introduce different professions, jobs, climates and fashion choices. There is a free downloadable iphone app in which even more hats can be created. I Got This Hat features a young child who would be seen as a toddler by a toddler and potentially as a slightly older child by older children. The text is simple and rhythmic and will soon be ‘learnt’ by young children becoming familiar with the concept of reading. Recommended for toddlers, pre-schoolers and early-schoolers.

 

105244
I Got This Hat, Jol and Kate Temple ill Jon Foye ABC Books 2013 ISBN: 9780733332303

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Parrot Carrot, by Jol & Kate Temple

Parrot Carrot is not the only unlikely creature the reader will encounter in Parrot Carrot. Animals and more with similar-sounding names combine to create new ‘creatures’. There’s a cork that looks like a hawk, a goose that looks like a moose, and many more.

There is little that’s serious here, even the characters seem aware of the absurdity of their new forms. Illustrations are almost naïve in style, with few colours on each opening, mostly in pastels. Covers and end papers are soft blue with bright orange and yellow titles.

One third introduction to rhyme, one third parlour game, and one third nonsense, Parrot Carrot will tickle the funny bone and stimulate the imagination. Combine any two rhyming words to make a new animal. A fun game to play with toddlers, Parrot Carrot could also easily be used in the classroom to extend vocabulary, combine literacy and art activities and generate some new creatures . There is also an App for the iPhone, taking the book into the e-realm. Recommended for reading with young children, or for playing with any age.

Parrot Carrot

Parrot Carrot, Jol & Kate Temple and Jon Foye Allen & Unwin 2011
ISBN: 9781742376868

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author
www.clairesaxby.com

This book is available in good bookstores or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.