Tag: jay laga’aia

We're Going on a Santa Hunt, by Laine Mitchell & Louis Shea

We’re going on a Santa hunt.
We’re going to find the jolly one!
I can’t wait. Presents for you and me!

Five animals – a polar bear, deer, mouse, penguin and dog – have written letters to Santa. Now they are off to deliver them – racing through a tunnel, swishing through trees, bouncing through Santa’s workshop. But, when they find Santa, they realise they need to get home quickly, so that they are in bed before he delivers the presents.

Using the rhythm of the much loved ‘Bear Hunt’ rhyme, We’re Going on a Santa Hunt is a rhyming Christmas offering which children will enjoy joining in with, made easier by the inclusion of a CD recording featuring Jay Laga-aia.

The illustrations are humorous and there is much here to entertain in the lead up to Christmas.

We’re Going on a Santa Hunt, by Laine Mitchell & Louis Shea
Scholastic Books, 2015
ISBN 9781743626429

We're Going on a Croc Hunt, by Laine Mitchell and Louis Shea

We’re going on a croc hunt.
We’re going to find a big one.
I’m not afraid.
We’re as brave as brave can be!

This fun read-aloud offering uses the rhythm and refrain of the popular ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’, but gives it a distinctly Aussie feel. The animal characters search for the croc in Australian settings – a reedy waterhole, trickly desert sand, red rocks and so on – and each time youngsters will be keen to join in the refrain:

We can’t go over them.
We can’t go under them.
We’ll have to go through them.

The final line of the story gives a little twist which will leave readers giggling.

Illustrations, by Louis Shea, feature a range of uniquely Australian animals – the croc is joined by (or, at least pursued by) a Tassie devil, a koala, a cassowary and more. The only one that is perhaps not native is a very cute cattle dog. There are lots of other Aussie animals throughout including birds, lizards and marsupials and eagle eyed readers will love searching for the crocodile who is hidden on each spread.

Accompanying the book is a recording of the song performed by Jay Laga’aia and a group of chidlren, as well as an instrumental version of the track, suitable for classroom use.

Lots of fun.

We're Going on a Croc Hunt

We’re Going on a Croc Hunt, by Laine Mitchell and Louis Shea
Scholastic, 2012
ISBN 9781742832487

Available from good bookstores or online