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Worried that your vegetable patch isn’t growing too well and perhaps isn’t making a difference to the world?

Or perhaps when you only walk once a week instead of driving you wonder if it is really worth it?

And how about the times when you are given a plastic bag because you forgot your reusable bags and you really need to carry something home in it?

All the small steps add up to big steps and every small step will inspire someone else to make a difference. Check out these books and the characters who made a small step to inspire others. ?

Leaf by Stephen Michael King       

Amelia Ellicott’s Garden

The Last tree in the City

The Seagull 

Ada’s Violin

A bag and a bird

What small steps are you going to take today so you can make a difference in some one else’s life? 

One small step Worried that your vegetable patch isn't growing too well and perhaps isn't making a difference to the world?

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Books from 2017 that encourage you to be kinder the people of the world

There were so many lovely books that I came across this year that encourage young readers not only to think about those around them in their own community but also those who live on the other side of the world.

Being a part of a community is so important and knowing how to look out for others in our community is something that we all need to do.

Being kind to others whether they be our next…

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How to inspire yourself to change

At the end of the year we reflect on how we have gone this year and how we can change for the better.

We think about the great things we achieved for ourselves and for others and the not so great things.

It is a great time of year to inspire our children to reflect on the wonderful things they have done throughout the year too.

However, many of you reading this blog live in the western world…

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Endangered animals - The Global Guardian Project

Endangered animals – The Global Guardian Project

Does someone in your family love animals  or perhaps someone in your family needs to learn more about animals??

Well – This capsule created by The Global Guardian Project is one for you to give a go.

We loved exploring the different animals written about in this capsule and learnt so much about what endangered actually means, how animals become endangered and how we can help them.

This capsule…

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There are so many ways that we act in this present world that is thoughtless about the future we are leaving the next generations, and I feel that at this time of year it is the worst.

I love Christmas, I love the food, the gathering of friends and family and I love the decorations – but I hate the waste.

Christmas can be done cheaply – which is wonderful for so many families but what about those children who made those cheap gifts for you in China? What about the families that live down stream from the factories where those toys were made that will be lost or thrown out in a couple of weeks? Did you ever think about that?

Bah humbug you say – yes, I know but we can act sustainably at this time of year too.

We can decorate our tree using decorations that will last twenty years: Try Biome for some great deals today – Free shipping for over $50!

We can buy gifts that will last the latest fad and more than one child. AND we can move away from the need to give our children lots of toys. We need to stay strong against the big companies – our kids will be happy with less – they don’t need more.

Christmas is a time for giving – let’s give back to the planet that has given us life and think about everyone else who lives on it, not just the ones who can consume and throw away.

These books are great places to start your journey on being kinder to the planet too:

The secret of black Rock by Joe Todd-stanton

Papa Sky by Jane Jolly

Coral Sea Dreaming by Kim Michelle Toft

How to Bee by Bren MacDibble

One Thousand Trees by Kyle

A-Z of endangered animals

Rhino in the house

Rock pool Secrets by Narelle Oliver

How can you be kinder to the planet? There are so many ways that we act in this present world that is thoughtless about the future we are leaving the next generations, and I feel that at this time of year it is the worst.

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I heard somewhere once that a sign of a good book is one that can make you cry, make you laugh, warm your soul and make you question the world you live in – this book has done just that.

I’m not the best wordsmith around and I do not think I can’t express how much this book resonated with me.

The History of Bees, told by Maja Lunde is a story told through the eyes of three parents in three different time periods.

Tao lives in 2098, China, George in 2007, USA and William in 1851, England. Each of these characters have children of their own and each of these parents are trying to create the best world that they can for their children – the way they think they should be.

Listening to a recent podcast on parenting, this book made so many links. Research shows that as parents we all have set ideals on how our children should act in the world and we believe that by acting a certain way or saying certain things that we are going to shape our children the way we see best.  But as you read on in this story you can see that despite every parent’s effort to make their children a certain way – each child chooses their own path and explores the world they want to.

BUT – don’t despair, the children are influenced by the good actions of their parents, just in a different way they expected.

The children in this story are strong, smart and determined. The encompass free thinking, risk taking and problem solving. They show how much love parents have for their children despite the path they take.

The History of bees explores Bees through story. You will learn about one of the first beehives that was created to carefully extract honey without disturbing the bees, a farmer who experiences Colony Collapse Disorder on all of his hives and a mother who lives in futuristic China where people are the pollinators of flowers as all the bees have died.

I cried as I finished the last few chapters. I cried with happiness, sadness and concern. If the world means anything to you and if you have children – this book will mean so much more.

We need bees and one of the key messages in this book is how important it is for us to keep bees in a more sustainable way, stop the mass production of honey or crops and learn to live in more harmony with the world.

Maja Lunde has written many wonderful books but this is one you must read today.

What else can you do with this book?

Buy local honey (we love this honey!!)

Look at Save the bees website and support what they are trying to do in Australia.

Check out my other posts on bees! :

Being a bee

How to bee

The Book of bees

Bee and Me 

The Battle of Bug World by Karen Tyrell 

The History of Bees by Maja Lunde I heard somewhere once that a sign of a good book is one that can make you cry, make you laugh, warm your soul and make you question the world you live in - this book has done just that.

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Koalas eat gum leaves by Laura and Phil Bunting

Do you actually know exactly what koalas eat?

Are you sure?

Perhaps you’d better read this to find out….

Koalas eat gum leaves by Laura and Phil Bunting is a fun filled book where you learn a little more than you bargained for about koalas.

We all know they eat gum leaves for every meal but one little koala is tired of these eucalyptus treats so he sets his eyes on something a little bit more…

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Brave and strong, All day long. By Elizabeth Cummings

  Today I’m taking part in the Just write for Kids Books on Tour and I’m happy to introduce Elizabeth Cummings and her latest picture book from her Verityville series, Brave and Strong All Day Long, as a part of her Books On Tour promotion.

Summer is coming and it’s time to hit the beach don’t you think?

Many people love going to the beach to relax and it’s even better when the weather is warm…

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Five of my favourite picture books I read in 2017.

Five of the best

Warning! I’ve been tagged. It can be contagious.

Norah Colvin tagged me and asked me to join in. I don’t normally do this but I’m making an exception. How could I not – it’s about children’s books.

I’m required to nominate my top five children’s books, then nominate another five people to join in!

Rules:

Thank whoever’s nominated you and share their blog link.

Let us know…

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Molly the Pirate by Lorraine Teece

“Molly lived a long way from the sea, but every day she wished she was a pirate”

Molly is a little girl with a great imagination. She lives in the red dirt of the Australian outback with her mum, a cat, a dog and three chooks but nothing is stopping her from dancing a jig with a pirate, steering a pirate ship or fighting Captain Chicken!

Lorraine Teece has brought this little girls vivid…

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The Snow Wombat by Susannah Chambers and illustrated by Mark Johnson

Where does snow fall?

The answer is everywhere!

  Open The Snow Wombat by Susannah Chambers and go on a wintry walk in the Australian Alpine to discover how the environment changes when it is covered in snow.

The young reader will delight in the map drawn on the end pages and the names of the different places the wombat visits. You can spend time searching each illustration drawn beautifully…

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Sleepy the sloth by Jan Latta

  Come on an adventure with me and learn about my life in the jungle

  Sleepy is an adorable sloth. Sleepy the sloth and his friends live in the trees of the Central and South American tropical rainforests and Jan Latta has beautifully captured these animals in their natural habitat.

Jan Latta has produced the True to life series so she can educate children about endangered animals through a…

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Ruby Lane by R.J.Simon

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  A fast paced adventure story that you won’t want to put down – Ruby Lane by R J Simon is a brand new quirky tale for young readers.

Ruby, our main adventurer is a wonderfully creative thinker – who just can’t stop thinking! She has a wild imagination and would much rather be up through the night  creating things instead of sleeping!

Luckily it is school holidays and Ruby is off to…

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Chip by Kylie Howarth

Feeling hungry?

Wanna chip?

We’ve all been there – sitting down by the ocean about to snack on a hot chip when swoop – out of your hand that delicacy is taken away by none other than a seagull.

Chip by Kylie Howarth is a fun book that tells the tale of a seagull and his friends who are banned from the local fish and chip shop.

The seagulls – so used to having food on tap are in distress and…

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The Riverboat Postman by Joanne Karcz

We all love receiving mail.

The anticipation of what is going to be inside the letter box, the rumble of the motorbike or the knock on the door.

But what if you didn’t live near a road? 

Then the Riverboat Postman will be the one to deliver your mail! 

In Joanne Karcz’s second picture book, she has captured the magic of the Riverboat Postman through rhyme and storytelling.

Told through the eyes…

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Papa Sky by Jane Jolly and Sally Heinrich

LHave you ever looked up at the sky and wondered what different things you could see in the clouds?  Have you ever been to a cloud forest and wondered where the earth meets the sky?

  Papa Sky by Jane Jolly and illustrated by Sally Heinrich is an imaginative yet informative story about cloud forests and the animals that need them to survive.

  Papa Sky is having lots of fun creating different…

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The secret of Black Rock by Joe Todd-Stanton

Do love reading myths, legends and folk tales?

Have you ever wondered how those tales came to be?

The secret of Black Rock by Joe Todd-Stanton is an adventurous folktale in which a young girl named Erin is on a mission to find out more about Black Rock.

With determination, every day she attempts to stow away on her mother’s fishing boat, always getting sniffed out by her dog until the day she…