Teacher Essentials, Issue #3, 2024 - Scholastic New Zealand

FUN NEW BOOKS & ACTIVITIES!

SAVE $ 32 97

801. NEW! E OMA RĀPETI RUN, RABBIT 3-PACK

BILINGUAL

Simple text offers an accessible introduction to te reo Māori vocabulary for young readers. Themes of determination, individuality, self-belief and exploration.

Each 24 pp.

$59.97 TE $27.00

SAVE $ 5.99

803. NEW! THE ROBBERY

Great read-aloud: a funny bank heist never eventuates and goes through many hilarious diversions. There is an unexpected message that the thieves ultimately find their moral compass (sort of)! 40-pp hardcover.

$30.99 TE $25.00

805. RAINBOW CVC OBJECTS

Begin to teach CVCs in an interactive, hands-on way as children identify objects and sound out their consonant, vowel, consonants, such as bat, fox and pig.

Boxed set of 40 magnetic foam CVC objects.

$25.99 TE $24.00

40 PIECES

802. NEW! MY MATARIKI: COLOURING & ACTIVITY BOOK

Celebrate Matariki with this book bursting with a range of activities, including crafts, puzzles and colouring-in pages.

96 pp.

$17.99 TE $14.00

804. NEW! FUTURE HOPES: HOPEFUL STORIES IN A TIME OF CLIMATE CHANGE

A collection of compelling short stories where nine authors pose ingenious and thought-provoking solutions to the climate crisis. Authors include: MG Leonard, Neal Shusterman, Tola Okogwu and others.

304 pp.

$19.99 TE $18.00

MAGNETIC & MULTI-USE!

806. SLANT BOARD

A magnetic and multi-use workstation for students designed to support posture during writing. Total surface measures 72cm x 36cm. Folds flat for easy storage.

$39.99 TE $35.00

EARN + SPEND SCHOLASTIC REWARDS WHEN YOU ORDER

THE SCIENCE OF READING LITERACY IN THE CLASSROOM

807. Dominoes! Synonyms

A 28 piece set on thick plastic dominoes in a storage tin. Children will love the feel of real dominoes as they complete the synonym matching game.

28 pieces and storage tin.

$19.99 TE $19.00

210 TILES

810. Colour-Coded Sentence-Building Kit

Colour-coded tiles guide students in the correct positioning of words and use of parts of speech! 210 plastic tiles divided into seven sets of 30 cards each.

$120.00 TE $65.00

813. NEW! Inside Story

A great resource to teach children the skills of planning, drafting, writing and editing stories.

64 pp.

$28.99 TE $24.00

808. Dominoes! Antonyms

A 28 piece set on thick plastic dominoes in a storage tin. Children will love the feel of real dominoes as they complete the antonym matching game.

28 pieces and storage tin.

$19.99 TE $19.00

811. Word Search Bubble Board

20cm x 20.5cm

809. Dominoes! Homophones

A 28 piece set on thick plastic dominoes in a storage tin. Children will love the feel of real dominoes as they complete the homophone matching game.

28 pieces and storage tin.

$19.99 TE $19.00

Find the missing words in this ‘pop and learn’ bubble board. Hidden words all contain blend beginning or ending. The double-sided board features different mystery word combinations on both sides. Includes over 50 words.

Bubble Board measures 20cm x 20.5cm

$39.99 TE $35.00

812. Common Exception Word Cards

Each card uses sound buttons and phoneme frames to help children memorise tricky words and identify the decodable parts. Includes 111 cards.

$24.99 TE $24.00

814. Bumper New Zealand Picture Book Collection

A fabulous collection of stories.

15 books, 24-32 pp.

$329.85 TE $69.00

SAVE $ 260.85

BOOKS

FOR THE LOVE OF OUTSIDE

815. NEW! Tree

Scientific research, lyrical language and stunning illustrations combine to explore the fascinating world of a tree. 24-pp hardcover.

$27.99 TE $22.00

SAVE $ 55.95

817. NEW! Play Wild: Nature Craft Activities for Tamariki

Turn twigs into crowns, make a tiny garden, weave bubble wands out of vines, sail a miniature harakeke waka and more. Whether you want to fill in 10 minutes or two hours, this book is packed full of inspiring ideas. Discover heaps of craft projects you can make using materials you can find outside.

112 pp.

$29.99 TE $25.00

816. NEW! The Worm Book

The Worm Book introduces different types of worm: segmented worms, roundworms, ribbon worms and flatworms with all that is weird and wonderful and the crucial role they play in recycling organic waste. 32-pp hardcover.

$28.99 TE $26.00

818. NEW! The Last Zookeeper

Noah’s Ark is reimagined into a wordless, sci-fi parable, that both cautions and inspires about the future of climate change. 40-pp hardcover.

$29.99 TE $25.00

819. Nature & Environment 5-Pack

A collection of stories that introduce many themes including nature, insects, natural world, environment and conservation.

Four 32-pp hardcovers, one 80-pp hardcover.

$134.95 TE $79.00

820. NEW! The Tree that Sang to Me

A dyslexia-friendly verse story of friendship, family and self-discovery.

240 pp.

$19.99 TE $17.00

DECODING LETTERS AND SOUNDS

821. Decodable Big Books Fiction

Group instruction of the Science of Reading is made simple with six big books covering Letters and Sounds phases 2-4.

6 big books measuring 42cm x 30cm, each

$69.99 TE $65.00

823. NEW! Decoding Dominoes

822. Decodable Big Books Non-Fiction

Group decoding instruction is made simple with six big books covering Letters and Sounds phases 2-4.

6 big books measuring 42cm x 30cm, each 8pp.

$69.99 TE $65.00

Students match durable melamine dominoes to correctly identify common CVC combinations and build decoding practice. 28 durable plastic tiles.

$19.99 TE $19.00

824. Decoding Flashcards

Use these flashcards as differentiation for decoding instruction. Cards include common nouns to support language acquisition and sound buttons. 162 cards.

$19.99 TE $18.00

825. NEW! Preposition Puzzles

Students match words with pictures to see prepositions in action. Includes 48 pieces (12 complete puzzles).

$17.99 TE $17.00

MATHS ESSENTIALS

826. Giant Soft Cubes Full Set

A giant-sized way to roll some fun into maths activities and games!

Includes 2 dot cubes, 2 operation cubes, 2 numeral cubes.

Each cube 130 mm square.

$52.00 TE $39.00

827. Addition Bubble Board

Learn addition facts to twenty with this durable addition board. Addends one to ten are represented on both the vertical and horizontal axes with the correct sum presented in the corresponding bubble. Pop bubbles as you practise and solve the equation Measures 22cm x 22.5cm.

$39.99 TE $35.00

829. STEM-gineers: Masters of Maths

Learn all about the STEM-gineers that have shaped our world. 32 pp.

$24.99 TE $20.00

830. Money

SAVE $ 22.98

828. Maths Mutts Pack

Maths Mutts helps make sense of potentially complicated information about time and graphs. Each 32 pp.

$46.98 TE $24.00

Written by economic historian Dr Jacob Field, Money makes even the most challenging concepts easily accessible and includes information about the financial system that runs the modern world. 96 pp.

$22.99 TE $21.00

100097069

832. My Maths Readers Classroom Tub

A comprehensive set of readers on topics young learners need to know: numbers, counting, addition, subtraction, shapes, simple fractions, equivalents, sets, time, measurement, patterns and much more, 25 readers x 6 copies each, teacher resource book, durable red storage tub.

$163.00 TE $69.00

831. Mathematics for Beginners

Discover the ways that the tools of mathematics help people to make sense of the world around them.

128-pp hardcover.

$22.99 TE $19.00

SAVE $ 17.99

833. The Power of Ten

Ten fundamental formulas guaranteed to bend your brain!

10 books, each approx 128 pp.

$59.99 TE $42.00

ORDERS DUE

CONNOISSEUR OF COLOUR

A conversation with Bowerbird Blues author and illustrator Aura Parker

AURA PARKER has always been a writer. The author of Bowerbird Blues (Scholastic Australia), which is next year’s National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) book, has seven children’s books under her belt and is known for her vibrant and captivating illustrations. Yet her books also demonstrate a keen command of language, especially when it comes to rhyme and lyric, and a deft hand at creating stories that are engaging for her young readers with a deep compassion for and curiosity about the natural world at their core. These are skills honed through a childhood spent writing diary entries and stories and being introduced to the joy of books and reading at a young age by her school librarian. Coupled with her background and professional experience in visual and graphic design, these skills have made Aura one of Australia’s most celebrated children’s authors.

We caught up with Aura to hear her thoughts on being selected as next year’s NSS author, her inspiration for creating Bowerbird Blues, her creative process and what libraries mean to her professionally and personally.

Firstly, congratulations on being selected for next year’s National Simultaneous Storytime. Can you tell us how you felt when you heard the news, and what it means to be selected?

Well, my publisher called and I had no idea what was coming. She asked me how I would feel about reading the book to 250 people and I said ‘Yes, of course’ because I do school visits and read to large groups quite often. And then she said ‘How would you feel about reading it to 2 million people?’ and I didn’t quite believe it, so I was really, really surprised. I am so excited. It is wonderful to have a book

shared so widely. It blows my mind. You know when you were little and you learn about infinity and outer space. It’s a bit like that — WOW! And NSS is something I have always admired. It is an honour to be part of this dearly loved event.

What initially inspired you to write Bowerbird Blues and what do you hope readers take away from the story?

Bowerbirds are the most fascinating, weird and wonderful birds. They’re foragers — they love the colour blue, they’re connoisseurs of colour. In nature, bowerbirds would be attracted to blue flowers and berries and would build their bowers (nests) to attract a mate, but with all the plastic in our environment, they end up building bowers out of artificial items. I hope the environmental message in my story stands out, as the plastic pollution in my illustrations highlights the need for change. Our bowerbird is attracted to all these material things, but ultimately that’s not what he’s looking for, he’s looking for real connection. So, the

story is about searching for something meaningful and that’s what I hope readers focus on, as well as fostering a curiosity and an interest in protecting the wonder and beauty of our environment.

The ‘blue’ of the title works on a couple of levels in this book. As you’ve explained, bowerbirds collect blue things, but the blue also refers to the sadness of knowing that something is missing in your life and your environment. Can you talk a little bit more about this?

Yes, it’s an intentional play on words. At the time that I was working on the sketches my father had just passed away and the bushfires were in full force. When you’re working on a book, it’s like when you listen to a song from your past — all the memories of that time get absorbed into the process. There is sadness in the grey page, our bowerbird has all this space around him, which conveys his isolation, footsteps showing how time has passed. The grey is metaphorical. It could be a bushfire, it could be something else — different readers will come to the story with different ideas about what that sadness or space could be. Without being a complete spoiler, I promise the book is heartwarming, joyful and uplifting and I am excited for us to get through the ‘wanting and wandering’ together and come out the other side. I think it’s a great choice for an early childhood audience because they are complex and emotional creatures too. We all have our grey days and this book doesn’t talk down to our youngest readers. I think it’s going to be really special.

You’re an author/illustrator; can you talk a little bit about your creative process? Do the illustrations and text develop in tandem or does one inform the other?

Photo: Honey Blue Photography

It varies, but usually the illustrations are guided by the story. With my rhyming texts — which this one isn’t entirely — I feel like I have to craft the text before I do the illustrations. That’s just to get the beat and rhythm right, as the rhyming couplets are trickier to edit later. With Bowerbird Blues and my first book, Twig, the text and pictures evolved together. I started with the idea and then wrote the text, but all the time I knew what I wanted it to look like. The tricky part is trying to make it look as good on the page as it does in my imagination.

During the final art phase, I asked Bruce Whatley (an amazing and very talented illustrator) if he would do some mentoring with me. I didn’t want the bird to be photorealistic, and I have an art style where I like to make things pretty and patterned, yet real bowerbirds have a harshness to them. Bruce really understood what I was trying to do. We talked on Zoom and I showed him the artwork and he made some encouraging comments that were really helpful, especially because my illustrations are a mixture of digital and traditional techniques, all created by hand. And so, the nickname that I give to my bowerbird is Bruce, and to the female bowerbird Rosie (Bruce’s wife and also an author).

You mentioned that Bowerbird Blues isn’t a rhyming text, strictly speaking. But there are moments of rhyme and the subtle use of other poetic devices, all of which work beautifully to convey a sense of movement in the text. Can you expand on this?

It never occurred to me to write Bowerbird Blues completely in rhyme, although it does slip in and out of it. I love rhyme, it can add fun and energy to the reading but this story needed quietness in places so the intensity could shine through too. I can’t remember deciding though, it’s more just the way

it came out. Young readers who attend storytime might not know the names of the literary devices just yet, but they can feel the language, the rhythm and the effects of how things are put together.

I’d like to pivot to libraries now as they are central to NSS’s aim of getting more kids reading, and raising awareness about the importance of literacy of all kinds and at all ages. What role have libraries played in your life as a reader and as an author?

I just think libraries are wonderful places and I am grateful for all the great unseen work librarians do. NSS is a great opportunity for us to read together, share our love of books, celebrate our libraries and focus on the fun of storytime. I have always thought enthusiasm can be contagious!

Will it always be children’s books for you? Or are you interested in moving into different genres or age groups?

I visit lots of school libraries for Book Week to get kids excited about reading. I have a lot of love for libraries, and librarians have always been great allies to children’s authors in campaigning for literacy. I think librarians are a bit like bowerbirds, they collect and curate things! I have vivid memories of our school librarian reading aloud to us with such energy and passion in her voice, and she gave me a love of stories, an appreciation of language as well as encouragement and access to all the mystery and joy within those printed pages. When my children were young, our local library was a sanctuary, and we spent lots of time in the reading nook.

AURA PARKER

REGISTER

Wednesday 22ND of May at 12:00pm AEST / 2:00pm NZST

Register to read BEFORE 21ST MAY 2024 to win one of 50 book packs worth $150 for your library.

Children’s books are where my heart is, especially picture books as an art form. I hope children can explore Bowerbird Blues in print, because although it’s great we can read it on screen, it looks so much better on paper as it was intended to be and my endpapers are full of little things to find.

I’m trying to write a longer story and illustrate it, too. My books, even though they’re only about 300 words can take a long time to craft, so writing something that is say 20,000 words with sub-plots and lots of characters, I need a bigger block of time to sit and work on it. But I would like to write for older children too.

MAIN HEADING

ENGAGE WITH NONFICTION

834. NEW! Your Brilliant Brain

The most fascinating part of the human body, vibrantly explored with Philip Bunting’s signature wit. 32-pp hardcover.

$27.99 TE $21.00

836. NEW! Lost

This book explores what it means to be lost on this planet, from Machu Picchu and Pompeii, dinosaurs and ancient megafauna, to the contemporary species under threat.

64-pp hardcover.

$27.99 TE $25.00

UNPACK THE TOUGH TOPICS

838. Children of Our World: Death and Grief

A useful guide to share with students who have experienced loss or simply have questions about death and grief.

32 pp.

$24.99 TE $21.00

SAVE $ 73 93

841. Emotional Resilience 7-Pack

A collection of titles to help reinforce emotional resilience.

A great addition to your classroom library.

6 hardcovers, 1 paperback, each 32 pp.

$172.93 TE $99.00

849. Phyllis & Grace

The moving story of how a little girl befriends her elderly neighbour who has dementia. 32-pp hardcover.

$29.99 TE $19.00

835. NEW! Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity

Find out how Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity changed the way we think about space and time. 64-pp hardcover.

$21.99 TE $19.00

837. NEW! We Dream a World

A stirring tribute from the granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr. She shows the world that young people are strong enough to carry on their elders’ legacy while creating a new path for themselves.

40-pp hardcover.

$29.99 TE $19.00

840. The Kids’ Guide: Dealing with Anxiety

A guide to help kids cope with feelings of anxiety. Covering topics such as what is anxiety, how your mind works, positive mind-sets, feeling scared, feeding worries, and more. Plus how and when to ask for help. 48 pp.

$27.99 TE $21.00

REGISTER NOW TO ORDER & PAY ONLINE! TOTAL

Use your own Scholastic account to order and pay online You have the option to be invoiced or to pay by credit card and earn Scholastic Rewards on every order. Your student and class orders can still be placed by your school’s Book

To set up your own account now at : bookclub.scholastic.co.nz

PLEASE NOTE: Due to occasional supply issues, all Teacher Essentials offers are available WHILE STOCKS LAST.

One log-in lets you shop and lets YOU build a bank of Scholastic Rewards

842. In Our Own Back Yard A YA novel set in both Auckland in March 2021 (during lockdown) and in 1981 during the controversial Springbok Tour. 292 pp. $131.94 TE $79.00

COPIES

843. NEW! Faelan the Fearless Faelan makes some surprising discoveries about his family that might interfere with Weylin’s plans to be Pack Leader. 152 pp. $119.94 TE $65.00

BRAND NEW PICTURE BOOKS

SAVE

63.95

844. NEW! Picture Book 5-Pack

A diverse selection of new picture books. 4 hardcovers, 1 paperback, 24- 42 pp.

$128.95 TE $65.00

845. NEW! Bubbles the Zooting, Tooting Manatee Meet Bubbles, a lovable, funny, one-of-a-kind young manatee with a love for speed! When trouble comes—in the form of a hungry alligator—will Bubbles save the day?

32 pp.

$21.99 TE $14.00

846. NEW! Our House

More than one story is told in this reversible tale about family and new beginnings. 32-pp hardcover.

$29.99 TE $16.00

STORIES OF CONFLICT & WAR

848. NEW! The Water Bottle

Look at the three of us,’ Airini says. ‘Many years ago our families fought each other, but now we can be friends. A charming Anzac story that kids can relate to easily, stressing the bonds between New Zealand and Turkey.

32 pp.

$22.99 TE $12.00

849. Voices of World War II: New Zealanders Share Their Stories

A visually stunning collection of first-hand memories, providing an enduring insight into life during World War II.

304 pp.

$45.00 TE $40.00

847. NEW! How the Crayons Saved the School

On a boring grey afternoon, seven special crayons surprise the school! 32-pp hardcover.

$22.99 TE $15.00

850. NEW! Stolen by Night Nicolette is working for the resistance when she is kidnapped by the Nazis. 304-pp hardcover.

$29.99 TE $19.00