Teacher Essentials, Issue 5 2024 – Scholastic New Zealand
$ 10.99
806. NEW! Guess What We Are Doing Today?
The children in Mr Luke’s class are bursting with ideas about what they might be doing today. 24-pp hardcover.
$24.99 TE $14.00
808. NEW! But then ... The almost true story of an overdue book
The far-fetched, tall tale of why a library book is 293 days overdue! 24 pp.
$21.99 TE $15.00
$ 10.99
807. NEW! Hooray, Hooray, It’s Library Day! A lonely library book sits on the shelf, hoping for small hands to choose them for a reading adventure. 24-pp hardcover.
$24.99 TE $14.00
809. NEW! My Saree A story of self-discovery and identity. Divya discovers a new way to embrace her Hindu heritage and culture. 40-pp hardcover.
$31.99 TE $21.00
810. NEW! Island Toes Tamatama’i Vae o Motu This colourfully illustrated book takes young readers on a journey around the South Pacific—no shoes needed! 32 pp.
$21.00 TE $18.00
TE $23.00
812. NEW! Astrochimp Blast off into David Walliams’ first ever graphic novel adventure, where Chump the chimp enters intergalactic chaos. 224 pp.
$25.00
DAVID WALLIAMS’ FIRST EVER GRAPHIC NOVEL
811. NEW! Take Me to Your Leader: Novel Set Can Lucas pull off staging an alien encounter and save his tiny country school from closure? Each 256 pp. $132.00 TE $99.00
UNLOCK THE MAGIC OF STORYTELLING!
813. Comprehension Dice
Boost students' comprehension and expression skills in a fun and interactive format.
6 soft foam dice, each 43mm x 43mm x 43mm.
$29.99 TE $25.00
815. Tri-Blocks Phonics Tub
814. NEW! Roll a Story Dice
Help children develop story-telling and oral language skills! Includes colour-coded themes, such as people, animals, food, places, transport, feelings, weather, actions, sports and objects.
10 dice in a carry bag.
TRI-BLOCKS
Turn each Tri-block and manipulate the middle sound (CVC, CVVC), change a blend (‘sp’ to ‘sl’ or ‘st’), or change the spelling (y to i) when adding a suffix. Tri-blocks let you know the spelling rules by their colour-coding and their systematic phonics progression.
90 colour-coded Tri-blocks and teaching guide.
$49.99 TE $49.00
$24.99 TE $22.00 817. Just Quackers
816. Foam Story
Starter Cubes
Spark creative thinking by rolling the cubes to start stories or ask thought-provoking questions. Lightweight foam is soft and quiet. 6 foam cubes, each 51mm: 12 characters (green), 12 situations (purple) and 12 settings (blue). Includes suggested activities.
$24.00 TE $15.00
819. NEW! Borderlands: Riding the Slipstream
An anthology featuring over 40 short stories and poems by popular authors.
CARRY BAG
WORDS AT WORK
820. NEW! Magic E Flips
A double-sided flip stand for teaching the split digraph (or magic e). Photographic images are included to provide word building examples. Measures 30cm x 15cm. $19.99 TE $19.00
822. NEW! Contraction Dominoes Help students to learn contractions in an interactive format. 28 pieces in collector’s tin.
821. Fiction Decodables Set 1, Phase 1: Phonemic Awareness
Each phonemic awareness reader introduces 8 different letter sounds (phonemes).
12 fiction readers.
$49.99 TE $39.00
823. Blends Dominoes
Children will love the feel of real dominoes as they complete the blend matching game. 28 pieces in collector’s tin. $19.99 TE $19.00
824. NEW! Between Words: A Friendship Tale Dive into a whimsical tale of unexpected friendship, told with compassion and warmth and where bonds are formed beyond language barriers. 40-pp hardcover.
$31.99 TE $21.00
WORDS AT WORK
828. Reading Accelerator (Set 1)
Fast track reading progress with various reading skills activities. Includes 25 cards. Smart Tray sold separately.
$24.99 TE $24.00 829. Smart Tray
A unique card matching system teaching a variety of literacy and numeracy skills. Measures 27cm x 26cm. Cards sold separately.
830. 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.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: MR LUKE
Internet teacher sensation Mr Luke has well over a million Tik Tok followers as he hilariously recounts funny things his ‘tiny humans’ in his class say. He has just released his first book about imagination and the joy of reading.
Guess What We Are Doing Today? is a celebration of books and imaginative play with a diverse cast of characters!
Q&A – LUKE SPRINGER
Can you please briefly introduce yourself?
Hello! My name is Luke Springer, but you might know me as Mr. Luke from my social media profiles. I’m a primary school teacher in Adelaide, South Australia, where I have the joy of teaching first-year students—or as I like to call them, my "tiny humans"—during their exciting and fun introduction to big school!
Tell us about what sparked your desire to be a teacher?
Teaching runs in my family, with both of my paternal grandparents having been educators who travelled the world to teach. Growing up, I was naturally inclined to help others, inspired by my younger brother whom I helped to coach in basketball and navigate the world, much like my older sisters did for me. Additionally, from the moment my first cousin was born during my ninth-grade year, I was drawn to spending time with her and helping at her mum’s mum&bubs club. Teaching felt like a calling, and I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have turned my passion for nurturing young minds into a fulfilling career. How did the story come to you?
The story was inspired by the pure, honest, and imaginative conversations I have with my students. Their ability
to think beyond the obvious and their magical view of the world made it natural to bring such creativity to life in a book.
What is your approach to books and reading in the classroom?
We adore books and reading! It's all about making reading engaging, fun, and exciting. We aim for our tiny humans to be thrilled about learning. Watching them begin to read, recognising sounds, and gradually reading books independently is magical and incredibly rewarding. Encouraging a love for books and reading is fundamentally what it’s all about!
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
If I could choose one superpower, it would definitely be teleportation. The ability to instantly travel anywhere in the world—or even beyond—aligns perfectly with my adventurous spirit. Whether it's for exploring new cultures, visiting remote natural wonders, or simply skipping the daily commute, teleportation would be an incredible way to enhance my life and experiences. An added bonus if I’m able to teleport my class too! Imagine the adventures we’d be able to go on! Our field trips would be amazing!
“We adore books and reading! It's all about making reading engaging, fun, and exciting.”
Luke Springer
LEFT: Mr Luke getting into character!
Thank you, Luke’s energy and spirit was definitely something I wanted to capture, so I’m really glad that comes across in the illustrations.
When I first heard I had an opportunity to work on this book, I immediately watched as many of Luke’s videos as I could. He’s made a lot, so there was plenty of material to work with!
In my early illustrating career, I drew a lot of caricatures of people and, I have to say, that Luke is a caricature artist’s dream! He’s got such an expressive and animated face. That big wide smile, glasses and signature hair bun all help bring the character to life.
What are your childhood memories of visits to the School Library?
Growing up in England, school libraries weren’t the vibrant fun places we know today. At least mine weren’t. My very first primary school was a creaky old building like something from a Charles Dickens novel. I can’t remember it even having a library, but if it did, it was probably full of smelly ancient books and ghosts. As a result I wasn’t really interested in books as a kid. But I loved comics and comics were not the sort of things we were allowed to read in libraries anyway. They were bright and colourful and silly and funny. So I used to get comics delivered to my house every Friday. Sometimes they came with the daily newspaper, tucked up inside like a special treat.
Whenever I’m lucky enough to visit a school library now, I am absolutely blown away by the truly magical and colourful places that they are. Full of books for everyone, no matter what they like to read. Including comics! If these libraries had existed when I was at school, I don’t think I’d have ever left.
Please tell us about the process of receiving a manuscript and turning it into a story
The first thing I do is read through the manuscript several times and try to visualise what concepts and imagery will best suit the text. Imagination is a really strong theme in this book, so I had to try and find a very clear visual difference between the playful thoughts of the children in the beginning and the almost magical transportation once they enter the library.
I’ll then send that off to our editor, Laura. then together we’ll see if everything is flowing as it should. Do the ideas support the text? Do the page turns fall in the right place?
Once we’re happy with that stage, I’ll go through and tidy it up.
After those are approved, it’s time to move on the final coloured version. I produce everything in Photoshop, but it’s still hand-drawn via a large drawing tablet. This is really useful for the designers who then get to work with my files and lay in the final text and fonts.
MAIN HEADING
STEM IN ACTION
835. NEW! What is AI?
All of the answers to children’s questions about AI, presented in Neal Layton’s signature style. 32 pp.
$21.99 TE $17.00
837. Play-Doh Air Clay Bonanza
836. Scientific Discovery Kit
Spark curiosity and scientific inquiry with this comprehensive STEM kit, including over 40 captivating experiments and activities. Includes 55 project pieces, 42 projects cards and 18-page activity booklet.
$95.00 TE $79.00
838. STEAM Powered Kids: Magnet Exploration
Large magnet experimental kit designed to teach children the principles behind magnets. Boxed set of over 40 components, plus a 16pp instruction booklet.
The ultimate set for kids to get creative with Play-Doh Air Clay! Includes 15 packets of Play-Doh Air Clay, 5 tools, 5 different textured sets.
$44.99 TE $35.00
$59.99 TE $55.00
839. NEW! MathcubesShape, Length and Area
Students explore geometric principles and measurements in 30 progessively challenging hands-on activities.
63 pieces.
$49.99 TE $49.00
840. NEW! Mathcubes - Angles
Help students to decipher the secrets of angles with fun-filled tactile activities. 62 pieces.
$49.99 TE $49.00
843. NEW!
ABC Disability
Paralympian swimmer, medal-winner and disability advocate Sarah Rose presents a big-hearted guide to disability, full of letters, learnings and laughs. 32-pp hardcover.
$29.99 TE $25.00
$ 5.99
845. NEW!
Explodapedia: Rewild: Can Nature Heal Our World? Explodapedia is a fresh approach to non-fiction, taking key scientific subjects and presenting them in a way that’s hugely entertaining and readable, whilst still presenting reliable, serious, in-depth information.
176 pp.
$24.99 TE $19.00
844. NEW!
847. Luminous
When it’s dark out, we need light to see. But what if your body could make its own light? Julia Kuo shines a light on the wondrous natural phenomenon that is bioluminescence. 40-pp hardcover.
$27.99 TE $25.00
Follow Your Dreams: 100 Inspiring and Extraordinary Jobs
A beautifully illustrated guide encouraging students to think outside the box about their future careers. 144-pp hardcover.
$34.99 TE $27.00
846. NEW!
The Bacteria Book, Gross Germs, Vile Viruses and Funky Fungi
A fun and informative introduction to a STEAM subject that brings kids up-close with microbiology. 76-pp hardcover.
$26.00 TE $24.00
848. NEW! The Doll Box
A poignant story about a child finding her own inner strength, courage and resilience by drawing inspiration from the generations of women that came before her. Encourages children to think about their own heritage and ancestors. 32-pp hardcover.
