LIBRARY NEWS

I am delighted to announce our first group of Year 2 Junior Librarians for the first half of this term. I am looking forward to working with Zoe, Leo C and Millie from the Eagle class, Nina, Teddy and Selina from the Owl class and finally, Lily and Rafi S from the Hawk class. They have the responsibility for the library environment and choose our Book of the Week. Watch this space for their forthcoming suggestions!

BOOK OF THE WEEK

Our Grimsdell Library is child centred and so our Book of the Week is always chosen by one of our Junior Librarians. This week, Millie and Selina’s choices are from the same genre – humour.

Comical books have a magnetic appeal for children - it's not uncommon to see pupils huddled together in our library, giggling over a picture book. Our humour section remains one of the most popular, engaging pupils across all age groups. But these books offer far more than just entertainment - they are a powerful and valuable teaching tool that can significantly support pupil well-being.

Humorous stories provide a natural gateway to emotional connection, classroom engagement and stress relief. The benefits of laughter are well-established in both physiological and psychological terms. Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, which enhance mood and reduce stress. It also lowers cortisol levels, helping to calm feelings of anxiety or frustration. These responses are especially beneficial to children, offering a natural way to support mental health and promote a more positive classroom environment.

In a time when schools are increasingly focused on supporting the emotional and mental well-being of pupils, the role of funny books becomes even more important. By weaving humour into our teaching, we can create joyful, inclusive and emotionally supportive learning spaces - one shared laugh at a time.

One of Millie’s favourite stories is Daisy Eat Your Peas written by Kes Gray and illustrated by Nick Sharratt.

Millie tells us:

“This is my favourite story from the Daisy series – Daisy is a really funny character and I hope you enjoy the story as much as me!”

We hope you agree! This fiction book is available to borrow from our school library.

Mrs Harvey would also recommend this book. It is a brilliantly illustrated story to share and is a real ‘page turner’. This is a wickedly funny book about dinner time which will appeal to fussy eating children and their despairing parents everywhere!

There is a lovely form of personification at the beginning of the book, when the peas are described as “ganging up” on Daisy. The book follows a very simple, yet extremely comedic pattern, where the response from Daisy is always the same, “I don’t like peas”.

Superficially, this book may appear to be just a whimsical read, but there are a lot of techniques and skills that adults can utilise when reading this to children. For example, it follows a very structured, sequential pattern. The sequential element is so strong that it allows methods of predictability from children, because by them shouting out, “I don’t like peas” they are predicting what Daisy is going to say.

This story is great for language learning because it allows you to focus on daily routine, place in a town and of course, food and emotions. It also introduces children to the genre of persuasive writing. The purpose, structure and language features in this book are fundamental aspects of persuasive texts. The story enables you to explore and identify the language feature of persuasive texts, eg how word choice can be used to strengthen opinion. It encourages the reader to make predictions about what can happen. I wonder if you correctly guessed the ending of the story…

Selina has selected a book which formed part of the Reading road Map provision in 2022-23. When Jelly Had a Wobble is written by Michele Robinson and illustrated by Tom Knight.

Selina’s reason for her choice: “This story is really funny, and it helps you see that it’s okay to feel a bit worried sometimes too!”

Mrs Harvey agrees with Selina’s choice. This delightful and funny story follows Jelly, who’s feeling a bit wobbly about taking part in a competition. With warmth and humour, When Jelly Had a Wobble gently shows children that it’s okay to feel nervous sometimes - and that those feelings don’t have to stop us from joining in and having fun. Full of playful illustrations and a positive message, this book is perfect for encouraging confidence and resilience in young readers. A big hit in our library!

Happy Reading

Mrs Harvey