Innehållsförteckning för June 2021 från Storytime

K blinked ara woke her up big in her yellow family eyes ’s . warm As she , musty yawned den and and stretched, her big foot-pads pushed into the face of her brother Sanka. He let out a grumpy growl... Kara ignored him and scrambled out of the hole beneath the roots of a pine tree. The sun was going down and Mother was already outside. The beautiful tigress sniffed the air, and her tail twitched. Mother shook her great striped head and grumbled, “We cannot stay… the humans are getting closer.” Kara liked to think that she was a brave tiger, but these words made her feel a little bit scared. She was only eighteen months old, after all. When she sniffed the air, she could smell smoke…

Thumbelina woke up one spring morning and saw dust motes sparkling in the sunlight. Why was there dust in her lovely tulip-house? She needed to do some spring cleaning right away! With help from her little prince-husband, she washed all the bed linen, dusted the furniture, and beat the rug with a tiny twig. Great clouds of dust came out of the rug, making her nose itch and twitch. Though she tried to stop it, the tiny girl let out an enormous sneeze! It was so strong that it sent her tumbling up into the air, and the breeze carried her far away! Beneath her, she could see green fields and vast forests – but her tulip-house was nowhere to be seen! How would she get back home? She managed…

Once upon a time, in the land of Hungary, there lived a prince named Elkabo. He fell in love with a fairy lady named Nastia, and they lived happily together in his castle. One day, Nastia gave birth to a baby girl – and she had perfect little wings, just like her fairy mother! The proud parents named the girl Uletka. The trouble was, a wicked fairy called Muta was jealous of Nastia’s happy life, and was determined to ruin it. One day, when Nastia went down to a pond to bathe, Muta cast a spell that pulled her into the water and turned her into a water lily flower! Elkabo was very sad and upset, so he rode all the way to the court of the Fairy Queen to…

Along time ago, in the land of Japan, there lived a brave and honourable warrior called Kintoki. He lived in the city of Kyoto with his wife, and they had a happy and healthy baby boy. They called him ‘Kintaro’, which means ‘golden boy’, and dressed him in a bright red bib with the word ‘gold’ written on it. Kinttoki was a good man, but some of his lord’s servants did not like him, and plotted against him. The warrior was worried that his enemies might try to hurt his family. He told his wife: “Take our son and go to live in the wilderness, where bad people will never find you!” So his wife took baby Kintaro and went to the forests on Ashigara Mountain. She raised him alone…

William was born in a tiny village called Masitala. Masitala is in the country of Malawi, which lies in southern Africa. William’s parents were farmers. They grew maize, which is a kind of corn that flourishes in African soil. They had seven children – and William was the only boy. By day, he helped his family on the farm, digging and hoeing the rich brown earth. For dinner, they ate nsima, which was his favourite food – a delicious porridge made of maize. There were also fresh vegetables from the garden, as well as grasshoppers. They were very tasty when roasted and dipped in salt! When night came, the family went to bed early because their village didn’t have electricity for lights. They had a lantern, but they didn’t use…

Long ago, in the age of heroes, a king called Aeson ruled over the city of Iolcus in Greece. He was a good ruler, but his brother Pelias was jealous of him. Pelias decided that he would make a better king than Aeson. He he led a rebellion against his brother and threw him in prison. Pelias made himself ruler in Aeson’s place. However, Pelias knew that he had committed a wicked crime, and was worried that someone might take his crown. He called for an oracle, who could see the future. The oracle looked worried and told him, “Your crown will be taken by a man with one sandal!” “I don’t like the sound of that!” thought Pelias, and he sent the oracle away. While Aeson was in prison,…

BOOKS OF THE MONTH SAIL by Dorien Brouwers (Little, Brown) is a book about sailing on the ocean – but it is also about the challenges we all face in life! The vivid artwork captures the excitement, fear and happiness that a sailor experiences when they go sailing on the wild and beautiful ocean. LET’S MAKE SOME GREAT ART: COLOURS by Marion Deuchars (Laurence King) is a must-read for any child with a passion for art. It discusses colour theory, the tools artists use, and even how different paints are created. The fun colour-based exercises in this volume are sure to open kids’ eyes to new artistic possibilities. YOU CAN’T TAKE AN ELEPHANT ON HOLIDAY by Patricia Cleveland-Peck, illustrated by David Tazzyman (Bloomsbury) is a book with a very important…