This is such a delightful book by Dinalie Daberera. The title oozes irony as the use of onomatopoeia demonstrates that the time with seeya is anything but quiet. The language difference between the young girl and her grandfather is certainly no barrier to their treasured time together, filled with shared experiences, loads of fun and brimming with love. Dabarera's gentle illustrations enhance the sense of togetherness, and the endpapers are a lovely touch. 
The author-illustrator has some fascinating 'back matter' - a photo accompanying her inspiration for the book, namely her Sinhalese grandmother who migrated to Australia and the subsequent challenges that followed. Daberera speaks here with the same affection that is carried through the story. 
This book would be a terrific addition to any school library or preschool collection, and will be enjoyed by families regardless of their backgrounds.
Social and emotional learning

• What are some ways we can show love for the special people in our lives? 
• What types of things do you enjoy doing with your grandparent(s) and/or special friends? How do you feel when you are doing these things? What could you do if you stopped doing these things?

English

• What does onomatopoeia mean? What onomatopoeic words can you see in this book? 
• Create a chart/mural of onomatopoeic words from the story and list as many things/activities as possible that can make that sound. (eg splash - at the beach, baby in a bath, jumping in a puddle etc)
• What does alliteration mean? Look at the example of sizzle, splash, sparkle. Look at the chart/mural. What onomatopoeic words that start with the same letter can be used to create an alliterative phrase or sentence?

Art

• Look at the endpapers. It is clear that some drawings are created by the girl and some by her seeya. Think of something you enjoy and try drawing it in the same style as both the girl and her seeya.

Geography

• Where in the world is Sinhalese spoken? (Sri Lanka.) Who speaks a language other than English, or has family members/family friends who speak another Language? What language and where are they from? 
  
• On a large world map, put a pin in the countries representing the class's different backgrounds.
• Discuss the reasons why we speak English although we live in Australia, and discuss Indigenous languages also.
  
• Learn some Sinhalese words https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgOVg0hsGVM

Further resources

• This is a wonderful article which provides further information on the author/illustrator's background.
  

          https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/grandma-language-barrier-beautiful-relationship/103103774

• https://myfirstpicturebook.com/books-tag/sinhala-alphabet-book/ 

​Choosing a beginning-of-year library book for K-2 students isn’t as easy as it sounds. Having been a teacher-librarian for more than a few years (!), it is tempting to revert to the tried and true books to promote library love. Some of my favourites over the years have been Library Lion, The Shelf Elf, Delilah Darling is in the Library, and Parsley Rabbit’s Book about Books. Library love, library rules, books about books – all essential in establishing the library as a wonderful place (the best place!) to find books which will let the imagination soar.
This year, I read Luna Loves Library Day with Kindergarten, but I think I might use it with Year 2 in future years. The pictures were delightful, there was a great dose of library love, but it could have been more fully explored with slightly older children. Without preaching, there was seamless integration of diverse characters, separated families and a sense of community. I also loved the ‘book within a book’ which could be a fun creative activity to incorporate into Year 2 lessons. In the future, rather than use this at the start of the school year, I will use this book heading into holidays, where I can encourage students to visit their local libraries and share the library love around.

Year 2 are learning about Sharing the Planet, and during library we are exploring this idea through selected works of Oliver Jeffers.
To kick the term off, I showed the girls a video of Oliver Jeffers explaining the origins of the book, namely an introduction to the world for his new baby son. Apart from an opportunity to listen to his delightful accent (!), the video provided a great stimulus for discussion. The girls brainstormed the most important things a newcomer (baby, alien etc) to our planet would need to know, and these ideas were recorded for future reference. Interestingly, many girls were preoccupied with the need for a newcomer to know where they lived, who their family was and how to make friends. This egocentricity is an age-appropriate response, and demonstrates a limited world view and need for security. However, others were more interested in demonstrating their own knowledge of facts and features of the planet itself.
We pored over every page of this book. Jeffers managed to include an incredible amount of detail and factual information throughout without cluttering the pages. However, the lasting message of the book is a common thread through many of his books - the centrality of kindness.
In future weeks, we will be exploring many of the pages in further detail, researching and sharing ways in which we can care for this planet and those who inhabit it.  ​

Although Book Week is done and dusted for another year, I am still considering the many and varied ways the shortlisted books can be 'put to good use'.
Today, my Kindergarten class revisited The Dress-Up Box by Patrick Guest and Nathaniel Eckstrom, by literally dressing up.
I brought in a range of much-loved dress-ups from home, and gave each student a token dress-up eg pirate hat, unicorn horn, tiger tail, wig etc, and placed the girls in groups of four. The dress-ups and groups were assigned randomly, and the girls were asked to think about who or what their character was, and then to consider a simple storyline that brought the weird assortment together.
I was astonished at how enthusiastic all of the students were, including the girls who are usually more reticent in joining activities, Yes, it was dress-ups. Yes, it was play. And it's true, not all groups worked completely cooperatively,
However, the learning was powerful. After each group had performed, I asked each character a few questions (akin to the hot seat idea), and the girls had to really reflect on their character. I also asked some groups what might happen next in their story. 
These were young Kindergarten girls who were able to create characters and storylines, and see the relationship between their plays and stories that are read aloud. They reluctantly left the library, but were proudly calling themselves 'story-authors'. ​