So far in this series of posts, I’ve offered suggestions for books for Early Childhood and Junior Primary classrooms. Today, if you are a teacher of Middle Primary – years 3 and 4 – this post is for you. The goal is to highlight books I’ve written which you can use in your classroom, linking up with resources which can support you. I hope you find it useful.

Firstly, if you are looking for fiction to help you explore history, notable Australians or to link to the subject of HASS, then I have the following titles suitable for this age group.

1. 1. The Riding Gallery (illustrated by Martina Heiduczek, published by Walker Books). My most recent book, this is the story of the homefront during WW1, focussing on the events surrounding a real merry go round (riding gallery) on the St Kilda foreshore. Told using free verse from the viewpoints of two children, the merry go round operator, and the newspapers of the times. <P>What it Can Be Used For: As mentioned, there are HASS and history tie-ins, but, being a verse novel, this one can also be used to teach poetic forms (including found poems), figurative language and more. If you are in the ACT, you might link the story to the merry go round located in the Civic centre – as this is the very ride which features in the book – and, if in Victoria, the book again has strong links to local history, taking place in St Kilda.<P>You can find teacher notes at the Walker site here and PETAA has an excellent unit of work aimed at the year 3 classroom and linking not just to HASS but also to HPE. You can find that here . You can see and hear the organ from The Riding Gallery , as well as glimpses of the ride, still operating in Canberra, in this video.<P>The book is available in good bookstores in both print and ebook formats, as well as in libraries and could be used alongside the next book, also set in WW2 and also with links to Victoria.

1. Do Not Forget Australia (illustrated by Sonia Kretschmar and published by Walker Books).  Telling a story of friendship between two boys and between two countries, through the events at the French village of Villers-Bretonneux in and after World War 1.
   What it Can Be Used For: Because the battle of  Villers-Bretonneux happened on ANZAC Day, this is an excellent resource leading up to ANZAC Day, but also Remembrance Day.).Do Not Forget Australia is included on the Victorian Premier’s Reading Challenge booklist. You will find publisher teaching notes here and some suggestions for using the book in  the Year Five classroom, here. Although aimed at junior primary these suggestions may also be helpful.
   Do Not Forget Australia is still in print, and available in good bookstores or online.
2. Meet Mary Mackillop (illustrated by Sonia Martinez, published by Random House). Part of the fabulous ‘Meet…’ series from random House, this is a fictionalised story of the life of Mary Mackillop, with a back of book timeline of her life.What it Can Be Used For: Because it features a famous Australian, there are obvious HASS uses, as well as use in Catholic schools, with Mary Mackillop being Australia’s first saint. But this is also the story of a strong woman, and highlights social justice and history, so is suitable for all classrooms. You will find publisher teacher notes here and suggestions for the year 4 classroom here. Meet Mary MacKillop appears on the booklist for the Victorian Premier’s Reading Challenge and is still available in good bookstores or online.

Secondly, as well as The Riding Gallery, I have four other verse novels suitable for middle primary.

1. Pearl Verses the World (illustrated by heather Potter, published by Walker Books) is a story of belonging, of family and also of grief. Told using the verse novel format it again has links to HPE as well as making an excellent class read aloud.What it Can Be Used For. Because it uses free verse poetry (as well as some shorter rhyming poems), there is lots of opportunity to address poetic and language devices, including covering ACELT1600 (Discuss the nature and effects of some language devices used to enhance meaning and shape the reader’s reaction, including rhythm and onomatopoeia in poetry and prose.)and ACELT1604 (Use metalanguage to describe the effects of ideas, text structures and language features of literary texts), among many other uses.Teacher’s notes for Pearl Verses the World are available on the Walker Books website, and my ideas for using the book in a year five classroom are available here The book appears on the Premier’s Reading Challenge booklists in WA, Victoria and South Australia.
2. Roses are Blue (Illustrated by Gabriel Evans and published by Walker Books). As with Pearl, this can be used to adress HPE, poetry and other English outcomes, as well as making an excellent class read aloud. You’ll find Teacher’s Notes here and suggestions for using the book in a year four classroom can be found here. Although  Roses are Blue is currently out of print, it can still be found in many libraries. and it appears on the NSW Premier’s Booklist.
3. Queen Narelle (illustrated by Simon O-Carrigan and published by Walker Books) is a verse novel told from the alternating viewpoints of Maddie and her cat, Narelle. The use of the cat’s voice makes it fun, but the issue Maddie is facing – about friendship challenges – is very real, and very important. The exploration of friendship and bullying, as well as of family, makes it also an excellent text for HPE classes. You’ll find a simple teaching suggestion, pairing Queen Narelle with a stand alone poem, here.Queen Narelle is available in good bookstores or online, as well as in many school and local libraries and Narelle also features on the SA Premier’s Reading Challenge Booklist.
4. Toppling (illustrated by Rian Nest James, published by Walker Books). Although I would normally recommend this book in upper primary, I am including it ehre because it is included in the NSW, Victorian and SA Premier’s Booklists at this level. A story of friendship, it also delas with childhood cancer, giving it applicablity in the HPE classroom as well as a class read aloud. Teacher’s notes for Toppling are available on the Walker Books website and further suggestions  are here. Although these are aimed at a year 6 classroom, they can be adapted for younger students.

And, while verse novels are a wonderful resource for teaching poetry, I also have three poetry-specific books suitable for middle primary.

1. 1. Right Way Down (edited by Rebecca M. Newman and myself and published by Fremantle Press) is aimed chiefly at middle and upper primary students and is suitable both for in class use and private reading, with poems in a wide range of of forms, and on a variety of topics, all written by contemporary poets. You will find teaching notes here and printable poetry activities here. Right Way Down is still available in good stores or online in hard copy or ebook format.
   2. Teaching Poetry for Pleasure and Purpose ( Published by PETAA)  is, as the title suggests, designed to help you in teaching poetry in pleasurable ways, but also with the purpose of supporting the demands of the curriculum. There is a chapter for each primary school year, including Years 3 and 4, unpacking key terminology, suggesting activities both in reading and writing, and including poems and suggestions for further resources.  Teaching Poetry for Pleasure and Purpose is available directly from PETAA in both hardcopy and digital formats. PETAA also offer an online professional learning module of the same name, where you can hear more from me on the teaching of poetry.
   3. Assembly (published by Ready Ed Publications) is a collection of printable poems for use for performing, recitation or just having fun with, including poems suitable for middle primary. Each poem is printable, and is supported with a page of teaching notes.  Available in hard copy or ebook format directly from the publisher .

Last, but certaily not least, I have three more books suitable for middle primary.

1. Looking up (Published by Fremantle Press) is a novel about a boy who gets more than he imagined was possible for his tenth birthday. With topics of family and communication, and suitable for studies of narrative, as class read aloud and for private reading. You can read a Sample Chapter Here, Teacher’s Notes are available Here and some suggestions for Year Three teachers HERE.
2. The Floatingest Frog (illustrated by Simon Bosch, published by New Frontier).   The story of two frogs who spot a cow and wonder if they can be bigger than it, it is based on an Aesop’s Fable, the Frog and the Ox, and also delas with competitiveness and sibling rivalry.<p>What can it be used for:   Because it is retold fable (you can see one version of the original fable here) there is the opportunity to explore fables  and also link to science and the topic of frogs. You’ll find a collection of frog related videos used in a unit which followed on from reading The Floatingest Frog  here .Although it is a little hard to find in stores, The Floatingest Frog is still held in many school and public libraries and available for sale directly from me,  posted anywhere in Australia for $20. It is also perfectly accompanied by my nonficton title:
3. Frogs: Awesome Amphibians (Published by Ready Ed) A handy classroom/library reference, or as private reading, it can be purchased online direct from the publisher. This excellent science unit of work could also be a useful resource.

This is just a portion of what I have written suitable for this age group. There are also several reading series titles and novels including Doggy Duo.

And, if you’d like to see me in person, I am available to visit your school for author visits or to run professional learning. Feel free to contact me to find out more. You can also do the same  if you’d like some advice on using my books in your classroom.