Sign up for our free QUIET PAWS BOOK CORNER – we’d love to have you on board.
Busby and I are reading…
… this fabulous book by one of my favourite authors, the witty and perceptive Eva Ibbotson. I love the way she writes without talking down to her readers.
This book is June’s book of the month in our Quiet Paws Book Corner.
You can read a review here:
https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/feb/11/review-the-star-of-kazan-eva-ibbotson
If you’d like to write a review of your own, you can find lots of templates online, for example here:
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/33354853473315743/
Accessible to readers of 8+, but older readers, adults even, will appreciate the author’s wit, warmth and perceptive eye for timeless character qualities and flaws. The story’s heroine, Annika, her friends and adopted family illustrate beautifully the themes of loyalty, courage, quiet bravery, kindness and selflessness. Annika’s adventure asks and answers questions about family and belonging, without telling children what to think. Vienna and the landscape of North Germany provide a vivid backdrop to the events in the story.
We are listening to…
…this beautiful piece of music. It is classical, but don’t let that put you off.
You don’t have to know anything about classical music to enjoy it. You don’t need to understand the words either.
To quote somebody who knows an awful lot about listening to music, ” What it means to you is what it means.” Clemency Burton-Hill. More about this inspirational woman next month…
In our favourite version, the conductor, Paavo Järvi, could be a character in an Eva Ibbotson novel. You can listen / watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzUMfVpugq4
This was written for a competition by a French composer called Gabriel Fauré . He was just 19 years old and he won. The piece of music is called Le Cantique de Jean Racine. It would be the Desert Island Disc that I’d get Busby to save from the waves. What is a Desert Island Disc? Find out more about this next month …
We are practising… smiling.
Did you know that when you smile, your brain behaves as if you are actually happy?
Smiling is a great way to improve your mood. Smile and see what happens!
This is our favourite beach. Although we can’t go there right now, we can remember how lovely it feels to be there and that generally makes us smile.
It’s helpful to have a bit of an emergency toolkit ready with things like this, for when you need to smile. For example, thinking about people you like, four things that you have and four things you do that make you happy can all help bring a smile to your face.
Don’t forget to add some memories of good times, special places or funny events.
This suggestion comes from a brilliant book called, ‘My Hidden Chimp’ by Professor Steve Peters.
Click here to choose a notebook page you can printout and fill in with your smile toolkit.
https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-t-19578-rainbow-themed-page-borders
We are loving hearing the birds sing, although only one of us feels birds should be allowed in our garden.
We are trying to recognise a bird a week using this great website. This month we are trying to hear sparrows, blackbirds, robins and blue tits. Have a listen here:
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-songs/what-bird-is-that/
We are having a lot of fun doing up our own virtual English cottage…
https://www.jacquielawson.com/cottage
Of course, we will also be busy completing some of our favourite Quiet Paws Book Club activities too…
No prizes for guessing what is high on Busby’s agenda.
Remember to sign up for our QUIET PAWS BOOK Corner. It is free – we’d love to have you on board.
Follow the Buzzy Paws Blog
Subscribe here to find out what we are doing each month.
Buzzy Paws 