All Black Day

Mike Riversdale, via @BarristaMatt who got it from iphonewzealand.co.nz

Schools across Australia are participating in ALL BLACK DAY today, a fundraiser for the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, which was rocked by a large earthquake exactly one month ago. All images are Creative Commons, credited as requested, and found on Flickr.


gobeirne


NZ Defence Force, Crown Copyright 2011, NZ Defence Force – Some Rights Reserved.


Mark Lincoln, www.nzraw.co.nz


gobeirne


Mark Lincoln, www.nzraw.co.nz


gobeirne


NZ Defence Force, Crown Copyright 2011, NZ Defence Force – Some Rights Reserved.


Will you lend Christchurch a hand and help it to bloom again?

The above frieze was created by students in Class SCHM at Penrith Public School, in western Sydney. Teacher Mrs Mead and the teachers' aides helped the students to paint their hands, then they photographed them in the shape of colourful tulips.


UPDATE: Okay, here's our PhotoPeach slideshow

All Black Day: Christchurch earthquake appeal, 2011

Bonjour, Monsieur Poulet!

Leigh Hobbs' infamous Monsieur Poulet, of "Mr Chicken goes to Paris", climbs the Eiffel Tower and then (below, in my version of the story) seemingly meets an appreciative, time-travelling artist. (I'm actually working on a book trailer for this CBCA Awards nominated picture book. I hope. I have to produce something exciting for Tristan Bancks' final class on Monday night.)



Monsieur Poulet was crafted from yellow, black and white FIMO Soft oven-hardening modelling material. Background artwork is from "Mr Chicken goes to Paris" by Leigh Hobbs (Allen & Unwin, 2009).



I bought my copy of "Mr Chicken goes to Paris" the day it came out. It was one of those books you just couldn't leave behind in the shop. Earlier this year, when the CBCA shortlist came out, I grabbed a copy for school. At first, I thought I'd have to forfeit mine. Mai non!


By the way, the French chair (above) is an actual miniature prop
from the 2001 Australian movie, "Moulin Rouge!"



I must explain, too: I was reading "Mr Chicken goes to Paris" today to a group of K-2 students, one of who just *could not* cope with me calling the main character "Mr Chicken" - especially since we read "Kip" (about a rooster) and "Bear & Chook by the sea" yesterday. Every page, the poor kid kept putting his hands over his ears and yelling, "There. Are. No. Chickens. In. That. Book!"

His young colleagues were telling me, "We all have to just ignore him." We kept reading, but I had to avoid saying those magic words, "Mr Chicken", hence the main character was "Monsieur Poulet" throughout!

UPDATE: Okay, I think I've just managed to upload my book trailer as a VIDEO PODCAST! Music: "Parks On Fire (California Burning Mix)" by DJ Rkod (feat. Trifonic). http://ccmixter.org/files/DJ_Rkod/14745 is licensed under a Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/nc-sampling+/1.0/.