I would recommend this book for kids from EYFS stage to year 2. There is lots of scope for discussion around this book, for example, talking about the things which the boy encounters, comparing and contrasting the boys environment to places your pupils have been, trying to find things hidden in the illustrations and considering what it would be like if the trees were cut down and replaced with buildings. Brainstorm different ways students can contribute to the conservation of the Daintree Rainforest. In groups, students are to plan a presentation of a persuasive piece to raise awareness of the plight of the rainforest. Students can use any format they wish, such as a multimedia project, a play, a persuasive letter, a speech, a poster, etc. Good link between English and Geography. Love the idea of children using their imagination and their geographical knowledge to write their own version of the journey. The boy experiences a connection between past and present. What can he hear? What can you hear when you close your eyes? Which are sounds of nature? Which sounds were not there before human development?

A boy and his father spend the day in the rainforest of northern Australia and the boy imagines both the primeval past and the possible future for the area. The striking illustrations, which are collages made largely from natural materials, combine with a spare but thought-provoking text.http://www.australiancurriculumlessons.com.au/2014/07/27/forest-meets-sea-inferential-comprehension-lesson-plan-f12/ Jeannie Baker projects a hopeful portrait of urban renewal in Home. As in her previous Window, the picture book unfolds as a wordless series of collages, this time charting the rebirth of a Continue reading »

I really enjoyed this story and especially loved the illustrations in the book, as they are in fact photos of handmade collages made by Jeannie Baker herself. The lifelike collages felt like an export on to a journey through an exotic rainforest and had me hooked right up to the end where I saw how, like so many other nature filled areas, are "now being threatened by civilisation". The various hidden images were also a joy the seek out. Read Jeannie Baker’s book Window. Discuss both books and how they are similar and different. Have students complete a table (template below) comparing the two books. As an alternative, groups of students could each take a Jeannie Baker book and do their own comparison. Look at pictures of the Daintree Rainforest and brainstorm some captions that would be persuasive and encourage people to be environmentally conscious.

In this story, Jeannie Baker shows us how things change, but through the eyes of a Australian young boy. This story is based in North Queensland, Australia and we walk through a lovely, tropical rainforest with this young boy and his father- as he pretends to walk through time, past, present and future. We go from seeing extinct and pre-historic animals, to seeing the furture vast developments of green-land becoming industrialised. As we look into the future aprehenisions for the forest, we (along with the boy) are faced with the question: How much longer will this forest be here? Have students create pictures of themselves with the characters from the book in each of the three environments, i.e. a rainforest environment, a coastal environment and their school environment. Students can incorporate drawing, painting or other types of artistic mediums. Students will also create speech bubbles and written dialogue for one or more of the characters and place them in an appropriate spot on the pictures.