With the recent film release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, we feel it is only fitting that we make available one of the suggested influences to J.K. Rowling's successful series to our "Potterfiles".

Many parallels have been made between Harry Potter and Tom Brown's School Days, which both depict growing up in English private schools. Only a century separates the stories but both address the issue of bullying. Harry has Draco Malfoy as his nemesis while Tom has Flashman. In Harry Potter, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is where the action happens, while it is at Rugby where you meet Tom and his nemesis. Tom and his classmates are introduced to the games of football and rugby, while it is in the very fast game of Quidditch where Draco takes on Harry.

As you read on, more similarities between the two books will come to light. We look forward to receiving your input on one of our latest additions to the Sharing-Books Classics Library.

Labels: bullying, classics, e-books, ebooks, Harry Potter, Hogwarts, School Days, teacher resources, Tom Brown

At Sharing-Books we love to tell the story of how Jennifer Poulter innovated with our publishing model and introduced to us the idea of a one page book - the poster poem. This is a format that Jennifer perfected for the purpose of helping children learn. Jennifer engaged a number of her illustrator friends into collaborating for posters covering a wide range of topics. The poems address issues affecting all children and Jennifer includes in the description of the poster-poems ideas on how they can be used. Jennifer's works have received a lot of praise and we are pleased to share with you some of the kind words acknowledging Jennifer creativity.

"As  fourth grade teacher, I love Jennifer Poulter's poem posters. My class loves them for their richness of language and rhythm. Jennifer's topic selection is varied and great. There is something for every interest. The children enjoy being able to find and download new poems!" Teacher USA Feb 09

"This is a great resource."
Assistant Director, Assessment Resources Branch, Teaching & Learning Division
Queensland Studies Authority

"Materials super.......will activate people within QSA to develop some literacy enrichment learning materials around your work."
Teacher, assessment package writer /senior education officer Australia

"I will forward this on to my boss as he may like to forward it to schools in our district! Looks like really great stuff!"
AVT Behaviour Management Teacher & outgoing Artistic Director QPF

"I'm going back to work next week to teach two days a week in a grade 2/3 so these will be most helpful in my ideas and programming.
Great stuff!"
Australian primary school teacher

"I loved your poems. I shared them with the fourth graders in my class, and they enjoyed them too.
Thanks for sharing!"
Teacher USA

"Now at school we're having an English week. And I gave your poems to children to work with them as translators - to translate in poetical style. They like this type of work - so creative! So this way I use your poems, they are funny, I love people with the sense of humor, and I hope the students and I will laugh together listening to the kid's (your) poems in our native language."
Teacher Ukraine

"You know, today we've had a lesson using your poems - and my kids' translations (Expelling Spell, Pandamonium, Ten of Them and Little People...), if you could hear and understand Russian, it was brilliant, fabulous and funny, of course... lots of laughter!
They (age-11) translated the poems themselves and did not only translate, but rewrote them in rhyme. To my delight they caught the heart of your works, and some of their works were not worse than the originals :) And they asked me for more! I've just downloaded your other posters….
Thank you from me and from my students.
All the best!"
Teacher, Russia

"The kids and I did the Expelling Spell poem on Friday and they LOVED it as well as the illustration…"
American teacher, preschool and lower primary grades

"I downloaded your posters, thank you. Most of all I liked the ones about pandas and cats. My little daughter will be in a rave - she's a fan of animals, especially cats. Susie Dreaming is very nice and cute."
Parent /Teacher from Ukraine

"I have to tell you that I took it to school with me to read to my preschool students and they LOVED it! (So you know it's good now! They are truly the best sounding boards!)
The poem was a hit with the three and four year old age group, good job!"
Teacher review, USA

"I enjoy the poem very much, [I saw an Angel…]. Especially for children. Last week our topic in class was "Earth in danger", we were talking a lot about this,…. So your poem will be a good continuation."
Teacher Ukraine

"I read some of your work on Sharing Books.  One poem I was particularly taken with is Susan Watching Clouds.  It was really kind of sad--it stirred something in me."
Speech & Language Pathologist USA

"I absolutely love the sharing-books.com resource. Seriously, thanks for all you do."
Response from a parent [USA] on “Pandamonium” free teacher, librarian, home-schooling resource

"Jennifer Poulter skips and skims,
her words awake the free spirit within.
One laughs and giggles, but pauses some time,
To ponder the rhythm, the prose and the rhyme.
They create a world where ideas play,
But dance to the sound with the words that they say.  
A heart filled with colour, spectrum, and fun
To frolic and spin in the warmth of the sun
Thank you"
Jan Ramage,[primary teacher and double award nominee CBCA]

"I have just worked with Jennifer Poulter, writing one of her poems in calligraphy and placing the finished item,  Zoo View, on the site.  I understand that ISBN numbers are gradually being added to books/posters on the site, always good for publishing credit – Sharing Books is the publisher. If you investigate the site, you will see that Jennifer has been very creative and productive there lately, and teamed with many top illustrators – I’m sure to everyone’s advantage."
Peter Taylor, SCWBI Queensland Organiser, teacher, writer, calligrapher, illustrator

Labels: children books, ebooks, teacher resources, teaching english