SPRING HAS ARRIVED!

Spring has sprung

The grass is ris

I wonder where

The birdies is.

They are in the window at Rainy Day Books this week. 

A lovely Spring themed display with many books on Australian birds and particularly a new local bird watching book.

Birds of the Yarra catchment and where to find them - Peter Mason and Bird Observation and Conservation Australia $22

There is also a lovely found nest there that I would like to know the name of the bird that makes it, so if yu are a keen twitcher do call in and see if you know it.

Rainy Day Books has a great fondness for birds and every Spring a welcome swallow comes back to nest in the small brick toilet at the back of the shop.  A very clever mother bird has worked out that it is warmer but also a lot safer as the crows cannot get through the small gap in the fence.  She has a nest right near the ceiling on top of a brick column and when the chicks get too big for the nest she sits them along the top of the open door, and as she returns from her food gathering you can hear the crescendo of cheeps in the shop, even through the closed back door of the shop.

UP, UP and AWAY!!!

Well this month we are off to outer space at Rainy Day Books.

The window is stunning with silver and black and some lovely bright blue star lights but the books are really interesting.

Reader’s Digest book – "The way to the stars" covers the history of space exploration.

"Who’s who in space" by Michael Cassutt names all the astronauts, pilots and cosmonauts that participated until 1999 with biographies included.

A really interesting small book by Jeff Toghill is called Celestial navigation and this includes sextants and chronometers, estimating positions and tables.

These books would make great Father’s Day gifts and also at the moment there is a new book out by local railway historian, Nick Anchen. This is called Life on the Victorian railways and gives a fascinating insight into the day to day life of men working on the Victorian lines from early days until electrification. $50

IT'S RAINBOWS ALL THE WAY AT RAINY DAY BOOKS THIS WEEK

The window has a colourful display of alternative education books including Steiner and Montessori with books on Buddhism and meditation for children as well.

Steiner education is designed to be a health-giving education, nurturing and balancing the human faculties of thinking, feeling and will.

The prime purpose of Steiner rducation is to support and educate children such that their own innate and unique human qualities may come to greater fulfillment.  Rgus us the task of the educator in each Steiner school.

The Montessori approach fosters children's love of learning and encourages independence by providing an environment of activities and materials which children use at their own pace.  This builds self-confidence, inner discipline, a sense of self-wortj and instils positive social behaviour.  The approach forms the basis for likelong learning.