There was a book I loved very much in primary school. I wonder if the massed brains of FT can help me find it? It was about a little girl (in my memory she was called Mary Jane - do not trust this!) and she was one of the first children bussed? Something that sticks in my mind is her teacher telling her "Of course all you people have wonderful voices" in a sweeping generalisation, which bewildered the little girl, because she didn't! Can anybody help?

Can't help with the above, sorry, but I could do with some help!
In three weeks time we're having a Book Week in our infant school (that's for 3 - 7 year olds). The theme for the week is 'Around the World' and we're looking for stories from - well, around the world. I have the title of some stories from Australia (The Bunyip of Berkely's Creek and Possum Magic) but I remember someone mentioning books about Blinky Bill. Would these be suitable for the children in our school? And can anyone suggest suitable stories from other countries? I'd be very grateful - and the sooner the better so that I can get the ordered in time for the special week.

Australia...Tiddalik
Japan....Mighty Mountain and the Three Strong Women
China...The Magic Paintbrush
West Africa... Anansi stories
Russia...Peter and the Wolf
Scotland....Katy Morag
Kenya...Mama Panya's pancakes
Kenya...Handa's surprise

This is just off the top of my head, but if you need a particular country or focus, give me a pm and I'll think a bit more.

Thanks, Jabberwok! I already have 'The Magic Paintbrush' and 'Handa's Surprise', but I hadn't thought of 'Peter and the Wolf' although I already have the music for that, so it's a great suggestion. I've also ordered the Japanese book, and 'Mama Panya's Pancakes'. Sadly 'Tiddalik' is out of stock at Amazon so I'll have to try elsewhere. Some of my colleagues fancy a trip to France and Italy - any ideas for those?

" Charles Perrault (12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was a French author who laid foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, and whose best known tales, often derived from pre-existing folk tales, include Le Petit Chaperon rouge (Little Red Riding Hood), La Belle au bois dormant (Sleeping Beauty), Le Maître chat ou le Chat botté (Puss in Boots), Cendrillon ou la petite pantoufle de verre (Cinderella), La Barbe bleue (Bluebeard), Le Petit Poucet (Hop o' My Thumb), Les Fées (Diamonds and Toads), La Marquise de Salusses ou la Patience de Griselidis (Patient Griselda), Les Souhaits ridicules (The Ridiculous Wishes), Peau d'Âne (Donkeyskin) and Riquet à la houppe (Ricky of the Tuft). Perrault's most famous stories are still in print today and have been made into operas, ballets (e.g., Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty), plays, musicals, and films, both live-action and animation."

You could look at the origins of some of our "English" fairy tales.

I am racking my long-term memory for your book Quizbeagle, but nothing yet.
Without wanting to enter what may be a potentially delicate area, it would help if I knew what decade you were in Primary

Canada - "A Promise is a Promise" by Robert Munsch with Michael Kusugak. It's a picture book, a slightly scary story with the heroine being an Inuit girl, and using Inuit legend. My kids loved this at around the ages of 5 - 7. Your kids will enjoy any Munsch book, but this one is the most "Canadian" of them all.