By: Renea Giles
*Available directly from our distributors, click the Available On tab below
Everyone has a home that is perfect for them and so did Francis before he outgrew it. Now he must find a new home before bedtime! His friends have their perfect homes and try to help, but is what they are suggesting perfect for Francis? The sun is setting and time is running out! Will he be homeless like a slug? What are your ideas?
Born in Brisbane, Australia, Renea Giles, her husband and two young children spend their time between there and Newcastle, New South Wales. Before having her own children, Renea tutored primary-school-aged refugee children and worked closely with their schools to provide additional support. She enjoys being active within her community and loves exploring the outdoors with her family, especially Australia’s glorious bush and coastlines. She strongly believes we need to fiercely protect the wonderful tradition of spending quality family time and reading books to our children as their benefits are immeasurable.
A truly beautiful book that is perfect for children and grandchildren to follow while reading to them nestled in your lap!
My 3 children really enjoyed this story. It is written and illustrated beautifully and really encourages language skills. I love how the story can easily and enjoyably support the curriculum for both of my school-aged children. My 1yo particularly loves the different animals encountered along the way. I highly recommend this book!
I am an Early Childhood teacher and shared this book with my Year One students yesterday. "Where Should Francis Live?" is a humorous, rich text that can be used to teach a range of reading and writing concepts within the Australian Curriculum. My students were engaged and responsive throughout the duration of the text. I look forward to sharing this wonderful book with many more students in the years to come.
A sign of an amazing children’s book is when it is requested to be re-read over and over by the child, an even better book is when the parent doesn’t mind! ‘Where should Francis live?’ is a new addition to our bookshelf, but is well read already! It’s a thoughtful story with beautiful illustrations.
I came across this book by word of mouth from a friend and WOW, what an absolutely beautiful little book - both in the story itself and the illustrations.
I love the story with the anticipation of Francis being able to find his home by bedtime which actually makes this the perfect bedtime story too.
I really love how the illustrations fill the page from corner to corner to keep the little one's attention.
A well written book that encourages interaction of little one's while being read to...Highly recommend reading it to your kids!!!
Can't wait to see if the very talented Renea has more stories to tell...
Where should Francis live is a children's book about a snail who is looking for a new shelter. On his journey Francis met wonderful friends who invite him to live with them however none of these places are suitable for the poor snail.
At the end Francis found his perfect home and he finally looked happy. The story reminds me of how life it is; it shows you plenty of opportunities but you only have to pick the right one for you and they one that makes you happy.
The adventures that Francis encounter are funny and the narrative is very easy to read by grownups and children. The illustrations are very colorful, beautiful and entertaining and the end of the story is quite unpredictable and hilarious.
My son could not stop laughing about Francis's new home. I would absolutely recommend this wonderful book.
What a beautiful story. My daughter absolutely loved Francis journey. The illustrations are so colourful and engaging for children. Francis journey is filled with interactive questions and highlights the importance of home and the concept of a home. An absolute must for pre readers and readers of all ages. My 7 year old loved this book it’s a must to read. Francis is a hit with all of us in our home.
This book was recommended to me by a friend. Not being able to go into a bookshop at the moment and look at books is difficult. I'm a drama teacher, and I am always on the lookout for new books to add to my collection. My own children are too big now for bedtime stories, but it is one of my treasured memories from their younger years. That bedtime ritual where we got to spend so much precious time together. I love to use stories in my work, particularly with my Junior students. I will definitely be taking Francis into class with me. The colours are so vibrant, and the pictures really pop out at you. This is so important, especially for the pre-readers. There are lots of things to explore in Francis's story. The idea of home and what it means to different people. Nature and all the different animals and their diverse habitats. The journey from morning to night. For me the possibilities are endless. For the children, it's a simple story beautifully told. The children get the opportunity to follow Francis on his journey and to help him find his new home. There are lots of things to look at in the book, and at the end you can fill in your map of Francis's journey.
I am loving the unique yet relatable story of Francis and his search for a new home. As a teacher of struggling readers, this text has many uses for me and my students, and has helped create some fantastic discussions in our groups. Everyone, at some point, can relate to the idea of growing out of something they love or having to make a decision to a deadline - just like Francis. My students have loved the vivid, generous illustrations and the inclusion of some text-free pages within the book is great for encouraging discussion and imagination. I can see Francis becoming a firm favourite within our classes :)
This is a darling little book! I highly recommend it.
The story is cute and clever, and the illustrations are bold and colorful. Your children will delight in the story.
As a psychologist, I appreciate the learning structure of the book. Giles has clearly applied cutting-edge research on cognitive development to create an educational opportunity with multiple levels.
Children will be engaged in the story while parents can help guide conversations that can be increasingly complex and develop strong reasoning skills.
In the crowded children's book marketplace, this book seems fresh and novel!
My daughter and I loved reading the book "Where Should Francis Live?" such a lovely story, with lots for my daughter to think about as we read it, she loved the illustrations too. I would highly recommend this book. It's been read quite a few times in our house!
What a truly magical story to share with young children. The illustrations and authors craft work together beautifully to tell the story of Francis needing to find a home and find one quickly. The urgency and hope that Francis will in fact find a home is depicted through a variety of sentence types, careful word choices and repetition. Where Should Francis Live? exposes children to opportunities to interact with the story as the reader repeatedly asks "is that a good idea?" providing opportunities to build oral language as the story is being read. As an early years classroom teacher, this is one picture book I would definitely have in my repertoire of books suitable for young readers.
This story was brilliant for my children who are 1, 6, 7. The older children loved providing their ideas about where and why aspects. This allowed for creativity and humor. My younger child absolutely loved the illustrations and the fact that all his favourite animals were in one story! Highly recommended!
Cute, Clever, And Well-Designed
This is a darling little book! I highly recommend it.
The story is cute and clever, and the illustrations are bold and colorful. Your children will enjoy the story.
As a psychologist, I appreciate the learning structure of the book. Giles has clearly applied cutting-edge research on cognitive development to create an educational opportunity with multiple levels. Children will be engaged in the story while parents can help guide conversations that can be increasingly complex and develop strong reasoning skills.
In the crowded children's book marketplace, this book seems fresh and novel!
This is a delightful book! The story is lovely, and each and every character is charming - especially Francis himself. The illustrations are beautiful, and bring everything to life. My children love it, and we find lovely little details that we hadn't initially noticed every time we read it. A beautiful gift to give, and a great book to have in your own collection.
What a beautiful book! The wonderful illustrations and fantastic text structure make this text the perfect teaching tool. As a Kindergarten teacher, this book will be used within my classroom to introduce and address a wide variety of content areas. The key words written in italics allow for many rich conversations around different grammatical and text features, with the repetition of keywords making it easy for younger students to predict and follow along. The living things introduced throughout the story link perfectly to various areas of Science, as students identify why the different homes do not suit the main character. The engaging illustrations and vibrant colours give students the opportunity to reflect on why the author selected the specific colour scheme on each page and the mood they create.
A beautiful story line which will be read in my classroom for both educational purpose and enjoyment!
I highly recommend this wonderfully engaging and endearing book. The beautiful illustrations are so emotive, bright and clever and perfectly showcase the Australian bush and wildlife.
It is a fantastic tool for teachers as it is so beautifully repetitive and has a great range of sight words and rich, new vocabulary too. In addition, it covers so many topics from Australian animals, various terrain and bush land habitats, characteristics of different Australian animals, sharing, friendship, belonging, growth, time, safety, etc. I love how it includes open-ended thought provoking questions to involve the children too.
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it to my own children and the Kindergarten students that I teach and it has been so well received and treasured. My children have also enjoyed reading it themselves too.
