News Blog @ Wellington City Libraries

As part of the 20th anniversary of the Central Library building at 65 Victoria Street, we are holding a treasure hunt.  If you and your family are the lucky winners, you’ll have a Wii to take home with you!  Wendy, from our Children and Youth Services team, tells you more in the video below:

Our picks this month feature books with animals that rhyme, smell and entertain for preschoolers. Have a browse!

No dogs allowed! / by Linda Ashman ; illustrated by Kristin Sorra.
“Ashman (Come to the Castle!) lets Sorra do most of the storytelling-the text is all but superfluous-in this fantasy about a cafe owner plagued by his pet-owning customers. Sorra’s digital artwork combines a warm, painterly quality with clear, easy-to-decode visual information. Sad-eyed Albert, the cafe owner, is ready for business in a white shirt and natty bow tie, but he’s obsessed with keeping his cafe free from unusual creatures, and he changes his sign accordingly: “No one with fur allowed,” he scrawls hurriedly after a girl appears with a large kangaroo. What Albert doesn’t see is the party unfolding by the fountain in the square, as his rejected customers congregate there instead. A magician performs, the pets make friends, and ice cream is served.  Ages 3-8″ (Publisher Weekly)

The rhyming rabbit / written by Julia Donaldson ; illustrated by Lydia Monks.
Inspired by the colours and creatures around him, the Rhyming Rabbit is always making up entertaining verses. But when the other rabbits show no interest in poetry, he decides to take his talent elsewhere.

Llama Llama mad at mama / by Anna Dewdney.
“This fun-to-read follow-up to the popular “Llama Llama Red Pajama” finds Llama Llama and Mama heading to Shop-O-Rama, where shopping soon becomes a drama. Illustrations.” (Syndetics summary)

Giraffe attack! / written by Chris Gurney ; illustrated by Aki Fukuoka.
Jack’s really worried about the “giraffe” everyone keeps talking about, and imagines that the rattling and banging he hears really is a giant giraffe trying to break into the house. So why does his mum laugh? (Staff Member)

Whiffy Wilson : the wolf who wouldn’t wash / by Caryl Hart ; illustrated by Leonie Lord.
A wolf who doesn’t wash, realises that not all dirt is bad but being smelly wont make you any friends. Great rhymes that will delight younger children. (Staff Member)

For all creatures / Glenda Millard & [illustrated by] Rebecca Cool.
This second collaboration from the creators of the award-winning picture book Isabella’s Garden is a winner in my book. It reads like a prayer of thankfulness, straight from the pages of Glenda Millard’s award-winning ‘Kingdom of Silk’ books, with her trademark lyrical language drawing the reader in with its rhythm and alliteration. The book pays homage to all creatures great and small, to love and life, to kindness and gentleness and to the marvel of being alive. The language is imbued with tenderness and warmth. It is varied, evocative and thought-provoking, yet playful and imaginative. (Fancygoods.com)

You might yawn but you wont get tired of this great selection of beautifully illustrated  picture books with lots of rhymes and laughs to share together.

Yawn / [illustrated by] Nick Sharratt ; [text by] Sally Symes.
Illustrated by Nick Sharratt, the ‘yawn’ in this book is a giant cut out. Follow the yawn (but don’t catch it yourself!) as it passes from Sean, to Cat, to Bird, to …. Loads of fun and great for reading at bedtime. (Staff Member)

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers.
Another quirky, humorous book from the very talented Oliver Jeffers. In Stuck, Floyd has the misfortune of getting his kite stuck up a tree. Determined, he tries to get it down by throwing increasingly large and absurd objects at it in an effort to get it unstuck. Amazing illustrations as always. (Staff Member)

The purple kangaroo / Michael Ian Black ; illustrated by Peter Brown.
“When a mind-reading monkey asks his audience to imagine the most spectacular thing in history, the outcome is bound to be zany. Sure enough, this simple request evolves into the story of a roller-skating purple kangaroo who’s searching for a dear friend. Full color.” (Syndetics summary)

Oliver / [concept, text and design by Christopher Franceschelli].
Christopher Franceschelli is the translator of Press here the very effective board book that has been so popular at pre-school storytimes. He has now written Oliver which could be described as a minimalist story book. Books for Keeps, who gave it a 5 star review say: “Oliver can roll from one side to the other and stand on his head ‘but he was simply an egg and that was that’. And yet, limited as the movement of an egg is, this book shows how its shape and smooth texture give it a special aesthetic appeal….The images and succinct text make this little information story compelling for child and sharing adult and it springs a lovely and satisfying surprise at the end…This most original book is the result of a simple idea brilliantly realised.” (Staff Member)

Scrawny cat / Phyllis Root ; illustrated by Alison Friend.
This is a beautifully illustrated, heart warming picture book .Scrawny Cat used to belong to someone, someone who scratched his ears and knew his name. Now the only thing anyone ever calls him is “get out of here!” But when a snarling dog and a blowing rain turn the scrawny cat into a sailor cat, he learns that even a scared and shivery stray can find a loving home.

It’s been a looooonnnngggg school term and I bet all kids are looking forward to the school holiday break. Librarians have bumped our brains together and come up with some hideous, hilarious and hands-on activities for you – they are all free and great for those of you aged 5-12.  During the October holidays we’ll be jumping in our time machines (yup – every library has one; usually found around the 900s non-fiction area) and whizzing back through time to explore some of the nasties and funnies of history.  Here’s what’s happening and where:

Wednesday 12th October
Central Library (11am – 12 noon):  Dastardly dungeons and peculiar punishments: crime, punishment and great escapes. Can you escape with your life? Content not suitable for preschoolers.

Khandallah Library (11am – 12 noon): Find out what it was like growing up in Ganges Road in the 1930s–1940s. Join Pauline Henderson for some fun games and activities.

Brooklyn Library (2pm – 3pm): Gizmos, gadgets, crazy contraptions and quiz. Can you guess what some bizarre looking contraptions from the past were for?

Thursday 13th October
Kilbirnie Library (11am – 12 noon): Past times pastimes – fun and games in conjunction with the Museum of City and Sea. Register at the library or call 387 1480

Newtown Library (2pm – 3pm): Gizmos, gadgets, crazy contraptions and quiz. Can you guess what some bizarre looking contraptions from the past were for?

Thursday 13th October
Johnsonville Library (10am – 11am):: Blast from the past – dress up and enjoy plenty of old time fun and games

Friday 14th October
Island Bay Library (2pm – 3pm): Gizmos, gadgets, crazy contraptions and quiz. Can you guess what some bizarre looking contraptions from the past were for?

Monday 17th October
Tawa Library (2pm-3pm): Past times pastimes – fun and games in conjunction with the Museum of City and Sea. Register at the library or call 232-1690

Tuesday 18th October
Karori Library (2pm – 3pm): Past times pastimes – fun and games in conjunction with the Museum of City and Sea. Register at the library or call 476 8413

Wednesday 19th October
Miramar Library (11am – 12 noon): Come all ye knights and ladies, dress in your medieval best for medieval games, stories and activities.

Wednesday 19th October
Central Library (11am – 12 noon): Dastardly dungeons and peculiar punishments: crime, punishment and great escapes. Can you escape with your life? Content not suitable for preschoolers.

Thursday 20th October
Cummings Park (Ngaio) Library (2pm – 3pm): Re-enact and relive some of history’s most hideous and horrific punishments. Not for the faint hearted.

Friday 21st October
Wadestown Library (2pm – 3pm): Re-enact and relive some of history’s most hideous and horrific punishments. Not for the faint hearted.

Head down to the Central Library this weekend and stock up on Children’s books for the school holidays.
Our sales table includes Picture Books, Fiction books and Non-Fiction Books for kids up to 12 years old and they’re only $1 each!
You have three days only (starting today) to make the most of our sale. It’s never too late to come and have a look as we’ll have new stock on sale regularly throughout the weekend.
Our Saturday morning storytime at Central is the ideal opportunity to bring your kids along and choose a few books together!

It’s the last day of the holidays!  Today there are these events happening:

Khandallah (11am-12pm):  Simple science: Awesome DIY experiments.

Wadestown (2-3pm):  Meet the Mad Scientist.
Come and join a real live scientist doing crazy science stuff.

Brooklyn (2-3pm):  Seashore Science
We don’t sell seashells by the seashore but our rock pools teem with life galore. Come to the library to find out more!

What could go wrong? Normally I am not one for looking at kids craft books. But I was recently dealing with a pile of new books and came across 3 great new kids craft and art books:

The Usborne book of origami and other paper projects / Eileen O’Brien and Kate Needham . This book has great ideas while using simple tools, and yes the paper water bombs work really well, my nephews had a blast with them, and all we used was a pile of coloured paper. Mind you their dad is still in mourning for the back yard.

Big book of papercraft / Fiona Watt ; designed and illustrated by Antonia Miller, Non Figg and Katrina Fearn.
This text is full of fun and challenging things to make and do with paper, from paper crocodiles to 3-D bugs, book covers and embossing. It contains over 45 activities, each accompanied by simple, step-by-step instructions and clear illustrations to make them easy to understand and complete.

365 things to draw and paint / Fiona Watt ; designed and illustrated by Erica Harrison … [et al.].
This book is perfect for the young artist.

Meet top marine scientists from NIWA and peer through their microscopes at all the weird, wonderful and incredible things they have found in and near the sea during the Mana 2011 BioBlitz.

You can talk to the scientists from 10am–12noon on Saturday 19 February at Central Library and discover all the amazing plants, animals and insects living on the land and in our sea in the Mana region.  Learn about taxonomy (identifying and classifying species) and find out how you and your family can be involved in the BioBlitz – you might even help discover a new species! 

A free and fun opportunity for individuals, families and anyone interested in nautre, the environment, science or just exploring the biodiversity within our region. 

As part of Race Relations Week, Miramar and Kilbirnie libraries played host to the famous Italian puppet, Pulcinella, cousin to the English Punch. His friends, Teresina, La Morte (Death), Fred and the Black Sheep came along too.

Anna Bailey, our puppeteering librarian, gave the traditional tale a NZ twist, when Pulcinella left his darling Teresina and her delicious pizza for an ill fated trip to NZ. What with a cannibal sheep and a visit by Death it wasn’t a story for the faint hearted.

The brave students from St Pats, Holy Cross and Miramar Central and a few fearless preschoolers were a wonderful audience. They played there role to the max, yelling encouragement to Pulcinella, booing the Black Sheep and La Morte and laughing at all the silly goings on.

All in all it was a very raucous but enjoyable morning in both libraries.