The 5th of November is tonight! All week long your cats and dogs will be ducking for cover as they hear fireworks exploding left, right and centre! If you’re lucky you might be allowed to stay up late and watch the Sky Show Fireworks this Saturday night! If not then maybe you can read a book with fireworks in them. Yes, it’s pretty hard to put fireworks into books. Maybe as you read about the fireworks in these books below you can make loud exploding sounds? Just tell anyone who asks that you’re trying to make the story you’re reading seem as real as possible!
Remember That November! by Jennifer Beck
This is a special book in our collection that was a finalist in the 2013 NZ Post Children’s Best Picture Book Award. What’s even cooler is that we have a version of the story in our collection that is in entirely in Te Reo: Maumahara ki tērā Nōema nā Jennifer Beck. We really encourage you to check them both out!
“It’s almost Guy Fawkes Night, and at the school speech competition, Andy talks about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. The children cheer, thinking Andy will win the contest. But then, Aroha tells the story of another fifth of November – in 1881, at Parihaka. This is a beautifully illustrated picture book about the passive resistance led by Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi in Taranaki. This is a piece of history that was forgotten for a long time!” (Goodreads)
Secret Seven Fireworks by Enid Blyton
For those avid Secret Seven readers you may want to check out book 11 in the series! It is all about fireworks and adventure.
“Jack’s little sister, Susie, is very annoying and the Secret Seven are furious when she forms a rival club. But is Susie wicked enough to have stolen some money?” (Goodreads)
Olivia forms a Band by Ian Falconer
Olivia is one of the coolest characters I’ve ever meet in a book. This picture book is of course ideal for younger siblings in your family! But sometimes us older kids (adults) like to read a picture book too. Fireworks in this story are guaranteed!
“Olivia has decided to form a band: a one-pig band, to be exact. And as we soon find out, Olivia is certainly capable of making enough noise to sound like an entire orchestra.” (Goodreads)
Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder plot by Sarah Ridley.
Because knowledge is power here is a non-fiction book from our collection that gives you a good introduction to the sneaky history of Guy Fawkes. This book is full of gun powder! (Not actually, as that would be unsafe and uncool!)