Kids Blog

Here are the list on Non-Fiction finalists for the New Zealand post Children’s Book Awards:

100 Amazing Tales From Aotearoa by Simon Morton & Riria Hotere

Based on the TVNZ television series “Tales from Te Papa” and contains 2 DVDs including the original TV series. Find out about quirky NZ stories featuring some strange and precious artifacts.

Kiwi: the real story by by Annemarie Florian & Heather Hunt

With lots of illustrations a bold rhythmic verse describes the North Island brown kiwi in action in the bush, and a non-fiction narrative provides readers with added insight into kiwi biology and behaviour

Taketakerau, The Millennium Tree by Marnie Anstis, Patricia Howitt & Kelly Spencer

The story of a child who listens to Koro and Grandma as they weave a tale about the life and times of the ancient pūriri tree Taketakerau, the settlement and development of New Zealand, and world events that happened over the last 2000 years

At the Beach: Explore & discover the New Zealand seashore by Ned Barraud & Gillian Candler

Find out all about the New Zealand seashore in this amazing new book with fantastic illustrations. The book includes a removable, waterproof, quick-reference guide to common seashore animals

From these 4 great books a winner will be announced on June 24th. You can vote for a winner too – in the Children’s Choice Award (and you’ll go in the draw to win $500 of book vouchers for you and your school).

Here are the shortlisted books for the Junior Fiction category of the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards:

The ACB with Honora Lee by Kate De Goldi & Gregory O’Brien

Perry’s mother and father are busy people … they’re impatient, they’re tired, they get cross easily. And they think that only children, like Perry, should be kept busy. On Saturday mornings Perry and her father visit her gran, Honora Lee, at the Santa Lucia rest home, but Gran never remembers them. ‘Who is that man?’ Honora Lee asks when Perry’s father leaves the room. After movement class is abruptly cancelled, Perry is allowed to go to Santa Lucia on Thursday afternoons. She discovers her Gran has an unconventional interest in the alphabet, so Perry decides to make an alphabet book with the help of Honora and the others. Soon everyone is interested in Perry’s book project.

The Queen and the Nobody Boy (A Tale of Fontania) by Barbara Else

Hodie is the unpaid odd-job boy at the Grand Palace in the Kingdom of Fontania. Fed-up, he decides to leave and better himself. The young Queen, 12-year-old Sibilla, is fed-up too. Sick of gossip about her lack of magical ability, she decides to run away with Hodie, whether he likes it or not.

This is the sequel to The Travelling Restaurant.

My Brother’s War by David Hill

It’s New Zealand, 1914, and the biggest war the world has known has just broken out in Europe. William eagerly enlists for the army but his younger brother, Edmund, is a conscientious objector and refuses to fight. While William trains to be a soldier, Edmund is arrested. Both brothers will end up on the bloody battlefields of France, but their journeys there are very different. And what they experience at the front line will challenge the beliefs that led them there.

Red Rocks by Rachael King

While holidaying at his father’s house, Jake explores Wellington’s wild south coast, with its high cliffs, biting winds, and its fierce seals. When he stumbles upon a perfectly preserved sealskin, hidden in a crevice at Red Rocks, he’s compelled to take it home and hide it under his bed, setting off a chain of events that threatens to destroy his family. Red Rocks takes the Celtic myth of the selkies, or seal people, and transplants it into the New Zealand landscape, throwing an ordinary boy into an adventure tinged with magic

Uncle Trev and His Whistling Bull by Jack Lasenby

More humorous stories of life on the farm with Uncle Trev and his family set in New Zealand during the 1930′s.

There are many other Uncle Trev books. Why not try the first book called ‘Uncle Trev‘ or Uncle Trev and the Treaty of Waitangi, or  Uncle Trev’s Teeth and Other Stories?

From these 5 great books a winner will be announced on June 24th. You can vote for a winner too – in the Children’s Choice Award (and you’ll go in the draw to win $500 of book vouchers for you and your school).

We had loads of amazing review by all you super readers over the 2012-2013 Summer Reading Challenge, those that read & reviewed more than 10 books all went into the draw for the BIG prizes.

Two names were drawn…

Congratulations to Emma and Marina!

Emma (left) is pictured here with Librarian Sarina at Miramar Library. Emma read and reviewed 13 books for the Summer Reading Challenge – cool!

Marina (right) is standing and smiling with Librarian Florence at Kilbirnie Library. Marina managed to read and review 21 books over summer and lots of them were in the back of the car on long car trips – wow!

Just because summer is over and you’re back at school doesn’t mean you have to stop! You can keep reading and reviewing books and winning prizes With the Kids’ Club – and online book club for 5-12 year olds. Go there now and start earning prizes.

Here is the shortlist for the Picture Books category of the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards:

A Great Cake by Tina Matthews

Harvey wants to bake a great cake, but doesn’t have all the ingredients. That doesn’t stop him. Harvey can make cakes from the most amazing things!

Melu by Kyle Mewburn, illustrated by Ali Teo & John O’Reilly

Melu has always been different. While the other mules stubbornly clip-clop around the sun-baked hills, Melu dreams of swimming in the glittering green sea below. But it will take more than stubborness for Melu to reach the glittering green sea.

Mister Whistler by Margaret Mahy, Illustrated by Gavin Bishop

Absentminded Mister Whistler always has a song in his head and a dance in his feet. In a rush to catch the train, he is so distracted he loses his ticket. Is it in the bottom pockets of his big coat or the top pockets of his jacket? Perhaps he slipped it into his waistcoat. Where is Mister Whistler’s ticket?

Mr Bear Branches and the Cloud Conundrum by Terri-Rose Baynton

Lintfrey Longfellow would love nothing more than to sit among the clouds… But sadly, clouds just aren’t made for sitting on. Can Mr Bear Branches find a solution to Lintfrey’s cloud conundrum

Remember that November by Jennifer Beck, illustrated by Lindy Fisher

It’s almost Guy Fawkes Night, and at the school speech competition Andy talks about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. The children cheer excitedly, thinking Andy will win the contest. But then, Aroha gets up, wearing a white feather in her hair, and tells the story of another fifth of November – the invasion of Parihaka in 1881

Also published in te Reo as Maumahara ki tērā Nōema

From these 5 great books a winner will be announced on June 24th. You can vote for a winner too – in the Children’s Choice Award (and you’ll go in the draw to win $500 of book vouchers for you and your school).

The Summer Reading Challenge is almost over. Have you read enough to go into the prize draws?

The challenge finishes at midnight on Sunday 3rd February – that’s only 2 days away? Will anyone be up late on Sunday writing reviews?

Remember – you need to read and review 10 books from the Summer Reading Challenge booklist to get an entry into the prize draw. There is another prize draw for those super readers who read and review 20 or more books from the list.

Hurry, hurry hurry!

To celebrate the release of The Crystal Code, book four in Richard Newsome’s award-winning Billionaire series, Text Publishing is running a writing competition for students aged 10–13 years.

The winner’s school will receive a $1,000 credit voucher and the winning writer a $100 credit voucher to spend in one Australian or New Zealand bookshop, courtesy of Text Publishing.

To be part of the competition, you must write a story of no more than 500 words about what would happen if you inherited billions of dollars.

The competition opened 1 October 2012. A completed entry form must accompany each story, and entries must be received at Text Publishing by Friday 9 November 2012. You can download the entry form from their website.

Richard Newsome is a New Zealander who is living in Australia. He grew up in Wanganui.

Check out the other books in this awesome series:

On 25 April 1915 during the First World War, ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) forces landed in Gallipoli. On this date we continue to remember the efforts of Anzacs who fought in both world wars. This year’s New Zealand Book Awards nominee Nice Day for a War: Adventures of a Kiwi Soldier in World War l by Matt Elliott and illustrated by Chris Slane gives us an insight into the life of a soldier, from their uniform to their standard issue riffles.

 The New Zealand Defence Force is running a poster competition for year 7 and 8 students. This year they would like students to focus on what happens on Anzac Day in their local community. All entries must be in by ANZAC day. To find out more information about the competition check out the NZDF website.

Libraries will be closed on ANZAC Day, but you could go along to an ANZAC Day service near you instead.

The New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards festival week is nearly upon us. This week is your last chance to vote for the Children’s Choice Award – your chance to pick your favourite book to win. But the best news is that you could win too! Your vote gets you the chance to win book vouchers for your school library -pretty awesome! Vote online today.

Pheww, what a mouthful of a title but don’t let that put you off checking out some of the nominations for the 2012 Children’s Book Awards. With 4 categories: Picture Book, Junior Fiction, Young Adult Fiction and Non-fiction, there is a fine selection of books that showcase the talents of our New Zealand authors and illustrators.

You can be in to win as well by voting for your favourite book. Grab a voting form from your school or local library or vote online. This goes into the Children’s Choice Award and enters you into the draw to win $500 worth of books for yourself and your school!

We’ll be writing about the finalist books here. So check back to find out more.

Get reading and get voting! You could find a new favourite book, or pick the winner! The winning books will be announced on May 16th.