Kids Blog

Aunt Severe and the Toy Thieves by Nick Garlick

Daniel gets more than he bargained for when he visits his Great-Aunt Emily. She’s grumpy and extremely severe because her fiance, the Colonel, has vanished into thin air. And it looks as though two evil toy thieves were responsible.

Soon Daniel is in hot pursuit. But he’s not alone. Along for the ride are his aunt, two clumsy ostriches, three even clumsier monkeys and a penguin who never stops talking. Not to mention a very, very sad pink crocodile.

Daniel is in for the ride of his life!

Avoid being Sir Isaac Newtown!

Sir Isaac Newtown was one of the greatest scientists who ever lived. But he didn’t have it easy; he survived plague, civil war and poverty to become a Professor of Mathematics at 26!  He went on to live an amazing life and make many important discoveries that changed science forever.

Awesome Adventures at the Smithsonian

This is the official guide to the Smithsonian Institution, which is not just one but a collection of museums mostly located in Washington D.C.  There are exhibitions on everything, from human flight (The National Air and Space Museum) to the origins of human life (  National Museum of Natural History.) While this would be a great book to take on a trip to the U.S.A, it’s really interesting to read in its own right.

ANZAC Day The New Zealand story : what it is and why it matters

This is an important book about New Zealand’s role in World War I. Although it does talk about Gallipoli, it also mentions other places that New Zealanders fought, such as the Western front.  The Maori and Pacific Island soldiers who fought are also discussed. The book also looks at what happened after the war; what life for the soldiers who came back was like, how the dead were memorialised and the first ANZAC day services.

Dogs: a very peculiar history

This is a great little book will tell you all about the history of dogs,  from the wild dogs that our ancestors domesticated to the pampered pooches of today’s top celebrities. Not only will this book tell you the history of dogs, it also explains their doggy behaviors and quirks.  Also included are stories about heroic dogs, fictional dogs and movie star dogs! Basically this is a great book for you canine lovers. However, if you’re more of a cat person, there’s also Cats: A very peculiar history. 

The Book of Blood

A lot less gruesome than its name suggests, this book will tell you everything you need or want to know about blood. As well as looking at the science of blood, this book also takes a look at what people in the past thought about blood (and how it worked) and how that changed over time.  There’s also some really interesting sections on bloodsuckers, from the real ones, like mosquitoes to the fictional, like vampires.  It’s a well written book with great pictures and lots of interesting information.

The Arab-Israeli conflict

The Arab-Israeli conflict is one of the most contentious issues of our time and sometimes it’s hard to know what to think. This book lays out the history of the conflict and how it’s shaped international relationships.

Medicine through the Ages: Modern, Renaissance, Medieval and Industrial Age

These are some really fantastic books about how medicine changed and developed over time.  They’re extremely informative, and filled with great (if gory!) illustrations.  They’re a bit more serious than books like the Horrible Histories, but they’re still very interesting and worth a read.

Forget Me Not by Jo Cotterill

Kate Morrell used to have it all – fun, friends and family. But since her mum died three years ago, Kate can’t remember what it’s like to feel properly happy any more. A summer job at the local garden centre gives Kate a chance to re-discover the spark she once had – and arguing with her arrogant (but gorgeous) co-worker Simon makes her really come out of her shell! But then there’s an attack on the centre – and Kate begins to wonder if Simon knows more than he’s letting on…

Pea’s Book of Best Friends by Susie Day

 Meet eleven-year-old Pea and her definitely not ordinary life! When Pea’s dizzy but dazzling single mum becomes the super-selling author of the Mermaid Girls series, everything changes overnight. It’s time to leave their tiny flat in Tenby for a fancy house in London, and a whole new life! Pea likes the red front door, and the attic bedroom all to herself. She even likes her hideous school uniform, in a masochistic Malory Towers sort of way. But something is missing. There’s an empty chair beside her in every lesson, and no one seems to want to fill it. In the absence of volunteers, Pea is going to have to acquire a best friend.

Smells like Pirates by Suzanne Selfors

“Homer thought membership in L.O.S.T., the mysterious Society of Legends, Objects, Secrets, and Treasures, would help him find pirate Rumpold Smeller’s missing treasure. But when Homer’s enemy, Lorelei, forms an evil organization called FOUND, Homer and Dog face an impossible decision: Work with Lorelei to find the prize once and for all, or abandon their lifelong quest to locate the treasure”–Provided by publisher.

Itch by Simon Mayo

Meet Itch, a fourteen-year-old, accident-prone accidental hero. Science is his weapon. Elements are his gadgets. This is Alex Rider with Geek-Power! Itchingham Lofte — known as Itch — is fourteen, and loves science, especially chemistry. He’s also an element-hunter: he’s decided to collect all the elements in the periodic table. Which has some interesting and rather destructive results in his bedroom. Then, Itch makes a discovery. A new element, never seen before. At first no one believes him but soon, someone hears about the strange new rock and wants it for himself. And Itch is in serious danger…

Fawn by Margi McAllister

Kirsty Weaver loves watching a herd of deer in the hills behind her house. She discovers that a fawn has been left abandoned on the hill. She rescues him and coaxes him down from the hill and into a shed. As Kirsty battles to keep Fawn both safe and a secret, she realizes she can’t keep doing everything alone and has to decided whether she can trust Toby, the local farmer’s boy, with her secret.

Did you have some exciting adventures over your holidays? Maybe not as thrilling as what happens in these books… Check this out!

We dine with Cannibals : an accidental adventure, by C. Alexander London

Oliver and Celia Navel suffered through a whole summer exploring with their father’s nemesis, Sir Edmund, and are ready to begin a new school year glued to the TV. But when their mother vanishes (again) in search of the Lost City of Gold, El Dorado, the twins must trek from the ruins of ancient temples through the shadowy forests of the Amazon. This time they will need all their reality-TV survival skills to brave raging river rapids, furious fire ants and a most unusual jungle feast.

This is the kind of adventure that you will love to read about, making sure it never happens to you!

Age 9+

Swallows and Amazons, by Arthur Ransome

The Walker children – also known as Captain John, Mate Susan, Able Seaman Titty, and Ship’s Boy Roger- set sail on the Swallow and head for Wild Cat Island. There they camp under open skies, swim in clear water and go fishing for their dinner. But their days are disturbed by the Blackett sisters, the fierce Amazon pirates. The Swallows and Amazons decide to wage war and so begins a summer of unforgettable discoveries and incredible adventures.

Get ready for a new adventure if you are a  fan of Pirates, Treasure Hunts or Shark Fishing !

Age 9+

Phantom of Terawhiti, by Des Hunt

It’s the school holidays and Zac thinks he might go crazy with boredom. He’s living in exile with his disgraced father on the remote Terawhiti Station on Wellington’s wild southwest coast.

Then Zac and his dad witness a boat sink off the coast during a storm. Investigating further, Zac finds a set of unusual animal prints on the beach. Whose boat is it? And what creature could have made the prints? Soon armed men are prowling the coast, and threatening Zac, his friends and his family. He must do all he can to protect the Phantom of Terawhiti from those intent on hunting it down.

This startling adventure happens just next to where you live! It might happen to you next time you go around one of the Wellington beaches…

Age 8 +

 The empty city, by Erin Hunter

Lucky is a golden-haired mutt with a nose for survival. He has always been a Lone Dog, relying on his instincts to get by. Other dogs have Packs, but Lucky stands alone. Then the Big Growl strikes. Suddenly, the ground is split wide open. The Trap House is destroyed. And all the longpaws have disappeared.

Now Lucky is trapped in a strange and desolate new world with no food, foul water, and enemies at every turn. He falls in with others left behind, including his littermate Bella, a Leashed Dog. Relying on other dogs – and having them depend on him- brings new dangers that Lucky isn’t prepared for, but he may not be able to survive on his own. Can Lucky ever be true Pack Dog?

Did you like the Bear’s journey in Seekers, the Cat’s quest in Warriors? Then you might be ready for this Dog’s adventure in the very new Survivors series…

Age 9 +

Looking for something to watch as the weather turns wet and cold? Here are the top DVDs borrowed during April:

1. Thomas & friends series

2. Babar and the adventures of Badou series

3. Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated series

4. The Garfield show series

5. Dinosaur train series

6. Dino Dan series

7. Hotel Transylvania

8. Brave

9. Tinker Bell and the secret of the wings

10. Madagascar

Children’s DVDs cost 80 cents per week.

Here are your favourite non-fiction books for April. Grab them from your library today.

1. Star Wars by David Reynolds West

2. Frontier of dreams the story of New Zealand by John Parker

3. The horrible history of the world by Terry Deary

4. The LEGO book by Daniel Lipkowi
5. Ripley’s believe it or not by Rosie Alexandertz

6. Cat by Juliet Clutton-Brock

7. World War 1 by Simon Adams

8. Usborne little book of Easter activities by Rebecca Gilpin

9. Pokemon Visual Guide by Cris Silvestri

10. Big book of paper craft by Fiona Watt