Kids Blog

The Christmas day kitten 

Mrs. Pickering calls in the vet James Herriot to look at one of her dogs. While he’s there, he notices a cat wandering in and out of the house. Mrs. Pickering explains that the cat, who she calls Debbie, is a stray. On Christmas day James Herriot is called to Mrs. Pickering’s house, because Debbie is very sick. But Debbie has bought a surprise for Mrs. Pickering…

 

 

 

 

Zoe’s Christmas List

Zoe wants just one thing for Christmas: a Kylie Kurlz doll.  So she sets off to the North Pole with her faithful dog Beans to tell Father Christmas in person.  There they meet a baby bear and Zoe learns some important lessons about friendship.

 

 

 

 

 

Mog’s Christmas

Everything is wrong in Mog’s house. For a start, everyone is busy doing strange things and there are too many new people about. A large walking tree frightens her enough that she goes onto the roof and refuses to come down. Will Christmas be the same without Mog?

 

 

 

 

 

The Christmas Giant

Humphrey the Giant and Leetree the elf are great friends. They help Santa by making the wrapping paper for all the presents.  Then, one day, Santa gives them a special job; grow a Christmas tree for the workshop! They work hard all year to make sure the tree is perfect, but sometimes the best laid plans go wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

The Story of Christmas

This is a simple re-telling of the Christmas story. Mary and her husband Joseph  must travel to the town of Bethlehem for a census. But Mary is expecting a very special baby, and all of the inns are full…The beautiful, rich illustrations set it apart from other books telling the same story.

 

 

 

 

 

 A kiwi night before Christmas

If you’re bored of stories about snow and cold, and are looking for a book that reflects what a New Zealand Christmas looks like, this is probably the book for you! It transfers the famous ‘Night before Christmas’ poem to a more contemporary New Zealand setting. Santa in black singlet and stubbies, anyone?

 

 

 

 

 

Olive the other reindeer

Thinking that “all of the other reindeer” she hears people singing about include her, Olive the dog reports to the North Pole to help Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. A fun an entertaining story about an ambitious wee dog.

Cycling has been an Olympic sport since the very beginning of the modern Olympic Games. It made its first appearence at the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens.

Bicylces had been around since the early 1800s, but they had only recently become popular. Can you imagine trying to race on the penny farthing? The bicycles at the first Olympics were much more like the bikes we ride today, with two wheels of the same size.

There was only one cycling event at the first modern Olympic Games: the men’s road race, which had only seven contestants. Five of them were from Greece!

Today there are 18 different events, with both men and women participating. In the men’s road race in 2012, there will be 145 contestants. That’s quite a step up from 1896! Probably the most famous New Zealand Olympic cyclist is Sarah Ulmer, who won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

 

Great kids non-fiction books with an ‘action’ theme.

 Free Running

Have you ever heard of free running? Free running is an awesome sport that is popular in many urban centres around the world, such as London, New York and Tokyo. This book talks about the short history of free running, why it has become so popular and how you can start free running! Unlike a lot of the other extreme sports, you don’t need any special equipment…just a good level of fitness and nerves of steel! This book is part of the ‘Adrenelin Rush’ series.

 

 

 

Snowboarding

This is another book in the Adrenelin Rush series, for those who love nothing more than to hit the slopes! It talks about the history of snowboarding, its famous athletes, and how you can start snowboarding yourself. It’s also got some good basic information on the types of tricks you do, and how to buy and get the best out of your equipment. It also gives some great tips on how you can stay safe while looking cool.

For those who like to draw rather than do there’s a great book for you as well:

 

 

How to draw manga action figures

This is a great book for those who are just starting out drawing. It’s got great instructions on important topics like perspective, what drawing tools to use and action poses. After you’ve mastered those basics, this book will show you how to draw figures who are jumping, kicking, falling or in a defensive posture…all essential if you want to draw your own action-packed manga!

If machines are more your thing, take a look at:

Drawing Speed Machines

This is another great book for those who have just started to draw. The pictures are large and clear, and the instructions will teach you, step by step, to draw sports cars or stunt planes or any other vehicle you could want! It’s got some interesting information about the machines featured as well.

 

 

Avoid being a ninja warrior!

This book will tell you everything you need to know about the real Ninjas of Japan.  Follow a young Ninja through his training to the end of his first mission, and learn all about the training, discipline and skills that made the Ninjas so famous.

 

 

 

 

Warships

Why fight with a sword when you can fight with a ship? Or even better, a fleet? If you want to learn about the modern warship, this the book for you!  It talks about how warships are built, and has great cross sections showing you different parts of the ship.  There are some great illustrations showing the different types of warship, and there’s a few pages on the warship through history.

 

 

 

 

Fighter Planes 

Did you know that pilots earn the title “Ace” after five victories in the air? If that and other facts about Spitfires, Hurricanes and the modern fighterplanes such as F-22 Raptors interest you, get this book out! It’s got plenty of information about fighter planes from the early biplanes to the futuristic UCAVs.

News Flash!

The Third Wheel, the 7th book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series will be realesed on November 13th.

The publishers reckon this book will be so popular that they are going to print 6.5million copies straight away. Wellington libraries will be sure to get lots of copies so you can read it as soon as possible.

Jeff Kinney, the author, is teasing us all by saying that at the end of the 7th book ‘the Wimpy universe will be changed in a way that will surprise fans of the series’.

I wonder what’s going to happen?! November seems so far away! I can’t wait…

Lemony Snicket’s new series, All the Wrong Questions, is his first authorised account of his childhood.

Drawing on events that took place during a period of his youth spent in a fading town, far from anyone he knew or trusted, Snicket chronicles his experiences as an apprentice in an organisation nobody knows about. While there, he began to ask a series of questions – wrong questions that should not have been on his mind.

The first volume, Who Could That Be at This Hour? – Snicket’s account of the first wrong question – will be published on 23 October but, for one week only, you can read the first chapter exclusively here

We’ll be buyin copies of this book as soon as we can. Look out for it on the library catalogue around November this year.

Thanks to The Guardian for this info.

Happening on June 6th is a rare event that will not happen again until December 2117- thats 105 years from now, so maybe your great-great-grandkids will see it next time. 

The transit of Venus is when the planet Venus passes between Earth and the Sun.

The planet Venus, circles the Sun closer than the Earth does and travels around it much faster than us. During the transit of Venus, Venus catches up to and passes the slower Earth between us and the Sun. Through a telescope (with a sun-filter) you will be able to see Venus as a small dot moving from left to right across the sun. The word “transit” means passage or movement—in this case, across the face of the sun.

Make sure you don’t stare at the sun directly- that can ruin your eyes. You have to use a special telescope. Ask the great people at Wellington’s Carter Observatory for more information.

Here’s some cool books about Venus to get your prepared for the transit.

Wow its winter again, so get ready for the wickedly wild, wet, windy Wellington weather. It’s time to warm your toes by the heater, and read books about even worse winters than yours.

Here are some of my favourites:

Born on May 22nd 1859, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is well-known as the author of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes. Today he turns 153 years old – something to celebrate!

Today Sherlock Holmes is as popular as ever – there’s a TV series, movies, comics and heaps of spin-off mystery stories.

Andrew Lane is one author who has taken on the great detective and produced a great book series called Young Sherlock Holmes. Try Death Cloud, Red Leach, or Black Ice

Or you could try this edition of the original Holmes mysteries, with pictures too.

 

The winners of the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards were announced last night at a very flash party in Wellington. Here they are:

Non-Fiction and New Zealand Post Book of the Year

Winner: Nice day for a War by Chris Slane and Matt Elliot

 

Honour Award: Digging up the past : archaeology for the young and curious by David Veart

 

 

 

 

 

 

Junior Fiction and Best First Book Award

Winner: Super Finn by Leonie Agnew

 

Honour Award: The Travelling Restaurant by Barbara Else

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picture Book

Winner: Rahui by Chris Szekely (Maori version and English version)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Children’s Choice (the one you got to vote for)

Winner: The Cat’s Pyjamas by Catherine Foreman

Seen the movie? Now read the book. Here are some great movies that started their lives as books:

Mr Popper’s Penguins Book and Movie 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Night at the Museum Book and Movie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Book and Movie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hundred and One Dalmations Book and Movie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

The One and Only Shrek! Book (on CD) and Movie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Polar Express Book and Movie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lorax Book and Movie (well, this hasn’t been released on DVD yet. But it will soon…)