cartoons

10 New Junior Comics and Graphic Novels.

Katie

Hey Kids!

Wellington City Libraries has some new comics and graphic novels in the children’s collection. Why not spring on down to your local library, during the last couple of weeks of August, and borrow them before they’re all gone!

Enjoy!

image courtesy of syndeticsMs. Marvel : metamorphosis.

“Love is in the air in Jersey City as Valentine’s Day arrives! Kamala may not be allowed to go to the school dance — but Ms. Marvel is! Which is bad news for… Loki? Then, when a mysterious stranger arrives in Jersey City, Ms. Marvel must deal with — a crush! Prepare for drama! Intrigue! Romance! Suspense! Punching things! Plus: see what happens when S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jemma Simmons goes undercover at Kamala’s school! And Ms. Marvel shares her first amazing, spectacular team-up with Spider-Man! But when the Marvel Universe enters its last days, can Kamala summon the will to keep on fighting the good fight? Maybe with a pep talk from her idol, Captain Marvel!” — Back cover.


image courtesy of syndeticsI am Neil Armstrong.

“A biography of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.”– Provided by publisher.

image courtesy of syndeticsTeen Titans Go! Falling Stars.

The latest adventures of the Teen Titans include Robin hoping that his dental routine saves him from making a dreaded trip to the dentist and Raven and Cyborg creating a pair of spooky-looking leggings from a pattern in one of Raven’s arcane books.

image courtesy of syndeticsSnoopy Party Animal.

A collection of Peanuts comic strips featuring Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang.

image courtesy of syndeticsNathan Hale’s hazardous tales [2] : big bad ironclad! : a Civil War steamship showdown.

“Big Bad Ironclad! covers the history of the amazing ironclad steam warships used in the Civil War. From the ship’s inventor, who had a history of blowing things up and only 100 days to complete his project, to the mischievous William Cushing, who pranked his way through the whole war, this book is filled with surprisingly true facts and funny, brave characters that modern readers will easily relate to”–Publisher’s web site.

image courtesy of syndeticsBe Prepared.

A misfit girl and her brother attend summer camp, where they struggle with primitive plumbing, snobby tentmates, and boys-versus-girls competitions.

image courtesy of syndeticsThe Smurfs 3 in 1: The Purple Smurfs, The Smurfs and the Magic Flute and the Smurf King.

Collects the first three Smurf graphic novels in one volume.

image courtesy of syndeticsThe Smurfs 3 in 1: The Smurfette, The Smurfs and the Egg and the Smurfs and the Howlibird.

The beautiful and enigmatic (not to mention blue) Smurfette makes her debut in this collection of the original Smurfs comics by Peyo. Known in America primarily for the hit 80s animated TV series and the hit movies, many Smurfs fans don’t realize that the Smurfs originally appeared in comics. Now the Smurfs are back in SMURF-TASTIC comic adventures. Featuring the classic stories “The Smurfette”, “The Smurfs and the Egg”, and “The Smurfs and the Howlibird” and many more!

image courtesy of syndeticsBig Nate A Good Old Fashioned Wedgie.

Nate endures a series of middle school hijinks and adventures while dealing with his crush on his baseball team’s new pitcher.


image courtesy of syndeticsMagic Jack and the Goblin King.

“Like a bolt from the blue, Jack’s little sister Maddy is gone – carried into another realm by an ogre. When Jack and Lilly follow Maddy’s captor through the portal, they are ready for anything… except what they find waiting for them in the floating crossroads between worlds. Even the power of their magic plants may not be enough to get them back to earth alive. Alone and injured, Jack and Lilly must each face their own monsters – as well as giants who grind the bones of human children to feed their “beast” and a fearsome goblin king in the sewers down below. But when Jack finds himself in a tough spot, help comes from the most unlikely person: the goblin king!” –page [4] of cover.

 

 

Movie Review: Footrot Flats: A Dog’s Tale.

Katie

Rattle your dags, boys and girls and feast your eyes on an oldie but a goodie Kiwi Classic and childhood favourite of mine that comes to the small screen in the form of Footrot Flats: A Dog’s Tale. Featuring the characters from the late Murray Ball’s “Footrot Flats” – New Zealands most beloved local cartoon strip.

image couresty of Amazon.com

Join Dog, Jess, Wal, Cooch, Horse, Major, Rangi, Pongo, Cheeky and “those bloody Murphys” , where Dog goes on ‘a journey of a thousand miles’, and an epic adventure. You will bear witness to his first encounter with the sexy Jess, his loyal devotion to Wal Footrot, whom he saves from a fate worse than death; his adventures with Horse, the cat with the barracuda jaw and fishhook claws; his brilliant cowardice and mighty nose, pitted against the dastardly schemes of the villainous Murphys, their hell hounds and the Croco Pigs.

This film will also keep you entertained and glued to the small screen. Not to mention it’s jam packed full of Kiwi words, sayings and slang and references to Kiwi culture! The soundtrack, by Dave Dobbyn is mind blowing filled with famous popular Kiwi classics such as Slice of Heaven and You Oughta to be in love. Overall this film is VERY FUNNY! I laughed all the way through, especially during the part where Wal is serenading Cheeky with a love ballad  aka You Oughta to be in love, (see youtube clip down below!), Dog gets ambushed by an army of rats and the battle to the death with the deadly croco-pigs!

A film that can be enjoyed by all ages and a great film to watch with the family over fish and chips on a Saturday night. 6/10 all the way!

 

Top 10 Children’s DVDs from October 2016

Dusty

Rainy days and road trips mean time to catch up your favourite series on DVD. October’s top pick is the Octonauts! These guys have sooo many games on their web page.  As they are really popular at the moment you can always go online to borrow their eBooks. Overdrive have a great selection of children’s material that you can look up on the Easyfind catalogue or go through the app or webpage.

 

kids dvds11. Octonauts

2. Thomas & friends

3. My Little Pony, Friendship is magic

4. Fireman Sam

5. Bananas in pajamas

cover image16. Peter Rabbit

7. Zootopia

8. Strawberry Shortcake

9. Snoopy and Charlie Brown

10. Inside Out

Top 10 Children’s DVDs September 2016

Dusty

dvd cover

Unpredicatble weather predicted for the school holidays? Set yourself up with some great movies and favourite series incase you get stuck indoors!

The Disney movie Zootopia has placed soooo many different animals together in one city.  Rookie cop, Judy, is the first bunny on the force meeting a huge range of characters that have their own ideas of who Judy is.  The directors of Tangled and Wreck-it Ralph have created a movie that looks at how different people treat each other.  Worth a watch this holidays.

bananas in pajamas1. Octonauts

2. My little pony, friendship is magic

3. Peter Rabbit

4. Zootopia

5. Bananas in pyjamas

6. Fireman Sam

cover image7. Inside out

8. Minions

9. Thomas & friends

10. Strawberry Shortcake

Top 10 childrens DVDs for April 2015

Dusty

Last month’s best loved childrens DVDs showed that oldies are goodies, with My Little Pony and the Legends of Chima claiming top billing. Grab these great DVDs for rainy winter indoor entertainment.

1.  My little pony, friendship is magic.
2.  Legends of Chima.
3.  Dragons
4.  Strawberry Shortcake.
5.  Dino Dan.
6.  SpongeBob SquarePants.
7.  The BoxTrolls.
8.  Shaun the sheep.
9.  Dinosaur train.
10. Despicable me.

What to do when it’s wet outside

admin

It is cold. It is wet. And in some places it’s been flooding. You guys can’t just go outside on an adventure in this kind of weather. Although some of you Wellington kids have had adventures indoors using boats to sail through your school corridors. We don’t think you’ll be able to be an indoor pirate all winter long so here are some suggestions for cool as activities you can get up to at home and series you can read from our collection!

 

101 Dog Tricks: Kids Edition  by Kyra Sundance is a super cool book that has activities you can do with your pet dog! It keeps them out of the kennel and stops you from getting bored. Who knows you could become the next dog whisperer through teaching your pup these cool as tricks. One of my favourites is called Messenger Dog – where you can actually teach your dog to take little notes from you and pass them on to your friends. It’s a brand new book you can find in many of our libraries and on Overdrive our e-library! You could download the book today!

 

 

D.I.Y Kids by Ellen and Julia Lupton  is full of cool crafts you can do. When I was bored on a wet day my favourite thing to do was to make soft toys with my grandma and this book has a whole section devoted to making your own toys, cuddly looking bunnies, kites and dolls. It even has instructions for how you can make clothing for your teddy bears or yourself! Check out this book when you’re feeling crafty.

 

 

Mad about Cartoons by Judith Heneghan. I know after our Comics Holiday Programme last year that there are a lot of Wellington City Libraries kids who are super talented cartoonists! Mad about Cartoons gives you some good ideas of how to make your own comic strips. And it also teaches you how to create digital animations. You could make your own little animated series just like The Simpsons if you wanted to over those wet weekends?

 

 

Molly Moon by Georgia Byng: If you want to curl up with an amazing series of books I reckon you’ll love Molly Moon! We have all six in the series in our library and also on Bolinda Digital  for download to your kobo or e-reader. Here’s the synopsis of the first in the series to give you an idea what’s in store for you: “Molly Moon is treated like dirt in her squat English orphanage, with only her pal Rocky, starry Qube soda ads, and the library stacks to give her comfort. After she discovers Hypnotism: An Ancient Art Explained in her favorite library spot, Molly begins learning the ropes and takes mental control of Petula, the orphanage’s grumpy pug dog, and the nasty staff members. But when Molly finds out that Rocky’s been suddenly adopted in New York, she hypnotizes her way to the city, into Broadway stardom, and — unfortunately — into a wicked professor’s plot to rob a high-security bank. Thankfully, though, she and Rocky finally meet up, and with a few surprises, the two hatch a plan to set things right for themselves and for their orphanage.” Goodreads.

 

 

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy is another amazing, actually perfect, series of books for the wet weather. I read them all, last year, over winter and it totally made being inside okay because I was so into finding out what Stephanie and her wacky skeleton detective friend would get up to next. We have all 9 in the series available in our collection – we also have them on audiobook so you can listen while you’re doing cool craft activities if you want! They’re also available for download on Overdrive to your e-reader or Kobo. You can get the first 3 books in one go!  Trust me you’re going to want to have all three out at once, you’ll be so hooked. Here’s the synopsis from the first book to give you an idea of what it’s all about: “Meet Skulduggery Pleasant. Ace Detective. Snappy Dresser. Razor–tongued Wit. Crackerjack Sorcerer and walking, talking, fire-throwing skeleton – as well as ally, protector, and mentor of Stephanie Edgley, a very unusual and darkly talented twelve-year-old. These two alone must defeat an all-consuming ancient evil. The end of the world? Over his dead body.” Goodreads

Top 10 DVDs in August

Dusty

Looking or something to watch over the weekend? Here are the top 10 DVD favourites for August:

1.   My little pony, friendship is magic.

2.   Legends of Chima

3.   Strawberry Shortcake

4.   Dinosaur train

5.   Dino Dan

6.   SpongeBob SquarePants

7.   Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

8.   The Garfield show

9.   Ninjago, masters of Spinjitzu

10. Shaun the sheep

 

New Non Fiction: Celebrating Fine arts and Inspirational Lives

Katie

Well summer’s nearly over, but fear not. Wellington City Libraries has a new range of non fiction in the Children’s collection for your enjoyment and pleasure. This month’s blog post pays tribute to fine arts and inspirational lives.

Here you will find a list of books on fine arts that can give you ideas on activities, like drawing, whether it’s drawing a picture or creating your own graphic novel; playing a musical instrument, even if it happens to be a guitar made from a cardboard box  and helping you find a hobby (or a talent).

What about reading about a celebrity who has become famous for their achievements and contribution to writing and entertainment industries, such as Music, Film and Television.  There are two new books published from the series, Inspirational Lives that focuses on influential people and key figures in the public eye. Who knows, maybe reading about their inspiring lives may inspire you to follow your creative dreams and goals.

Fine Arts Series:

More Fine Arts:

Eco-friendly crafting with kids.

Sometimes children prefer to play with household objects, like a cardboard box rather than the latest (and sometimes expensive) toy. This new and exciting read provides 35 bold, fun and colorful projects designed for preschool children up to five years old that can give you ideas on making and creating toys and games with simple household objects. Possible toys and games include making play dough, creating musical instruments, like a box guitar and invisible ink. Accompanied with easy step by step instructions and photographs showing exactly how to create this amazing and gorgeous toys and games.

 

Telling the story in your graphic novel.

Like graphic novels? Interested in creating your own? You can learn how to draw a  graphic novel by reading this book from the “How to draw your own graphic novel” series. This book shows you how to plan scenes that will create a sense of drama and excitement in your story and different kinds of panels to create the perfect mood.

 

 

 

 

 

Draw Fantasy Characters.

Now that you have Telling the story in your graphic novel to create your setting, what about adding characters into the mix? Particularly fantasy characters like an orge, goblin or a zombie?  Or perhaps musical, punk and naughty fairies? This book contains 96 pages of step by step instructions on how to draw everything from a fairy to a vampire.

 

 

 

 

 

Crafting and drawing not your talent? What about playing a musical instrument? Did you know playing the piano (or any instrument) is considered a fine art. Check out this new non fiction book from the Usbourne series on how to play the piano.

Very easy piano tunes.

Interested in learning the piano? This book will keep beginner pianists happily entertained while learning new skills and aquiring information about the music. You will learn to play all the songs you know so well which includes The grand old Duke from York, London Bridge is falling down and Silent Night. You can also listen to the tunes in this book on the Usbourne Quicklinks website.

 

 

 

 

Inspirational Lives.

Discover more about famous people in the Inspirational Lives series.

J.K. Rowling.

We all know her as the best selling author of the Harry Potter series, but what don’t you know? Read the latest and revised biography of J.K. Rowling and find out everything you have ever wanted to know about her:  Her childhood, her inspiration for writing and how Harry Potter came to life. You find information on tips to be a writer, an insight on how J.K. Rowling spends her day and a quiz that can show you if you have what it takes to be an author.

 

 

 

 

Simon Cowell.

The moment you’ve all been waiting for! The latest and revised biography of Simon Cowell, the man we know for his  blunt and often controversial criticisms, insults, wisecracks about contestants (and his own mother!) and dubbed Mr. Nasty on talent TV shows like American Idol is now available at Wellington City Libraries!   Read all about Simon Cowell, the global music mogul and  creator of popular television  music competition shows of The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent and find out facts and information that you never thought you knew about him, for example he once swapped his father’s handkerchief in his father’s suit pocket for his mother’s best knickers and how Michael Jackson inspired him with the idea that TV had the potential to sell music.