Read before you crawl – KidsCrawl Edition!

The popular LitCrawl has teamed up with Annual 2 and Wellington Central Library for the first ever KidsCrawl! Come along and hunt down a story using the KidsCrawl map. There’s famous people to meet, and a story to uncover and piece together…

KidsCrawl will feature authors and illustrators Bill Manhire, David Larsen, Giselle Clarkson, Michael Petherington, Susan Paris, Kate De Goldi, Gavin Mouldy, Kate Camp and Elizabeth Patrick.


Where and When:

10th November, 10am – 11am

Wellington Central Library, meet in the YA area by the help desk

Email kidscrawl@litcrawl.co.nz to register for the event (ask your parents first!).


 

Before you storyhunters turn up for the KidsCrawl, here’s a guide to what you could read to get ready:

 

Annual and Annual 2, edited by Kate De Goldi and Susan Paris

Fiction, comics, poems, essays, art, satire, and things to do! This is a book for intrepid readers to dip into, pore over, return to again and again. Annual features a dictionary of crazy words that come in handy on car trips, a sophisticated “spot the similarity”, a found poem from school newsletters, a maths-nerd’s memoir full of tricky logic puzzles, comics that embrace other worlds, a very unlucky zebra, and top-class fiction that spans Christchurch Botanic Gardens in the 19th century, the loss of a brother, a Kiwi beach holiday, and a Fontanian boarding school.

 

The Curioseum : collected stories of the odd & marvellous, edited by Adrienne Jansen ; illustrated by Sarah Laing

What happens when you take 22 of New Zealand’s best children’s story writers and let them loose ‘backstage’ at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa? Authors from around the country were invited to choose one of the museum’s taonga (treasures) as a starting point for an imaginative journey. The result is a truly original compendium of stories and poems for children with spirited, original illustrations from the award-winning Sarah Laing.

 

Secret world of butterflies, by Courtney Sina Meredith, Giselle Clarkson

Did you know that butterflies taste with their feet, do a dark red poo when they come out of their chrysalises and that some drink the tears of crocodiles? How does the world look to them, do they ever sleep and how are some of them able to fly so high? This book will open your eyes to these magical creatures around us.

 

 


But wait! There’s more! The fun doesn’t start and finish with the KidsCrawl. You could take home your own copy of Annual 2! Enter for your chance to win.


 

What Lies Beneath Exhibition

You’re invited!

Pop into the Central Library in October to view the exhibition “What Lies Beneath” which features displays about children’s books about war that have been written and illustrated by New Zealanders.

Many of your favourites are there – ‘ANZAC Heroes’ by Maria Gill (voted best children’s book of 2016), the classic ‘The Bantam and the Soldier’  by Jennifer Beck, the beautifully illustrated ‘Gladys goes to war’  by Glyn Harper, and many more.

Each display features information about a war book, how the author and illustrator researched and created the story, and has lots of beautiful pictures and snippets of information to get lost in.

The complete list of books featured:

  • Gladys Goes to War by Glyn Harper, illustrated by Jenny Cooper
  • ANZAC Heroes by Maria Gill, illustrated by Marco Ivancic
  • 1915: Wounds of War by Diana Menefy
  • Enemy Camp by David Hill
  • The Red Poppy by David Hill, illustrated by Fifi Colston
  • The Bantam and the Soldier by Jennifer Beck, illustrated by Robyn Belton
  • Armistice Day: The New Zealand story by Philippa Werry
  • The ANZAC Puppy by Peter Millett, illustrated by Trish Bowles
  • Evie’s War by Anna Mackenzie
  • A winter’s day in 1939 by Melinda Szymanik

 

As part of the exhibition you can come along to the Central Library one evening to meet the Authors and Illustrators:

 

What Lies Beneath Panel Talk Poster Wtn

What Lies Beneath Panel Talk

Tuesday 18th October, 6-8pm, Wellington Central Library

Free event for adults and older children.

Come and hear the exhibition award winning Authors and Illustrators talk about writing and illustrating children’s war books. Bring along any books you want signed.

Click on the picture for RSVP information.

Special Event! New Zealand Festival Children’s Story Reading.

ACB Poster medium Mar 16To celebrate the New Zealand festival, and the stage production of Kate De Goldi’s “The ACB with Honora Lee”, Wellington Central Library will be hosting a special one-off children’s story reading event.

Join us for a morning of Kate De Goldi’s stories at Wellington City Library. Jane Waddell, director of “The ACB With Honora Lee” reads ‘Uncle Jack’ and there will be live excerpts from the NZ Festival production.

This event is free, bookings are not required, and is suitable for children aged 8+

Don’t miss out!

Ho Ho Ho! Get your stockings ready… Christmas is coming!

We want to get in the festive season with you at our 12 Storytimes of Christmas.

Catch a sleigh ride into your local library between December 7th and 18th for a special festive family storytime. Come in your pyjamas or favourite Christmas costume for songs, stories and fun for the festive season.

Christmas Storytimes mediumCummings Park Library: 7-Dec, 6pm
Island Bay Library: 10-Dec, 10.30am
Khandallah Library: 10-Dec, 6pm
Wadestown Library: 10-Dec, 6pm
Ruth Gotlieb (Kilbirnie): 10-Dec, 6pm
Newtown Library: 11-Dec, 6pm
Miramar Library: 14-Dec, 6pm
Brooklyn Library: 14-Dec, 6pm
Central Library: 16-Dec, 6pm
Karori Library: 17-Dec, 6pm
Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library: 17-Dec, 6pm
Johnsonville Library: 18-Dec, 6pm

These storytimes are free, and perfect for the whole family. No bookings required.

Star Wars holiday activity at Central Library – 7th October at 11am.

FullSizeRenderAttention all Jedis, Bounty Hunters and Rebels!Come on down to the Central Library for Star Wars themed fun these school holidays!

Where: Wellington Central Library, Children’s Section.

When: Wednesday 7th October, 10.30am.

These fun activities await you…

To join in the fun, make sure you come dressed as your favourite Star Wars character.

Also check out the trailer of Star Wars : the Force Awakens.

See you there and… May the force be with you.

Click, Make, Build and Create during the School Holidays

Children#27s events image SMALLStart planning now because the next school holidays are not very far away at all!

During the October Holidays Wellington Libraries will be running lots of free, fun activities around science, technology and engineering.

Have a go at some new apps and tech, build something amazing, create a video clip… and more! It’s all free, and perfect for 6-12 year olds.

 

 

Here’s the when and where:

School Holidays Image WORDS ONLY

Island Bay Community Centre: Wednesday 30 September, 1pm

Johnsonville Library: Wednesday 30 September, 2pm

Ruth Gotlieb Library (Kilbirnie): Thursday 1 October, 2pm

Newlands Community Centre: Tuesday 6 October, 2pm

Karori Library: Tuesday 6 October, 10am

Central Library: Wednesday 7 October, 11am

Mervyn Kemp Library (Tawa): Thursday 8 October, 11am

Newtown Library: Thursday 8 October, 2pm

NiHao! Chinese language storytimes for Children

Storiesand Rhymes small white logoCome along to free weekly Chinese Storytimes at the Wellington Central Library.

Featuring stories, songs, rhymes and fun, these Mandarin session are perfect for children and their families who want to learn Mandarin as a second or foreign language. Fluent mandarin speakers will enjoy these storytimes too.

Stories & Rhymes! sessions are led by teachers from the Ni Hao Children’s Community Charitable Trust

 

Wellington Central Library, every Thursday, 10am to 10.30am

Free, bookings are not required.

Attention aspiring dancers!

The Royal New Zealand Ballet is coming back in August for more Ballet Storytimes in the library. They were so popular during the school holidays, you won’t want to miss them this time!

titania-on-stars-ImageLegendary dancer and performer Sir Jon Trimmer introduces A Midsummer Night’s Dream – one of Shakespeare’s best-loved stories that has inspired generations of choreographers and dancers around the world – ahead of the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s brand new production, opening in Wellington on 20 August.

 

Perfect for primary school aged children, this is a chance to learn about ballet steps and positions – and to try them out– explore the art of mime and gesture, and hear one of the wonderful stories of the world’s greatest ballets, from an icon of New Zealand dance who has performed them all.

Details:

Saturday 1st August: Wellington Central Library at 11am

Saturday 8th August: Karori Library at 11am

Saturday 15th August: Johnsonville Library at 11am

Saturday 22nd August: Ruth Gotlieb (Kilbirnie) Library at 11am

Free school holiday activities -don’t miss these!

Library commemorating ANZAC smallMark the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli beach landings by ANZAC forces in 1915 at your local libraries and community centres during the April school holidays.

You can discover our ANZAC heritage through enjoyable activities that let you experience life as a solider, or what it was like on the homefront during war time. Explore fascinating stories of WW1.

Contact the libraries and community centres below to find out specific activity details. You can find our children’s event listings here.

 

Ruth Gotlieb Library – Kilbirnie: Wednesday 8th April at 2pm

Cummings Park Library – Ngaio: Monday 13th April, at 11am

Johnsonville Library: Monday 13th April at 2pm

Karori Library: Tuesday 14th April at 11am

Wellington Central Library: Wednesday 15th April at 11am

Mervyn Kemp Library and Tawa Community Centre: Thursday 16th April at 11am

Island Bay Community Centre: Friday 17th April at 1pm

 

All activities are free, and bookings are not required. These events are ideal for 7-12 year olds and last for approximately 1hr.

 

Celebrate Waitangi Day with these free events in your libraries

Apirana Taylor: Saturday 3st January, 11am – 12pm, Wellington Central Library.

Bring the kids along to a special story session with renowned author, actor and storyteller, Apirana Taylor. Known for his charismatic and engaging style, Apirana will tell traditional tales accented by taonga pūoru and whai (string games).

 

Kōhunga Kōrero: Tuesday 3rd February, 10.30am, Newtown Library

Join us at Newtown Library for a Waitangi day themed session of our regular storytimes in te Reo Maori. 30mins of stories, rhymes, waiata and fun! Suitable for 3-6 year olds and their whanau.

 

Kōhunga Kōrero: Saturday 7th February, 10.30am, Wellington Central Library

Join us in the Children’s section for a special te Reo Storytime with a Waitangi Day theme. 30mins of stories, rhymes, waiata and fun! Suitable for 3-7 year olds and their whanau.

 

 

These events are free and open to everyone. Bookings not required. More Information.