Special brothers and sisters : stories and tips for siblings of children with a disability or serious illness / edited by Annette Hames and Monica McCaffrey ; illustrated by Brendan McCaffrey.
Is your brother or sister a bit special? You may be able to relate well to the young people in this book who explain in their own words what it’s like to live with their special siblings. Learn how they feel and cope with love, frustration and sadness. Plenty of tips and good questions for you to talk over with your parents, grandparents or teachers.
No return : Captain Scott’s race to the Pole / Peter Gouldthorpe.
Plenty to learn in this great book retelling the dramas of this most special explorer and his race to the South Pole. Did you know for example, that Scott’s photographer, Herbert Ponting was attacked by killer whales and almost eaten! Find out when and why Oates said those most famous words, “I am going outside. I may be some time.”
Elephants closeup.
Elephants are just so special! I love them. They are some of the smartest land animals on earth. Lovely photographs help make this a great read for younger readers.
How to write and give a speech / by Cecilia Minden and Kate Roth.
It’s that special time of year again, when you have to prepare and deliver a speech to your class. Instead of groaning just check out this book and deliver the best speech ever.
Children’s book of baking cakes / Abigail Wheatley ; illustrated by Jessie Eckel ; photography by Howard Allman.
Special occasion coming up? Or maybe just a rainy day. This yummy book is ideal for both. So many different types of mouthwatering cakes it is hard to choose just one to bake. My favourite are the butterfly and bug cakes, closely followed by the miniature cheesecakes.
Buried treasures : uncovering secrets of the past / Stéphane Compoint.
What can be more special than buried treasure! In this beautiful book, chock full of amazing photographs are mysterious colossal statues, a mythic bear covered in blue fur, a whole city wiped out by a volcano. From sweltering deserts to the frigid North Pole to an ancient, underwater city, follow scientists as they uncover the secrets of our past.
Check out our scary new selection of non-fiction. After that you can relax reading about Lego or Music or just the wonder of our world in general. Have fun!
The werewolf hunter’s guide / Ursula Lestrade.
Over thousands of years and across hundreds of countries, tales and legends of dreadful creatures lurking in the night have terrified people. This guide has been slowly pieced together by expert werewolf hunter Ursula Lestrade and uncovers many secrets of these shape-shifting monsters. Arm yourself against the creatures of the night with this Werewolf Hunter’s Guide. (Book cover) There are three other scary books in this Monster Tracker Series; The Alien Hunter’s Guide, The Vampire Hunter’s Guide and The Ghost Hunter’s Guide. If you like freaky stuff then check them out.
Children’s book of music / Deborah Lock
This is a must read for anyone interested in music. Great photos and interesting text help you learn heaps about music from its very beginnings right up to contemporary artists like Lady Gaga.
Standing small : a celebration of 30 years of the Lego minifigure / Nevin Martell.
Find out all about your favourite LEGO characters. Do you have a Lego Ghost ? Maybe Lego Exo-Force is your favourite . Were you one of the first to get Lego Batman in 2006? Whatever your collection, you will have heaps of fun looking through this book.
Also new this month is The Lego Book. This is a larger more detailed book. Find out how the bricks are made as well as learning some secrets of the LEGO Master Builders. Lots of fun in these pages including current LEGO art creations. A must for every LEGO fan.
Starting school / Caryn Jenner & Arthur Robins.
This is a really good book for reading to your younger brother or sister who may be starting school. It is a fun book with great cartoony illustrations. It will remove any fears they may have about their new life and deals with everything from getting ready in the morning to those school toilets ,( even what to do if you don’t make it in time.)
Planet Earth / Daniel Gilpin.
There are ten wonderful books in this series. All have beautiful photographs and easy clear text so you can learn heaps fast. This book covers the whole planet in 32 pages! Check it out, especially if you are a younger reader.
Are your eyes crossing like mine? That’s because we are shaking things up this month at Stories @ 7! Instead of our usual story format, we will attempt to solve some Peculiarly Puzzling Stories. (There’ll be games too!) You’ll need your wits about you so you’ll certainly want to bring an astute amigo.
Friday 2 September 7PM @ Central Library for ages 7 and up!
It’s the coldest time of year, days are too short and nights too long. What’s the point in getting out of bed? So…for July’s Stories@7 we are going to have a pyjama party! Come down in your jammys for yummy hot chocolate and snuggle up for 45mins of stories.
Friday 1 July @ the Central Library for ages 7 and up!
If you are interested in science, nature and the environment we have a free and fun event for you!
On Saturday the 19th February between 10am–12noon you can come along and meet marine scientists from NIWA and have a peer through their microscopes at all the weird and wonderful things they have found in and near the sea during the Mana 2011 BioBlitz
Learn about identifying and classifying species and find out how you and your family can be involved in the BioBlitz – you might even help discover a new species!
I would quite like to go to Hobbiton in spring, maybe catch a quidditch game at Hogwarts, Oz looks like a bit of fun and I would love to travel through Narnia – but I am not so sure about the archipelago of islands that make up Earthsea. Earthsea is a realm surrounded by a different sort of magic – one that is deep and dark and knowing. A boy called Ged was born there though, and he has no choice but to stay and discover its secrets.
A Wizard of Earthsea is like a lot of other children’s fantasy novels in that it is about a boy growing up and travelling, going to a school for wizards, making friends and enemies, saving his village, learning and making mistakes. The thing that makes it different is the magic. This is not just an adventure tale, or a school story, or a friendship quest that happens to have some cool magic: this is a book about magic and a young wizard’s battle to find its balance within himself.
The magic isn’t all fun and games and biscuits either. It isn’t magic that makes a star at the end of a wand shine or turns your teacher into a toad. It is old magic with old rules, hidden traps and an all-knowing awareness. Sometimes the magic is dark and dreadful. I listened to A Wizard of Earthsea on audio book recently: I was walking through town with my headphones on – it was a windy, rainy day and I was very caught up in the story. Suddenly something TERRIBLE happened (I won’t tell you what, you might get a fright) and I SCREAMED right there in the middle of the footpath with the people in suits on their way to work staring at me and shaking their umbrellas.
But don’t be scared: it is only a book, and it is really a very good one. I won’t tell you that it has a happy ending, or that it is sooo funny and cool and easy to read, but I will tell you that if you truly like fantasy you really ought to come down to your library and get A Wizard of Earthsea.
This painting is by Astrid Nielsch who was inspired by Ursula Le Guin’s writing. She is exhibiting her paintings next week; you should go and have a look. They will be showing at Thistle Hall in Wellington – Cuba Street corner Arthur Street from 17 to 22 August, Tuesday to Saturday 11 am – 8 pm and Sunday 11 am – 6 pm. The opening is on Tuesday the 17th of August from 6-9 pm, and Astrid says you can expect dragons, wizards and magic!
Have you been hearing in the news about the Russian spies found in the United States? If you are interested in spies and intelligence check out this new book from The International Spy Museum in Washington DC. The Real Spy’s Guide to becoming a Spy by Peter Earnest who is ex CIA. It is packed with information covering the history of spying , what spies do (it’s not very James Bond really), quizzes to see if you would make a good spy, spy gadgets, what training you can expect and even spy skills you can start working on now.
If spies are your thing, and really, why wouldn’t they be? Come along to our free quiz night for 9-12 year olds. It’s on August 20th at 6.30pm at the Wellington Central Library. Registrations open tomorrow through this blog.
Leadership Week (Friday 25 June – Friday 2 July) inspires, celebrates and develops leadership.
Wellington City libraries invites you to join in and create your own sock hero. All you will need are some socks, a few craft items like buttons and thread, and your imagination. We’d also like you to tell us something about your sock hero. It could be an everyday act of heroism, an environmental crusade, or simply what you think is important about being a good leader. Hand in to your library so that we can display them during Leadership Week (we will give them back.)
If you would like some further ideas check out books in our craft section such as Stupid Sock Creatures or Make Your Own Misfits. Or check out this webpage, which Holly(9) and Michaela (11) used to create Monsieur Henri le Multicoloeur (the sock hero in the middle.)
Matariki 2010 (Maori New Year 2010) starts on June 14th. To celebrate this fantastic occasion we have some super cool things happening for you! Check out the events calendar for more infomation.
14th June, 3.30pm: Matariki tree and a puppet show at Kilbirnie Library to kick off the celebrations
15th June, 1.30pm: Magical storytelling, activities and badge making at Tawa Library
16th June, 3.30pm: Magical storytelling, activities and badge making at Newtown Library, along with the opening of a children’s art exhibition.
17th June, 3.30pm: activities and badge making at Island Bay Library
17th June, 3.30pm: Make Clay Kaitaki (guardians) at Miramar Library. Bookings required – ring the library.
22nd June, 3.30pm: Magical storytelling, activities and badge making at Kilbirnie Library.
24th June, 4pm: Magical storytelling, activities and badge making at Karori Library, with special performance by a Kapa Haka group.
