families – Kids Blog

Get creative at the library during the October school holidays!

Stephen Clothier24 September, 2019 0 Comments

Let your creative side out to play during the school holidays at Wellington City Libraries. Have a go, learn a new skill, or make something amazing! Don’t miss us as we present special robot storytimes and creative, interactive Tech Time sessions at Capital E during these holidays too — head to their website for more details.

Beeswax Wraps
Celebrate the end of Bee Aware Month and make a beeswax wrap — a perfect alternative to plastic food wrap and a great way to reuse a by-product of honey production! Places are limited, so email Tawa Community Centre to secure your place. Suitable for ages 5+ with their caregivers.

Monday 30 September, 10am – 12pm at Tawa Community Centre

BLOOM
Is it a dinosaur, a spaceship, a chandelier, a cloud? Bloom consists of thousands of identical pink pieces that let children and big kids connect, construct and deconstruct 3D installations with no boundaries or rules. Families are welcome to drop in at any time during these sessions. BLOOM is proudly supported by Capital E.

Monday 7 October, 11am – 4pm at Cummings Park (Ngaio) Library
Tuesday 8 October, 11am – 4pm at Newtown Library

Bookworms!
Join us for a fun afternoon of bookish crafts and create your very own sock puppet bookworm to take home! Suitable for ages 4+ with their caregivers.

Saturday 5 October, 2 – 3pm at Johnsonville Library

CodeQuest
Come along to these free coding workshops and learn how to create your own video game in Scratch! No prior coding knowledge is necessary. Places are limited, so register at the event venue to secure your place. Suitable for ages 9+ with their caregivers.

Monday 30 September, 2 – 3.30pm at Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library
Saturday 12 October, 2 – 3.30pm at Johnsonville Library

Family Movies
Bring a blanket and pillow and relax at our fun family movies. A different G-rated film from the library collection will be showing each time, and are appropriate for the whole family. Suitable for ages 4+ with their caregivers.

Friday 4 October, 5.30 – 7pm at Johnsonville Library and 6 – 8pm at Newtown Library
Thursday 10 October, 5.30 – 7pm at Karori Library

The Great North Literature Quiz!
Come and test your knowledge of books at the Great North Literature Quiz. Grab your mates, siblings, cousins and make a team of up to four people. Register your team name by contacting Johnsonville or Tawa Libraries, or just turn up 10 minutes prior to the start to register your team. Suitable for ages 5-12 with their caregivers.

There will be prizes and lots of fun to be had!

Wednesday 2 October, 2 – 3pm at Johnsonville Library
Monday 7 October, 2 – 3pm at Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library

Halloween Crafts Workshop
Join us at Churton Park Community Centre for a special pre-Halloween crafts session! We will be making creepy paper lanterns and scary hats, ready for your Halloween celebrations! Suitable for ages 5-13 with their caregivers.

Friday 11 October, 10 – 11am at Churton Park Community Centre

Holiday Games
Come along and have a go at a bunch of different board and card games, and learn how to play! Bring your friends and family and challenge them — who will win? Suitable for ages 5+ with their caregivers.

Wednesday 2 October, 2 – 3pm at Brooklyn Library (card games)
Wednesday 9 October, 2 – 3pm at Brooklyn Library (board games)

In the Beginning: Yoga Storytimes
Want to try something new while being active and having lots of fun? Join our kid-friendly yoga instructor librarians at these yoga taster classes and storytelling sessions for children. Suitable for ages 5+ with their caregivers.

Monday 30 September, 2 – 3pm at Island Bay Community Centre
Friday 4 October, 2 – 3pm at Ruth Gotlieb (Kilbirnie) Library

Let’s Go Lego
At Let’s Go Lego, your creative skills will be put to the test as your use our Lego collections to design and build your masterpiece. Each session will have a different theme that will inspire you to hone your skills and become a true Lego Legend! Suitable for ages 5+ with their caregivers.

Wednesday 2 October, 10am – 12pm at Tawa Community Centre
Thursday 3 October, 2 – 3pm at Wadestown Library
Friday 4 October, 3.30 – 4.30pm at Khandallah Library
Monday 7 October, 2 – 3pm at Wadestown Library
Tuesday 8 October, 2 – 3.30pm at Newlands Community Centre
Thursday 10 October, 3.30 – 4.30pm at Cummings Park (Ngaio) Library and Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library
Friday 11 October, 3.30 – 4.30pm at Johnsonville Library

Minotaur vs. Mini-Robots
Ancient myths + Robots = awesome time! Come along and decode one of the most fascinating myths of Greek Mythology, the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Code Ozobots and navigate them in a dark labyrinth. Can you escape the Minotaur? Let’s find out. Suitable for ages 6+ with their caregivers.

Monday 30 September, 11am – 12pm at Cummings Park (Ngaio) Library
Friday 11 October, 11am – 12pm at Khandallah Library
Saturday 12 October, 11am – 12pm at Karori Library

Spring Scribblers
Have something to say, but not quite sure how to say it? Want to write a novel, but not sure where to start? These interactive creative writing workshops will help you find your unique voice in writing. Suitable for ages 11+ with their caregivers.

Thursday 3 October, 12 – 1.30pm at Churton Park Community Centre
Friday 4 October, 2 – 3.30pm at Johnsonville Library
Wednesday 9 October, 2 – 3.30pm at Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library

Storm the Castle! – Writing Workshops
Traverse the path of the Hero’s Journey — take part in this interactive writing workshop as we go through all the main beats that make up nearly every great book and movie. Suitable for ages 11+ with their caregivers.

Tuesday 1 October, 2 – 3pm at Karori Library
Tuesday 8 October, 2 – 3pm at Cummings Park (Ngaio) Library

TechTime
Join us for these highly interactive adventures through the worlds of robotics and electronics. Hang out and play with robots, give the Makey Makey banana piano a go, and check out Scratch programming in these tech savvy and fun-filled sessions. Suitable for ages 6 – 13 with their caregivers.

Thursday 3 October, 2 – 3.30pm at Newlands Community Centre
Monday 7 October, 12 – 1.30pm at Churton Park Community Centre

Zine Machine
Do you want to print a story, some drawings, a comic, a collage, your thoughts … anything at all? Join us at Karori Library to create a zine with the Zine Machine and publish your own work! Suitable for ages 8+ with their caregivers.

Thursday 10 October, 11am – 12pm at Karori Library

Kids’ Club Review by Luis: Norman’s Farty Armpit

Norman’s Farty Armpit, by Frank Newman

Norman lives in Normalsville. His Mum, Dad, sister, chicken and cat know.s how to make music but he doesnt. Suddenly his toes started to tingle then his knees started to jingle his fingers started to twitch. He started to burt and burrrrttttt…burrrttt…burrrttt…burrrrrtttttt…burrrrrrrrtttttt…burrrrrrttttttt. He started to make fart noise with his armpit he now was the most famous person until he was going to show everybody his fart then it did not work. Even though his whole family knows how to make music its ok for him because life is normal. My favorite part is when he keeps on burting because it sounds funny.

5 stars

Reviewed by Luis from Tawa, 8 years old

Kids’ Club Review by Yaya: Clover moon

Clover moon, Jacqueline Wilson ; illustrated by Nick Sharratt

I think this is a really good book because of the way the story is told. At the start her mum is dead (spoiler!) but then she meets Mr Dolly. All that actually happened before the story starts but I like how Jaqueline tells you about it when the story starts. Clover has a big adventure, and I was very excited when she runs away from her wicked stepmother (spoiler again!)! I reccomened this book for ages 8+
Definitley 100 stars!

5 stars

Reviewed by Yaya from Newtown, 9 years old

Some great new kids fiction to help get us through winter!

pauline30 July, 2019 0 Comments

We are over halfway through winter now – yahoo! This is the perfect time of the year to snuggle up with a good book and hot chocolate. Try one of these new ones that the library has just bought.

A Twist of Tales by Julia Donaldson

A king hides a terrible secret under his crown … A marvellous dream inspires an epic journey … A clever girl outwits the king. Told in hyper-readable language and with full-colour illustrations.

Kensy and Max: Undercover by Jacqueline Harvey

Kensy and Max are back in London for no time at all before things begin to heat up – quite literally. As a result, Granny Cordelia ships them off to Australia on an undercover mission. The twins find themselves planted in a posh Sydney school where first appearances prove to be deceiving. What seems like a straightforward assignment turns into something so much bigger. Kensy and Max must employ all their spy skills – the fate of their parents, and who they’ve been searching for, depends on it.

We’ll bite your tail, Geronimo by Geronimo Stilton

Professor Greenfur, the onboard scientist on spaceship MouseStar 1, has changed color from green to–orange! What’s going on? To find out, the spacemice travel to his home planet of Photosyntheson. There, they learn that all of Professor Greenfur’s relatives are being threatened by the nibblix, tiny aliens with very sharp teeth! Can the spacemice help in time?

Maximillian Fly by Angie Sage

Maximillian Fly, a roach-human hybrid, helps two young humans escape from the Bartizan’s eye, only to find himself a key player in a deadly war between roaches and humans

Meet Yasmin! by Saadia Faruqi

In this compilation of four separately published books, Pakistani American second grader Yasmin learns to cope with the small problems of school and home, while gaining confidence in her own skills and creative abilities.

A mixture of new and current non fiction.

Katie14 June, 2019

Hey kids!

Check out what’s new… and current in the junior non fiction collection at your local library. This post features books that will enhance your knowledge of history, games, the universe and so much more!

Enjoy!

image courtesy of syndetics See inside the Second World War.

With vivid illustrations and flaps to lift, this book takes you into the action of the Second World War.

image courtesy of syndetics Engineering.

Showcases engineering feats throughout history from the pyramids of Ancient Egypt to the building of the Golden Gate Bridge. The book also features famous engineers, including the Wright brothers to Gustave Eiffel. Steam engines, rocket technology, bridges, and buildings are all covered here in this exciting book.

Forgotten beasts : amazing creatures that once roamed the Earth.

Matt Sewell’s follow-up to the mega-hit Dinosaurs is a beautifully-illustrated large format look at the amazing beasts that time forgot – from the relatively well known, such as the sabre-toothed tiger and woolly mammoth, to the obscure monsters that walked the earth millions of years ago – many now forgotten. New findings are being made every year, and research is showing us exactly how these beasts looked and how they lived.

image courtesy of syndetics History of the world in 100 pictures.

This history of the world covers 100 fascinating historical subjects, including Ancient Egypt, Alexander the Great, the start of Islam, the Aztecs, the French Revolution, the first computer, Albert Einstein and the Space Race. Each topic is brought to life by photographs, easy-to-read text and colourful, modern illustrations.

image courtesy of syndetics The world of Vikings.

Set sail in your longboat and explore the mysterious lands of runes, raids and sagas. The Vikings combines breathtakingly vivid images with fascinating facts to unlock the world of these legendary warriors, traders and explorers.

image courtesy of sydnetics I am here, where are you?

In I Am Here, Where Are You? Ollie tells the reader where he is. This book provides a springboard for discussion of the reader’s location and explores concepts of cultural diversity, extended family, time zones and conservation of the planet we all share. Finally, it invites the reader to practise writing their own address, finishing at The Universe.

How to play chess.

Follow the easy steps to grandmaster greatness with How To Play Chess. From the opening move to checkmate, How To Play Chess will help your child play chess like a champion. With plenty of master tips and cool 3D images, How To Play Chess is the perfect introduction to chess for beginners as well as kids.

image courtesy of syndetics The Great big book of life.

“Aren’t humans amazing? It’s incredible to think that all of us started out life as a tiny dot. Find out how we change as we grow from babies to children to teenagers to adults, and what happens when people get old.”–From page 4 of cover.

Rainforest.

Prepare to take a chronological journey, from the first roots grown by newly evolved plants and trees, through blazing fires and climatic changes, to an explosion of flora and fauna as the rainforest blossoms with life. Travel right up to the modern-day, as humans arrive in the lush habitat, changing the rainforest and its inhabitants forever.

image courtesy of syndetics Fantastically Great Women Who Worked Wonders.

Kate Pankhurst, descendent of Emmeline Pankhurst, is back with a brand new wildly brilliant and accessible book about incredible women in the world of work. Discover eye- opening facts about a collection of go-getting women who have pioneered careers in a kaleidoscope of different industries.

Beyond the Page is back in July 2019!

Stephen Clothier6 June, 2019 1 Comment

I know we’re only halfway through the school term, but we had some big news we couldn’t wait to share with you — the Beyond the Page festival is returning from 6-21 July 2019! Beyond the Page is New Zealand’s largest literary festival for kids and their families, and this year we’ve organised over 140 free events at libraries and community centres from Island Bay to Ōtaki!

We’re super excited to be able to introduce our four headline acts to you here. For full details about these events, check out the Beyond the Page website, or follow the festival on Facebook!

First up is Bea Lee-Smith from the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Join her on a magical journey into the world of Hansel and Gretel. Through music and mime, children will learn simple ballet steps and positions. This interactive telling of an old favourite tale will be a great appetizer for you and your family in advance of the RNZB’s exciting new production of Hansel and Gretel later in the year. Suitable for pre-schoolers and primary school aged children.

Next up we have the amazing New Zealand author Donovan Bixley. Donovan has had over 100 books published around the world — I can’t even imagine what it’s like having one book published! His show will have you laughing with amazement as you dive into a world of letters, words, and fuzzy doodles. Suitable for children aged 5+ with their caregivers.

Our next headliner is the fabulously spellbinding storyteller Tanya Batt. Tanya describes herself as a “green-fingered witch, a word warbler and a story stitcher” — which sounds like just my cup of tea! You can join Tanya in one of her imagined worlds as part of this year’s festival, with amazing costumes, live music, and tantalising tales to boot. Suitable for children aged 4+ with their caregivers.

Last but certainly not least is Toro Pikopiko, New Zealand’s most established puppetry theatre company. Yep, you heard that right — puppets! And over 80 of Toro Pikopiko’s amazing hand-crafted puppets star in their incredible rock-art musical extravaganza, Te Rereka (The Flight). This incredible show is bound to inspire and amaze — so don’t miss out! Suitable for children of all ages with their caregivers.

There will be heaps more info coming out soon about the rest of the festival schedule. There’s everything from zine-making and book-creating workshops to robots, coding, and theatre-making. Keep checking the Beyond the Page website and at your local library as the school holidays draw closer to keep up to date with what’s on in your neighbourhood!

Top 5 movies to watch over Easter… and a couple of surprises!

Katie15 April, 2019

Easter is just around the corner and Wellington City Libraries is chocablock of DVDs for your viewing pleasure and night of “scoffing chocolate”. Wellington City Libraries will be closed on Friday 19th April, (Good Friday), Sunday 21st April (Easter Day) and Monday 22nd April, (Easter Monday), so now would be an excellent time to stock up on DVDs (…and chocolate!) so you can be entertained over the Easter Break.

Check out my top 5 movie recommendations to watch over Easter.

Also, as an added bonus, this post features a couple of surprises that shows why you must go down to your local movie theatre and see Dumbo, which is now showing, and… Artemis Fowl!

Enjoy!… and Happy Easter.

Rise of the Guardians.

When an evil spirit known as Pitch lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs, and imagination of children all over the world.

Willy Wonka & the chocolate factory.

The one-and-only Willy Wonka makes the world taste good for a whole new generation in this magical family classic sparkling with brilliantly restored picture and sound! Also included is the all-new documentary Pure Imagination, featuring interviews with Gene Wilder and the Wonka kids and revealing production secrets from the movie!nWhen they find prized Golden Tickets inside their Wonka candy bars, five lucky children win a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the legendary candy factory run by the mysterious Willy Wonka. Now, on a whirlwind tour of Willys incredible, edible realm of milk chocolate waterfalls, elfish Ooompa-Loompas and industrial-sized sugar-coated creations, one very special boy will discover the sweetest secret of all: a generous, loving heart.

Storks.

Storks used to deliver babies, they now deliver packages for a global internet store. Junior, top delivery stork, is about to be promoted when he accidentally activates the Baby Making Machine which produces an unauthorized baby girl! Desperately Junior must deliver the bundle of joy before his boss finds out. Get ready for this wild revealing journey that could make more than one family whole and restore the storks’ true mission in the world.

Trolls.

When their village is invaded by the grumpy Bergens, two mismatched friends must work together in perfect harmony to save the day. Featuring hit songs performed by Justin Timberlake, Anna Kendrick, and more.

Incredibles. 2.

Bob Parr, Mr. Incredible, has unwittingly demonstrated repeated that Supers can cause as much damage as villains while protecting the world, which causes his wife — Elastigirl — to be chosen as the face of a movement to make Supers legal again. Still, it will take the entire gang to take down a new supervillain bent on mind-controlling the entire world!

Surprise #1: Movie Review: Dumbo.

Last weekend I went to see Dumbo at the Roxy Cinema and it is in a word, FANTASTIC!

Tim Burton, (director of the 2005 movie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), directs this live-action retelling of the original animated 1941 Disney classic. Struggling circus owner Max Medici enlists a former star and his two children, Milly and Joe, to care for Dumbo, a baby elephant born with oversized ears. When Milly and Joe discover that Dumbo can fly, with the help of feathers as a good luck charm, it soon becomes the main attraction — bringing in huge audiences and revitalizing the run-down circus. The elephant’s magical ability also draws the attention of villain, V.A. Vandevere, an entrepreneur who wants to showcase Dumbo in his latest, larger-than-life entertainment venture, however with less than honorable, and perhaps sinister intentions. And it’s up to Milly, Joe and the circus performers to save the day by rescuing Dumbo, and his Mum from the evil clutches of Vandevere.

Overall I feel Tim Burton did an amazing job with this live action retelling of Dumbo.

Dumbo steals the show with his cuteness, baby blue eyes, inquisitive nature and flying antics. I enjoyed the moments where Dumbo was able to confront and give his tormentors their just deserts by hosed down, the tender moments he had with his mother and the love and kindness he received from the children and circus performers.

All the other characters, even the villain, brings the film to life, gives it depth and will keep you entertained from start to finish, and eager for the long awaited and well deserved happy ending for Dumbo.

As promised, the film delivered at being amazing, entertaining, heartwarming, and definitely heart breaking where it is recommended to have tissues on standby.

A highly recommended movie that the whole family can enjoy at the weekend and Easter break!

A well deserved 9/10!

Surprise #2: Disney’s Artemis Fowl – Teaser Trailer.

The wonderful world of Artemis Fowl comes to life on the big screen on September 19 2019!

Based on the beloved book by Eoin Colfer, the film follows 12-year-old genius Artemis Fowl, a descendant of a long line of criminal masterminds, as he finds himself in a battle of strength and cunning against a powerful, hidden race of fairies who may be behind his father’s disappearance.

Check out the teaser trailer below!

Some great new kids fiction for you to read

pauline27 February, 2019

Here’s some new and exciting kids fiction books which are now available from your local library!

The Callback by Maddie Ziegler

Harper McCoy, twelve, joins the school musical hoping to get past “dancer’s block,” but her Dance Starz teammates are not pleased, especially since they will soon compete against their biggest rivals, The Belles, in Regionals.
Punky Pineapple by Hil and Joshie

It’s a whole bunch of crazy in the fruit bowl! When Missy Starfruit goes missing, Punky Pineapple is on the case! But where could Missy Starfruit be? Punky and his friends will have to brave The Electric Waterfall, explore the Bottom Drawer and ski the slopes of the Freezy Freezer to find out!
Ten Nasty Little Toads by Steve Cole

In these delightfully humorous tales of a decidedly blackish hue, ten follysome toads can never change their beastly habits despite the efforts of goodly witch Madame Rana who reminds them ‘It’s never too late to change.’ The Toad With Square Eyes develops mutant thumbs and fingers and finds himself on the other side of the screen; Cherry Oddfellow, the Dirty Little Toad, is part-girl, part-mudslide; and Jeremiah Bratson, the Spoiled Little Toad, finds himself face-to-face with a perfect robot replica. Featuring toady facts, quizzes and games, this collection of tales is a warning to certain children that there must come an hour when they pay the price…

Oops I’ve done it again! by Chrissie Perry

Blabbermouth = a person who talks too much = Amelie Anderson Amelie is a blabbermouth. She’s not a bad kid – she’s just so bubbly that sometimes words fizz right out of her mouth! And then things go wrong. Terribly wrong. But she’s determined to fix all that. It’s time for a reputation make-over!
Ginger Green + Cousins = total chaos! by Kim Kane and Jon Davis

Ginger’s super-fancy cousins Tess and Tom are coming to stay for a whole week – all the way from New York City! Ginger can’t wait! But what happens when Tom and Penny turn into DOUBLE-TROUBLE?

Kids’ Club Review by Genevye: The thief lord

The thief lord, Cornelia Funke

Twelve years old, Prosper and five years old, Boniface are brothers being pursued by Victor Getz, a private detective. The boys’ aunt and uncle, Esther, and Max Hartlieb want to find Boniface (Bo for short) to adopt him because the boys’ mother passed away. They only wanted to adopt angelic Bo, and they intend to send Prosper away to boarding school because they believe Prosper is too old to be adopted. Read the book for more! This is a wonderful book and I recommend any age can read this.

5 stars

Reviewed by Genevye from Johnsonville and , 8 years old

Kids’ Club Review by Molly: The storm keeper’s island

Syndetics book cover The storm keeper’s island by Catherine Doyle.

For the summer, Fionn and his sister Tara are staying on Arranmore island with their strange grandfather who is a storm keeper. It is almost time for a new storm keeper, and Bartley Beasley is convinced that he should be the next storm keeper. He will stop at nothing. Also, who is the strange man who calls himself Ivan? I really enjoyed this book because it was exciting. I recommend it to children 9+.

5 stars

Reviewed by Molly from Karori and Karori Normal School , 11 years old

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