Kids Blog

It’s George Ferris 154th Birthday today!!!!!

So who is this guy?

What did he do !!!!

Well he was an American engineer who built bridges. You have probably gone on one of  his best ever inventions -  The Ferris Wheel!!!!!  He was challenged to see if something could be built that would rival the Eiffel Tower in Paris !!! He wanted something  ’original, daring and unique.’ So he came up with the cool idea of a gigantic wheel with carriages to ride in!!! Hooray for George!

So the first original Ferris wheel was built in Chicago for The World’s Columbian Exposition held in  Illinois, 1893.

So remember George next time you line up for a ride on a Ferris wheel and remember it’s his  154th birthday!

Happy Birthday George Ferris!!!!!

Head on down to the library and check out the latest Junior non fiction that will keep you amused and entertained. Animals! Reptiles! Teen superstars! You couldn’t ask for more!

Amazing new non fiction on animals:

Animal Encyclopedia : 2,500 animals with photos, maps and more!

Love animals? Then this is the book for you. This book has been rated the best children’s animal encyclopedia. Newly published from National Geographic, this amazing encyclopedia, complete with facts, maps and photographs will tell you everything you have ever wanted to know about mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and fish.

Animals Are Amazing:

Animals are amazing and don’t we know it. Read up and learn all you ever wanted to know about the world’s  amazing animals which includes Monkeys, Sharks, Tigers, Lions and Polar Bears. These books also come complete with pictures and amazing facts like mother monkeys teach their babies what is good to eat and tigers can grow to be over three metres long.

Animals Are Amazing: Snakes

Learn all you ever wanted to know about snakes – snakes that bite, snakes that squeeze, snakes that swim and snakes that climb trees. You will also learn interesting facts like the green anaconda can weigh as much as four grown people and some snakes can live to be 40 years old. Also check out: Amazing Giant Dinosaurs.

The inside world of Teen Superstars:

Selena Gomez.

New from the series, Teen Stars is the biography of Selena Gomez, who is an American actress, singer, and fashion designer. She is known for portraying Alex Russo in the Emmy Award winning television series Wizards of Waverly Place and starring in movies such as Another Cinderella Story and Ramona and Beezus. Whether you’re already a fan, or just want to find out more, this series has something for everyone who’s into the teen celebrity scene.

If this doesn’t tickle your fancy, how about throwing in some Arts and Crafts activities for good measure? Check out these brand new non fiction series…

Arts and Crafts:

Get creative with these fun activities. Whether your are making a knight’s helmet and sword or a fairy tea party, These books will give you lots of ideas of arts and crafts you can create using knights, castles an fairies themes. Interested in more from this series, check out: Pirates, Tractors and Trucks, Dinosaurs and Animals.

New from this series is Fun with Paint, Fun with Paper, Fun with Fabric and Fun with Nature.

Whether you are having fun with paint, paper, fabric or nature, these clever craft books are full of fun ideas and fantastic activities for little fingers to make. From gifts to party decorations or just for fun, these craft activities will keep little fingers busy.

Sunday 14th of October is Katherine Mansfield’s birthday. But she won’t be having a party because she died in 1923, aged 34.

Who’s Katherine Mansfield? She is a very well-known author that grew up in Wellington. Katherine Mansfield’s birthplace is a great place to visit on Tinakori Road, if you’re looking for something to so during the school holidays. Her family also lived in Karori and other places along Tinakori Road. She went to Wellington Girls College.

She wrote a lot of famous stories in the early 1900s describing her childhood and life in Wellington and New Zealand. Her stories are described as ‘classics’ just like you might think of Peter Pan, or Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as a classic. She spent a lot of her adult life in Europe between England and France, and was living over there during World War 1 (her brother was killed during the war).

Katherine Mansfield caught tuberculosis, and while she was trying to recover she wrote some of her most loved and famous stories: At the Bay, The Garden Party and The Doll’s House. She died on the 9th of january 1923 in London and is buried there.

Her stories have inspired many famous writers and she was part of a new writing movementcalled ‘modernism’

You can find out more about one of our most famous writers here, and the Wikipedia article also contains some great info.

New Zealand didn’t compete as a nation in its own right until 1920; in the previous Olympics we had competed as a conjoint team with Australia. In 1920 New Zealand’s first Olympic team took 9 weeks to get to Antwerp by ship. Every member of that team made it to the finals, and Violet Walrond, our first female Olympian, was with them. She was only 15 at the time, and only 14 when she qualified. Unfortunately, she stopped swimming at 18.

Our first gold medal was in boxing, and was won by Ted Morgan in 1928. Yvette Williams was the first New Zealand woman to win a gold medal in 1952, in long-jump. The next female Olympian to win Gold was Barbara Kendall, in 1992.  Barbara Kendall competed in five Olympic Games…that’s pretty impressive!

Perhaps the most famous historical Olympian is Peter Snell.  He first won gold in the 800m race in 1960, and won two more gold medals in 1964. But he’s not New Zealand’s most ‘successful’ Olympian: that’s Ian Ferguson, a canoeist, who has won 4 gold medals and one bronze across five Olympic games.

This is a great book that will tell you about some of out best Olympians.

Bedroom Makeover

This book shows you how to make your bedroom brighter, cosier and comfier. I love bunting and cushions and this book shows you how to make funky cushion covers and bright bunting easily. A very fun book with lots of ideas. Other books in this series to look out for are, Customise Your Clothes, Accessories for All, Cards, and Wrap and Tags.

How To Make a Planet

Obviously get your parents’ permission before you start build ing a planet in your bedroom. But once you have their go ahead read this fascinating book to learn all the things you need to know about forming a planet and taking care of it. PS, You may not be finished your project by the end of the school holidays.

Space!

If you don’t have time to make your own planet then check this book out and enjoy doing some simple space experiments. Great for all ages for learning the basics of how space works.

Fun To Draw Funny Characters

With time on your hands you can get this book out and improve your drawing and cartooning skills no matter what your skill level. 16 fun characters, 20 faces and endless funny situations are all awaiting your pen and paper.

Describing Words  

Try your hand at writing these holidays. Need some coaching with your grammar? Then this new series will be fantastic for you. Other books in this series cover Punctuation, Doing Words and Grouping Words.

Stay

If the circus is in town these holidays head along there. You may see dogs performing like the ones in this lovely book. If you are a dog lover then you will really enjoy reading about the ten stray dogs that were given a home in a circus and trained up to be ultimate performers.

Children’s Chocolate Cookbook

Not only crammed full of scrumptious recipes but containing the history of chocolate and how it is made. YUM!

Oh Boy!

Kick back and enjoy this unofficial biography of Justin Bieber. Crammed full of photos, of course, read and find out all those little things you always wanted to know about this successful idol.

Lego Star Wars Character Encyclopedia

Time to get our the lego again these holidays. This encyclopedia will tell you about all the characters you may want to add to your collection.

Click! Click! Click!

Time to get those cameras out these holidays. Have fun fist reading this book and get some great ideas for your magical shots. Also learn how to edit and playaround with your photos.

The Art Treasure Hunt

Fill in a few spare hours browsing through this inspiring book. Wander through famous artworks from around the world. Full of puzzles, games and large pictures. Learning about art was never so much fun. If you aren’t already an art lover, you will be after reading through this book.

59 years ago today Sir Edmund Percival Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbed Mt Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. Sir Hillary is a very famous New Zealander who’s face is on our $5 note.

Although he is most famous for climbing Mt Everest, he also did lots of other amazings things in his life. He was an aeroplane navigator for the Royal New Zealand Air Force in World War Two, he was a bee keeper and he drove tractors (New Zealand-made tractors, of course) to the South Pole in Antarctica. He also spent a lot of time in Nepal (the country that Mt Everest is in) building schools, bridges, hospitals, monestries and airports.

Such an important man must have loads of books written about him, right? RIGHT! Click on the pictures below to find out where they are.

A sample of the many amazing New Zealanders who have achieved fame in their lifetime. This anthology covers sporting greats such as Sir Colin Meads, Scott Dixon and Barbara Kendall; Artists, including Sir Peter Jackson, Rhys Darby and Margaret Mahy; Adventurers Sir Edmund Hillary and Jean Batten; Scientists Ingrid Visser and Sir William Pickering; and many more. This book has concise stories of their lives and accomplishments, with some very funny anecdotes. There are great illustrations by cartoonist Bruce Potter who draws outlandish caricatures for us to laugh at.