New Non Fiction: Myths, Mysteries and… Time Travel!

London: A Time Traveler’s Guide.

Did you know that London is thousands years old? So when you walk through its busy streets, you are standing on top of history. Forget Doctor Who, With this guide you can travel back in time and discover all the relics of the past, ancient treasures and long forgotten buildings throughout London, England. You will find out all about  of the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings, Medieval times, the Tudor, the Victorians to the present day. So come on down to the library and take a fact-filled journey through the history of London, one of the world’s greatest cities.

 

 

 

A City Through Time : From Ancient Colony to Vast Metropolis.

In the mood for some more time travel? Check out this new and  stunning update of the popular original, A City Through Time. Follow the story of a city from ancient colony to vast modern metropolis with full-colour illustrations that will transport you back to another age. Reading this book may be the closest you ever get to what really goes on in a Roman bath-house, a medieval castle or a modern skyscraper. Comes complete with a photographic section that profiles great cities through history and a glossary that tells you what you need to know about architecture, technology, work and costumes throughout the ages. Great  for parents and children to look at together or for school projects.

 

Norse Myths and Legends.

This book explores the gods, goddesses, heroes, villains, tricksters, and quests that make Norse myths and legends so compelling. Forget Thor, the hero from the Marvel comics, now is the time to really study and learn all you have ever wanted to know about the Norse Mythology and the Vikings. As a bonus, you will also discover facts and information that  you didn’t know, like Thor’s favorite weapon was a magical hammer, (Okay, maybe that’s something you already knew), some gods used goats or cats to pull their chariots and gods believed rainbows could be bridges between worlds.

 

 

 

Solving Mysteries with Science.

Do you like reading about the strange  and unknown? With this new series on solving mysteries, you are in for a treat. Read all about the encounters, what scientists and other experts think and the evidence that supports the existence of  The Loch Ness Monster, Mermaids and The Bermuda Triangle.

     

 

Treasure Hunters.

Two new books from the Treasure Hunters series is now available at Wellington City Libraries. Tomb Explores explores all the tombs and treasure you will find in parts of the world such as Egypt, China and South America. You will also discover amazing facts and found out answers to questions like what sort of booby traps were hidden in Pyramids?, Why were the Terracotta Army craftsman ordered to be killed? and Where have tomb explorers used remote-controlled cameras? Great Art Thefts combines the subjects of Art, Mysteries and Crime into one resource. Read all about the great art crime capers that took place throughout history including the theft of the Mona Lisa that took place in 1911, the Boston burglary in 1990 where 13 artworks were stolen and the theft of The Scream in Norway, 1994 during the Winter Olympics.

 

  

 

 

New Non Fiction that will leave you spellbound!

The Ultimate Moshlings Collector’s Guide.

Move over Pokemon, there are very cute, cool and collectible creatures  to catch! Check out this new and amazing guide book on the Moshlings! Monstro City’s top Moshling collector, Buster Bumblechops, shares his tips on collecting all the little Moshlings roaming wild in the world of Moshi Monsters! Buster is the ultimate collector and this awesome book is packed full of his stories from years of Moshlings tracking. Find out how to plant the right seeds to attract Moshlings, and how to keep them entertained once you have adopted them! As well as Buster Bumblechop’s collector’s notes the guide contains extracts from his diary plus an exclusive extra Moshling (available only with this guide). Great for anyone a fan of Pokemon and Digimon.

 

Spellbound: Tales of Enchantment from Ancient Ireland.

If you are bored with Fairy tales and Greek mythology, why not try out Irish Folk Tales? This book is a wonderful treasure that holds a collection of seven stories from Ancient Ireland linked by themes of magic and enchantment that are that will make you spellbound! Great for kids aged 6 to 9 years, who love adventure, romance and the occasional nasty shock.

 

 

 

 

Horrible Histories: The Beastly Best Bits – The executioner’s cut.

Well, Terry Deary has done it again! More horrible histories for your viewing and reading pleasure… with all the nasty bits left in. Read all about the awful Egyptians, the Rotten Romans, the vile Victorians and the woeful Second War World. The beastly Best Bits is a wicked history of the world collected by Terry Derry from twenty years of Horrible Histories Books.

 

 

 

 

The Fairy-Tale Princess : Seven Classic Stories from the Enchanted Forrest.

This beautiful collection of seven classic fairytales is organized around the theme of the fairytale princess. Su Blackwell’s paper sculptures evoke a magical world of beauty and mischief are accompanied by Wendy Jones’ lyrical retellings of the stories. I really liked how each fairy tale emerged from the pages through a series of intricate paper sculptures cut from the pages of  each of the fairytales. A great book for girls and anyone a fan of fairy tales.

 

 

 

 

Follow, Follow: A book of reverso poems.

Imagine fairy tales upended. / Upended fairy tales? Imagine!

In the mood for some reverso poems? This book is a  collection of short poems called reversos. First you read the poems from top to bottom, then when you reverse the lines and read from the bottom to top, they provide new perspectives on the fairy tale characters they feature. A fantastic book that plays with language and fairy tales to create a celebration of sight, sound and story.

 

 

Just Joking 2 : 300 hilarious jokes about everything, including tongue twisters, riddles, and more.

This book is the book you must read if you wish to master all the silly jokes known to kids, which includes knock-knocks, tongue twisters, riddles, traditional question and answer jokes and much more! Just Joking 2 comes complete with  colorful photos of laughing animals, including amazing facts about each animal featured, funny people, and other colorful photos are paired with each joke, which is gurenteed to add  an extra laugh on each page.

 

 

Saint Patrick’s Day – A day of leprechauns, four-leaf clovers and painting the town green!

Saint Patrick’s Day or the Feast of Saint Patrick is a cultural, religious and public holiday celebrated on 17 March, the anniversary of his death. It celebrates the life of  Saint Patrick, the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. On the day, people go to church services, wear green attire, attend public parades, eat Irish food and party the Irish way with music, singing and dancing, leprechauns and four-leaf clovers. On the day, you can also call into the Central Library and take out some amazing books about Saint Patrick’s Day and Ireland.

Check out the following books:

 

Books about St. Patrick’s Day (and the Saint himself):

          

 

Books about Ireland:

      

Irish Folk Tales and Stories:

      

 

FACT: Did you know over half a million New Zealanders have Irish ancestors, whose stories have been passed down the generations. Read more about this history of the Irish in New Zealand on  Te Ara.

Ketea Dragons

In Ancient Greek mythology there is a sea dragon called ketea (singular ketos).

They are amphibious and have two flippers instead of legs. They have sleek bodies with hides covered in barnacles, and a long, tapering tail with a sea-weed like end.

Ketea have a long, pointy snout, long ears, sharp horns on their heads, and small sharp teeth. Although they live in the ocean around Greece, they can also survive on land.

Ketea obey Poseidon, Greek god of the sea, and he sends them to punish people who have offended him. They are ravenous and can never get enough to eat!

If you enjoyed this post and want to read more, you can find out more about dragons in The Dragon Companion: An Encyclopedia by Carole Wilkinson. All the facts in this post were taken from this book.

 

Some new books about dragons that you might like to read are:

The Dreadful Dragon by Kaye Umansky

Dragon Boogie by Erik Craddick

Fangbone!, third-grade barbarian by Michael Rex

How to Seize a Dragon’s Jewel by Cressida Cowell

Iron Hearted Violet by Kelly Regan Barnhill

Secrets of the Dragon World by S. A. Caldwell

 

 

New Non-Fiction: Music, Myths and Fashion

The History of Modern Music.

Interested in having a career in the music industry, then this is the book for you! Part of the series: The Music Scene, this book explores the changes in modern music though the post-war decades from rock n roll (Elvis Presley) and folk music (Bob Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel) through to punk (The Sex Pistols), Indie pop (Green Day)and the enormous changes in technology today that have transformed the music world today. Also check out other book in the series: The Music Industry, Music, Fashion and Style and Performing Live.

 

 

 

 

 

Also check out

 

King Arthur.

King Arthur is the ultimate English hero. King of Camelot, Head of the Knights of the Round Table and wielder of the magic sword, Excalibur! Richard Brassey explores the history, the mystery and the legendary figures that populate the myths about King Arthur, including Morgan La Fay, Merlin and the evil Mordred. Richard Brassey’s unique gift for extracting truth from myth in a concise and insightful way makes this book the perfect introduction to King Arthur for young readers – and confused tourists!

 

 Learn to Speak Fashion.

Learn to Speak Fashion is about the ideas, skills and the fun behind thinking creatively about what you and others choose to wear. This book is the perfect guide to find tips on creating fashion from top designers, models and stylists. Also if you think you got what it takes to be a fashion designer? Then have a read of The Young Entrepreneurs Club: Fashion. All the information you need to becoming the next big thing in the fashion industry is in this exciting new read from the series: Young Entrepreneurs’ Club.

 

Basketball:  From tip-off to slam dunk – the essential guide.

A comprehensive guide on how to play basketball. You find in this exciting new read everything you need to know about how to get started, improve your playing style and hints and tips to help you master the sport.

 

 

 

 

 

Fairy Things to Stitch and Sew.

Love fairies? Love sewing?  Love arts and crafts? Then this is the book for you!, especially if you’re looking for ideas this year for Christmas gifts.  This enchanting book from the Usborne series is teeming with delightful projects which includes making fairy collages, bags, cards and pillows.

 

 

Most Wanted

Geronimo Stilton has no less than FIVE of this month’s top ten titles, which is pretty astounding for a little Italian mouse!

In the other half of this month’s top ten…

The Wimpy Kid’s latest diary makes it to number one, with 49 of you wanting a copy it’s THE Most Wanted book of the year, the Warrior wild cat clans are hanging in there,  Jacqueline Wilson makes her first appearance, the latest Rangers Apprentice gets on the board, and Percy Jackson, long on this list, makes way for the new kids at Camp Half Blood.
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1) Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth (up 1)

2) Warriors: Omen of the Stars: Night Whispers (up 3)

3) The Karate Mouse  (up 5)

4) The Peculiar Pumpkin Thief  (up 6)

5) The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid (back again)

6) Field trip to Niagara Falls (back again)

7) Christmas Catastrophe (back again)

8 ) Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero (new)

9) The Emperor of Nihon-Ja (new)

10) The Longest Whale Song (new)

The books you most want to read

Only CHERUB can push out the Greek/American demigod from hogging all this month’s top spots. In other news the original Wimpy Kid makes it back on the Most Wanted list, and many of  you are patiently waiting for the latest (and penultimate*) Artemis Fowl.

*Penultimate = second to last.

 

 

 

 

 

1 ) The Lightning Thief Rick Riordan (up 1)

2 ) Divine Madness Robert Muchamore (down 1)

3 ) The Last Olympian Rick Riordan (back again)

4 ) The Sea of Monsters Rick Riordan (back again)

5= ) The Titan’s Curse Rick Riordan (back again)

5= ) The Battle of the Labyrinth Rick Riordan(back again)

7 )  Now Morris Glietzman.(up 3)

8 ) The Karate Mouse Geronimo Stilton (down 2)

9) Diary of a wimpy kid: Greg Heffley’s Journal Jeff Kinney (back again)

10= ) Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex Eoin Colfer (NEW)

10= ) Christmas Catastrophe Geronimo Stilton (down 2)

Move over ancient Greek gods

Rick Riordan author of the amazing Percy Jackson series is now writing about Ancient Egyptian mythology.

The first of The Kane Chronicles is The Red Pyramid. In which Carter and Sadie Kane discover who their parents really were,  get slightly possessed by Isis and Horus (two Egyptian Gods) and have to save the world from being turned into burning chaos. Along the way they get to travel to London, Paris and New York, perform magic, indulge in some kick butt fight scenes, and hang out with a groovy knife wielding cat goddess. What is there not to love about a book like that?

Most Wanted!

Our big bro and sis on the Teen Blog do a monthly round up of the most wanted teen books. We thought that was pretty cool, so we’re going to do it too. You know what little brothers and sisters are like – always nicking your stuff.

So here are the most wanted kid’s books. They are too hot to sit on the shelf, but if you follow the title links you can reserve your copy through the top left button where it says click to order.

It’s free to reserve kid’s books if you have a Children’s or Young Adult’s library card.

 

1 ) Divine Madness Robert Muchamore

2 ) The Lightning Thief Rick Riordan

3 )Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw Jeff Kinney

4 )The Karate Mouse Geronimo Stilton

5 )Christmas Catastrophe Geronimo Stilton

6 )Little Darlings Jacqueline Wilson

7 )Field Trip to Niagara Falls Geronimo Stilton

8 )Warriors : Ravenpaw’s path. 2, A Clan in Need Erin Hunter.

9 )Now Morris Glietzman.

10=) Singing Sensation Geronimo Stilton

10=)A Fabumouse School Adventure Geronimo Stilton

10=)The Race Across America Geronimo Stilton

July Kids’ Choice

Wow!  Good news for all you series fans; each one of this month’s Kids’ Choice is part of a series, so each one of these books could lead you on to loads of great reading.

 

Percy Jackson and The Sea Of Monsters Rick Riordan

Book number two in this fabulous series which a 13 year old demigod ….  I could tell you the story, or you could should just read it!

 

I spy treasure hunt Jean Marzollo & Wick Walter

This I Spy book has a linear story that you follow through the book. That sounds boring, it isn’t, it’s really very cool. Spend some time hunting through it yourself.

 

Lessons for a werewolf warrior Jackie French

This is the first book in a new series, School for Heroes. Tag along with Boojum Bark and discover how to open a wormhole,  how to defeat bogeys armed with only a zombie sausage, and why heroes need to wear pants.

Just Shocking Andy Griffiths/ Terry Denton

More outrageous fun with Andy.  This is the sixth and last book in the phenomenal Just series, of short stories with cool illustrations. This book is worth reading for the list of 101 dangerous things alone.


Spylet on Ice Jill Marshall

Book #5 in the popular Jane Blonde series. Copernicus is up to no good can Jane save the world again? Another rollicking adventure from this kicking spylet with plenty of snowy goodness.