Attention all literary fans! Come on down to the Central Library and learn how to create amazing stories with a master storyteller! Join 2017 Margaret Mahy Medal and Lecture Award winner Des Hunt for a writing workshop like no other. This event is part of Beyond the Page, a literary festival for children and youth on from 8-23 July, for more information, check out the website.
Where: Wellington Central Library, Young Adults area.
When: Tuesday 11th July, 1pm to 2pm.
Age Group: This workshop is aimed at ages 9-12 and spaces are limited. Make sure you register to secure a spot.
About Des Hunt: Des Hunt was a science and technology teacher for many years, interspersed with periods of curriculum development both in New Zealand and overseas. During this time he had several textbooks published to support the New Zealand curriculum. Over the last twenty years he has experimented with other ways of interesting youngsters in science, creating computer games and writing non-fiction and fiction with scientific themes.
After living in Auckland for much of his life he moved with his wife, Lynne, to Matarangi on New Zealand’s Coromandel Peninsula. He retired from the classroom in 2007 to concentrate on writing fiction for children. He continues his aims of fostering young peoples’ natural interest in the science of their surroundings by visiting schools and libraries where he runs workshops and presentations.
Five Des Hunt books have been finalists at the Children’s Book Awards. Cry of the Taniwha was awarded the 2016 Storylines Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-loved Book. Then, in 2017, Des was the recipient of the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal and Lecture Award for lifetime achievement and a distinguished contribution to New Zealand children’s literature and literacy.
Find out more about Des and his books: www.deshunt.com
While You’re at it, check out some of Des Hunt’s books that you can find at your local library.
Enjoy!
Phantom of Terawhiti.
“It’s the school holidays and Zac thinks he might go crazy with boredom. He’s living in exile with his disgraced father on the remote Terawhiti Station on Wellington’s wild south-west coast. Zac and his father witness a shipwreck off the coast. Investigating further, he finds a set of unusual paw prints on the beach. Whose yacht it is? And what animal could have made the paw prints? Soon Zac is drawn into a mystery which threatens his life and those around him. He must protect the secret of the Phantom of Terawhiti from those intent on hunting it – and him – down”–Publisher information.
Frog Whistle Mine.
Twelve-year-old Tony has travelled all around New Zealand with his nomadic mother, and desperately wants somewhere to belong. When they arrive in Charleston, a gold-mining ghost town, he is almost afraid to hope this might finally be the place. But things aren’t as they seem, and he finds himself caught up in mysterious events.
Where cuckoos call.
Twelve-year-old Ben is a keen ornithologist who looks after endangered birds on his family farm in the Coromandel Peninsula. But Ben must grow up fast in the face of threats to his home, his family and his beloved birds.
Whale Pot Bay.
Jake lives with his father in a remote part of the Wairarapa, where he can surf and watch the whales. But then Jake’s dad begins a relationship with a new partner, who moves in with her daughter Stephanie, and at the same time a local photographer starts stalking their next door neighbour Milton Summer, an international rock celebrity, and Jake’s peaceful life erupts into violence and deceit. An when a whale and her calf get into trouble on the treacherous coast, the history of Whale Pot Bay seems doomed to repeat itself unless Jake, Milton and Stephanie can survive the deadly tide.
Cry of the taniwha.
Matt Logan isn’t looking forward to spending the school holidays in Rotorua with his grandmother and her new husband. Matt has taken his metal detector along, and when he and Juzza – the boy next door – unearth a handcuffed skeleton, a dangerous chain of events begins to coil around them.
It’s sometimes really hard to be brave especially when you have nightmares or feel all alone but there are wonderful books that can help you to feel brave. Come along and meet Wolfgang the Wolf and Clarissa the Cat who are best friends from the Feel Brave series of books. These books use rhyme and pictures to help make you to feel a little braver, especially when the wonderful author, Avril McDonald, is here to introduce you to them. There are so many feeling and emotions to deal with sometimes it can be over whelming but Wolfgang can help you as he makes discoveries about bullying and kindness, anxiety and fears, loneliness and friendship.
Join UK based Wellington author Avril McDonald as she tells her Feel Brave children’s stories and demonstrates simple games and activities to help you with big emotions and gain confidence! The Feel Brave books are officially for 4 – 7 year olds but all ages enjoy them, I’m always up for learning how to feel a little braver! So come along to this special free Feel Brave event.
Have you ever been to a book launch before? No? Here’s your chance.
