science fiction

New Non Fiction: Prepare to go Bear Crazy, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” and brace yourself because the Doctor is in!

Katie

The Doctor is in!

Boys and Girls, brace yourself because Wellington City Libraries two new Junior Non Fiction Books on Doctor Who and just in time… before the school holidays.

Doctor Who: Essential Guide to 50 Years of Doctor Who.
By reading this book, you learn all the  fascinating facts on all eleven incarnations of the Doctor’s adventures in space and time, as well as his helpful companions and fearsome foes. Find out all about the Doctor’s TARDIS, his regenerations, and much, much more! Overall a great book that many fans of the series would enjoy, however might be suitable for ages 10 and up. If this book interests you, you might also want to check out  Doctor Who: The Official Doctionary.

 

 

 

 

 

image courtesy of syndetics
Doctor Who: The Visual Dictionary.

This book presents an introduction to the popular science fiction television program, dsicussing its characters, plot lines, villains, gadgets, monsters, aliens, weaponry, and spaceships. Overall not a bad read. The style and presentation of this book is similar to Star Wars visual dictionaries. Another book that will be enjoyed by Doctor Who fans. If this book interests you, you might also want to check out Lego Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary.

 

 

 

 

 

RSPCA Animal Care.

The RSPCA  or the Royal Society for the prevention of Cruelty to Animals in the United Kingdom has published two new books on animal care.

image courtesy of syndeticsimage courtesy of syndeticsAll About… Cats and Kittens and All About… Rabbits and Other Small Animals

Overall I think these pet guides are fantastic. Would be ideal for children 9 years and over. Contains lots of information on how to care for rabbits/cats, helping it settle in, types of of behavior to grooming, playing, popular names for  rabbits/cats, and going to the vet.  Also contains some history of The RSPCA in the United Kingdom.
You also might want to check out Looking after Cats and Kittens and Looking after Rabbits.

FACT ABOUT CATS: While chocolate is bad for a cat, yogurt makes a tasty treat. According to Pet Smart NZ, the organisms in yogurt can be especially helpful when your pet is on antibiotics since these medications can alter the “good’ bacteria in the intestines. Most pets will enjoy the addition of a tablespoons of yogurt to their food.

FACT ABOUT RABBITS: Pet rabbits are related to the wild rabbits, hares and pikas. Hares are bigger than rabbits, with longer ears and stronger legs which enables them to run very fast, while pikas are smaller than rabbits and live in North America and Asia.

 

 

 

Bear Crazy…!

image courtesy of syndetics
Kali’s Story: An Orphaned Polar Bear Rescue.

Brace yourself for cuteness and… an orphaned polar bear. This book tells the story of orphaned polar bear Kali (pronounced Cully) as he is rescued and whisked away to the Inupiat village of Kali (Point Lay in English), then being raised and reared at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, with zookeepers filling in for his mother and finally finding a permanent home at the Buffalo Zoo with, Luna, a female polar bear as a companion. Overall I enjoyed this book. Absolutely loved the photographs that chronicles Kali’s infant hood. I reckon this is a book that will be thoroughly enjoyed by all age groups and a fantastic addition to the junior non fiction collection just in time for  the school holidays.

You will also like Vicks: The Polar Bear Cub and My Polar Animals Journal : In Search of Polar Bears, Penguins, Whales and Seals.

FACT ABOUT POLAR BEARS: Male polar bears pee down, while female polar bears pee straight behind them.

 

image courtesy of syndetics

Wild About Bears.

Wild about bears? You will be after reading this book. This book contains facts and pictures of eight different bear species, ranging from polar bears, sun bears and sloth bears. You will learn everything there is to know about bears, including information about their traits, characteristics and habitat.

 

 

 

 

 

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

image courtesy of syndetics
Brutal Games! History’s most dangerous sports.

Forget sports like Rugby, Gymnastics and Horse riding, this book on history’s most dangerous sports takes words like ‘dangerous’, ‘extreme sports’ and ‘life and death situations’ to a whole new level. After reading this book, two words come to mind:  adrenaline rush. Facts about bull riding, cave diving, jousting and gladiator games, you will have all the information you need to release your inner daredevil.

 

 

 

 

If you like the Horrible Histories and Weird World of Wonders series, you might want to give these two new series a go.

Hard Nuts of History.image courtesy of syndetics image courtesy of syndetics

To kick things off, Check out Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece, which is part of Hard Nuts of History series. Read all about history’s hardest hard nuts. Who were the most famous (and not so famous) ruthless, brave, fearless and intrepid men and women of all time? Could you fight in the greatest battle ever, or wow the whole world with your brain power?
These awesome books are bursting with remarkable tales of triumph and bravery. You will be amazed and astounded by some of history’s hardest heroes. The books have a similar tone as Horrible Histories and Weird World of Wonders series, comes complete with the silly bits, but perhaps without the gory bits. There is a lot less pages and the text is more simplified, so I think this series will appeal to younger audiences.

 

 

 

 

image courtesy of syndetics

image courtesy of syndetics

image courtesy of syndetics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What They Don’t Tell You About….

In the ‘What They Don’t Tell You About….’ series by Bob Fowke, there are books on Romans in Britain, Ancient Greeks and Vikings.  If you are looking for another series to read after Horrible Histories, I would recommend the ”What They Don’t Tell You About….’ series. There is a lot of history, gory bits,  silly humor and the odd puzzle in these books, so prepare for lots of reading… and laughing! Definitely no boring bits in this series. Great for anyone who is a fan of Horrible Histories and Weird World of Wonders. Also great for anyone who likes/is interested in History, comics, puzzle books and silly humor.

Top 10 non-fiction for February

Dusty

Favourite facts children borrowed in February:

1.  Star Wars by David West Reynolds

2.  The LEGO book by Daniel Lipkowitz

3.  Ripley’s believe it or not!by Rosie Alexander

4.  Guinness world records 2013 by Craig Glenday

5.  Ara pūretaby Frances Goulton

6.  Pokemon black version & Pokemon white version handbook by Michael G. Ryan

7.  The horrible history of the world by Terry Deary

8.  Guinness world records 2014 by Craig Glenday

9.  Wow! dinosaur by Douglas Palmer

10.  The age of the dinosaurs (12 volumes) by Steve Parker

 

New Non-Fiction : Big Books of interesting facts and things to do

admin

Star Trek : The Visual Dictionary

Like it says on the cover, this really is the ultimate guide to characters, aliens and technology of Star Trek.  It’s almost been 50 years since Star Trek first appeared on television, so there’s a lot to include! It doesn’t look at the more recent movies, but for all the old school tv series and movies, you can’t beat this book.

 

 

 

 

 

Houses of long ago

This has to be one of the coolest books we have in the library.  It’s got gorgeous pictures of different houses through history; from the Chinese courtyard house to the medieval English manor. Each picture of the house has small flaps you can lift to see inside the houses and learn all sorts of interesting facts about how people lived in the past.

 

 

 

 

Cook it step by step

With over 100 recipes, this is a pretty extensive cook book that could teach you how to make pretty much anything. There are lots of pictures that take you through each recipe, and there’s some great information on basic cooking techniques as well.  It’s a great book for a beginner cook, but there’s plenty healthy, delicious recipes in here that anyone could make.

 

 

 

 

The Great Big Book of Feelings

What do you do when you feel jealous? What things make you sad? What do you do when you feel satisfied? This book doesn’t have all the answers, but it will make you think about the hows and whys of your feelings and what to do when they cause you trouble.

 

 

 

 

 

RHS Garden Projects : loads of fun things to do and make in the garden

If the weather holds up, there’s plenty here to keep you entertained in your backyard. Or you could keep them in mind for the warmer weather. At any rate, this is a fantastic book full of awesome projects.  They’re divided into three sections: “make it”, “cook it”, and “create it.” There’s plenty of instructions on when to make the projects, as well. My favourite project is making a fairy ring for your garden…just ask your Mum or Dad first!

 

 


The Big book of Big machines

If you’re a nut about all sorts of movers, diggers, flyers and cars then this is an excellent choice.  It’s got lots of fold out pages, so you can appreciate just how big these machines are. It doesn’t go into much detail about exactly how these machines work, but there’s enough information to give you a pretty much basic understanding of what the biggest machines are and what they do.

 

 

 

 

 

Animal diaries: Tyrannosaurus Rex

This is an unusual book that’s told from the perspective of a Tyrannosaurus Rex who hatches from an egg shortly before the end of the dinosaurs.  The reader stays with him as he grows up, and learns all about how young t-rex dinosaurs learn to hunt, how they live in their family groups, and all the other creatures they would have interacted with. Which were not necessarily dinosaurs and not necessarily food! It also looks at what survived after the meteorite and why. If you find the mighty meat eater a bit much, there’s also a really cool book from the same series told from the point of view of an elephant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 in 1

wcl staff

rocketsAre you into sci fi stories? There’s a cool book that has three stories in it. It is referred to as trilogy novels and it has exciting stories inside. It even has a glossary after every story so you can check out the meaning of some of the words. The one I picked was called Tri Sci Fi by Pauline Cartwright and Janice Marriott. It has three stories entitled “Defending the Empire”, “Farewell to Xylo” and “A Change of Course”. You’d think it would be a very thick book because it has three stories in it but it isn’t. I bet you’ll get through reading it in an instant. So go and check out this 3 in 1 book at the children’s fiction area now.

Science fiction galore!

wcl staff

I just came across this new book called Out of This World which is a collection of 20, yes 20, science fiction stories! Get ready to confront alien invaders and fly off to distant and unexplored lands. It has the classic story “War of the Worlds” (which is one of my favorites) and “How We were Tracked by a Tripod”. There is a varierty of stories so you’ll never have a boring moment reading it. Why don’t you check it out in the children’s fiction area now.