Spooky

Happy Halloween!

admin

Ooooohhhhh! It’s the spookiest day of the year today – It’s Halloween!

I wanted to find out a little bit about the history of Halloween, so I quickly visited Wikipedia and found out…

  • It’s also known as All Hallows’ Eve
  • The word ‘Halloween’ is a christian work and dates back to 1745 and means ‘hallowed evening’ or ‘holy evening’
  • Typical activities to celebrate Halloween are tick-or-treating, going to costume parties, decorating your house and carving pumpkins, lighting bonfires, going to haunted attractions, playing pranks, watching scary movies and telling ghost stories.
  • Lots more info about the history of Halloween around the world and how it’s celebrated today (go to the wikipedia article for more, there’s also a short article in simple english)

Check out the Halloween entry on our KidsCat for more info too – lost of weblinks and library books you can check out. Did you know that there’s a haunted house in Miramar that you can visit? Check out this article on the Dominion Post Website about it.

To celebrate Halloween, we have two evening dress-up storytimes (great for 5-10 year olds) happening at Karori and Khandallah Libraries tonight, starting at 6.30pm. Come along in your scariest costume and make us scream!

 

Here are some cool books and DVDs about Halloween stuff that you can take home:

How to create spectacular Halloween costumes by Louann Brown and Jason Nemeth

 

 

 

 

 

How to make frightening Halloween decorations by Catherine Ipcizade

 

 

 

 

 

Frightfully fun Halloween handbook by Carole Nicksin

 

 

 

 

 

The Halloween handbook : 447 costumes by Bridie Clark and Ashley Dodd

 

 

 

 

 

The best Halloween ever by Barbara Robinson

 

 

 

 

 

It’s Halloween, you ‘fraidy mouse! by Geronimo Stilton

 

 

 

 

 

Trixie the Halloween fairy by Daisy Meadows

 

 

 

 

 

Spooky and Scary DVDs:
Tom and Jerry: Tricks & treats
Shrek’s thrilling tales
Monster High: Ghouls rule
Trick or treat tales
Eloise’s rawther unusual Halloween
The dog who saved Halloween

 

Get ready for some creepy Halloween Fiction!

wcl staff

Is your Halloween costume ready yet? Have you prepared revolting and scary decorations for your house? Do you have the recipes prepared for a horrendous and disgusting diner with your eerie friends? Did you read the latest Fiction about Monsters, ghosts and ghouls that we have at the Library?

I can’t do anything about the outfit, the decoration and the food but… I can help you with the books!!! So choose one of these stories if you already feel the tension of Halloween growing inside you!

The heart of glass, by Vivian French

Prince Marcus’s adventure is going horribly wrong : gracie Gillypot has disappeared, the dwarves have struck a dangerous bargain with the King of the Trolls and Princess Marigold is in peril- if only she’d stop complaining long enough to realize it. Throw in a scheming goblin, meddling bats and a mysterious heart of glass and you have all the ingredients for another wickedly funny story from the Five Kingdoms.

9 and +

 

Rise of the Zombie rabbit, by Sam Hay

Joe is just an ordinary boy until he makes a wish on a spooky Egyptian amulet… Now he is the protector of Undead Pets… and there’s a rampaging rabbit hopping about!

Fluffy the rabbit was snapped up by a hungry fox. Can Joe help her owner stay out of trouble, so Fluffy will hop off to the big rabbit hutch in the sky?

7 and +

 

Monster and chips, by David O’Connell

Have you ever eaten a plateful of parp tarts, got stuck into a stinky coughy pudding or filled your belly with chewy worm spaghetti?

No?

Well you’ve probably never been to a monster-diner. So come on in… We have the best chips ANYWHERE. Just be careful that the customers don’t think YOU’RE the menu!

7 and +

 

Home sweet horror, by James Preller

Welcome. Have a seat. Let us tell you a story. But be warned. Home sweet Horror isn’t just any tale. This is a SCARY TALE.

Meet Liam Finn, who’s just moved into a new home with his father and sister. But this old house that seems empty, isn’t. Bloody Mary is here- she’s been called back from the dead and she’s just DYING to talk.

MWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA!

8 and + (but only for very brave children!)

 

Gustav Gloom and the nightmare vault, by Adam-Troy Castro

Gustav Gloom’s neighbors think he is the unhappiest little boy in the world. But what they don’t know is that the strange, dark house Gustav lives in is filled with more wonders and mysteries than could ever be explained. But explain is exactly what Gustav needs to do when Fernie What moves in across the street. And that’s when the adventure really begins…

9 and +

 

Become a ghost catcher!

debbie

Got a problem with Ghosts?

Then we can help!

Specialists in the business with over 150 years’ experience, we can fix all your paranormal problems.

No job is too big, too small or too scary – same day service and no nasty chemicals!

Call the Ghost Club now on 555-SPOOK.

 

In the Haunted School, Angeline and Edgar have to go to their Senior School Sleepover, but Angeline is dreading having to talk to the other kids.

The night goes wrong when a ghost appears in the dormitory where they are camped out. Their classmates are terrified – and Principal Primm is not happy!

With the aid of Ghost Club, Angeline and Edgar must find out who the ghost is so they can help her. But first they have to convince their principal that kids can be ghost-catchers too, and they have to avoid Travis the bully, who is spying on them – causing trouble wherever they go.

 

New non-fiction: Things that go bump in the night

admin

Paranormal Files

We’ve got a cool new series of books called the Paranormal Files, for all you ghost hunters and alien watchers out there. While there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about such things, these books are a fun read. They contain many interesting stories from all over the world, like the terrifying story of the Kuchisake-onna, a Japanese ghost who you wouldn’t like to meet on a dark night! You might think you have read all you need to know about such things as stories are often repeated across different books. Any ghost enthusiast will be able to tell you about Borley Rectory or Glamis castle, but this book has a whole load of new stories that will send a shiver up your spine…or convince you to go looking for ghosts yourself.

The other books in the series are interesting, too. For cryptozoologists (people interested in animals whose existence has not been confirmed by science)  there’s a cool book on Bigfoot and other Ape-men. Sadly it doesn’t mention New Zealand’s own Moehau man, but there are stories from almost every other continent.

        

Fossilized Series

If you’ve got an interest in the remains of the past, check this series out. They’re a good introduction to Paleontology (the study of fossils ) with some great pictures and information about where fossils are found, how the paleontologists find out how old they are,  and what they show about the creatures and people of the past.

   

Draw 50…

After reading those books you may need  some light relief. Or you may want to make your own stories about all the things you’ve found out.  In that case, the “Draw 50” books are great. As the title suggests, there are 50 things in here that the book will teach you to draw.  The instructions are a lot more detailed than a lot of ‘how to draw’ art books; you start out with simple lines and then add detail on top of that. That’s pretty cool, as it helps you create a drawing with the correct proportions. There are many books in the series, so have a look through the catalogue.

       

Crispy Cool New Fiction!

wcl staff

Get stuck into this awesome line up of new fiction for the summer holidays. Perfect reading for lazy summer days.

A Mutiny in Time By James Dashner.

This is the first book of this super cool series! Time has gone wrong, and best friends Dak Smyth and Sera Froste, together with the young Hystorian Riq, must use the infinity ring to travel back to one of the Great Breaks–a mutiny on the Santa María–to correct history and defeat the SQ.Check it out!

 

 

 

 

 

The Giant- Slayer by Iain Lawerence.

When her eight-year-old neighbor is stricken with polio in 1955, eleven-year-old Laurie discovers that there is power in her imagination as she weaves a story during her visits with him and other patients confined to iron lung machines.  A truely mystical and mischievous book!!!! You simply must read this !!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Tournament Trouble by Frances Watts.

Flamant Castle is having a tournament! But when one of the squires is injured during practice, Sir Benedict ask s Tommy to take his place. There’s just one problem: she has never ridden a horse before – every time she tries to ride Bess, the horse throws her off! Time is running out! How will Tommy be able to compete? Borrow this book today and discover if she will succeed!

 

 

 

 

Bessica Lefter bites back by Kristen Tracy.

Now that Bessica’s been named half mascot, she finally feels like she’s fitting in. But Alice, the other half mascot, hates her.  The pressure is on for middle-schooler Bessica to be the funniest, wildest bear mascot for her school, or risk being humiliated by a rival tiger mascot. So between homework, feeding gorgeous Noll Beck’s lizard, dealing with her grandma having a boyfriend, and deciding whether crashing Sylvie’s party is a bad idea, Bessica is memorizing as many cool cheers as she can. Her life is on the line.

 

 

 

 

The Lost Empire of Koomba by Tony Abbott.

A hidden door. A magical staircase. Discover the World of Droon! Keeah, Julie, and Neal are determined to save Eric from the enchantment that’s transformed him into Gethwing’s number-one goon. Their quest leads them to a lost empire deep in the desert, where tiny bandits are hiding, a rare and powerful elixer that just might be Eric’s only hope. Gethwing is determined to stop them and the Moon Dragon has a powerful new henchman at his disposal: Lord Sparr. Book three of the Secrets of Droon series!!!

 

 

 

 The Amazing Illustrated Floodsopedia by Colin Thompson.

This could be one of the most important books of wizard stuff ever written, or not. Some of the most disgusting yet irresistible recipes ever eaten by man, including the Choc-Chip Omelette, the Easter Egg carved from a single lump of pig gristle, and the wonderful Deathcap Delight, are just three of the recipes here is this funny and brilliant book.  Check this out, if you dare!