eBooks – Kids' Blog

Overdrive Kids: The Wonderful World of Children’s Comics May 2020!

Katie4 May, 2020

There is at least one more week of being in Level 3 lock-down. Why not make the most of that week by checking out more awesome amazing comics, graphic novels, cartoon strips and manga through our Kids’ Reading Room on Overdrive! Check out titles such as:

For Whom the Ball Rolls (Dog Man Volume 7) by Dav Pilkey.
Dog Man has to overcome while having to fight an all-new supervillain! As always Dav Pilkey’s wildly popular Dog Man series delivers on its promise of appealing to readers of all ages and explores universally positive themes, including empathy, kindness, persistence, and the importance of doing good.

Boy Crazy Stacey (Babysitters Club Graphix Series, Book 7) by Ann M. Martin and Gale Galligan.

Join the Babysitters club in Boy Crazy Stacey. Stacey’s infatuation with a boy (who seems to not be interested in her) gets in the way of her babysitting duties and friendship with Maryanne. A must read for girls.

The Dragonet Prophecy (Wings of Fire Graphic Novel Series, Book 1) by Tui T. Sutherland and Mike Holmes.
The New York Times bestselling Wings of Fire series takes flight in this first graphic novel edition, adapted by the author with art by Mike Holmes.

Karen’s Witch (Baby-sitters Little Sister Graphic Novel Series, Book 1) by Ann M. Martin and Katy Farina.
Karen Brewer lives next door to Mrs. Porter, who wears long robes and has wild gray hair. Mrs. Porter has a black cat named Midnight and always seems to be working in her garden. Karen isn’t supposed to spy on her neighbor, but she’s determined to prove that Mrs. Porter is a witch named Morbidda Destiny! Mrs. Porter is getting ready to have a special meeting at her house, and Karen is sure the meeting is for witches. Are they going to cast a spell on Karen? Or will she be brave enough to send them away — once and for all? Another delightful graphic novel that girls will enjoy reading.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Serpent’s Heir.
Hiccup, Toothless, and all their dragon-riding friends from DreamWorks Animation’s acclaimed How to Train Your Dragon films are starting new adventures in comics! Created with the help of the film’s writer, director, and producer Dean DeBlois, these graphic novellas will bridge the gap between the second film and the upcoming third film. More adventures, more dragon lore, and more fun! You won’t have to wait years for more dragons; they are coming to you—in comics!

If you want to borrow these amazing comics and more from our collection of kids comics, all you need is a Wellington City Libraries membership — click here if you don’t have a library card and would like to join online.

Happy 90th Birthday, Nancy Drew!

Stephen Clothier29 April, 2020

Happy 90th Birthday Nancy Drew!

This teen sleuth has been solving mysteries in and around her fictional home town of River Heights since April 1930!

Starting with The Secret of the Old Clock, The Hidden Staircase, and The Bungalow Mystery which were all released on April 28, 1930, there have been over 500 (what!?) books written by a variety of authors under the pen name of Carolyn Keene.

Since the original 56 tales, there have been multiple rewritings and spin offs including the most recent series of ‘Nancy Drew Diaries’ which can be found as eBooks and eAudio on OverDrive/Libby (and on library shelves when we reopen) These stories are reimagined in the 21st century and have been updated to consider technology and other modernities that didn’t exist when the original series was written. After all, many of Nancy’s original exploits could easily have been solved simply by owning a cellphone!

Nancy has been a strong female role-model on screen as well, with a film series starting in the 1930s, a TV series (with the Hardy Boys) in the 1970s, a film in 2007, and a new series whose first season aired just last year!

There are also cool Nancy Drew computer games by HER interactive – which are full of tricky logic puzzles and mini games. I’m halfways through “The Tomb of the Lost Queen” set in Egypt, where Nancy is working as an intern on an archaeological dig, and I’ll admit it’s a struggle to pull myself away. I’ll also admit I’ve had to Google walkthrough instructions at least twice when I’ve gotten stuck! Sadly, the games aren’t free, but a bunch of them are discounted during lockdown, so if you’re looking for something that will balance homeschool learning, and educational screen time – they’re challenging and fun for adults and kids!

If you haven’t read and Nancy yet – give her a go, if you like mysteries and strong female characters – she’s still an awesome read – even after 90 years. Here are some of our favourite Nancy Drew titles available now on OverDrive:

The Secret of the Old Clock, Carolyn Keene (ebook)

A special treat for Nancy Drew fans! Out just in time for Nancy’s 80th anniversary, we’re releasing a limited number of copies of The Secret of the Old Clock, the first book in the series. It’s the exciting mystery that readers have fallen in love with for 80 years, with a terrific new look and bonus material! Collectors won’t want to miss this.

(Overdrive description)

The Baby-Sitter Burglaries, Carolyn Keene (ebook)

Nancy tries to prove that a babysitter is being framed when three houses in River Heights are robbed–and the only connection the police can find is that the babysitter was employed at each.

(Overdrive description)

The Puppy Problem, Carolyn Keene (Audiobook)

The Nancy Drew Notebooks enchant listeners with the antics of 8-year-old supersleuth Nancy Drew and her friends George and Bess. Nancy has a new puppy that needs lots of training, patience, and love. But when the chocolate-chip muffins go missing, Nancy’s new puppy is blamed. The girls know that the puppy is innocent and they are determined to find the real thief.

(Overdrive description)

Famous Mistakes, Carolyn Keene (ebook)
Nancy and her friends are out to find a comedian’s saboteur in this seventeenth book of the Nancy Drew Diaries, a fresh approach to the classic mystery series. Complex social media charts, undercover outfits, and intense button study send Nancy, Bess, George, and Ned on a wild ride through River Heights to uncover the truth about missing comedian Brady Owens. But nothing is what it seems in this game of comedic timing. Can Nancy find the culprit before it’s too late?

(adapted from Overdrive description)

Dive Into Online Activities with Your Favourite Authors!

Sue Jane28 April, 2020

As we move into Level 3 of the nationwide lockdown, I was curious to know what some authors were doing with their time. I decided to do some online searching, and it was fascinating! Not only are there some very creative authors out there, but I also kept getting side-tracked by all the other groovy stuff that’s being created and shared online at this time. It reminded me of diving into a very deep swimming pool of creativity.

Maybe you could “go swimming” yourself, with a parent or caregiver on hand to keep you safe online of course!

Here’s some of the great activities and webpages I discovered, so this might be a good place to start your swim:

Dav Pilkey – author of Dogman and Captain Underpants books and so much more has created a fantastic lockdown activities page, Dav Pilkey At Home, on the Scholastic Books website. This page is chock full of videos, activities, and things to draw, read and write to keep you occupied during lockdown. While you’re checking out Dav Pilkey At Home, why not read Dav Pilkey’s books online through our eLibrary?

Fifi Colston is not only an amazing NZ children’s author, but she’s a wonderfully creative artist as well. Check out her Fifi Colston Creative Pandemic Resources page for a huge range of really creative craft activities you can do with stuff you find at home. For example, see below for an incredibly cool project you can do with nothing but empty toilet paper rolls and a couple of other bits and bobs

Image credit: Fifi Colston – Pots of Love

Finally, don’t forget to check out local school websites as well. Wellington’s Raroa Normal Intermediate School library website has a very deep pool of at-home resources and activities to swim amongst, and it was here that I really started to swim down some side streams and waterways! They’ve aptly named their page Rāhui Resources.

Here are just a couple of pages I freestyled my way into from Rāhui Resources:

New Zealand Geographic magazine have put together an awesome Together at Home page with something new to explore in this beautiful country of ours for every day of lockdown.
And life just wouldn’t be complete without a few comics to enjoy. SJL.com (School Library Journal) have put up some free kids and teen comics for you to enjoy including the popular Cucumber Quest, Ozy and Millie and Wormworld Saga comic books.

Finally, just because… if you’ve got an iPad at home, why not try your hand at some blackout poetry:

Here’s my blackout poem using this Stuff News KEA Kids News article

Celebrating in lockdown,
Special day, cake, video chats
A happy family wish to you.
Our planet healthier
Growing native plants
In this unusual time.

Keep safe, and remember — wash your hands!

Family Lockdown Challenge: Kids’ Club eBook Reviews

Stephen Clothier2 April, 2020

Our last two Family Lockdown Challenges have focussed on things you can do and things you can build from the comfort of your own bubble. For this next one, you don’t even need to leave the comfort of your chair. Read on to find out more!

Libraries, as I’m sure you know, are generally known for having books. Heaps and heaps and heaps of books. And even though our buildings are closed, making the 800,000-odd books they hold unavailable for now, we still have plenty of books for you — eBooks! Our eBook services, like OverDrive, BorrowBox, and more, are available 24/7 from the eLibrary — all you need is your library card number and PIN, and you’re set.

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to borrow a book from our eLibrary, write a book review, and post it to the Kids’ Club review section on this very blog. At the top of the screen, click Kids’ Club, then follow the instructions to access the review form and submit it! Once that’s all done, and your review has been read by one of our lovely librarians, it will be published online for everyone to read.

Even better, once our libraries reopen, you’ll be able to redeem your book reviews for special prizes from your local library. The more reviews you write, the more prizes you’ll earn. How awesome is that?!

Did you know that eBooks can fly? They fly right around our heads until they land in your device, ready to be read!

Before you all rush off to write your first review, here are a couple of words about writing a good book review:

Tell us what you thought about the book! We don’t want to just read a description of the plot.
Useful questions to ask yourself include:
- How did I feel at the beginning of the book?
- How did I feel at the end? Was there a change?
- Who was my favourite/least favourite character? Why?
- Did this book give me any new ideas? If so, what are they?
- Who else might like this book? Why?
- If I had written this book, would I have changed anything about it? What, and why?
Be creative! We love to read reviews in the form of poems, short stories, reviews written with emojis.
Be careful with the boring things like spelling and punctuation. This isn’t school — you won’t be disqualified if you spell “discombobulated” wrong — but having good spelling and punctuation makes it easier for everyone else to understand what you mean!

While you’re writing your reviews, don’t forget to read through other kids’ reviews too — there are thousands and thousands of them and who knows, you may just find a book you’d like to read yourself! Happy reading!

Getting Crafty: Arts and Crafts Books From Our eLibrary

admin27 March, 2020

If you’re anything like me and my sister you will be reaching for the arts and crafts supplies to get you through these next few weeks. Of course, it can be hard to get started on a project, or think up an idea all by yourself which is where the library comes in. We have loads of great crafting books online you can check out and help you get creative and pass the time throughout the lockdown.

Origami activities for children / Araki, Chiyo
Want to get creative but don’t have many craft supplies around the house? Then origami would be perfect! Learn how to make boats, flowers, pumpkins and more out of just a square of paper. Each project comes with step by step instructions and all are graded so you can start off simply and progress to more difficult designs as you improve your origami skills. Have fun keeping your hands busy and decorating your room with some wonderful paper creations.

Life hacks for kids / Keller, Sunny
Who doesn’t love a fun life hack? Sunny Heller will take you through her favourite hacks from her youtube channel and teach you exactly how she makes them. Feel like creating your own bowling alley at home? Or maybe some duct-tape earrings or even a new cat toy for your kitty? Sunny can help you make all this and more with this wonderfully colourful and fun craft book.

20 ways to draw a tree and 44 other nifty things from nature / Renouf, Eloise

Incredible Dinosaurs / McCurry, Kristen

Itching to draw and paint but can’t quite decide what you should create? Then the library can help you figure out your style and help perfect your pictures. These are just two books from our elibrary that are designed to teach you how to draw certain things and inspire you to create your own amazing landscapes, dinosaurs and more!

These are just a few of the books we have available in our elibrary so if they’re not quite right for you feel free to check out the rest of our collection.

One thing to remember is that it might be hard to get a hold of all the supplies needed for some of these projects because most shops are closed and we can’t leave our houses much. It might be best to talk to your Mum or Dad about what you have available when you’re picking your projects and using some kiwi ingenuity by swapping out things you can’t get with similar bits and pieces around your home.

I hope these books can inspire you and help you get crafty over the next few weeks!

OverDrive Kids’ Reads – check them out!

Stephen Clothier25 March, 2020

Hi everyone! Even though our libraries are closed at the moment, we still have thousands and thousands of books and audiobooks for you to read and listen to online through our Kids’ Reading Room on OverDrive! Awesome new titles are being added all the time, and we even have a special Book Club collection with unlimited loans, so they’re always available, no matter how many other kids have borrowed them! All you need is a Wellington City Libraries membership — click here if you don’t have a library card and would like to join online.

Here are some of my favourites from the Kids’ Reading Room:

Flunked / Calonita, Jen
Age range 10 to 14
This is the first book set at the Fairy Tale Reform School, where all the teachers are former villains from classic fairy tales, like Cinderella’s Wicked Stepmother, and The Big Bad Wolf. It’s kind of like Harry Potter, but with less of the learning-how-to-use-magic-responsibly, and more of the learning-how-not-to-be-evil. Super funny, absolutely wicked, and with a cast of quirky characters you won’t soon forget, this is not a series you want to miss!

Women who dared : 52 stories of fearless daredevils, adventurers, & rebels / Skeers, Linda
Age range 8 to 14
There’s some awesome nonfiction (books about true stuff!) to be found on OverDrive if you know where to look, and this is one of them! Take a deep dive through history and learn about some of the amazing women who have made the world turn, but that you might not have heard of. Learn about the first woman to go into space (Valentina Tereshkova), the first woman to become a professional stuntperson (Helen Gibson), and many, many more. Go to the OverDrive Kids nonfiction browser here to find more books like this!

P is for pterodactyl : the worst alphabet book ever ; all the letters that misbehave and make words nearly impossible to pronounce / Haldar, Raj
Age range 6 to 12
This isn’t your average alphabet book, that’s for sure. In this book, we explore the wonderful world of the silent letters — the “k” in “knight,” or the “g” in “gnat” — that make spelling so, erm, fun. Pair it up with some beautiful illustrations and great wordplay, and you have the perfect concoction to soothe any word nerd as we all spend some more time indoors.

The witches / Dahl, Roald
Age range 8+
OverDrive is full to the brim with classics as well as brand new books, and this is definitely one of the classics! This audiobook version of Roald Dahl’s hilarious tale of magic, defiance, and a top-secret plot to unravel the plans of the Grand High Witch is sure to frighten and delight. Follow this link to find nearly 2,000 more children’s audiobooks to read and enjoy.

While we’re all staying inside, Wellington City Libraries has you covered for online entertainment with books, audiobooks, activities, games, learning resources, streaming video and movies, and more. Keep your eyes peeled for more updates on our awesome range of eResources, and visit MyGateway to explore them for yourself!

New Zealand Sign Language Week: 6th- 12th May

debbie8 May, 2019

This week is New Zealand Sign Language week. It is a good chance for us to learn what life is like for those people who have hearing loss and to help raise awareness for the New Zealand Deaf Community.

New Zealand Sign Language is one of our official languages and is unique to New Zealand. It includes signs for Maori terminology and concepts that you will not find in the sign language of other countries. Sign languages are different all over the world and even in New Zealand people in Wellington may sign slightly differently to people in Christchurch.

One in six New Zealanders have some form of hearing loss and there are thousands of New Zealanders that use NZSL everyday.

Head on over to the Deaf Aotearoa website where there are some great resources and you can check out events happening in your area.

The library also has books on learning NZSL plus books about children who have hearing loss and what life is like for them.

The Big Kids eBook Read

admin22 November, 2018

New Zealand has a long history of amazing children’s books, with many wonderful authors to enjoy. Did you know many are also available to borrow through our eLibrary?

Over 3 – 9 December, we’ve joined with Penguin Random House New Zealand and celebrated Wellington author Kate De Goldi to provide unlimited eBook downloads of From the cutting room of Barney Kettle for The Big Kids eBook Read!

It’s easy to take part:

On a smart phone or tablet — download the Libby app to your smart phone or mobile device, add Wellington City Libraries as your library, and log in with your library card number and surname to set up your account. Search for ‘From the cutting room of Barney Kettle’ to borrow your copy and start reading.

Users of computers and eReaders, including the Kobo range of eReaders — you’re not left out! Find out more about borrowing our eBooks on our Getting Started with our eLibrary page.

From the cutting room of Barney Kettle won the Esther Glenn Award for Junior Fiction in 2016. Here’s what the judges for the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, had to say that year:

“Surprising, gripping, heart-breaking and ultimately incredibly moving, this novel stood out right from the start. This book is packed with warmth, wonderful language, rich and witty observations, compelling characters and layers of message and meaning.”

And here’s an intriguing, mysterious blurb about the book to get your curious and interested:

“Meet filmmaker Barney Kettle, who liked to invent stories but found a real one under his nose.

Barney Kettle knew he would be a very famous film director one day, he just didn’t know when that day would arrive. He was already an actual director – he’d made four fifteen-minute films – but so far only his schoolmates and the residents of the High Street had viewed them. Global fame was a little way off. It would come, though. Barney was certain about that …”

For a taste of this award-winning title’s brilliant start, click on the eBook sample below:

Join us as we read this brilliant eBook title together across Wellington in December — at school, at home or in the library, we’ll all be reading together!

Huge thanks to Penguin Random House New Zealand and Kate De Goldi, for your support of The Big Kids eBook Read!

Top 10 Children eBooks Summer 2018

Dusty12 April, 2018

eAudiobooks and eBooks are a great way to read what you want when you can’t get into the library. Harry Potter is dominating the online borrowing at the moment. A significant addition to the Top 10 is Wonder. The book about dealing with difference at school has proved really popular in print, online and in movie theatres. The author uses four points of view to tell the story giving the reader an understanding how people are affected by August Pullman’s differences.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two, by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J. K. Rowling.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J. K. Rowling
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Read by Eddie Redmayne, by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J. K. Rowling
Wonder, by R. J. Palacio

Top 10 Childrens eBooks October 2017

Dusty4 December, 2017

Did you know there is a Scottish version of the David Walliams book Mr Stink? Translated by Matthew Fitt it’s called Mr Mingin, so you can decode the way they talk in Scotland. Your brains are marvellous things and in a few paragraphs it will all start to make sense. And you’ll have some great words to try out on your family and friends =)

Harry Potter series, by J. K. Rowling
Diary of a Minecraft Zombie, by Russell Robinson
The Volcano of Fire: Geronimo Stilton and the Kingdom of Fantasy Series, by Geronimo Stilton
Gangsta Granny, by David Walliams
Mr Stink, by David Walliams
The Boy In the Dress, by David Walliams
Ghosts, by Raina Telgemeier
Diary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff Kinney
Warriors series, by Erin Hunter
The Heroes of Olympus series, by Rick Riordan

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