Get creative at the library during the October school holidays!

Let your creative side out to play during the school holidays at Wellington City Libraries. Have a go, learn a new skill, or make something amazing! Don’t miss us as we present special robot storytimes and creative, interactive Tech Time sessions at Capital E during these holidays too — head to their website for more details.

Beeswax Wraps
Celebrate the end of Bee Aware Month and make a beeswax wrap — a perfect alternative to plastic food wrap and a great way to reuse a by-product of honey production! Places are limited, so email Tawa Community Centre to secure your place. Suitable for ages 5+ with their caregivers.

Monday 30 September, 10am – 12pm at Tawa Community Centre

BLOOM
Is it a dinosaur, a spaceship, a chandelier, a cloud? Bloom consists of thousands of identical pink pieces that let children and big kids connect, construct and deconstruct 3D installations with no boundaries or rules. Families are welcome to drop in at any time during these sessions. BLOOM is proudly supported by Capital E.

Monday 7 October, 11am – 4pm at Cummings Park (Ngaio) Library
Tuesday 8 October, 11am – 4pm at Newtown Library

Bookworms!
Join us for a fun afternoon of bookish crafts and create your very own sock puppet bookworm to take home! Suitable for ages 4+ with their caregivers.

Saturday 5 October, 2 – 3pm at Johnsonville Library

CodeQuest
Come along to these free coding workshops and learn how to create your own video game in Scratch! No prior coding knowledge is necessary. Places are limited, so register at the event venue to secure your place. Suitable for ages 9+ with their caregivers.

Monday 30 September, 2 – 3.30pm at Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library
Saturday 12 October, 2 – 3.30pm at Johnsonville Library

Family Movies
Bring a blanket and pillow and relax at our fun family movies. A different G-rated film from the library collection will be showing each time, and are appropriate for the whole family. Suitable for ages 4+ with their caregivers.

Friday 4 October, 5.30 – 7pm at Johnsonville Library and 6 – 8pm at Newtown Library
Thursday 10 October, 5.30 – 7pm at Karori Library

The Great North Literature Quiz!
Come and test your knowledge of books at the Great North Literature Quiz. Grab your mates, siblings, cousins and make a team of up to four people. Register your team name by contacting Johnsonville or Tawa Libraries, or just turn up 10 minutes prior to the start to register your team. Suitable for ages 5-12 with their caregivers.

There will be prizes and lots of fun to be had!

Wednesday 2 October, 2 – 3pm at Johnsonville Library
Monday 7 October, 2 – 3pm at Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library

Halloween Crafts Workshop
Join us at Churton Park Community Centre for a special pre-Halloween crafts session! We will be making creepy paper lanterns and scary hats, ready for your Halloween celebrations! Suitable for ages 5-13 with their caregivers.

Friday 11 October, 10 – 11am at Churton Park Community Centre

Holiday Games
Come along and have a go at a bunch of different board and card games, and learn how to play! Bring your friends and family and challenge them — who will win? Suitable for ages 5+ with their caregivers.

Wednesday 2 October, 2 – 3pm at Brooklyn Library (card games)
Wednesday 9 October, 2 – 3pm at Brooklyn Library (board games)

In the Beginning: Yoga Storytimes
Want to try something new while being active and having lots of fun? Join our kid-friendly yoga instructor librarians at these yoga taster classes and storytelling sessions for children. Suitable for ages 5+ with their caregivers.

Monday 30 September, 2 – 3pm at Island Bay Community Centre
Friday 4 October, 2 – 3pm at Ruth Gotlieb (Kilbirnie) Library

Let’s Go Lego
At Let’s Go Lego, your creative skills will be put to the test as your use our Lego collections to design and build your masterpiece. Each session will have a different theme that will inspire you to hone your skills and become a true Lego Legend! Suitable for ages 5+ with their caregivers.

Wednesday 2 October, 10am – 12pm at Tawa Community Centre
Thursday 3 October, 2 – 3pm at Wadestown Library
Friday 4 October, 3.30 – 4.30pm at Khandallah Library
Monday 7 October, 2 – 3pm at Wadestown Library
Tuesday 8 October, 2 – 3.30pm at Newlands Community Centre
Thursday 10 October, 3.30 – 4.30pm at Cummings Park (Ngaio) Library and Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library
Friday 11 October, 3.30 – 4.30pm at Johnsonville Library

Minotaur vs. Mini-Robots
Ancient myths + Robots = awesome time! Come along and decode one of the most fascinating myths of Greek Mythology, the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Code Ozobots and navigate them in a dark labyrinth. Can you escape the Minotaur? Let’s find out. Suitable for ages 6+ with their caregivers.

Monday 30 September, 11am – 12pm at Cummings Park (Ngaio) Library
Friday 11 October, 11am – 12pm at Khandallah Library
Saturday 12 October, 11am – 12pm at Karori Library

Spring Scribblers
Have something to say, but not quite sure how to say it? Want to write a novel, but not sure where to start? These interactive creative writing workshops will help you find your unique voice in writing. Suitable for ages 11+ with their caregivers.

Thursday 3 October, 12 – 1.30pm at Churton Park Community Centre
Friday 4 October, 2 – 3.30pm at Johnsonville Library
Wednesday 9 October, 2 – 3.30pm at Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library

Storm the Castle! – Writing Workshops
Traverse the path of the Hero’s Journey — take part in this interactive writing workshop as we go through all the main beats that make up nearly every great book and movie. Suitable for ages 11+ with their caregivers.

Tuesday 1 October, 2 – 3pm at Karori Library
Tuesday 8 October, 2 – 3pm at Cummings Park (Ngaio) Library

TechTime
Join us for these highly interactive adventures through the worlds of robotics and electronics. Hang out and play with robots, give the Makey Makey banana piano a go, and check out Scratch programming in these tech savvy and fun-filled sessions. Suitable for ages 6 – 13 with their caregivers.

Thursday 3 October, 2 – 3.30pm at Newlands Community Centre
Monday 7 October, 12 – 1.30pm at Churton Park Community Centre

Zine Machine
Do you want to print a story, some drawings, a comic, a collage, your thoughts … anything at all? Join us at Karori Library to create a zine with the Zine Machine and publish your own work! Suitable for ages 8+ with their caregivers.

Thursday 10 October, 11am – 12pm at Karori Library

Beyond the Page is back in July 2019!

I know we’re only halfway through the school term, but we had some big news we couldn’t wait to share with you — the Beyond the Page festival is returning from 6-21 July 2019! Beyond the Page is New Zealand’s largest literary festival for kids and their families, and this year we’ve organised over 140 free events at libraries and community centres from Island Bay to Ōtaki!

We’re super excited to be able to introduce our four headline acts to you here. For full details about these events, check out the Beyond the Page website, or follow the festival on Facebook!

First up is Bea Lee-Smith from the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Join her on a magical journey into the world of Hansel and Gretel.  Through music and mime, children will learn simple ballet steps and positions. This interactive telling of an old favourite tale will be a great appetizer for you and your family in advance of the RNZB’s exciting new production of Hansel and Gretel later in the year. Suitable for pre-schoolers and primary school aged children.

Next up we have the amazing New Zealand author Donovan Bixley. Donovan has had over 100 books published around the world — I can’t even imagine what it’s like having one book published! His show will have you laughing with amazement as you dive into a world of letters, words, and fuzzy doodles. Suitable for children aged 5+ with their caregivers.

Our next headliner is the fabulously spellbinding storyteller Tanya Batt. Tanya describes herself as a “green-fingered witch, a word warbler and a story stitcher” — which sounds like just my cup of tea! You can join Tanya in one of her imagined worlds as part of this year’s festival, with amazing costumes, live music, and tantalising tales to boot. Suitable for children aged 4+ with their caregivers.

Last but certainly not least is Toro Pikopiko, New Zealand’s most established puppetry theatre company. Yep, you heard that right — puppets! And over 80 of Toro Pikopiko’s amazing hand-crafted puppets star in their incredible rock-art musical extravaganza, Te Rereka (The Flight). This incredible show is bound to inspire and amaze — so don’t miss out! Suitable for children of all ages with their caregivers.

There will be heaps more info coming out soon about the rest of the festival schedule. There’s everything from zine-making and book-creating workshops to robots, coding, and theatre-making. Keep checking the Beyond the Page website and at your local library as the school holidays draw closer to keep up to date with what’s on in your neighbourhood!

ComicFest 2019 is nearly here!

Do you like free comics? Do you like winning prizes just for wearing a cool costume? Or for drawing a super nerdy picture? Would you like to meet some of the awesome people behind some of your favourite comics, including the Tea Dragon Society, Snarked, and even Batman?

You can do all that and more at ComicFest 2019, running from Thursday the 2nd to Saturday the 4th of May. Come on down to the National Library, just across the road from the Beehive, for all kinds of super-amazing stuff to do, from drawing workshops to drawing competitions, making your own comic zines to winning your own comic at Free Comic Book Day. ComicFest is one of our favourite times of the literary year, and we’d love to see you all there!

Check out some of the comic books by some of the artists and writers you might get to meet at ComicFest 2019:

Snarked!. Book one, Forks and hope / Langridge, Roger Roger Langridge is one of the insanely talented comic book creators joining us for ComicFest. He’s well known for his work on Thor: The Mighty Avenger and The Muppet Show, but the Snarked! books are probably my favourite by him! They’re set in the crazy world of Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland), which only makes them cooler!

The Tea Dragon Society / O’Neill, Katie I totally love Katie O’Neill’s Tea Dragon Society — apprentive blacksmith Greta’s amazing journey is told through the some of the most beautiful art you’ll ever see in a comic book. Don’t miss Katie’s Tea Dragon Workshop during ComicFest — join her in the National Library Programme Rooms on Saturday the 4th of May at 9.00am to see a new species of Tea Dragon take flight before your eyes. I know I can’t wait!

Helen and the Go-Go Ninjas / Sang, Anthony Ant Sang’s Helen and the Go-Go Ninjas should be a go-to comic for older kids. Set in Auckland deep in the future, Helen is enlisted by a group of time-travelling ninjas to save the world from the tyranny of the Peace Balls — will she succeed in her quest? It’s truly a read that keeps you on the edge of your seat right ’til the end. Love it!

There’s heaps more to see and do, and heaps more books to read, at ComicFest 2019. Can’t wait to see you there! Click the banner below to see the whole programme of events.

ComicFest is here!

Who likes comics? I do and I know where I’m going to be on Saturday the 6th of May from 9.30am to 5pm, at Wellington Central Library for ComicFest!

We have all sorts of fun activities on offer. Learn how to create your own comic book character, dress up as your favourite comic book character and enter the Cosplay competition, hear about how the new “Thunderbirds Are Go” movie was re-imagined for todays audience and lots of other exciting stuff.

Best of all there are free comics being given away and lots of exciting prizes to be won!

Don’t forget to check out all the wonderful comics and graphic novels that we have at the libraries. One of my favourites has to be Tintin by Herge. This comic hero has his faithful dog Snowy by his side and is aided in his adventures by a cast of colourful characters (see if you can spot Snowy at ComicFest.)

 

 

Syndetics book coverAsterix by Goscinny and Underzo of course is an all time classic and the names of the characters still make me laugh! Set in a little village in Gaul the comics tell the story of Asterix and his best friend Obelix and their numerous adventures through the ancient World. This comic series is one of the most popular all over the World.

 

 

 

Image from SyndeticsBut comics can also have little or few words and really focus on the story through the pictures. Polo: The Runaway Book by Regis Faller, tells an exciting story through colourful pictures taking you on an adventure over the sea and flying through the sky as the characters make friends with each other while searching for the stolen book.

 

 

Image from SyndeticsLittle Robot by Ben Hatke uses very few words to tell the story of a friendship between a lonely child and a small lost and confused robot. They both show initiative and courage to overcome another evil robot and save the day.

So why not try reading some of our fabulous comics here or better still try writing and illustrating your own!

Librarian in the Spotlight: Sara

Find out about your local librarians!

What is your name? Sara

Which library(s) do you work at? Central & Brooklyn

What’s the best thing about being a librarian? Reading stories to little kids and singing silly songs to babies

Favourite book? The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society (Adult Fiction) It’s the first and ONLY book this author wrote!! Sadly she died before this book was published.

When I read I like to….? Read in bed till my eyes bleed – very carefully so my husband stays asleep

If you wrote a book, what would it be about? Stories about my family

If I wasn’t a librarian, I would be a …? The owner of a world famous café that only opened 3 days a week!

 Favourite food? Homemade pizza and homemade wedges with a glass of red wine

Favourite place in the world? Lake Taupo

My dream library would have…? LOTS of children, places to eat cakes and drink coffee and loads of fantastic read-aloud picture books