new zealand books

NZ authors’ FABO story

wcl staff

fabo story

Nine great New Zealand authors are currently writing a fabostory online. The name comes from FAce BOok, but Fabo is also a slang word for fabulous which this is too.

If you have enjoyed stories by Fleur Beale, Brian Faulkner, Maureen Crisp and Fifi Colston and other great New Zealand writers you might want to check this out.

The story starts here with Kyle Mewburn’s first chapter. Then each author writes a chapter in turn. They invite you to write a chapter too – you could win prizes and even have your story published online!

Saving the Kakapo

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Did you know that the Kakapo is the rarest parrot in the world, there are only 122 left. Most live off the southern coast of New Zealand on a remote island called Codfish Island.

These birds are so precious that they have a dedicated team of people who work around the clock to help save these amazing creatures.

Here are some interesting facts about the Kakapo that you might not know:

They are the world’s heaviest parrot.

Their feathers are very soft because they don’t need them to be strong and stiff for flying.

Kakapo don’t talk, but they growl like a dog, boom like a bullfrog, and ching like a cash register.

Their feathers smell strongly of honey.

They climb high in trees using their massive feet and beaks and to get back down they jump with their wings spread.

They can live for up to one hundred years.

If you would like to learn more about these birds then take a look at Kakapo Rescue – Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot.

Next time you are at the beach

wcl staff

We have just received one of the smallest books I have ever seen in the library. In fact it can fit in your pocket! It is A Mini Guide to the Identification of New Zealand Seashells by Andrew Crowe; a big title for such a wee book. Now, I know it isn’t really beach weather right now but it is actually a great time to visit after some of the storms we have had. Many interesting shells get washed up in the storms.

There is a life size colour photo of most shells which are grouped by shape and the habitat they come from. I recognised lots of the shells pictured.

By the way Andrew Crowe has produced many great NZ nature guides and was the first non-fiction writer to win the Margaret Mahy Medal for services to children’s literature last year.

The Loblolly Boy

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The Loblolly Boy By James Norcliffe

 

Have you ever dreamed of flying?  What if the price of this fantastic gift is that you too become a fantastical creature, a creature called the Loblolly boy.  A boy who can fly, who never gets hungry, is invisible, doesn’t leave footprints on the sand, a boy who doesn’t exist.

 

For Red, an orphan boy who lives in fear of the “Keepers” and the dogs, becoming the Loblolly boy seems at first a ticket to freedom.  But being a Loblolly boy can bring its own terrors in the form of the “collectors” people who will stop at nothing to own a loblolly boy.

 

I was enchanted by this book.  It was one of those difficult to put down books.  It was by turns, a beautiful fantasy, and an exciting adventure, and touched of themes of family and friendship.  I particularly liked the character of Captain Bass who has a magical telescope through which you can see the future.

 

I really recommend this book.

 

Reviewed by Anna

Friends: Snake and Lizard

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Friends: Snake and Lizard 

By Joy Cowley

Illustrations by Gavin Bishop

 

 

‘Friends’ is the follow up to the very popular Snake and Lizard, published in 2007. Snake and lizard live in the desert. Snake is red and Lizard is brown and they are the best of friends (even though they tend to argue quite a lot)

 

The two friends have lots of adventures together in the desert. In one story, Lizard makes up a rain dance to impress Snake; in another they encounter a Porcupine. They even go on withers together (Lizard walks and Snake slithers, so they invent a new word!)

 

I really enjoyed this book. I like that although Snake and Lizard often disagree about things, they always make up with one another in the end. This is a great book for reading aloud, or if you’re just starting to read chapter books.

 

Friends: Snake and Lizard has been nominated in the 2010 NZ Post Book Awards in the Junior Fiction category.

 

By Rowan

Nina of the dark By Ken Catran

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Nina is a thumb hurter. A hearer of voices. And it is her destiny to lead the people but first she must travel far from her village to the Dark Mountains to The Place of Dark where she will find the sword Brightsong and the armour Lightskin. On her journey she meets Alen, a thief and Brod the ogre who help her defeat the monsters living on Dragon Spine and save her from the assassins who come, with poisoned knives, to kill her before she reaches her goal. Exciting and action packed with a real twist at the end. 4 stars

 

Check the catalogue to see if Nina of the Dark by Ken Catran is in the library.

School Holidays! Yeah!

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Only 3 weeks of school left before the holidays! Yeah!

 

We’ve got some great activities planned for the holidays. October is New Zealand Book Month, so we are celebrating New Zealand books, authors and illustrators. All the favourites will be there- Joy Cowley, Lynley Dodd, Under the Mountain and more!

 

Check out the What’s On page for the details, and look out for posters and flyers in your library branch soon.

You have the power!

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Voting isn’t just for adults! You, too, can have a say. You get the opportunity to pick the best children’s book in NZ and could win $1000 of book vouchers for your school.

 

The New Zealand Post Book Awards seeks to find the best children’s books in New Zealand and they want to know what you think. Go to the Children’s Choice webpage to vote now.

 

We’ve reviewed some of the books you can vote for- The Were-Nana,  Piggity-Wiggity Jiggity Jig, Every Second Firday,  The Crafting of Narnia,  and Duck’s Stuck. There are heaps more too!

 

Voting closes at 5pm on Friday 1st of May. That’s this week! Better get voting…

Who? What? Were-Nana?

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Now this book is really cool! The Were-Nana by Melinda Szymanik is a crafty tale and is one of the finalists for the New Zealand Post Book Awards.

 

Here’s what the awards’ website had to say:

There’s nothing Simon enjoys more than scaring his little sister, Stella Rosa. And now that the mysterious Nana Lupin is coming to stay, Simon is having great fun. Stella Rosa is afraid. Is her nana really a monster?

 

If this is your favourite of the finalist books then make sure you vote for it in the Children’s Choice Award.