picture books

Beauty and the Beast overload in the library!

Katie

This is a blog post that pays tribute to popular fairy tale, Beauty and The Beast. Beauty and the Beast  is a traditional fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins (The Young American and Marine Tales).

The story that a young woman named Beauty, who offers herself in exchange for her father, who has been imprisoned by the Beast, after stealing a rose from the beast’s garden, which was intended for Beauty as a gift. She discovers that her captor is an enchanted prince in disguise, who must find true love, despite his ugliness, to revert back to his former self. The question is can Beauty look beyond the beast’s ugly exterior and find true beauty within his heart?

Check out other versions and retellings of this classic fairy tale that the library holds:

image courtesy of syndeticsBeauty and the Beast, illustrated by Dan Taylor.

Beauty and the Beast is a perfect introduction to this classic fairytale. Push, pull, and turn mechanisms bring the story to life and introduce all the main characters: Beauty, her father, and of course the Beast! This well-loved fairytale is beautifully imagined for a new generation by children’s illustrator Dan Taylor.

 

image courtesy of syndeticsBeauty and the beast / retold by Michael Morpurgo ; illustrated by Loretta Schauer.

A captivating retelling of the nation’s favourite fairy tale, from the nation’s favourite storyteller, Michael Morpurgo. After encountering a fearsome beast at a mysterious palace, down-on-his-luck merchant Marco is forced to make a promise in exchange for his life: he must persuade one of his three daughters to return to the palace in his place – but she must come of her own free will. Beautiful, kind-hearted Belle agrees at once to return to the palace, and there she and the Beast exist companionably, with the Beast asking of Belle the same question at the end of each day: “Dearest Belle, will you marry me?” After a return home to consult with her father, Belle resolves to follow her heart and return to the Beast, but her plans are thwarted by the trickery of her jealous sisters. When, at last, Belle is able to find her way back to the palace, she finds her beloved Beast lying as still as death on the ground. As Belle’s tears fall on his face, the Beast is transformed into a handsome prince the ancient spell upon him broken by Belle’s tears of true love.

image courtesy of syndeticsBeauty and the Beast / by Melissa Lagonegro ; illustrated by the Disney Storybook Art Team.

Belle is trapped in a castle, under a terrible curse. Can she break the spell?

image courtesy of syndeticsBeauty and the beast / [retold by] Berlie Doherty ; illustrated by Jane Ray.

image courtesy of syndeticsBeauty and the beast / Ursula Jones ; Sarah Gibb.

image courtesy of syndeticsBeauty and the beast  retold by Max Eilenberg ; illustrated by Angela Barrett.

image courtesy of syndeticsBeauty and the beast by Geraldine McCaughrean ; illustrated by Gary Blythe.

 

 

 

 

image courtesy of syndeticsThe Fairytale Hairdresser and Beauty and the Beast by Abie Longstaff & Lauren Beard.

image courtesy of syndeticsThe beast within : a tale of beauty‘s prince  by Serena Valentino.

Presents an adaptation of the classic Beauty and the Beast fairy tale from the perspective of the cursed prince who is transformed from a beloved and jovial ruler into a reclusive and bitter monster in search of true love.

Love to watch stories? Now we have Walt Disney’s Animated classic of Beauty and the Beast available on DVD at your local library!

image courtest of amazon.comWalt Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.

A Walt Disney movie about a tough no nonsense heroine, named Belle (French word for Beauty), who offers herself in exchange for her father, who has been imprisoned by the Beast, and discovers that her captor is an enchanted prince in disguise. While the situation is anything than ideal, this Beauty and the Beast must learn, in a very Pride and Prejudice-like way to overcome their pride and stubbornness, in the hopes of falling in love and breaking the beast’s enchantment. This film is beautifully constructed and made! Filled with lots of quirky characters, in the form of Lumiere (a candle stick), Cogsworth (a cynical clock), Mrs Potts (a mother-hen teapot) and many musical numbers. A film that the entire family can enjoy – especially on a Saturday night!

 

image courtesy of amazon.comMovie Review: Beauty and the Beast.

Belle (Emma Watson), a bright, beautiful and independent young woman, is taken prisoner by a beast (Dan Stevens) in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle’s enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the beast’s hideous exterior, recognising the kind heart and soul of the true prince that hides on the inside.

This film is beautifully constructed and made! Overall it was an interesting revamp of the original animated 1992 classic. Filled with the same musical numbers and dance sequences, there a few twists, turns and few surprises during the film. Sorry, no spoilers in this review. The ballroom scene where Belle and the beast are dancing is fantastic. Belle’s dress and the dance moves – WOW, could possibly put the previous Disney Princess, Cinderella to shame!

All the characters had a part to play, had more depth, personality and beautifully showcased their uniqueness on screen. Even actor, Luke Evans did a very good job at playing arrogant, vain and sadistic baddie, Gaston, who foolishly hopes to win Belle’s hand, who in turn politely, but firmly rejects him! He didn’t have a bad singing voice either.

The characters:  Lumiere, Cogsworth and Mrs Potts were wonderful and entertaining. I particularly loved Lumiere’s number “Be Our Guest”, beautifully sung by Ewen McGregor.

Dan Stevens is phenomenal (and perhaps a tad bad tempered) as the beast. I always cracked up over his dry sense of humour. Overall he did the character of the beast justice to its original predecessor. I found there was more depth to the characters: Belle and the beast, and perhaps more of a back story as to how their background, experiences and personalities shaped the people that they came to be. I think in a sense these two are portrayed as mirror images of each other and have great, not to mention a unique chemistry.

I think Emma Watson plays Belle as more lady-like in this film. Not as openly stubborn and strong willed as the original Belle, but more quietly assertive and determined. Not to mention she is very polite in standing up to the beast and Gaston.

As always, the story encourages viewers to look beyond the superficial and to be compassionate, curious, humble, and generous. This movie is a must see and has been worth the long wait. A film that the entire family can enjoy on a night out on the town– especially on a Saturday night! 9/10 all the way!

Also check out the trailer and some musical numbers from the film.

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Harold!

admin

Many decades ago an Author wrote a book that has become a much loved classic, and this year his book turns 60 years old! That’s old enough to be your grandparent.

Harold and the Purple Crayon is a picture book about a small boy who goes on an evening adventure, drawing everything he needs with a purple crayon as he goes. Many people were inspired by this simple story, and it quickly become a much loved book found in many homes and libraries across the world.

Get to know Harold; grab a copy from your local library and have a read.

Happy Birthday Harold!

New Zealand Post Book Award finalists announced

admin

Here they are -the finalists for the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards. These are the top 5 fiction, non-fiction, picture books and teen fiction that’s been published in New Zealand recently, according to the judges. From this list the judges will pick a winner, as well as an overall ‘best book’ winner.

You get to pick a winner too! Check out the Children’s Choice Award for more info. (you can win book vouchers for yourself and your school by voting!)

Here’s the list, how many have you read?

 

Picture Books

Machines and Me: Boats by Catherine Foreman; Scholastic New Zealand

The Boring Book by Vasanti Unka; Penguin Group (NZ), Puffin

The Three Bears … Sort Of by Yvonne Morison & Donovan Bixley; Scholastic New Zealand

Toucan Can by Juliette MacIver & Sarah Davis; Gecko Press

Watch Out, Snail! by Gay Hay & Margaret Tolland; Page Break Ltd

 



Fiction
A Winter’s Day in 1939by Melinda Szymanik; Scholastic New Zealand

Dunger by Joy Cowley; Gecko Press

Felix and the Red Rats by James Norcliffe; Random House New Zealand, Longacre

Project Huia by Des Hunt; Scholastic New Zealand

The Princess and the Foal by Stacy Gregg; Harper Collins Publishers (NZ)

 



Non-fiction
An Extraordinary Landby Peter Hayden & Rod Morris; HarperCollins Publishers (NZ)

Anzac Day: The New Zealand story by Philippa Werry; New Holland Publishers

Flight of the Honey Bee by Raymond Huber & Brian Lovelock; Walker Books Australia

The Beginner’s Guide to Hunting & Fishing in New Zealand by Paul Adamson; Random House New Zealand

Wearable Wonders by Fifi Colston; Scholastic New Zealand

 

 

Teens

A Necklace of Souls by R L Stedman; Harper Collins Publishers (NZ), HarperVoyager

Bugs by Whiti Hereaka; Huia Publishers

Mortal Fire by Elizabeth Knox; Gecko Press

Speed Freak by Fleur Beale; Random House New Zealand

When We Wake by Karen Healey; Allen & Unwin

 

Winners announced!

admin

The New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards winners were announced in a lavish ceremony in Christchurch last night.

We blogged about the finalist books here, and now we can tell you which ones won!

 

Best Non-Fiction:

100 Amazing Tales from Aotearoa by Simon Morton & Riria Hotere

Go behind the scenes at Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand and discover more than 100 treasured items from the Museum’s collection. 100 Amazing Tales From Aotearoa gives readers a special look at some of the surprising, wonderful, and significant items that Te Papa stores in trust for the nation. Learn the secrets of one of the first dinosaur fossil ever discovered, see new spider species, be inspired by famous paintings and quirky jewellery, encounter fearsome weapons from the Pacific, and uncover deep and personal stories of Māori taonga (treasures).

The book is based on the popular TV mini-documentaries Tales from Te Papa, and includes a DVD of the complete series – with a bonus 20 episodes

 

Best Junior Fiction:

My Brother’s War by David Hill

It’s New Zealand, 1914, and the biggest war the world has known has just broken out in Europe. William eagerly enlists for the army but his younger brother, Edmund, is a conscientious objector and refuses to fight. While William trains to be a soldier, Edmund is arrested. Both brothers will end up on the bloody battlefields of France, but their journeys there are very different. And what they experience at the front line will challenge the beliefs that led them there

 

 

Honour award, Junior Fiction:

The Queen and the Nobody Boy: A Tale of Fontania series by Barbara Else

Hodie is the unpaid odd-job boy at the Grand Palace in the Kingdom of Fontania. Fed-up, he decides to leave and better himself. The young Queen, 12-year-old Sibilla, is fed-up too. Sick of gossip about her lack of magical ability, she decides to run away with Hodie, whether he likes it or not.

Sequel to The Travelling Restaurant

 

 

Best Picture Book:

Mister Whistler by Margaret Mahy & Gavin Bishop

Absentminded Mister Whistler always has a song in his head and a dance in his feet. In a rush to catch the train, he is so distracted he loses his ticket. Is it in the bottom pockets of his big coat or the top pockets of his jacket? Perhaps he slipped it into his waistcoat. Where is Mister Whistler’s ticket?

 

 

 

Best First Book:

Reach by Hugh Brown

Young Adult Fiction.

Will Clark thinks he’s a socially inept bookworm who just happens to enjoy cross-country running and taekwondo. But then his mother returns after a five year absence overseas, and he has his first full contact taekwondo fight, and the gorgeous comic-reading Conway Jones asks if she can be his maths tutor… Will must reassess himself, and his past, as he reaches towards a new future and lets his dreams take flight.

 

 

Best Young Adult Fiction and New Zealand Post Margaret Mahy Book of the Year:

Into the River by Ted Dawe

When Te Arepa Santos is dragged into the river by a giant eel, something happens that will change the course of his whole life. The boy who struggles to the bank is not the same one who plunged in, moments earlier. He has brushed against the spirit world, and there is a price to be paid; an utu to be exacted. Years later, far from the protection of whanau and ancestral land he finds new enemies. This time, with no-one to save him, there is a decision to be made.. he can wait on the bank, or leap forward into the river

 

 

 

Children’s Choice Award:

Melu by Kyle Mewburn, Ali Teo & John O’Reilly,

Melu has always been different. While the other mules stubbornly clip-clop around the sun-baked hills, Melu dreams of swimming in the glittering green sea below. But it will take more than stubborness for Melu to reach the glittering green sea.

 

This is the award that you got to vote for. Did you vote for Melu?

 

 

NZ Post Book Awards: Picture Books

admin

Here is the shortlist for the Picture Books category of the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards:

A Great Cake by Tina Matthews

Harvey wants to bake a great cake, but doesn’t have all the ingredients. That doesn’t stop him. Harvey can make cakes from the most amazing things!

 

 

 

 

 

Melu by Kyle Mewburn, illustrated by Ali Teo & John O’Reilly

Melu has always been different. While the other mules stubbornly clip-clop around the sun-baked hills, Melu dreams of swimming in the glittering green sea below. But it will take more than stubborness for Melu to reach the glittering green sea.

 

 

 

 

Mister Whistler by Margaret Mahy, Illustrated by Gavin Bishop

Absentminded Mister Whistler always has a song in his head and a dance in his feet. In a rush to catch the train, he is so distracted he loses his ticket. Is it in the bottom pockets of his big coat or the top pockets of his jacket? Perhaps he slipped it into his waistcoat. Where is Mister Whistler’s ticket?

 

 

 

Mr Bear Branches and the Cloud Conundrum by Terri-Rose Baynton

Lintfrey Longfellow would love nothing more than to sit among the clouds… But sadly, clouds just aren’t made for sitting on. Can Mr Bear Branches find a solution to Lintfrey’s cloud conundrum

 

 

Remember that November by Jennifer Beck, illustrated by Lindy Fisher

It’s almost Guy Fawkes Night, and at the school speech competition Andy talks about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. The children cheer excitedly, thinking Andy will win the contest. But then, Aroha gets up, wearing a white feather in her hair, and tells the story of another fifth of November – the invasion of Parihaka in 1881

 

Also published in te Reo as Maumahara ki tērā Nōema

 

From these 5 great books a winner will be announced on June 24th. You can vote for a winner too – in the Children’s Choice Award (and you’ll go in the draw to win $500 of book vouchers for you and your school).

NZ Post Book Awards

admin

The shortlist for the annual New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards have been announced.

The awards nominate the best NZ children’s books that have been published in the last year in 4 categories – Picture Book, Junior Fiction, Non-Fiction and Teen.

During the NZ Post Book Awards festival week, which is June 17th – June 24th, there will be fun events and the winners of each category will be announced. Watch this space for more info.

The best thing is that you get to vote for one of the winners! Every year children can vote for their favourite book from any of the categories. The Children’s Choice Award is the one that all the authors and illustrators want to win, and you could win too! By voting you could win $500 of book vouchers for yourself and for your school – cool! Get voting!

 

We’ll be profiling the shortlist here on the blog so you can find out about all these super cool books and get your hands on them.

Saint Patrick’s Day – A day of leprechauns, four-leaf clovers and painting the town green!

Katie

Saint Patrick’s Day or the Feast of Saint Patrick is a cultural, religious and public holiday celebrated on 17 March, the anniversary of his death. It celebrates the life of  Saint Patrick, the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. On the day, people go to church services, wear green attire, attend public parades, eat Irish food and party the Irish way with music, singing and dancing, leprechauns and four-leaf clovers. On the day, you can also call into the Central Library and take out some amazing books about Saint Patrick’s Day and Ireland.

Check out the following books:

 

Books about St. Patrick’s Day (and the Saint himself):

          

 

Books about Ireland:

      

Irish Folk Tales and Stories:

      

 

FACT: Did you know over half a million New Zealanders have Irish ancestors, whose stories have been passed down the generations. Read more about this history of the Irish in New Zealand on  Te Ara.

Celebrating Christmas

debbie

Christmas Day is the day that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus and many of us attend church on Christmas Day. It is also a time for us to get together and spend time with family and friends. Most of us enjoy a traditional Christmas meal with yummy things to eat like ham, roast turkey and Christmas pudding.

We also like to give each other presents on Christmas day just like the three kings gave presents to the baby Jesus.  Do you like looking at all the presents under the Christmas tree and wondering what might be in them? Remember not to poke and shake them!

We are also lucky that we live in New Zealand because we can enjoy Christmas in the summer and it’s great to spend time at the beach and in the water.

Christmas is a very special time of the year and I hope that you have a very merry one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picture books for Christmas

admin

The Christmas day kitten 

Mrs. Pickering calls in the vet James Herriot to look at one of her dogs. While he’s there, he notices a cat wandering in and out of the house. Mrs. Pickering explains that the cat, who she calls Debbie, is a stray. On Christmas day James Herriot is called to Mrs. Pickering’s house, because Debbie is very sick. But Debbie has bought a surprise for Mrs. Pickering…

 

 

 

 

Zoe’s Christmas List

Zoe wants just one thing for Christmas: a Kylie Kurlz doll.  So she sets off to the North Pole with her faithful dog Beans to tell Father Christmas in person.  There they meet a baby bear and Zoe learns some important lessons about friendship.

 

 

 

 

 

Mog’s Christmas

Everything is wrong in Mog’s house. For a start, everyone is busy doing strange things and there are too many new people about. A large walking tree frightens her enough that she goes onto the roof and refuses to come down. Will Christmas be the same without Mog?

 

 

 

 

 

The Christmas Giant

Humphrey the Giant and Leetree the elf are great friends. They help Santa by making the wrapping paper for all the presents.  Then, one day, Santa gives them a special job; grow a Christmas tree for the workshop! They work hard all year to make sure the tree is perfect, but sometimes the best laid plans go wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

The Story of Christmas

This is a simple re-telling of the Christmas story. Mary and her husband Joseph  must travel to the town of Bethlehem for a census. But Mary is expecting a very special baby, and all of the inns are full…The beautiful, rich illustrations set it apart from other books telling the same story.

 

 

 

 

 

 A kiwi night before Christmas

If you’re bored of stories about snow and cold, and are looking for a book that reflects what a New Zealand Christmas looks like, this is probably the book for you! It transfers the famous ‘Night before Christmas’ poem to a more contemporary New Zealand setting. Santa in black singlet and stubbies, anyone?

 

 

 

 

 

Olive the other reindeer

Thinking that “all of the other reindeer” she hears people singing about include her, Olive the dog reports to the North Pole to help Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. A fun an entertaining story about an ambitious wee dog.

Some great picture books for Christmas

wcl staff

Christmas is just around the corner. In this festive season it would be good to arm yourselves with lots of Christmas stories. Here are some fantastic Christmas themed picture books.

Pete the Cat Saves Christmas

by Eric Litwin and James Dean

Can you imagine what would happen if Santa was ill on Christmas Eve? Will Christmas be cancelled? No, because Pete the cat will come to the rescue! In this beautifully written and illustrated picture book, Eric Litwin and James Dean tell us this delightful story of how “Pete the cat proves that giving your all in the spirit of Christmas is the totally groovy thing to do”. This inspiring story is well written and full of Christmas spirit. For the extra special Christmas experience, you can listen along to the story and hears its song in youtube. 5 stars!

 

 

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Star

by P Crumble and Louis Shea

We are all familiar with There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. In this retelling, our heroine gets into the Christmas spirit by swallowing a star, decorations and a Christmas tree. Will Santa be safe from her appetite? Find out in P Crumble and Louis Shea’s hilarous tale. Has lovely pictures too!

 

 

 

 

Poppy Cat’s Christmas

by Lara Jones

In this animated Pop- Up book, not only you can enjoy Poppy Cat’s Christmas celebrations, but you can also have fun pulling the tabs to see what everyone is getting for Christmas. Best of all, just open up the last page and enjoy the surprise of a Christmas tune and real lights flashing Christmas colours!