Awesome New Fiction!

Forget Me Not by Jo Cotterill

Kate Morrell used to have it all – fun, friends and family. But since her mum died three years ago, Kate can’t remember what it’s like to feel properly happy any more. A summer job at the local garden centre gives Kate a chance to re-discover the spark she once had – and arguing with her arrogant (but gorgeous) co-worker Simon makes her really come out of her shell! But then there’s an attack on the centre – and Kate begins to wonder if Simon knows more than he’s letting on…

 

Pea’s Book of Best Friends by Susie Day

 Meet eleven-year-old Pea and her definitely not ordinary life! When Pea’s dizzy but dazzling single mum becomes the super-selling author of the Mermaid Girls series, everything changes overnight. It’s time to leave their tiny flat in Tenby for a fancy house in London, and a whole new life! Pea likes the red front door, and the attic bedroom all to herself. She even likes her hideous school uniform, in a masochistic Malory Towers sort of way. But something is missing. There’s an empty chair beside her in every lesson, and no one seems to want to fill it. In the absence of volunteers, Pea is going to have to acquire a best friend.

 

Smells like Pirates by Suzanne Selfors

“Homer thought membership in L.O.S.T., the mysterious Society of Legends, Objects, Secrets, and Treasures, would help him find pirate Rumpold Smeller’s missing treasure. But when Homer’s enemy, Lorelei, forms an evil organization called FOUND, Homer and Dog face an impossible decision: Work with Lorelei to find the prize once and for all, or abandon their lifelong quest to locate the treasure”–Provided by publisher.

 

Itch by Simon Mayo

Meet Itch, a fourteen-year-old, accident-prone accidental hero. Science is his weapon. Elements are his gadgets. This is Alex Rider with Geek-Power! Itchingham Lofte — known as Itch — is fourteen, and loves science, especially chemistry. He’s also an element-hunter: he’s decided to collect all the elements in the periodic table. Which has some interesting and rather destructive results in his bedroom. Then, Itch makes a discovery. A new element, never seen before. At first no one believes him but soon, someone hears about the strange new rock and wants it for himself. And Itch is in serious danger…

 

Fawn by Margi McAllister

Kirsty Weaver loves watching a herd of deer in the hills behind her house. She discovers that a fawn has been left abandoned on the hill. She rescues him and coaxes him down from the hill and into a shed. As Kirsty battles to keep Fawn both safe and a secret, she realizes she can’t keep doing everything alone and has to decided whether she can trust Toby, the local farmer’s boy, with her secret.

 

Top ten Fiction for April

Here’s the ten most popular fiction books for April.

 

1. Diary of a wimpy kid series by Jeff Kinney

2. Dirty Bertie series by Alan MacDonald

3. Conspiracy 365 series by Gabrielle Lord

4. Ruby Redfort by Lauren Child

5. Captain Underpants and the big bad battle of the bionic booger boy by Dav Pilkey

6. Puzzle pirates by Susannah Leigh

7. Harry Potter and the philosopher’s  stone By J. K. Rowling

8. Judy Moody and Stink series by Megan McDonald

9. Captain Underpants and the terrifying return of Tippy Tinkletrousers by Dav Pilkey

10. The magic finger by Roald Dahl

My favs from the new books pile

I was just flicking through some new books that have arrived recently (looking for something good to read), and I thought these ones looked great.

What do you think?

 

Gustav Gloom and the People Taker by Adam-Troy Castro

This one has a very cool cover – one of those ones with a clear plastic peep-hole in the cover. It also looks like the first in a new series, judging by the large number 1 on the spine. It’s a hard cover book (I LOVE hardcovers!) and also has illustrations inside. Here’s what its’ about (from the book cover):

Do you know where your shadow is? Gustav Gloom’s neighbours think he is the unhappiest little boy in the world. But what they don’t know it 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…

 

 

The High-Skies Adventures of Blue Jay the Pirate by Scott Nash

Another hard cover book, and another with pictures! This one looks really great and I can’t wait to read it. Here’s the blurb:

Hoist the Jolly Robin! Captain Blue Jay famed commander of the sky-faring vessel The Grosbeak takes to the skies with his stalwart crew for a rousing aero-nautical adventure of flying and freedom parked with Danger and Mystery! Blue Jay and his band of avian pirates sail the skies searching for ships laden with cargo, avoiding run-ins with the dastardly crows, dodging doldrums and bad weather, and evading the long arm of the Colonial army.

 

 

Waterloo & Trafalgar by Oliver Tallec

This one’s a bit different – though it does have a hard cover and illustrations. Waterloo & Trafalgar is a picture book without words, but this one’s not for preschoolers- it’s for you! You have to figure out what’s happening by examining the pictures, and the story’s pretty funny.

It’s about two soldiers (one called Waterloo and the other called Trafalgar) who are watching each other very closely using telescopes from behind walls. Watch what happens in their lives as they both endure winters and summers, all while watching each other very closely. The ending is great!

 

Spectacular New Fiction!!!!

Judy Moody and Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt by Megan McDonald.

Avast, ye scum buckets and swashbuckling buccaneers! Come on board and plunder with the best of Judy Moody and Stink’s newest adventures.  The Moody  family drops anchor on ” Artichoke” Island ; yes you heard me correctly, Artichoke Island. Here they are greeted by the mysterious Cap’n Weevil, a one-eyed pirate with a scaggley beard and of course a treasure map! Ooooooooha!! Stinky and Judy start an exciting adventure to find the missing gold!!!! Check it out at your local library!!!!!

 

 

 The Haunted School by Deborah Abela.

This spine-tingling adventure will raise the hairs on your arms!!!! 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.

 

 

Dragon Breath No Such Thing as Ghosts by Ursala Vernon.

Not only must Danny and Wendell trick-or-treat with skeptical classmate Christiana, school bully Big Eddy dares them to enter a haunted house on Halloween night, where they may have to sacrifice their candy to a ghost.Will Danny DragonBreath stand tall in the face of danger or cower in the corner eating candy ? Be brave and read this super read!!!!

 

 

 

The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver.

Hands up if you love  rats; if so check this awesome book out! Accompanied by an eccentric, human-sized rat, Liza embarks on a perilous quest through an underground realm to save her brother Patrick, whose soul has been stolen by the evilest of creatures–the spider-like spindlers. Both riveting and bewitching this is the book for  you !!!!!!

 

 

Om Shanti Babe by Helen Limon.

Winner of the 2011 Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices award this amazingly well written book is both  laugh- out-loud- funny and a real roller-coaster of discovery.Cass is on buying trip to India with her mother who owns a fair-trade craft shop in London. Although Cass has been looking forward to the trip, she finds that nothing is as she expected. First Cass discovers her mother is romantically involved with an Indian man, then she’s involved in a stand-off with fashion-mad Priyanka, and finally she finds out that her mother’s business is on the rocks. When pop idol Jonny Gold arrives in Kerala to film a music video, Cass is caught up with a mystery, new friendships and a race to save the mangrove swamps.

 

 

 Utterly Me  Clarice Bean by  Lauren Child.

An utterly fantastic book!  I utterly think you should utterly read it!!  Mrs Wilberton wants Clarice Bean and his classmates to write a book project which sounds UTTERLY dreary.Until Clarice finds out there is an ACTUAL prize. Utterly fantastic!!!!!

It’s time to dress up, laugh a lot, play games, eat , and paaartaay!

Syndetics book coverSuper silly riddles / Charles Keller ; illustrated by Dave Winter.
Feast on more than 500 riddles and drive your friends and parents crazy.

Syndetics book coverDr. Knucklehead’s knock-knocks / by Chris Tait ; illustrated by Lance Lekander.
Who doesn’t love knock-knock jokes!  Heaps of jokes in here to crack you up. Start knocking!

Syndetics book coverCritter jokes & riddles / Janet Nuzum Myers ; illustrated by Dave Clegg.
Why do fish avoid computers? They get caught in the Internet. “What happened to the leopard that fell into a washing machine? “He came out spotless.” Every animal and critter seems to feature in this great wee joke book. Checkit out for a really good laugh.
Syndetics book coverDressing up as a pirate / Rebekah Joy Shirley ; photography by Chris Fairclough.

Learn how to make a pirate’s hook and an eye-patch, a skull and crossbones hat and a trusty parrot friend! Great book of easy step-by-step photos on how tp become a real pirate. Other books in this series also new to the library are :Dressing up as a fairy / Rebekah Joy Shirley ; photography by Chris Fairclough.
Dressing up as a knight / Rebekah Joy Shirley ; photography by Chris Fairclough.
Dressing up as a Princess / Rebekah Joy Shirley ; photography by Chris Fairclough.
Syndetics book coverDressing up as an astronaut / Rebekah Shirley.
Dressing up as a robot / Rebekah Joy Shirley ; photography by Chris Fairclough.

Street dance : the people, the music, the moves / Liz Gogerly. Learn how to really bust some moves in this great book about street dance. Soon you’ll be able to do the body lock and house step along with the best of them. It’s time to party!

Syndetics book coverFood and faith / Susan Reuben and Sophie Pelham ; photography by Jan Panke, Sophie Pelham and Nicholas Posner.

Having a special kind of party? Maybe it’s a religious celebration in your culture. Find out all about food traditions  and their special rituals in this book about food and faith. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism are all included in this interesting book. Great photos make you hungry just reading it.

Syndetics book coverLego Harry Potter : building the magical world / written by Elizabeth Dowsett.

Want some LEGO for your birthday? This month we add to our great colection of books about LEGO with this fantastic book about Harry Potter LEGO. Hogwart’s castle, the Chamber of Secrets and the Shrieking Shack all feature in this comprehensive book that contains everything magical about Harry Syndetics book cover501 great kiwi jokes / [illustrations by Donovan Bixley].

You know that laughing helps you to heal fast, right! Well this book supports CURE Kids. Check out the website in the back of the book after you have laughed yourself silly at the wonderful jokes inside. What do you get when your dog has its sixth birthday? Why did Kiri break into song? What’s grumpy and goes really well with ice-cream? You’ll have to read the book to find the answers.

Not in the mood to party? Then learn how to knit and play chess over the holidays with these great new books;Syndetics book coverHow to play chess / Daniel King.

How to knit / Fiona Watt ; illustrated by Stella Baggott ; photographs by Howard Allman. This is a great book for learners as well as those of you who have knitted the ODD scarf before.

More stuff to do with your hands! Get them  into the dirt,  (AFTER you’ve read the book of course)Syndetics book coverYates young gardener : get your hands dirty / Janice Marriott ; [illustrations, Deborah Hinde]. then learn how to draw whacky robots with Fun to draw cool robots / Robert Ainsworth.

“Chuck Dugan is AWOL” by Eric Chase Anderson

“Chuck Dugan is AWOL: a novel with maps” by Eric Chase Anderson

 

Do you like video games?

Would you sometimes rather play video games than read a book?

Yeah?

Oh well, I like books so I am going to wah on to you about them.

 

BUT, pull your eyes away from your games for just a minute because… this book is a lot like a video game. Not a very flash one mind, maybe one from the 90’s, but it’s fast paced, it’s adventurous and it’s addictive. You’ll want to keep reading and reading until you get to the next level – I mean, um, chapter.

 

Player One: Chuck Dugan is AWOL. AWOL means Absent With Out Leave. Chuck is AWOL because he powers up and escapes in the night from his fancy pants navy school. Wagging school is a bit of a cheat but he has very good reasons. Lots of books are about evil stepmothers – well, Chuck is about to upload an evil stepfather called The Admiral, who is a rogue and a scoundrel and a meany. Chuck has to insert all his coins to stop his mother marrying, and find his real father’s secret treasure before The Admiral and his sons/goons can get their greedy mitts on it (and clock the game). Chuck encounters knifes, pistols, drowning, beatings, fireworks (yes, fireworks in the eye! Yow!) And all the other nasty tricks in the brothers’ inventory.

 

Chuck is always an optimist though, even when he is down to one life and hardly any strength bar. He is a brave boy with big ears who has seen “snakebite, fear, and a man shot in the knee”. Chuck is always willing to beat his own high score.

 

Are you a junior inventor? A master of disguise? A red head? Chuck is, and these mad skills – maybe not the red hair – help him to defeat the baddies. This multileveled adventure includes boats, flying bicycles (the popcycle), pirates, boats, spy gadgets, deep sea diving, butlers, secret passages and more boats.

 

Oh and I almost forgot to tell you: BONUS POINTS! This book has MAPS. Eric Chase Anderson is a brilliant illustrator and he has decorated his book with cool maps of all sorts of things. (If you have drawn a map please show me, I love maps but alas I am hopeless with a ruler).

 

Trivia: Eric Chase Anderson is Wes Anderson’s brother. Wes Anderson made the film “Fantastic Mr Fox”, based on the Roald Dahl book. Have you seen it? It is rad. Eric Chase Anderson is the voice of Kristofferson Silverfox in the film.

 

I really liked “Chuck Dugan is AWOL” and I hope you will put down your controller and pick this book up soon.

 

 “Chuck Dugan is AWOL: a novel with maps” by Eric Chase Anderson

 

GAME OVER……. DO YOU WISH TO CONTINUE?…….yes please.

Pirates of the Indian Ocean

When the takings from the Spanish Main started to decline, many pirates shifted to the Indian Ocean. They were lured by the treasure fleets of the Indian Moghul and the merchantmen of the British, French and Dutch east India companies.

 

English pirate Henry Avery became notorious for capturing the Indian Moghul’s ship Gang-i-Sawai, which was carrying pilgrims and treasure from Surat to Mecca.

 

Most of the pirates hid out around the island of Madagascar, off the East Coast of Africa. The island was in the ideal place for raiding European trade routes to India, and Muslim pilgrimage routes to the Red Sea.

 

Madagascar was a wild, tropical island that had not been colonised by Europeans, so it was safe for outlaws. However, the ever-wary pirates created a small fortified base on St Mary’s Island, a small island off the north-east coast of Madagascar.

 

East Indiamen ships were the favourite target of pirates as they carried such goods as: gold, silver, fine china, silks and spices. Coffee and tea were also valuable items.

 

If you’re interested in pirates we’ve got heaps and heaps of books in the library for you. You can either go to the 910.4 section of the non fiction collection at your library, or you can search for pirates on the catalogue here!

Pirates of the China Seas

The seas and channels of China and Southeast Asia were ideal for pirates. Small boats easily hid in the mangrove swamps along the coasts. Piracy was well established by 400 A.D. China and Japan often had to work together to stop the pirates.

 

The pirates became worse after European empires grew in the 16th and 17th centuries. Pirates such as Ching Yih had over 500 ships. Ching-Chi-ling had a fleet of 1,000 ships. The fleets of the China Seas pirates were divided into squadrons, each with its own flag: Ching Yih’s fleet had red, yellow, green, blue, black and white.

The largest Chinese pirate ships were converted cargo vessels armed with 10-15 guns. They were too powerful for the Chinese navy to defeat them.

 

For hand to hand fighting, the traditional weapon for Chinese pirates was a long, heavy sword. Swung with both hands, the sword could even cut through metal armour. Japanese pirates used smaller swords, fighting with one in each hand.

 

The British navy destroyed the most notorious Chinese pirate fleet in 1849. By 1860 they had put an end to piracy in the China Seas.

 

Find out more.

Punishment for Pirates

The “hempen jig” was the dance of death at the end of the hangman’s hemp rope. This was the fate that awaited pirates who were caught and convicted. For most pirates, though, life at sea was far riskier than hanging. Few pirates were actually brought to justice and often those found guilty were pardoned. Privateers were only ever sent to jail.

 

Jails were crowded, disease-ridden places. Pirates were often put in chains to prevent them from escaping. William Kidd was forced to wear chains that weighed 7kg. Newgate was the most infamous British prison.

 

In 1776 Britain had prison ships made from naval ships that were no longer sea-worthy. Conditions for the prisoners onboard were damp and unhealthy.

 

Hanging was a traditional punishment for pirates. Wooden gallows were specially built for each execution. Hangings were public events and pirates’ last words were recorded and published for the grim enjoyment of the public.

 

The bodies of executed pirates were often hung from a wooden frame called a gibbet to act as a warning. The corpse would be chained into an iron cage. Pirates feared being measured for the gibbet even more than they feared the hanging itself. William Kidd’s body was exhibited in this way.

 

Check out books about pirates at your local library!