Top 10 Children’s DVDs for September

Just in time to finish up the school holidays!

The favourites are holding strong in the latest top ten.  Paddington just scrapes in.

If you enjoyed the Paddington movie take a look at the books we have by the original author Michael Bond.  A brand new piece of work from the venerable 88 year old author, Love from Paddington has just arrived in the library and is being prepared for borrowing!  The book is filled with letters of Paddington’s impressions of London life.   The Peruvian bear is a bit of a mascot for Paddington railway station in London, U.K.  Last year celebrity painted versions of the famous statue were dotted all around London fro the Paddington Bear trail. Take a look at these designs and see if they inspire you to create your own!

1. My little pony, friendship is magic.

2. Legends of Chima.

3. Home

4. Cinderella

5. Strawberry Shortcake.

6. Shaun the Sheep.

7. Dino Dan.

8. Dragons

9. Scooby-Doo! 13 spooky tales.

10. Paddington.

Some New Kids Fiction Delights to Devour!

Image Courtesy of SyndeticsThe Girl in the Torch by Robert Sharenow
“After her father is killed in a pogrom, twelve-year-old Sarah and her mother immigrate to America–but when her mother dies before they get through Ellis Island, and the authorities want to send her back to the old country, Sarah hides in the torch of the Statue of Liberty.” (Library Catalogue)

Image Courtesy of SyndeticsTiger Boy by Mitali Perkins
A tiger cub has escaped from a reserve in the Sunderbans in West Bengal, India, and Neel, a poor boy from the islands, is determined to find her in order to save her from being captured and sold on the black market by Mr. Gupta and his men.” (Library Catalogue)

Image Courtesy of SyndeticsMasterpiece by Elise Broach
Marvin lives with his family under the kitchen sink in the Pompadays’ apartment. He is very much a beetle. James Pompaday lives with his family in New York City. He is very much an eleven-year-old boy.After James gets a pen-and-ink set for his birthday, Marvin surprises him by creating an elaborate miniature drawing. James gets all the credit for the picture and before these unlikely friends know it they are caught up in a staged art heist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that could help recover a famous drawing by Albrecht Dürer. But James can’t go through with the plan without Marvin’s help. And that’s where things get really complicated (and interesting!).” (Catalogue summary)

Image Courtesy of SyndeticsThe Beast in My Belly  by Grzegorz Kasdepke
A young girl is puzzled, then frightened, by the growling, gurgling, and grunting she hears in her belly, but no one believes she has a beast living there.” (Library Catalogue)

A Semi-Charming Kind of Life Semi-Charming Kind of Life by Suzanne Selfors
“Darling Charming is bored in Damsel-In-Distressing class. She’d much rather be in Hero Training with her brothers. The only thing is, she has secretly been helping her brother Dexter ace the class. If anyone finds out, a scandal would erupt at Ever After High. One of the most prestigious families in town, the Charmings have a reputation to uphold. Darling is destined to be a damsel…but this Rebel may want to decide her own destiny.” (Library Catalogue)

Join the Anti-Princess Club – 4 great new children’s book to try

If you don’t like pretty pink tutus, pink tiara’s or anything to do with princesses then you might like to check out the Anti-Princess Club series.

Grace, Emily, Bella and Chloe are four friends who are sick of the world treating them like princesses. They each have a talent that the world doesn’t normally think a girl should be good at. One is very good at maths and computers, another is good at science, another is really good at sport and the last is good at building and art. And they all have a motto – “We don’t need rescuing”.

So take off the tiara and check out all their fun adventures.

New Non Fiction: Art splash, Poetry in motion and a special Disney Princess surprise!

New Art Books from Usborne!

image courtesy of syndeticsThe Usborne Introduction to Art.

Prepare to be dazzled and amazed when you read all about Western painting. From Ancient Egyptian tomb decorations to modern art, your head will explode from all overload of knowledge!

To accompany this book, read:

 

 

 

image courtesy of syndeticsThe Usborne Book of Art.

This will overload your brain with even more knowledge about anything and everything to do with art. This fascinating book covers it all – from Ancient Egyptian tomb decorations to great masters of European painting right up to the present day.

 

 

 

image courtesy of syndeticsFrogs are funny! : the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, muppetational, Muppets joke book ever!

Frogs are funny. Yep, that book definitely spells that out. For all you Muppet fans, check out this new amazing book that if full of laugh out loud jokes from all the Muppet Movies and shows. Readers beware, hilarity will ensue!

 

 

 

A Treasury of NZ Poems for children.image courtesy of syndetics

Who would have thought poetry could be beautiful? This book is certainly living proof and is busting with wonderful NZ poems by writers, such as James K. Baxter, Margaret Mahy and Kyle Meburn, that will make you laugh, cry, jiggle and ponder. A treasury of NZ poems for children makes poetry sing for a new generation.

 

 

 

 

Saved the best for last…

Girls and boys…be prepared to discover your inner (Disney) Princess!

image courtesy of syndeticsDisney Princess: Enchanted Character Guide.

What girl doesn’t dream of being a Disney Princess? Once upon a time I was one of those girls. (Ok, every now and again I still dream) Well girls, your dreams are about to come true. Check out this newly updated Disney Princess: Enchanted Character Guide and prepare to be transported into the enchanting world of Disney princesses where dreams really do come true. This book helps you discover the magical and enchanting world of Disney princesses. You can get to know each beautiful Princess and read their magical story, meet their best friends and worst enemies, plus find out fascinating facts about your favourite Disney Princess. From Snow White and The Little Mermaid to Sleeping Beauty and Merida. After reading this book, I swear I had been transported back to my childhood. Princesses, glitter, this is a book that every girl will love and perhaps may have to fight and claw their way to ensure they get their hands on this precious treasure.

 

Also take the time to rediscover… Princess : The Essential Guide (Revised editon). and Princess : The Essential Guide!

New Non Fiction that will leave you spellbound!

The Ultimate Moshlings Collector’s Guide.

Move over Pokemon, there are very cute, cool and collectible creatures  to catch! Check out this new and amazing guide book on the Moshlings! Monstro City’s top Moshling collector, Buster Bumblechops, shares his tips on collecting all the little Moshlings roaming wild in the world of Moshi Monsters! Buster is the ultimate collector and this awesome book is packed full of his stories from years of Moshlings tracking. Find out how to plant the right seeds to attract Moshlings, and how to keep them entertained once you have adopted them! As well as Buster Bumblechop’s collector’s notes the guide contains extracts from his diary plus an exclusive extra Moshling (available only with this guide). Great for anyone a fan of Pokemon and Digimon.

 

Spellbound: Tales of Enchantment from Ancient Ireland.

If you are bored with Fairy tales and Greek mythology, why not try out Irish Folk Tales? This book is a wonderful treasure that holds a collection of seven stories from Ancient Ireland linked by themes of magic and enchantment that are that will make you spellbound! Great for kids aged 6 to 9 years, who love adventure, romance and the occasional nasty shock.

 

 

 

 

Horrible Histories: The Beastly Best Bits – The executioner’s cut.

Well, Terry Deary has done it again! More horrible histories for your viewing and reading pleasure… with all the nasty bits left in. Read all about the awful Egyptians, the Rotten Romans, the vile Victorians and the woeful Second War World. The beastly Best Bits is a wicked history of the world collected by Terry Derry from twenty years of Horrible Histories Books.

 

 

 

 

The Fairy-Tale Princess : Seven Classic Stories from the Enchanted Forrest.

This beautiful collection of seven classic fairytales is organized around the theme of the fairytale princess. Su Blackwell’s paper sculptures evoke a magical world of beauty and mischief are accompanied by Wendy Jones’ lyrical retellings of the stories. I really liked how each fairy tale emerged from the pages through a series of intricate paper sculptures cut from the pages of  each of the fairytales. A great book for girls and anyone a fan of fairy tales.

 

 

 

 

Follow, Follow: A book of reverso poems.

Imagine fairy tales upended. / Upended fairy tales? Imagine!

In the mood for some reverso poems? This book is a  collection of short poems called reversos. First you read the poems from top to bottom, then when you reverse the lines and read from the bottom to top, they provide new perspectives on the fairy tale characters they feature. A fantastic book that plays with language and fairy tales to create a celebration of sight, sound and story.

 

 

Just Joking 2 : 300 hilarious jokes about everything, including tongue twisters, riddles, and more.

This book is the book you must read if you wish to master all the silly jokes known to kids, which includes knock-knocks, tongue twisters, riddles, traditional question and answer jokes and much more! Just Joking 2 comes complete with  colorful photos of laughing animals, including amazing facts about each animal featured, funny people, and other colorful photos are paired with each joke, which is gurenteed to add  an extra laugh on each page.

 

 

Art Attack – Learn to draw everything with new non-fiction books

Learn to draw enchanted Princesses

Anyone who who wants to draw Disney princesses  (and other Disney heroines!) can’t go past this awesome book. It takes you step by step through how to draw all them all, from Snow White and Sleeping Beauty to Tiana and Rapunzel.  It’s pretty detailed: first it teaches you how to draw their basic figure, then their face and after you’ve mastered those you can work on action poses and facial expressions. It also teaches you how to draw them at different stages, as well, like Tiana as a frog and Mulan as a soldier.  This is a great book for more advanced artists.

 

 

 

Draw Animals

This is a great general art book on how to draw realistic pictures of your favourite animals.  But this book doesn’t just stick to your boring cows and cats and dogs; it also features pre-historic creatures,  such as the Indricotherium (try saying that three times fast!) and the creatures of legend, such as the Gryphon and the Hydra. Another book for the more advanced artist, but don’t let that scare you off! Practice makes perfect, after all.

 

 

 

 

13 Art Illusions Children should know

Do you know what tromp l’oeil is? Or atmospheric perspective? From the very earliest paintings, clever artists have used all sorts of tricks to fool the viewer into seeing the painting in a different way. This book will reveal all these tricks and how they were created. It takes you on a journey through time, showing you how artists got cleverer and cleverer at fooling the eye. It will teach you something new and perhaps you can introduce some of these concepts to your own art work.

 

 

 

Xtreme Illusions

This book is on the same subject but focuses more on the modern types of optical illusions. It doesn’t focus on the history or the more technical aspects of how these illusions are created, but it’s a fun book to read.

 

 

 

How to draw series

If you’d like to take your art skills to the next level, these are the books for you! Their motto is “An art school in a book” and that is true.  We’ve featured the “how to draw” series before, but these two new books( How to draw perspective and How to draw still life) are worth featuring on their own.  These books will take you through the more technical aspects of drawing without being too difficult to understand.  It will explain clearly everything from vanishing points to negative space.

My Royal Story

If you enjoy learning about history then take a look at the My Royal Story series. These books are written in diary form and put you in the shoes of some of our great historical figures. Read about Victoria as a lonely little girl who grows up to becomes the Queen of England or Cleopatra as she prepares herself to becoming the next Pharaoh of Egypt. There are also stories about Anastasia, Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scots and Marie Antoinette. So take a step back in time and learn heaps while having a great read.

Ginger girls rule the movies

AnastasiaThere are lots of fabulous redheads in movies that you can get out from the library. If the one you want isn’t at your branch then just reserve it! Here’s a list of some of them, if you think of more please add them into the comments section.

                                                                               

Elizabeth I – Red Rose of the House of Tudor

Elizabeth IElizabeth was born on September 7th 1533. This Royal Diary covers the year 1544 when she was 11. Elizabeth’s father King Henry VIII has just married his sixth wife – Elizabeth’s fourth step-mother! Elizabeth’s mother was Anne Boleyn. Anne married Henry in 1533 and three years later he had  her head cut off! (He married his third wife just eleven days later. What a brute!) Elizabeth has been banished to the country for most of her life but her kind new stepmother has convinced the King to let her come to Court. My favourite bit is when Elizabeth describes her ‘quite, no, very fat’ father being winched onto his horse by four servants and a crane. He is too heavy to get on his horse by himself and has ‘terrible sores’ on his legs that make them swell up. Yuck! Princess Elizabeth thinks it’s nearly as much fun as watching tournaments.

Do you want to be a princess?

Get the low down on princesses past and present. What sort of clothes do they wear, where do they live and what are their families like. All this and more in the book The Princess Files by Valerie Wilding. Did you know that Queen Elizabeth as a princess during World War 2  learned to strip down an engine. Not something you would expect a princess to do. How about Elizabeth Tudor. When she run out of room on her fingers she started putting rings in her hair. Perhaps you could start a craze.