Scary

It’s Halloween – Let’s Get Spooky!

Kath Read

It’s almost Halloween and you know what that means?  Time to get spooky!  Halloween is the time of year where we look for all things creepy, scary and monstrous!  Some of us go trick or treating around our neighbourhoods, or we tell each other scary stories, or we dress up as creepy characters.

Here’s a few of the spooktacular events we have for you at our libraries. Read on for a booklist of frightening finds!

Booooks and Treats!

Sunday 30 October 2022, 11:30AM – 1PM.

Johnsonville Library, 34 Moorfield Rd. Johnsonville, 6037

Booooks and Treats!

Dress up in your favourite costume and join us for a spooooktacular Halloween spell! There will be (not so) scary stories, mask making and crafts, plus a ghostly scavenger hunt in the library!

Recommended for tamariki aged 5-12 with their caregivers. Registration is required as there are limited numbers.


Sbooktacular Celebration in the Library

Saturday, 29 October 2022, 10 – 11:45am

He Matapihi Molesworth Library, 70 Molesworth Street Thorndon, 6011

Sbooktacular Celebration promo image

Join us at He Matapihi Molesworth Library for our sbooktacular celebration of all things supernatural! Come along in your best book-related or fantastical costume and take part in a one-off morning of fun, which will include a story time, Halloween-themed crafts, face-painting, and a spooky scavenger hunt.

Recommended for ages 4 to 400! Please note – registration is required for this event.


We’ve put together a list of books to get you started on your Halloween reading!

A short history of Halloween / Lee, Sally

“Learn about the early traditions which have led to our present-day celebration of Halloween” (Adapted fromCatalogue)

There’s a ghost in this house / Jeffers, Oliver

“Hello, come in. Maybe you can help me? A young girl lives in a haunted house, but has never seen a ghost. Are they white with holes for eyes? Are they hard to see? She’d love to know! Step inside and turn the transparent pages to help her on an entertaining ghost hunt, from behind the sofa, right up to the attic… this unique and funny book will entertain young readers over and over again!” (Abridged from catalogue)

Coraline / Gaiman, Neil

“There is something strange about Coraline’s new home. It’s not the mist, or the cat that always seems to be watching her, nor the signs of danger that Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, her new neighbours, read in the tea leaves. It’s the other house the one behind the old door in the drawing room. Another mother and father with black-button eyes and papery skin are waiting for Coraline to join them there. And they want her to stay with them. For ever.” (Abridged from catalogue)

The house at the edge of magic / Sparkes, Amy

“Sometimes you are a whisper away from magic without even realizing it. Nine is an orphan pickpocket determined to escape her life in the Nest of a Thousand Treasures. When she steals a house-shaped ornament from a mysterious woman’s purse, she knocks on its tiny door and watches it grow into a huge, higgledy-piggeldy house. Inside she finds a host of magical and brilliantly funny characters…” (Abridged from catalogue)

No Such Thing / Bailey, Ella

“This Halloween, join fearless little Georgia in debunking the spookiest of ghoulish and ghostly activities!” (Catalogue)

October, October / Balen, Katya

“October and her dad live in the woods. They sleep in the house Dad built for them and eat the food they grow in the vegetable patches. They know the trees and the rocks and the lake and stars like best friends. They read the books they buy in town again and again… until next year’s town visit. They live in the woods and they are wild. And that’s the way it is. Until the year October turns eleven… the year Dad falls out of the biggest tree in their woods. The year the woman who calls herself October’s mother comes back. The year everything changes. This book is a feast for the senses…” (Abridged from catalogue)

The house of Madame M / Perrin, Clotilde

“Are you lost? Come in! You’re in luck-there’s no one here just now. Shhh… Be as quiet as you can, and very, very careful! In The House of Madame M, we explore a strange house: hallway, living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Each room is full of surprises to make even the bravest shiver. Are we in the house of an ogre? A witch? Something else altogether?” (Abridged from catalogue)

Scary hairy party / Freedman, Claire

“You’re invited to a party. What fun! Hip, hip, hooray! So come along to Monster’s house at three o’clock today. Raymond the hairdresser is scarily busy. Everyone wants to look their best for Monster’s party. A very silly, slightly spooky story that is perfect for youngsters at Halloween!” (Abridged from catalogue)

The haunting hour / Stine, R. L

“A collection of ten short horror stories featuring a ghoulish Halloween party, a long, mysterious car trip, and a very dangerous imaginary friend. Each story includes drawings by a different illustrator.” (Catalogue)

Inside the villains / Perrin, Clotilde

“Once upon a time there was a wolf, a giant and a witch… Just for a change, the heroes of this book are big bad villains — and this is your chance to get to know them… Open the page to read each villain’s personality card: what does the wolf read, what games does the giant play, what are the witch’s weaknesses? Lift the flaps to get right inside each villain to see what’s behind their ears, under their hat, inside their boots, in their pockets. (Abridged from catalogue)

The ghost garden / Carroll, Emma

“Summer 1914. When Fran uncovers a bone in the garden of Longbarrow House on the same afternoon that Leo breaks his leg, it is just the first in a series of strange and unsettling coincidences. Leo is left wheelchair bound for the rest of the summer and Fran is roped in to keep him company… Suddenly the garden she has loved all her life seems to hold threatening shadows of the future…” (Abridged from catalogue)

Scary stories to tell in the dark : the complete collection / Schwartz, Alvin

STAFF CAUTION: this book is genuinely terrifying, young people and parents proceed with caution! The recent film adaptation is R16, so the movie is definitely not for children!

“The iconic anthology series of horror tales that’s soon to be a highly anticipated feature film! A classic collection of chillingly scary tales, collected and retold by Alvin Schwartz and featuring the original illustrations by lauded artist Steve Gammell. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark contains some of the most alarming tales of horror, dark revenge, and supernatural events of all time. Walking corpses, dancing bones, and narrow escapes from death-they’re all here in this chilling collection of ghost stories. Make sure you read these books with the light ON!” (Catalogue)

These are just some of the wonderful spooky and scary stories you’ll find in the library!  Take the time to explore on your next library visit.

Top 10 Childrens DVDs July 2016

Dusty

Long winter evenings are a great time to catch up with the latest movies.

It’s not just the one off movies people love to borrow from the library, there are the DVD series where you can follow characters through their many adventures. Building adventures with lego is great for your imagination and construction skills.  These building blocks have inspired quite a few series – do you know them all?

There’s: Legends of Chima,  Justice League, Ninjago Masters of Spinjitsu, LEGO friends, Star Wars, Nexo Knights, Bionicle and there’s a LEGO Scooby-Doo! Try saying all that in one breath!  Have I missed any? Let us know in the comments.

Here’s your Top 10 for July 2016: 

1. My little pony, friendship is magic

2. Inside out

3. Legends of Chima

4. Minions

5. Snoopy and Charlie Brown 

6. The good dinosaur

7. Strawberry Shortcake

8. Goosebumps

9. Geronimo Stilton

10. Rabbids invasion

Get ready for some creepy Halloween Fiction!

wcl staff

Is your Halloween costume ready yet? Have you prepared revolting and scary decorations for your house? Do you have the recipes prepared for a horrendous and disgusting diner with your eerie friends? Did you read the latest Fiction about Monsters, ghosts and ghouls that we have at the Library?

I can’t do anything about the outfit, the decoration and the food but… I can help you with the books!!! So choose one of these stories if you already feel the tension of Halloween growing inside you!

The heart of glass, by Vivian French

Prince Marcus’s adventure is going horribly wrong : gracie Gillypot has disappeared, the dwarves have struck a dangerous bargain with the King of the Trolls and Princess Marigold is in peril- if only she’d stop complaining long enough to realize it. Throw in a scheming goblin, meddling bats and a mysterious heart of glass and you have all the ingredients for another wickedly funny story from the Five Kingdoms.

9 and +

 

Rise of the Zombie rabbit, by Sam Hay

Joe is just an ordinary boy until he makes a wish on a spooky Egyptian amulet… Now he is the protector of Undead Pets… and there’s a rampaging rabbit hopping about!

Fluffy the rabbit was snapped up by a hungry fox. Can Joe help her owner stay out of trouble, so Fluffy will hop off to the big rabbit hutch in the sky?

7 and +

 

Monster and chips, by David O’Connell

Have you ever eaten a plateful of parp tarts, got stuck into a stinky coughy pudding or filled your belly with chewy worm spaghetti?

No?

Well you’ve probably never been to a monster-diner. So come on in… We have the best chips ANYWHERE. Just be careful that the customers don’t think YOU’RE the menu!

7 and +

 

Home sweet horror, by James Preller

Welcome. Have a seat. Let us tell you a story. But be warned. Home sweet Horror isn’t just any tale. This is a SCARY TALE.

Meet Liam Finn, who’s just moved into a new home with his father and sister. But this old house that seems empty, isn’t. Bloody Mary is here- she’s been called back from the dead and she’s just DYING to talk.

MWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA!

8 and + (but only for very brave children!)

 

Gustav Gloom and the nightmare vault, by Adam-Troy Castro

Gustav Gloom’s neighbors think he is the unhappiest little boy in the world. But what they don’t know is 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…

9 and +

 

Brand New Fiction!

admin

The Skull in the Wood by Sandra Greaves

In Old Scratch Wood, cousins Matt and Tilda find a buried skull.  From that moment, black things begin to happen: Birds and Animals go bad, and there’s talk of the return of an Ancient Curse.  But what can Matt and Tilda do to stop it…? –(from book cover)

 

 

 

Wild Born (Spirit Animals Book 1) by Brandon Mull

As a dark force engulfs the land, the fate of Erdas has fallen on the shoulders of four young strangers who each have forged a rare bond with their spirit beasts — a bond that gives great powers to all of them.

 

 

 

A friend for Grace by Sofie LagunaImage courtesy of Syndetics

It’s 1808… and Grace is on board the ship Indispensable with her friend Hannah.  The girls wonder what the new land will be like – the convict women say there are gigantic rats and other strange animals!  Then sickness strikes the ship… Will they survive to reach the shores of New South Wales?  Follow Grace on her adventure in the second of four exciting stories about a convict girl who is given another chance.  –(from book cover)

 

 

Monsters, Mayhem and a Sprinkling of Crumbs by Tracey CorderoyImage courtesy of Syndetics

Trouble has a way of finding Otto, Marth and Scarlett Crumb no matter where they are! –(from book cover)

 

 

 

 

Diamond by Jacqueline WilsonImage courtesy of Syndetics

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Tanglefield’s Travelling Circus is proud to present *THE INCREDIBLE* *THE EXTRAORDINARY* *THE MAGICAL*; *DIAMOND* the acrobatic child wonder!  Pull back the curtain, enter the big top and discover her amazing story of heartbreak, danger, courage and friendship! –(from book cover)

 

Do you prefer creepy or splashy Fiction?

wcl staff

The two options kind of have nothing to do with each other, but that’s one of the fun things about books! You can jump from one universe to another in just a blink!

Let’s start with the creepy scary books first…

Gustav Gloom and the people taker, by Adam-Troy Castro

Gustav Gloom’s neighbors think he is the unhappiest little boy in the world. But what they don’t know is 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 Fernies What moves in across the street. And that’s when the adventure really begins…

Age 9+

 

Class is not dismissed! by Gitty Daneshvari

Madeleine Masterson is deathly afraid of bugs. Theodore Bartholomew is petrified of dying. Lulu Punchalower is scared of confined spaces. Garrison Feldman is terrified by deep water.

After discovering that each of her former students has slipped back into their old fears, headmistress Mrs Wellington, brings Madeleine, Theo, Lulu and Garrison back for mandatory summer school at “School of Fear”.

Facing their fears is terrifying enough, but when they are joined by a fifth student (and a mysterious entity lurking in the woods) things get even scarier.

Age 8+

 

And what do we have for watery splashy Fiction?

Below, by Meg McKinlay

The Mayor flipped a lever, and everyone cheered as Old Lower Grange was submerged beneath five thousand swimming pool’s worth of water. But Cassie’s family wasn’t there to see it – they were too busy rushing to the hospital to deliver an eight-weeks-early Cassie.

Now twelve years later, Cassie feels drawn to the mysteries hidden beneath the surface of the manmade lake- and she’s not the only one. Her classmate Liam joins Cassie on the lake’s forbidden side. As the summer heats up, the water drops lower and lower, offering them glimpses of the ghostly town and uncovering secrets. But like a swimmer who ventures too far from shore, Cassie realizes she can’t turn back. Can she bring their suspicions to light before it’s too late?

Age 10+

 

Charlie Joe Jackson’s guide to Summer vacation, by Tommy Greenwald

It’s like permanent opposite day, where the dorks are the cool kids and the cool kids are the losers. But Charlie Joe is determined to convince the entire camp to hate reading and writing-one genius at a time. Can he pull it off? Or will he turn into one of them? It’s finally summer vacation! But instead of hanging out with his friends and playing with his dogs, Charlie Joe Jackson has to face his worst fear : academic summer camp. Camp Rituhbukkee is exactly hoe Charlie Joe pictures it: books and nerds as far as the eye can see.

Age 8+

So just dive into one of these books and you will either get soaked or petrified!

 

Gruesome Fiction

wcl staff

Monster Mountains by Marcus Sedgwick

Eep! Those mountains are scary! Saving the world is not going very well for Elf Girl and Raven Boy. It’s not the strange wailing noises they hear in the dark, or the gigantic yeti who wants to eat them for breakfast that they find alarming, so much as the crazy wizard, who wants to add them, and Rat, to his collection of all too life-like stone statues.

Perfect for you if you like scary, creepy stories!!

Age 8+

 

The great Weta Robbery by Peter Friend and Alicia Ponder

When your after-school job is looking after weta the size of cats, it’d be understandable if you thought that your life couldn’t get any more exciting or dangerous. But there is a darker secret lurking in the laboratories of Krell Research and it’s down to one boy to get to the bottom of it.

Do you love big creepy-crawlies ? If so you’ll enjoy this book!

Age 6 +


In a glass Grimmly, by Adam Gidwitz 

If you dare, join Jack and Jill on a harrowing quest through a new set of tales from the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and others. This book will lead you into creepy forests, gruesome deeds, terrible monsters, and – far worse- the dark places of the human heart…

A fantastic eerie, subversive, and hair-raising companion novel to A Tale Dark and Grimm

Age 10+

 

When fairies go bad, by Ursula Vernon

Danny’s mother has disappeared into a fairy ring growing in her backyard vegetable garden, and Danny and his friends, Wendell and Christiana, must go to Faerie to try to save her.

And if you like this story, don’t miss the other books in the smoking hot Dragonbreath series !

Age 8+

My favs from the new books pile

admin

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!!!!

wcl staff

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!!!!!

New non-fiction: Things that go bump in the night

admin

Paranormal Files

We’ve got a cool new series of books called the Paranormal Files, for all you ghost hunters and alien watchers out there. While there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about such things, these books are a fun read. They contain many interesting stories from all over the world, like the terrifying story of the Kuchisake-onna, a Japanese ghost who you wouldn’t like to meet on a dark night! You might think you have read all you need to know about such things as stories are often repeated across different books. Any ghost enthusiast will be able to tell you about Borley Rectory or Glamis castle, but this book has a whole load of new stories that will send a shiver up your spine…or convince you to go looking for ghosts yourself.

The other books in the series are interesting, too. For cryptozoologists (people interested in animals whose existence has not been confirmed by science)  there’s a cool book on Bigfoot and other Ape-men. Sadly it doesn’t mention New Zealand’s own Moehau man, but there are stories from almost every other continent.

        

Fossilized Series

If you’ve got an interest in the remains of the past, check this series out. They’re a good introduction to Paleontology (the study of fossils ) with some great pictures and information about where fossils are found, how the paleontologists find out how old they are,  and what they show about the creatures and people of the past.

   

Draw 50…

After reading those books you may need  some light relief. Or you may want to make your own stories about all the things you’ve found out.  In that case, the “Draw 50” books are great. As the title suggests, there are 50 things in here that the book will teach you to draw.  The instructions are a lot more detailed than a lot of ‘how to draw’ art books; you start out with simple lines and then add detail on top of that. That’s pretty cool, as it helps you create a drawing with the correct proportions. There are many books in the series, so have a look through the catalogue.