Top 10 children’s eBooks for June 2015

Popular online reading still has Harry Potter cresting the wave. Any problems locating a series title on the shelves? Then try the online lending through Borrow Box or Overdrive. Check out the great tutorials on the help pages to get started through the apps on any device =)

1.  Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
2.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
3.  Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
4.  Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
5.  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
6.  Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
7.  Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker by Megan McDonald
8.  Big Nate Makes the Grade by Lincoln Peirce
9.  Big Nate Out Loud by Lincoln Peirce
10.Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

Fun New Kids Fiction!

Image courtesy of SyndeticsTell Me by Joan Bauer

Feeling scared and powerless when her father’s anger escalates and her parents separate, twelve-year-old Anna spends the summer with her grandmother and decides to make a difference when she sees what seems to be a girl held against her will.

 

 

 

Image courtesy of SyndeticsThe Whispering Skull by Jonathan Stroud

“In the six months since Anthony, Lucy, and George survived a night in the most haunted house in England, Lockwood & Co. hasn’t made much progress. Quill Kipps and his team of Fittes agents keep swooping in on Lockwood’s investigations. Finally, in a fit of anger, Anthony challenges his rival to a contest: the next time the two agencies compete on a job, the losing side will have to admit defeat in the Times newspaper. Things look up when a new client, Mr. Saunders, hires Lockwood & Co. to be present at the excavation of Edmund Bickerstaff, a Victorian doctor who reportedly tried to communicate with the dead. Saunders needs the coffin sealed with silver to prevent any supernatural trouble. All goes well-until George’s curiosity attracts a horrible phantom. Back home at Portland Row, Lockwood accuses George of making too many careless mistakes. Lucy is distracted by urgent whispers coming from the skull in the ghost jar. Then the team is summoned to DEPRAC headquarters. Kipps is there too, much to Lockwood’s annoyance. Bickerstaff’s coffin was raided and a strange glass object buried with the corpse has vanished. Inspector Barnes believes the relic to be highly dangerous, and he wants it found…”

 

The incomplete book of dragons; (a guide to dragon species)Image courtesy of Syndetics by Cressida Cowell

Long ago, the world was full of dragons. But what happened to them? Where are they now? These pages are taken from the notebooks of Viking Hero Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third when he was just a boy. A keen dragonwatcher, Hiccup paints a picture of the brilliance and fire and spirit of that lost dragon world. Featuring dragon profiles, dragon anatomy, dragon riding tips and lots more must know info e.g. how to spot the difference between an arsenic adderwing and a glow worm (you don’t want to mix those two up) and what to do when confronted with a Hellsteether.

 

Egg & Spoon Image courtesy of Syndeticsby Gregory Maguire

An impoverished Russian country girl Elena Rudina and the aristocratic Ekaterina meet and set in motion an escapade that includes mistaken identity, a monk locked in a tower, a prince traveling incognito, and the witch Baba Yaga.

 

 

 

Awful AuntieImage courtesy of Syndetics by David Walliams

Aunt Alberta is on a mission to cheat the young Lady Stella Saxby out of her inheritance – Saxby Hall. But with mischievous and irrepressible Soot, the cockney ghost of a chimney sweep, alongside her Stella is determined to fight back … And sometimes a special friend, however different, is all you need to win through

Try These Exciting New Fiction Books!!!

Boris Gets a Lizard by Andrew Joyner

Boris has a lot of pets, but what he really wants is a Komodo dragon, so he comes up with a plan–and invites his class to come and see his lizard.

 

 

 

The Kensington Reptilarium by N.J Gemmell

This is the story of how four loud, grubby urchins from the Aussie outback find themselves in the heart of London, where the first peacetime Christmas after the six long, hard years of World War II promises to be a big one…

 

 

 

 Oliver and the Seawigs by Philip Reeve

Oliver grew up in a family of explorers but his biggest adventure is about to begin! Along with his new friends, a grumpy old albatross, a short-sighted mermaid and a friendly island called Cliff, Oliver goes off in search of his missing parents. But before he can put his rescue plan into action there’s the evil Stacey de Lacey and an army of greasy, green sea monkeys to contend with.

 

 

Get Yourself Gone by Oisin McGann

‘Vulgar Pluck is in trouble.  Big trouble.  He’s tangled with the wrong people and now he’s on the run from Psycho Cyrus and his gang of Lost Boys.  Vulgar needs to get out of town – fast.  But first he’s got one last job to do.  And he’s got to do it quick, before some really dark magic is unleashed… ‘ (from book cover).

 

 

 

A Question of Magic By E.D Baker

Serafina is summoned from her village to the magical cottage of a great aunt she has never heard of and learns that she is meant to become the new Baba Yaga, whose magical role is answering the first question any stranger might ask her with the truth.

 

Are you a witch?

Magic Trix: The Witching Hour by Sara Grant

There are three signs that you may be a witch.

1. You occasionally see witches flying across the midnight sky on their broomsticks.

2. Rhyming spells pop into your head.

3. You love planning magical surprises for your friends.

When Trix turns ten she finds out that she’s a witch! It’s the best birthday present ever and Trix can’t wait to start casting spells. But learning witchcraft isn’t easy, and nobody non-magical must know. Find out how Trix gets on learning about magic, keeping it a secret and using magic to help her best friend.

 

School Holidays – 2.5 weeks to go!

Can you believe that the school holidays are just over 2 weeks away, and then it will be Term 4 and then it will be the summer holidays, and before you know it it’ll be Christmas! But let’s just concentrate on the upcoming holidays for now. Here’s what’s happening…

 

Wonderful and Grimm School Holiday activities at your local library.

Celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Brothers Grimm and the 150th anniversary of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with stories and activities at participating libraries. These free fun activities are suitable for 5-12 year olds, and no bookings are required.

 

 

Monday 1st October:

Cummings Park Library at 11am: Gruesome and gory Grimm stories and fun activities

 

Tuesday 2nd October:

Karori Library at 11am: Gruesome and gory Grimm stories and fun activities

Newtown Library at 11am: Funtastical fairytales and fables at a special Brothers Grimm storytime

 

Thursday 4th October:

Ruth Gotlieb library (Kilbirnie) at 11am: Topsy turvy, inside out, upside down, magical Alice in Wonderland, play croquet and come dressed up. But remember, curiosity often leads to trouble!

Central Library at 11am: Amazing performance poems, action rhymes, songs and stories with Children’s Poet Greg O’Connell

 

Monday 8th October:

Mervyn Kemp Library (Tawa) at 11am: Gruesome and gory Grimm stories and fun activities. Don’t forget your costume!

 

Tuesday 9th October:

Island Bay Library at 11am: Funtastical fairytales and fables at a special Brothers Grimm storytime.

Johnsonville Library at 11am: Gruesome and gory Brothers Grimm stories and fun activities. Come dressed up!

Central Library at 11am: Follow the trail of Hansel and Gretel, but beware of the witch!

 

Thursday 11th October:

Miramar Library at 11am: Halloween, witches’ tales, scary stories and a spell or two! Dress up in your favourite Halloween costume.