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    • New Chapter Book From Brian Selznick
      • If you enjoyed The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck then like me you will have been looking forward to this new book by Brian Selznick called The Marvels. It is another brilliant book from him and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. The first almost 400 pages is a story told entirely in illustrations - black and white drawings. This part of the story starts in 1766 with a shipwreck, where a boy and his dog are the only survivors. The boy is the beginning of several generations of actors working at the Royal Theatre in London. The next part of the book is in writing and begins in 1990 with a boy arriving in London - he's run away from his boarding school and is looking for his uncle. He has got a map and an address but it is dark, cold and snowing. He finally finds the house and he looks through the windows and feels like he has been time travelling back into the 19th century - furniture everything look like it came from a different time. His uncle however does not seem very welcoming and wants to send him back to his school! You will have to read the book to find out whether he gets to stay with his uncle and why the house is so different. It is a very beautiful story. I also found a book trailer and a short presentation by Brian Selznick that I hope you will enjoy. I should also explain that Brian Selznick helped make the book trailer. Among other things he made the dragon for it.                                                                                                    

    • New Chapter Book
      • Even though the library is closed, there are still new books arriving. I have just read one of them An Eagle in the Snow by Michael Morpurgo and illustrated by Michael Foreman. I enjoyed this book and it really makes you think. A soldier during 1st World War is showing mercy against a German Soldier and instead of shooting him he lets him go. Unfortunately it turns out that if he had shot the soldier the whole 2nd World War might not have happened, because the German soldier who survived, was Adolf Hitler. I probably don't have to say much more about the book other than it is built on a true story and there is a section at the back telling the story behind the book. I would recommend this  book to year 4-6. It has illustrations and is reasonably easy to read. I hope you enjoy it. There is also a book trailer for this book.

    • More Student Book Reviews
      • Here are some more great student book reviews from our "Blind Date a Book" activity. Hope you enjoy them and that they might inspire you to try reading the books yourself. The Garbage King written by Elizabeth Laird   The garbage king is a book of slavery and survieing. Its set in Ethiopia’s great capital city. Addis Ababa. If you like a book that's full of survival and slavery well this is the book for you Mamo is a sad poor little boy and Dani has a house full of servants and is very rich.But now both are on the run Mamo running from a slave labour and Dani from his evil father teamwork and risks will save our two friends in this mess. I really like the part when Mamo and Dani met and go into a gang and live together the most saddest part was when the smallest boy died because he was sick. But otherwise it's a amazing book I love it. can “I have a glass of water?” mamo said politely and he added the beggar's formula,“for sake of jesus”. This book Is good for ages 7 to 100.the adventure is amazing so find out more in THE GARBAGE KING. By Henry room 18 Soldier Dog written by Sam Angus This year I did the reading challenge and my book was called Soldier dog. Soldier dog is a book about a boy named Stanley, his brother Tom, their dog named Rocket and their father whose name is Pa. It's the first world war and Stanley's brother Tom has enrolled to become a soldier. Stanley is too young to enroll for war so is instead left at home with Pa and the family dog Rocket. One day Rocket goes missing and in a bad temper Pa orders Stanley to leave the house and not to come back without Rocket. Stanley eventually finds Rocket and brings her back home to find that she is pregnant. Rocket’s first three puppies come out fine until the fourth one gets stuck coming out and Stanley only just manages to save it and names it Soilder. Soon Pa finds out about the pups and is so angry that while Stanley is sleeping he drowns them. Once Stanley finds out that Pa has drowned the puppies he is so angry that he runs away from home to join the army. Once Stanley has joined the army he trains to become a messenger dog trainer. Stanley gets a dog called Bones and they become very close friends until Bones is killed by a shell while he is carrying an important message back to Stanley. Stanley is so upset about Bones’s death that he tries to quit from the war but the captain manages to convince him to stay and to train a new messenger dog called pistol. Pistol is hit twice in the legs by a winchester sniper rifle while carrying a message back to Stanley and is stranded in a ditch unable to walk. Stanley sees Pistol unable to move and tries to rescue him and is hit in the arm by a rifle. Stanley and Pistol are unable to move in the ditch praying that someone will come and save them until suddenly there is a mustard gas attack and they are knocked unconscious. Stanley’s eyes are affected by the gas and he is sent to hospital unable to see. He soon gets a letter from Pa saying that he has joined the war and explains that he didn’t actually drown Rocket’s puppies them but instead gave them to the messenger dog instructors ready to go to war Pa also sends soldiers tag number so that Stanley might be able to find him. Stanley soon realises that Soldiers dog tag number is the same as Pistols dog tag number and realises that Pistol is actually Soilder. Pa comes to find Stanley and finds him with Soldier and they all go home to give Rocket back her pup Soldier. I really enjoyed reading Soldier dog and it shows how brutal the great war really was. I would recommend this book for people ten and up and for people who enjoy Michael Morpurgo. By Joe room 18 The Snow GoosebyPaul GallicoIllustrated by Angela Barrett This story is about a man called Philip Rhayader and a young girl named Frith it was Published in 1940. In this story philip Rhayader is described as a lonely man whose body was warped, but his heart was filled with love for wild and hunted things and that he was ugly to look upon, but he created great beauty. When Frith first came to Philip Rhayader she was described as no more than 12 years old,  slender, dirty, nervous, and timid.The first part of the story is about Philip Rhayader. Explaining  his home in the lighthouse, the scenery around the lighthouse, his job being an artist, all the birds he lives with, the background about how he came to the lighthouse, all his adventures on his boat and managing with a crooked hand. Then one day Frith came with a bird in her hand. Philip Rhayader saw her coming and came up to her. She was frightened of him but was so brave.She told him she found it and that it was hurt. Philip Rhayader took the bird and told Frith to come in he told her that the bird is Snow Goose and that he’ll keep the bird until better and when the Snow Goose is he’ll let it fly free. Philip Rhayader did so and every october the bird would return to be fed and every time a will be little bigger. When Frith was a child Philip Rhayader would so happy because he had visitors but then Frith grew older and no longer saw Philip Rhayader. My favourite character is Frith because she is warm hearted, kind and a brave person, especially for her age, to become friends with Philip Rhayader. I love to have pictures in a bookand I really enjoyed the illustrations because they were very detailed and they helped explain the story a lot clearer. I would definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy books that leave a tear in your eye and I guarantee that if you read the Snow Goose you will experience a variation of different emotions. I am so happy that I entered the date a book competition and I really enjoyed reading the snow Goose. By Olivia room 18 Dappled Annie and the Tigrish. This beautiful story is written by Mary McCallum this book also has stunning illustrations by Annie Hayward.This book isn't my favourite thing but I think it would be a favourite for some people.This book is about Annie a 9 year old girl who every day she goes down to the end of the garden where she plays with her friends the hedges. One day one of the hedges goes missing and the only one who can help her is the tigrish and Robbie. Robbie is a her naughty brother that loves bug's. This is a New Zealand story.  My favourite part was when Annie dropped the shines (Fantail eggs) and she thought it was over but when she came down Mrs hedge said " I'll always be ready" That part nearly made me cry”.this story is very touching. Remember that  the leaf is just the beginning of something beautiful. By Kate room 18 Firegirl.By Tony AbbottFiregirl is a nice but sad story of how a boy called Tom makes friends with a new girl. But she is different. She has blotchy white and red skin and hardly looks human. Despite all that Tom makes friends and discovers the truth about jessica. Sadly though just as their friendship grows strong something happens . . . I recommend this book for children ten and up and would warn there is a high detail and  a little bit gruesome description of jessica which made me feel sick. I rate this book a three out of five and warn that there is a sad ending Ben room 18  Blueback written by Tim Winton Blueback is a book about a boy named Abel and a fish called Blueback. Abel  and his mother are great snorkeling and love it to bits. One day when there were snorkeling they meet a huge fish. The size of a horse. Abel called it Blueback and that how the storey starts. The book carries on with Abel getting job and marrying someone. One day someone comes along and wants to take the land. Will they get it?, What will happen? Read it and find out. Great words in the story: when his mum was swimming it said; She was gliding like a bird.The mice were in mobs. My Rating: I love this and it is now my favourite. I think it is good for the age 10-14 because if you were younger then you wouldn’t understand what this look like. I would give it 5 out of 5.   By Nick room 18 The Wishbird written by Gabrielle Wang Is he going to die... said Oriole sorrowly Oriole has lived in the forest of birds for 12 years now, nothing has ever stopped her or put her down, but now it’s a different story. Her beloved Wish Bird is dying and she can do nothing to stop it , unless… she goes into the real life of humans and experiences what it’s like to be living like a dull person under the king’s commands. Boy is a thief,he doesn’t mean to steal but is forced to, because his master, panther needs precious stuff to sell at the market and get money for. Boy is quite fond with his cook rabbit, as he cooks delicious meals from the money panther brings home. But there is only one thing in his mind… to find his mum and dad as they have been gone for all his life and Boy only remembers the time they were forced to get sent away… I really liked the part when Oriole meets Boy and they unite together and build a  strong relationship   I recommend this  book for ages 9 and up because some parts are violent, but apart from that it's really good. by Ania room 18     v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} Normal 0 false false false false EN-AU JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-AU; mso-fareast-language:JA;}

    • Student Book Review
      • In connection with our school wide reading challenge we also had a "Blind Date a Book" activity, where year 5 and 6 could get a wrapped book, promise to read it and write a review of it. Lots of you were brave enough to try it - reading a book you haven't chosen yourself can be a bit hard but we hope that doing this might inspire you to sometimes try reading something different from what you would normally choose - it might just surprise you! Anyway this is a review from Isabelle in room 18 of the book that she got. Well Done! Hopefully this review will inspire someone else to give this book a go! When Hitler Stole Pink RabbitBy Judith Kerr The book is about a 9 year old girl called Anna. It is set just before the election where Hitler is a candidate to lead the country. Her father is a famous writer and the Nazis don’t like him because he’s Jewish and  anti-nazi. They move to Switzerland to escape. Soon after that they move to France. Anna and her brother Max have to learn French. Just as they were getting the hang of the language they have to move again, to London. The story ends just as they get the taxi from the train station, upon arrival in London. I really liked this book  because it was really well written, because it was based on Judith Kerr’s actual experiences. Descriptive language“When Anna woke up in the morning it was bright daylight. Through a gap in the yellow curtains she could see a patch of windy sky above the rooftops. There was a smell of cooking and a clicking sound which she could not at first identify, until she realized it was Papa typing in the room next door” A funny quote“Of course it’s necessary” said Mama. “What are the children going to eat?”“Cheese and a glass of wine” said Papa, and the children burst into laughter while Mama cried, “Oh, you are hopelessly impractical!” Something sad that happened in the book “They found you’re grandmother’s dog,” she said. He’s drowned” By Isabelle

    • New Picture Book
      • Exciting! There is a new picture book from Aaron Blabey called Thelma the Unicorn. This time the book is about a pony called Thelma, she lives in a field with her best friend Otis. Thelma dreams of becoming a unicorn much like some of you might dream of becoming a pop star or movie star! One day she sees a carrot on the ground and she decides to use it as a horn to look like a unicorn - at the same time a truck swerves on the road outside the fence and splashes her with pink paint and glitter. And there emerges this beautiful pink unicorn - Thelma is instantly famous! You will have to read the book to find out what happens next and whether being famous is as great as Thelma expects it to be. A very funny and brilliant picture book. I found a video on YouTube, where Aaron Blabey reads the whole story for you - hope you enjoy the story!

    • Little Free Library
      • I came across this very small library in Canada during our recent family holiday. I found it in a very small community in British Columbia. Really just a few houses around a lake - a very beautiful setting for a library and a good way to share books with each other. It says on the sign: Take a Book!  Leave a Book! Apparently if you search for Little Free Library there are lots of these around the world and I even found mention of a couple in New Zealand.

    • New Books
      • The Map to Everywhere written by Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davies is a brilliant story. It is fantasy writing of the best kind and really hard to put down because you have to know how it ends. It has magic, good and evil wizards and even pirates - what more could you ask for?! Marrill, who is a school girl living in our normal world and her cat Karnelius accidentally get on board a very big ship appearing in a parking lot. Ardent the wizard on the ship is chasing a bit of paper that is part of a map that can take you anywhere you want - he is not the only person wanting the Map to everywhere there is an evil wizard chasing it too. The ship is sailing on the Pirate Stream, which if you know where to go can lead to many weird and wonderful places. One of them is Khaznot Quay, where they meet Fin an orphan boy, whom nobody is able to remember for more than a couple of minutes that makes him a brilliant thief but he doesn't have any friends. The strange thing is that Marrill remembers him and they become friends when Fin also ends up on the ship. Marrill needs the Map to everywhere to find her way home to her family and Fin needs it to find his mother, who left him at the orphanage when he was 4. Another great read is the picture book Red; A Crayon's Story written and illustrated by Michael Hall. Red is a crayon who has an identity crisis. Every time he tries to colour in something like strawberries or hearts it always end up being blue rather than red. Other people like his parents or teacher think he needs to practice more and mix with other colours but nothing seems to help everything is still blue not red. You'll have to read the book to find out how it ends if you haven't already guessed it. There is also a book trailer.

    • The Book With No Pictures
      • End of last year some of you were lucky enough to have Anne read this book to you - that was her own book but now we also have it in the library. Do try and get your teacher to read it to you I promise it will be fun!!! The book is called The Book With No Pictures and is written by B. J. Novak. The person reading it aloud will have to say all these funny words like Boo Boo Butt, Blaggity and Gluurrga-wocko. Not to mention sentences like "I am a monkey" or "I eat ants for breakfast". In case you can't talk your teacher, Mum, Dad or the librarian into reading it aloud then here is a video of the author reading parts of the book.

    • New Chapter Book
      • The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing written by Sheila Turnage. Some of you might have read the first book about Mo and Dale and their Desperado Detective Agency. It is called Three Times Lucky and won a Newberry Honor award. In this book Miss Lacy buys an inn and it comes with a ghost. It is also Tupelo Landing's 250th Anniversary and their class gets asked to do a history project interviewing the older people in the community. Mo a bit hastily decides that her and Dale will interview the ghost in the inn! How do you interview a ghost?If you like detective and spooky stories and are a year 5 or 6 then you will like this book. First a book trailer for the book and second an interview with author Sheila Turnage about the book. Enjoy!  

    • Library Monitors 2015
      • Meet some of our library monitors for this year. All in all we have 24 year 5 and 6, who do a great job returning and issuing books at lunchtimes and they also do some shelving and tidying. During the year they can work on gaining either their Bronze, Silver or Gold certificates. We really appreciate their wonderful work and enjoy working with them. They are great kids. Here are their names: Room 15: Ruby, JJ, Stirling, Fletcher, NinaRoom 16: Caelyn, JanRoom 17: Adam, Milly, AleciaRoom 18: Isabelle, Henry, RyanRoom 19: Emira, Audree, Hunter, Isabel, Frances, SafiRoom 21: Emily, Walt, Zola, Sam, LailaHere are a couple of photos of some of them:

    • Great Chapter Books
      • Here are some of our new chapter books. Remember that you can also click on the library catalogue on the side of this post and click New Books to see all the new books not just those I mention here. Kelsey and the Quest of the Porcelain Doll by Rosanne Hawke is a story about Kelsey, whose parents take her with them to Pakistan to help build new houses for the victims of a flood. Kelsey didn't really want to go and skypes every day with her Nanna Rose, who was left behind at home. Nanna Rose tells her the story of a porcelain doll named Amy Jo, who also ends up in Pakistan on her way to her new owner and experiences all sorts of hardship on her way there. Both stories run parallel to each other and meet together in the end - I won't tell you how but it is very well done - you will enjoy this story. Kelsey makes new friends in Pakistan - her best friend is a girl named Shakila, whose family were made homeless in the flood. She helps her look after her little brother and the family's goats, and she even helps Shakila's teacher teach Shakila's class English. Great for year 3 - 5. Frankie Fox Girl Spy: Ready, Set, Spy by Yvette Poshoglian, whom you might know from her Ella and Olivia books. This book is for slightly older children and is an exciting story and hard to put down before you have finished it. Frankie's Dad is a famous scientist and when Frankie and her friend JJ try to find him they discover that he has been kidnapped by the evil group Alliance and that they are needed to help find him. Even Frankie's dog is some sort of spy dog. Frankie will need all of her spy skills to solve her Dad's disappearance and hopefully get him back. You will have to read the book to find out if they manage to rescue him. Great for year 3 - 5. The last book is Nightmares by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller. Charlie has moved to his stepmother's house with his little brother and his Dad. His mother died a few years back and he still misses her a lot and he doesn't like his stepmother - he is sure she is a witch like the one he keeps dreaming about every night. The witch in his dreams seems almost real and when she threatens to visit the house for real to kidnap his little brother - it is time for him to really face his fears. He finds a secret entrance to the world of nightmares and with the help of his friends from school he has to find the witch before it is too late. Very exciting and spooky story and it is also about how to handle grief and cope with loss. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it for year 5-6. There is also a book trailer for it - watch it if you dare!!

    • New Picture Books
      • I hope you like funny books since the following 4 picture books are all funny stories. All of them were donated by Mrs Hancox when she left Ngaio School last year. The first one is Sir Scallywag and the Deadly Dragon Poo written by Giles Andreae and illustrated by Korky Paul. I don't know if you remember, but there is another book about Sir Scallywag called Sir Scallywag and the Golden Underpants. He is a very brave six year old knight, who is the only one of all the kings knights, who is courageous and clever enough to fight off the attacker and save the kingdom. It is the same in this book. King Colin loved sweets and lollies, he loved them so much that all he did all day was eating sweets - he even bought a giant sweet machine so he could eat even more sweets. Baron Greedyguts heard about this machine and he wanted it for himself! He fed his pet dragons rotten cabbage so their poo would be extra stinky and then he bombed King Colin's castle with dragon poo! King Colin didn't know what to do so he called on his bravest knight Sir Scallywag, who quickly came up with a plan. I won't tell you what happens next but maybe a sweet making machine can be used for other purposes! A wonderful funny story written in rhyme. The Prince and the Potty written and illustrated by Nicholas Allan is about the Prince being all grown up and now needing a potty. Quite a difficult procedure when you are a Royal! First the little Prince needs to have his bottom measured to make sure the potty will fit and then his parents need to choose the right royal potty, which is not easy - since a normal plastic potty like the one you might have used will not do, when you are a Prince. Disaster strikes when the Prince visits a nursery and suddenly needs to go. They didn't bring the Royal Potty and using an ordinary nursery potty is out of the question. Luckily the Prince takes matters into his own hands. I enjoyed this story and it made me laugh, hopefully you will like it too. You all know David Walliams and his amazing chapter books but he has also written a couple of picture books. This one is called The First Hippo on the Moon and it is illustrated by Tony Ross. Two hippos both dreamt of being the first hippo on the moon. Hercules Waldorf-Franklin III was very rich and could afford to have a proper space rocket built to take him to the moon. Sheila on the other hand lived in the jungle with lots of other animals and she didn't have a lot of money. She did however have lots of friends and when she asked them to help build a space rocket they all helped. It looked nothing like a real rocket and when they were about to light the ignition the rainy season began and it rained for 5 months and then finally they could get a spark for the ignition and got ready for take-off! You will have to read the book to find out, if Sheila ever got to the moon and what happened to the other Hippo. Quite a surprising ending. The last one is You can do it, Bert! and is written and illustrated by Ole Konnecke. It was translated from German and published by Gecko Press. It is a great little book with an unexpected storyline, I really liked it. Bert is a small orange bird standing on a tiny branch that has a small nest at one end. It is Bert's big day, we see him walking to the end of the branch looking down, flapping his wings. He walks back and forth first he does an extra check that everything is all right and then he decides to get a bite to eat - anything to keep him from doing, what he is supposed to do. I won't tell you anymore but do read it. It is amazing how Ole Konnecke can tell such a fun story with so few words and very simple illustrations. There is also a book trailer for this book.

    • New Books to Read
      • I hope you have all had time in the holidays to read some great books. I know I did and I also managed to read a few of the new books that you will be able to read when the library opens again in the new school year. You might remember that when Mrs Hancox sadly left the school at the end of last year she donated a whole lot of funny books to the library - the first two are from those books. David Walliams' new book Awful Auntie is as usual illustrated by Tony Ross and it is a great read. I really enjoyed it as I am sure you will too. Do you have an awful auntie? Hopefully not but even if you do there is no way she could be as awful as Stella's Aunt Alberta in this book. Stella lived with her parents in a big house called Saxby Hall - they would have been rich if it hadn't been for Aunt Alberta, who gambled everything away playing Tiddly Winks! Now Alberta wants Saxby Hall as well and when Stella's parents sadly dies in a car crash she tries to make Stella tell her, where the deeds for Saxby Hall is hidden so she can force Stella to sign the house over to her. Stella tries to escape but Aunt Alberta's pet the Great Bavarian Mountain Owl called Wagner watches over her. Luckily Stella meets a friendly ghost called Soot - he used to be a chimney sweep - they become friends and together they try to prevent Aunt Alberta from ever getting hold of Saxby Hall. Lots of funny things happening but at the same time an exciting story. Aimed at year 4-6. The next funny book is called The Royal Babysitters and is written by Clementine Beauvais and illustrated by Becka Moor. Holly and Anna are two sisters in Britland badly in need of a holiday. When they spot a flier promising a spectacular holiday, where they among other exciting activities will learn to play polo on a baby-elephant-back, fly a spaceship to Mars and have Martian cocktails etc. they really want to go. The only problem is the cost they don't have any money so they decide to get a job. The only job available is to be prince-sitter for a day - no one else wanted that job! They turn up at the castle - the king and queen leave for their one day holiday and the girls are left alone with not one baby but six - apparently called sextuplets just in case you were wondering. And of course Prince Pepino, who is 9 years old and doesn't need a prince-sitter! While taking the babies for a walk Britland is invaded by King Alaspooryorich of Daneland and suddenly the girls also has to find a way to defend the country. Lots of funny situations and the illustrations work really well with the story. Great for year 2-4. Now for something a bit more serious - Michael Morpurgo's latest book called Listen to the Moon - an amazing story but you will need some tissues along the way. And yes it is another World War I book just when you thought there couldn't possibly be any more! The story is based on a true event - the sinking of a passenger ship crossing from New York to Liverpool (England). The ship was hit by a torpedo from a German submarine in May 1915 and a lot of people died. That event is in the background of the story in the book. It takes place in the Scillies a group of islands off the English coast. Alfie and his dad are fishing in the waters around an uninhabited island, when they hear some cries for help coming from the island. They find a girl barely alive and take her home. She recovers but is unable to talk and no one knows, who she is and where she came from. The only thing she has with her is a blanket with a German word on it. Alfie wonders if she could be German but then why does she appear to understand everything they say to her. It is a great mystery. Do read this book you will love it. The book is for year 5-6. And finally the long awaited book six in the Amulet series called Escape from Lucien written and illustrated by Kazu Kibuishi. It is a graphic novel and if you have never read a graphic novel before try this series - the illustrations are amazing and the story is good too. It is fantasy and has lots of magic, elves (not quite as you know them), fighting, robots, heroes (most of them kids) and in this one even a story-telling tree. What more could you ask for? I won't say too much about the story you can read it yourself - enjoy. Here is a short Youtube video with Kazu Kibuishi talking about it.

    • Merry Christmas
      • First of all if you should get bored over the Christmas month have a look at this link - Fun Christmas Websites - see if you can find the disco dancing Santa or open one of the online advent calendars or maybe you are looking for a good Christmas recipe or wanting to make some Christmas crafts. There are of course also some fun online Christmas games to play. Hope you enjoy it! There are also 4 new Christmas picture books that you can come and read in the library and maybe I will read one of them aloud, when you come down for your class visit in December. The first one is Little Dog and the Christmas Wish written by Corinne Fenton and illustrated by Robin Cowcher. I love the illustrations in ink and watercolour both them and the story are set some years ago - almost like someone's granddad telling a story from when he was a kid. Jonathan is the boy in the story and he has a dog called Little Dog. They do everything together except on Christmas Eve, when Jonathan has to go shopping with his mum and Little Dog is left home alone. There is some thunder and lightning and he gets scared and escapes under the gate and wanders off looking for Jonathan. He gets lost and can't find his way - it is a great little story but you will have to read it yourself to find out if Little Dog ever finds his way home. The next one is The Night Before Christmas illustrated by Zdenko Basic and Manuel Sumberac. The text is the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas written in 1822 by Clement C Moore. You can read more about him and read the poem if you click on this link. The book is beautifully illustrated and is sure to put you in the right Christmas mood - just read this description of Santa - "A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack,His eyes how they twinkled! His dimples how merry!His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!"It is one of those books that can be enjoyed by everyone regardless of their age, I hope you will come down to the library and have a look through this book. You all know the Christmas carol The Twelve Days of Christmas that is also the title of the 3rd book and it is illustrated by Karen Erasmus. The illustrations are a great accompaniment to the carol and there are lots of illustrations of children .You can sing the song, while you look at the pictures but if you should have forgotten how the tune goes you can either read the music score at the back of the book or listen to this video: The last book is called What does Santa do When it is not Christmas? written and illustrated by Heath McKenzie. It is a fun story describing what happens at the North Pole when it is not Christmas - Mrs Santa has a very long list of Christmas cards to write except she sits and drinks a cup of tea, while the elves do all the work! The Snowmen want to see the world and visit Paris in summer and forget they are made out of snow! But what does Santa do? You will have to read the book to find out. Lastly I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Also have a great holiday - remember to read lots of books.

    • New Picture Books
      • The author and illustrator Graeme Base has written and illustrated a new picture book called The Last King of Angkor Wat. It is a beautiful story set in Cambodia and is a bit like an animal fable. A tiger, a gibbon, a water buffalo and a gecko meet in the jungle surrounding the ruins of Angkor Wat and argue amongst themselves about who would have been the best king of this amazing place before it all turned to ruin. An elephant suddenly appears among them and says that if they want to know if they are worthy of becoming a king each of them have to go to the temple at the top of the hill. They encounter difficulties on the way there that will show if they have the right character traits and abilities to make a great king. Amazing story with a bit of a moral to it - I really enjoyed it. There is a little video of Graeme Base drawing an elephant - enjoy! The second book is called A Bean, a Stalk and a Boy Named Jack written by William Joyce and illustrated by Kenny Callicutt. The story is based on the fairy tale - Jack and the Bean Stalk but quite different and very funny too. The story takes place in a kingdom with a problem - there is no rain and everything is running dry. The people are thirsty and the king's pinky - his little toe - is stinky, he therefore asks his people to cry tears for him so he can have enough water to wash his pinky. The princess is so embarrassed that she goes to the Magician and asks him to please do something about it. A smallish boy named Jack suddenly holds a magical bean in his hand. The bean even tells him what to do with it ... I won't tell you anymore you will have to read the rest of the story. Hopefully the king gets a solution to his very important and stinky problem! The last book I chose to put on the blog is my favourite - it is just brilliant. It is called Sam and Dave Dig a Hole written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen. If you are one of those kids, who likes digging holes for no particular purpose other than the enjoyment of digging then this book will be especially for you. Sam and Dave start digging a hole and they decide not to stop digging until they find something spectacular. After a while they decide to have a break to drink chocolate milk and eat some animal biscuits and after their break they keep digging. I can't really tell you anymore without revealing too much but do read it. It is funny, surprising and a great example of how text and illustrations can work perfectly together. All ages will enjoy this picture book. There is also a booktrailer and a video of Jon Klassen filling a book shop window with dirt. I like the second one the best - what do you think?

    • Book Review by Year 3 Book Club
      • The year 3 book club are - from room 5: Amy, Jack, Cate and Tristan, room 20 Sophie and Amy and from room 8: Charlotte and Matthew. We meet every Wednesday and we read the book together and have all contributed to this book review. Cloud Tea Monkeys are written by Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham. It is illustrated by Juan Wijngaard. This book is about a girl called Tashi. Her mother picks tea every day at the tea-plantation but then she gets sick and can't work. Tashi tries to pick tea but the overseer kicks her basket. She goes to the monkeys sobbing and tells them her problems. The monkeys take the basket to the top of the mountains and collect the finest tea. The Royal Tea-Taster comes and looks at each of the women's baskets. Carefully he looks at Tashi's basket and says it is the best tea. He then gives her a bag of gold. Some of us liked the book because it had monkeys in it and we really like monkeys. We also liked the descriptive language. Others especially liked the illustrations - they were good, interesting, fantastic and cool. We thought year 2 and 3 would like the story and some of our brothers might like it when the mother gets sick because they often like stories where bad things happen! Also one of us didn't really like the story and thought it was too much about tea and we are not old enough yet to drink tea. Our favourite illustrations: When the tea-taster had a blanket over his head because he looked like a white lump and the illustrations with monkeys in it because we really like monkeys. Especially the one where the monkeys drag the basket up into the mountains is really cool. We also liked the picture with the tea-taster's different faces - very funny. Everyone had a favourite illustration there were weird and pretty ones. Our favourite funny part: That the tea-taster had a big belly maybe because he drank too much tea. We liked the word bulge for a big belly. "The Royal Tea-Taster took a step back so that he could see Tashi over the gleaming bulge of his belly."

    • Book Review by the Year 4 Book Club
      • The year 4 book club are - from room 12: Kate and Emily, from room 13: Laila and Molly and from room 14: Sam and Chloe. We meet once a week in the library. We have each contributed to the following review of a book that we read together. Mysterious Traveller written by Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham. It is illustrated by P.J. Lynch. This book is about a guide called Issa, who guides people across the desert. One day in the desert after a sand storm he finds a camel guarding a baby girl with black pearl eyes and he decides to take care of her. He calls her Mariama. In his later years he becomes blind and has to use Mariama as his eyes. Some men come to their house in need of a guide to help them cross the desert but when they discover that Issa is blind they set off on their own. Issa and Mariama set off to find them and end up rescuing them from a sand storm. Something very important happens then. This book was very interesting and we liked the start and how you just wanted to keep reading. The story is mysterious and exciting. Unexpected things keep happening on every page. It is also so detailed and most of the time you think you know exactly what is going to happen but then it doesn't turn out the way you thought it would - an absolute page turner, magnificent. We also really liked the illustrations, they were very good and P. J. Lynch has done a fantastic job by drawing pictures almost as detailed as the story. We liked how he made the pictures so desert-like. Descriptive Language: "In the late sun the clouds looked like purple paper glued to the sky" "The sky looked like an old bruise" A Favourite Illustration: The half necklace Something funny or sad happening: We all found it very sad when Issa became blind. Anyone of any age, who likes mysterious adventure stories would love this book. Please read it. Here are a couple of photos of us with the book.  First the serious one and then the crazy one!!!

    • New Chapter Books
      • I know I keep saying there won't be any more First World War books and here I am writing about another one!!! I had to buy this one for the library - it even has a recommendation from Michael Morpurgo at the front saying: "One of the very best novels I have read". It is called Loyal Creatures and is written by the Australian author Morris Gleitzman. A 16 year old boy Frank goes off to war with his Dad and his horse Daisy. They join the Australian Light Horse Regiment and gets shipped off to Egypt for the training camp. The army finds out that Frank knows how to find water in the desert and he has to stay in Egypt with Daisy, while his Dad gets shipped to Gallipoli to fight. His Dad never comes back. Luckily Frank has Daisy to help him get through the loss of his father. Frank does his share of fighting in the desert with Daisy but he also fulfills an important role of ensuring there is water enough for the soldiers and the horses. Amazing story but very sad at the end because of what happened to the horses at the end of the war. Do remember to have some tissues close by!! Great book for year 5 and 6. The next one is something completely different and a lot less serious. A new The Bloodhound Boys graphic novel called The Monster Truck Tremor Dilemma illustrated and written by Andrew Cranna. The boys Rocky Werewolf and Vince Vampire helped by Snake enter into the Monster Truck Race. Monster World is experiencing some big earth quakes and no one knows why but they seem to be getting worse and worse. Rocky and Vince have finished their car and join the race - there are some interesting competitors like Zombie Slugs driving in Spitball and the Headless Hoons driving in Cranium etc. The start goes and all the cars take off except Rocky and Vince because Vince suddenly remembered that he actually doesn't know how to drive! Rocky takes over and they are on their way. They meet lots of crashed cars on the way in fact there's only them and one other car left - Dwayne the Brain and his Minion Monkeys. Both of them crash and suddenly the story is about a lot more than a car race - it is about saving Earth and a lot about friendship. I quite liked it - it has lots of monsters with sharp teeth, lots of danger but there is also a bit of a message at the end, which gives the story meaning and purpose. Read it and see what you think I always welcome comments. Last one is a new Cathy Cassidy book called Sweet Honey it is part of the Chocolate Box Girls series - the sisters and stepsister living at Tanglewood in England. Their mum and dad are divorced and mum remarried. Dad lives in Australia - Honey is angry with everyone especially her mother - the only person she thinks is perfect is her Dad. She messes up one too many times and it is decided she should move to Australia to live with her Dad. She is very excited about this and at first everything is wonderful she gets new friends, she even works hard at school and she albeit reluctantly accepts her Dad's new girlfriend Emma. Unfortunately things slowly start to unravel - her Dad isn't so wonderful after all, she experiences cyber-bullying, which turns her friends against her. She tries to talk to her Dad about it but he doesn't listen, the bullying gets worse someone hacks into her Spiderweb account (something like Facebook) and posts photos and comments that insult her friends and even worse her sisters back home in England. It is hard and almost impossible to convince people that she didn't post those horrible things, when it so much looks like she did it. I won't tell you the rest but quite a serious story that hopefully will also be a bit of a warning about being safe online. It is also about family and strong friendships. Mostly for girls in year 5 and 6. There is also a short video of Cathy Cassidy talking about the book.

    • New Picture Books
      • Yeah! There is a new Pigeon book out - sure to get you laughing. This one is called The Pigeon Needs a Bath and is as always written and illustrated by Mo Willems. The Pigeon is splashing around in mud and gets very dirty but has lots of good arguments for why he definitely does not need a bath. It is a waste of time, he just had a bath - last month and his bad smell is normal for pigeons. Even the flies buzzing around him tell him to get a bath! Read the book and find out if he ever takes a bath! This is a book you can all enjoy no matter what age and teachers will enjoy reading it out loud. I did laugh when I read it - Pigeon books are fun! There is also a movie showing Mo Willems draw the pigeon - enjoy! The next book is The Scarecrows' Wedding written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Betty O'Barley and Harry O'Hay are two scarecrows standing together in a field and they love each other and decide to get married. They make up a list of things they need like a dress and rings. They then walk around the farm and the animals help them get ready. There is only one last thing to get and Harry offers to get it by himself. Unfortunately he has chosen to get a snail to show him the way and he is gone so long that the farmer puts up another scarecrow in the field instead of Harry - the new one is called Reginald Rake. Reginald is quite taken with Betty and tries to get her to marry him instead... Great story - read it to find out, who gets married to who in the end? I really enjoyed this book it is a good story to read aloud either in class or at home or even better to read to yourself! Anthony Browne has written and illustrated a new book called What If...? Joe is a boy, who is on his way to his very first big birthday party. His mum is taking him and he is a bit nervous especially when it turns out they have forgotten the address. They know which street but not the house number. They then walk along the street trying to figure out, which house is the right one by looking through the windows. And Joe keeps worrying - what if there are new people there, what if he doesn't like the food, what if the games are scary etc. Read the book and find out if he ever gets to the party and if he enjoys it. A good story about a situation we have probably all been in - doing something unfamiliar and being a bit nervous about it. There are also two book trailers - one where Anthony Browne reads the beginning of the book and one where he talks about the book: Bluebird is the last book I have chosen to include in this post. It is illustrated by Bob Staake. It is a picture book with no words and it is quite a sad story. Bluebird is following this boy around all the way to school and back again. The boy looks unhappy and doesn't seem to play with anyone. Bluebird and the boy become friends and they play together and he seems happier and is even playing with some other kids at a small lake. But then we learn that there is a group of kids, who are bullying him and something sad happens at the end. Very unusual story and I will be very interested to hear what you think of it so do write some comments about it or come and talk to me, when you have read it.

    • New Books
      • I am thinking that lots of you will want to read this next book and I promise to get the rest of the series, when I order books next time. The series is called Star Wars Jedi Academy and this book is called Return of the Padawan. It is the second book in the series by Jeffrey Brown. Roan is a boy attending Jedi Academy and he writes about his experiences at school and he draws comics about it so as you can probably guess the book is a bit of a mixture of comics and regular writing. Great story though and funny too - you probably have to like Star Wars to enjoy it and get the jokes! This year Roan is finally going to do pilot training - he expects it to be really easy but ends up ruining the flight simulator!! There are school dances, yucky food at the canteen, they build a cool robot, learn how to fight with lightsabers etc. Roan and his best friend Pasha have a falling out over a misunderstanding and Roan starts hanging out with the mean kids in class (the dark side) but you will have to read the book to find out if Roan and Pasha become friends again and if Roan will ever pass his pilot training. There is also a book trailer. This next book is called My Heart is Laughing and is written by Rose Lagercrantz and illustrated by Eva Eriksson. It continues on from A Happy Life and it might be best to read that one first. This book is great for year 1 and 2 and I also recommend it as a read aloud book in year 1 and perhaps beginning of year 2. Dani is missing her best friend Ella, who moved away. Dani won't allow anyone else to sit next to her at her table at school because Ella might come back again - the teacher keeps telling her that Ella won't ever come back. One day Dani is sitting by herself with her lunch and the teacher comes over and makes her move over to the other kids. She has to sit in between two other girls - they are a bit mean to her and Dani splashes tomato sauce on one of them but when she tries to do it to the other girl she accidentally hits the teacher instead!!! Read the book to see what kind of trouble Dani is in and whether the teacher will forgive her! Very enjoyable and easy to read story. The author of the next book is called R. A. Spratt - ring a bell? It is the author of the Nanny Piggins series. This new series is quite different - the first book is called Friday Barnes Girl Detective. Friday's parents are scientists and they don't really notice Friday so she mostly looked after herself growing up. She does have her favourite Uncle Bernie, who babysits her every Thursday. She is very clever and finds school mostly boring. She has been told to go to High School but she doesn't really want to go. She passed the university entrance exam but when they found out she was only 11 they wouldn't take her!!! Uncle Bernie is working on this case about a missing diamond - there is a reward to the person, who can figure out, where the diamond is and who stole it. Friday solves the case and gets the reward - she uses the money to get into this very expensive and exclusive boarding school for mostly very rich kids. Once there she uses her abilities as a detective to help other kids find lost homework, solve a break-in at the principal's office etc. Lots of funny situations - a great story for year 3-5. Last book is a new series called The Impossible Quest and the first book is called Escape from Wolfhaven Castle. It is written by Kate Forsyth. There will be 5 books in the series - there is also a website, where you can read about the books, the characters, do a quiz etc. Click here. The main characters are 4 children and they are the only 4 to escape the attack on Wolfhaven Castle. They are - Tom, who works in the kitchen - his mum is the cook. He has a big wolfhound called Fergus. Lady Elanor, who is the daughter of the Lord of the castle. Quinn a girl, who is in training with Arwen learning to become a witch and lastly Sebastian, who is a squire and training to become a knight. Somehow they must learn to work together and find these 4 magical beasts that legend has it will save the castle and its inhabitants. There are lots of action, excitement and some scary bits. Both boys and girls will like this story - just make sure you have lots of time to read because you won't want to stop reading once you start.There is also a book trailer:

    • Room 2's Book Review
      • Book Review of  Bright Stanley and the Cave Monster by Matt Buckingham. When we read this book it tricked us. We thought it was going to be scary but it had a lovely ending. The fish were funny and they were sparkly which we liked. The shadows were a bit spooky and we got a teeny bit scared. There were awesome pictures and we learnt what sea animals do when they're scared.  The cover looks a bit boring but still read it because it is worth reading. We recommend it for children who are 5-8. Not under 5 because it's a bit scary. Written by Room 2.

    • Some Great New Picture Books
      • Imagine a City by Australian author and illustrator Elise Hurst is an amazingly beautiful picture book. The imaginative city has all sorts of things happening in it - flying fish buses, where the chauffeur is a bear. People holding on to their umbrellas, while flying around in the wind. Branches growing out of paintings, a flying carpet, a cat wearing clothes and playing chess in the park and lots of other surprising details. It is a world without edges and in the end we get to understand what that means - it is quite a surprising ending. It doesn't have many words but those that are there are poetic and compliment the illustrations well. The illustrations themselves tell lots of smaller stories along the way and really get your imagination going. Do have a look at it even if you might have grown out of picture books - you will be impressed. And if you like drawing then definitely have a look at this book.It also has a book trailer.   Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas written by American author Lynne Cox and illustrated by the award winning American illustrator Brian Floca. Surprisingly this is a New Zealand story - apparently the author visited Christchurch and heard about Elizabeth a sea elephant, who lived there from the late 70s and until 1985, when she died. It is a great story about Elizabeth swimming in the Avon river and sunning herself on the banks. Problems arise, when the sea elephant decides to lie on the road and nearly causes an accident. The authorities - scared she might cause a serious accident take her away to a place with lots of other sea elephants. Elizabeth has her own plans and she returns to her favourite Avon river.  A very charming story about a sea elephant, who knew, where she belonged. If you want to read more about the real Elizabeth click here   I Can't Imagine How That Happened is written by NZ author Aimee McNaughton and illustrated by Dominique Ford - she is also a kiwi. This book also won the Joy Cowley Award 2013. The story is about Meg going on a camping trip with her Grandpa. Grandpa is a bit naughty first the tent hammer disappears, then Meg mysteriously catches a tin of tuna while fishing and her sausages disappear from her plate at dinner. Every time Grandpa just says I can't imagine how that happened! Later it is Meg's turn to play a prank at Grandpa - read the story and see what she comes up with. Great story. The Wellington based publisher Gecko Press is behind the next book Mrs. Mo's Monster by author and illustrator Paul Beavis. Paul Beavis was born in England and now lives here in Wellington this is his first picture book. Mrs. Mo hears a knock on the door and when she opens it a monster rushes in looking for something to CRUNCH, MUNCH and CHEW. Mrs Mo finds him rather rude because he doesn't even say hello. First he gets busy crunching a paint brush and Mrs Mo wonders how they are going to paint things now? Then he munches on a ball of string and Mrs. Mo says how will we tie things now? The monster only knows how to CRUNCH, MUNCH and CHEW but Mrs. Mo is determined to get him to try something different - read the story and see if she is successful. Story and illustrations compliment each other and there is a great ending, which hopefully will make you smile. It also has a book trailer.

    • New Chapter Books
      • The first one is Conrad Cooper's Last Stand written by the New Zealand author Leonie Agnew. It is a historical novel set in New Zealand in 1978. The story takes place in Auckland during the Bastion Point occupation, where Maori protested - wanting to get their land back. Conrad lives with his mum and stepfather. His stepfather Gaz is not very nice and his mum and Gaz yell a lot at each other. Conrad wants things to be better and feels like he needs a bit of divine intervention. After hearing a story about Tane Mahuta - the Maori God of the Forest he decides to ask Tane for help even though he is not sure Tane will listen to him since he is a Pakeha boy. In order for Tane to listen to him Conrad decides he needs to be good and do good deeds and since Tane likes trees, he then stages a protest to prevent his school from cutting down their old pohutukawa tree. He climbs the tree and refuses to come down until the principal promises not to cut the tree down, lots of kids join him but most of them climb down at 3 pm!!! Conrad quickly climbs down, when the school threatens to call his stepfather. Conrad tries to find out, what it means to be Maori but no one seems to know much about it - he finds out that Mr. Kelly - a former teacher at his school, who is Maori - is up on Bastion Point as part of the occupation and he walks up there to find him. There are lots of things going on in this story but it all come together to make a very meaningful and interesting story and I think we can all learn something from it. I really enjoyed this book. The next two books are both stories about the First World War and they are both about use of animals during the war. Because of the centenary this year there have been a lot of good books recently about WW1.  I have been particularly amazed at how different they all are and how they all seem to find a different aspect of the war to build their stories around. These two books are Light Horse Boy by Dianne Wolfer and  Soldier Dog by Sam Angus. Light Horse Boy is an Australian story with some incredible illustrations by Brian Simmonds. It also has lots of photos in black and white from the war. The story is a mixture of letters and storytelling. Jim goes off to war with his friend Charlie. Jim brings his horse Breaker with him - he is also a farrier, he puts horseshoes on horses. Those skills come in handy during the war. Jim writes letters to his sister Alice back in Australia. The tone in the letters change during the book as Jim finds out, what war is really like. He is at Gallipoli and back in Egypt fighting in the desert, attacking from horseback and helping to look after the war horses. He also helps carry the wounded soldiers back to the medics and rescues quite a few men that way. It is a great book, where you learn a bit about, what the war was like while at the same time reading a good story. Very enjoyable!! Soldier Dog is about a 14 year old boy Stanley, who lives with his father. His mother died recently and his older brother Tom is fighting in France. His father is so consumed by grief that he doesn't have anything left to give to his youngest son - things are therefore not easy for Stanley, who doesn't understand why his Dad seems to be so mean and distant. His Dad raises Greyhounds for racing and also used to train horses so Stanley is used to working with both. Stanley and his Dad have a big confrontation - I won't tell you much except that it is about a dog but it drives Stanley away and he decides to go off to war and join his brother Tom in France. He is quite tall for his age and somehow manages to get through. During training someone takes pity on him because he is so young and he gets chosen to train with the messenger dogs. They are dogs used to send messages from parts of the front line, where it is unsafe to send runners (soldiers). They rely on the special bond between the dog and its handler so the dog will run through gunfire, bombs etc to return to its owner and thereby bringing important information back as well. It is a beautiful story about a very special relationship between a boy and a dog. Both boys and girls will enjoy this story and I would recommend it to year 5 and 6. This book also has a book trailer:

    • New Books
      • Lots of you like the two book series Shadow of the Dragon by Kate O'Hearn - she has also written another series called Pegasus. And just as the Percy Jackson series is based on Greek Mythology then this series is based on Roman Mythology. Zeus is therefore called Jupiter, Hermes is Mercury and Artemis is Diana etc. Pegasus is the winged horse in both Greek and Roman mythology. The first book in the series is called Pegasus and the Flame (the library has 3 more books in this series). Emily is a 13 year old girl living in a top floor apartment in New York. Her mother died recently so she lives with her Dad, who is a police officer. One evening there is an awful storm with lots of wind, lightening and rain - quite scary, when you are by yourself. Her Dad has to stay at work because of the weather. The light goes out all over the city and Emily has to find a torch in the dark. All of a sudden there is this big bump on the roof and Emily decides to investigate, she leaves the apartment and in the dark she finds the stairs leading to the roof. On the roof she finds Pegasus, he is injured, his wing is broken and he has got a spear stuck in his side. There is a garden shed on the roof, where she can hide him from the weather and other people. In the morning she decides she needs help and she thinks of this new boy Joel in her class. He is quite a big boy and most kids are afraid of him but Emily has seen him drawing pictures of Pegasus. She manages to persuade him and together they embark on this wonderful adventure, where monsters - Nirads with 4 arms- chase them and evil people want to get hold of Pegasus and investigate him. Joel and Emily have to save Olympus and the world at the same time. Very exciting story that will keep you on the edge of your chair and keep you up after bedtime, because you have to know how it ends!! Here is a book trailer for it: Many of you have read Warhorse by Michael Morpurgo but he has also written another book about 1st World War that we for some reason didn't have in the library - now we do! It is Private Peaceful - it has also been made into a movie like Warhorse. The first part of the book is about Tommo, who is the main character and his brother Charlie growing up. It begins with Tommo's first day at school. They live with their Mum and older brother Big Joe. Big Joe is gentle and kind, loves animals but he got Meningitis a few day after his birth and his brain was damaged so he can't talk much and he has trouble learning things. Their father died in an accident and the only way they can stay in their house is, if Mum goes to work for the Colonel, who owns the estate of which their house is a part and where their father used to work. Their horrible mean aunt moves in to look after them during the day, while Mum is away working. Lots of changes to their family. The boys grow up and then the 1st World War begins - the Colonel wants everybody, who is able to sign up and fight in the war so he threatens to throw the family out of their house yet again if Charlie doesn't sign up. Charlie decides to go and Tommo wants to come with him so they can look after each other. Tommo is only 15 (you had to be 17 to sign up) but they pretend to be twins and both of them are off to the front to fight. The story isn't just about war in itself it is also about how soldiers had to obey orders and not question them. They had to do as they were told even if it meant doing things that everyone could see were silly (except for the officer giving the order!) and would get them killed for sure. Excellent story great for year 5 and 6. I couldn't find an actual book trailer but here is Michael Morpurgo answering 5 of the most popular questions he gets asked. Another "older" book but new to this library is Skellig by David Almond. It won the Whitbread Children's Book Award and the Carnegie Medal. It was written in 1998 and it is a beautiful story probably a little bit challenging to read but rewarding at the same time. There is a quote from the author in the beginning of the book that I think will help you understand the story better - "Stories evolve and grow and develop different forms. On the page, they can look fixed, perfect almost untouchable, but that's an illusion. They have wings and they can fly. (David Almond: Skellig 1998, About the Author.)" Michael has moved with his family to a new house - it is a bit run down needs lots of fixing and the garden is a wilderness. At the same time Michael's baby sister is born prematurely and she goes in and out of hospital and they don't know if she will survive. At the back of their wilderness garden is an old garage Michael gets told not to go in there - it is too dangerous and might fall apart at any minute. Of course he does go in there and amongst all the spiderwebs, flies, dust, old furniture etc. he finds this thing - at first he thinks it is an old tramp seeking shelter but later he is not so sure. He confides in his new found friend Minna, who lives on the same street. She is home schooled and quite different from Michael but great to talk to about his baby sister, the new house and the thing in the garage. They look after it together and manage to get its name Skellig. You will have to read the book to find out what happens to Skellig - what is he? Will they ever get their house fixed? And will Michael's sister live? The last book is by a New Zealand author - Philippa Werry. Some of you may remember when she came to visit our school she mentioned working on a book about the Auckland Harbour Bridge and this book Habour Bridge is the result. It is about the building of the bridge and the changes that brought with it. It is part of the series My New Zealand Story and it is therefore written like a diary from 1958-59. The diary belongs to Simon, whose teacher asks them to keep a diary for the year (1958). Simon has an older sister Linda, who is 14 and loves Elvis Presley and the new New Zealand Rock Star Johnny Devlin!! Simon's best friend is Marty, he loves everything space and carefully follows the space race between the Soviet Union and USA, who will be first to send a man into space! At the moment they are busy sending dogs, monkeys and mice into space and most of them dies, which Jo, Simon's youngest sister, finds very distressing. She loves animals and cries every time one of the space animals die. She is 7! Simon's uncle works on the bridge and brings lots of the workers around mostly to enjoy Simon's mum's cooking but at the same time everyone is kept up to date with progress on the bridge. It is a great story - a small picture of a time of change and what that meant to the people, who lived through it. I really enjoyed learning about this period, while at the same time reading an enjoyable story.

    • New Picture Books
      • One of the great things about working in a School Library is that I still get to read picture books even as an adult! Here are some of my most recent favourites. Everyone loves Poo Bum by Stephanie Blake and here is another picture book by her called A Deal's a Deal - I think most of you will like this one as well - no matter your age! We meet Simon again - he is outside playing with Ferdinand. They make a track and play with their cars. Simon has got three nice metal cars but Ferdinand has only got one - a red car made of plastic. Simon doesn't have a red car and he would really like one but not plastic. After reading this book I am sure you will agree with me that Ferdinand will make an excellent car salesman one day!! They end up making a deal but I won't tell you anymore that would spoil too much. The ending is surprising but it will make you laugh especially boys!! I really enjoy Stephanie Blake's writing and illustrations - so simple and yet such a great funny story. Dangerous is written and illustrated by Tim Warnes - just look at that cover image - who wouldn't want to read this book? Mole loves writing labels and naming things, he writes the names of the things he sees around him and puts labels on them. Like toadstool, caterpillar, pebble, pine cone etc. but one day he finds something unusual that he doesn't know what is. He writes labels describing it like lumpy, scaly, gargantuan and mysterious but then it moves and makes this big yawn - Mole gets scared and he puts a new label on it - DANGEROUS! But is it really dangerous? Sometimes when we first meet somebody before we get to know them properly - we might think we won't like them, but once we get to know them better, we change our minds and maybe even become friends - this book is a bit like that. I liked this story and the crocodile is very cute! I don't know about you, but sometimes when I drive around the countryside looking at the green paddocks all around me with sheep or cows quietly grazing, farmhouses scattered in between I wonder, what it might be like living on a farm - growing up in a place so different from Ngaio? These next two new books might help to answer that. They are written by Jennifer Somervell and illustrated by Margery Fern - they are sisters and the books are based on their experiences growing up on Silodale Farm in Hawkes Bay. The first one is called The Day Dad Blew Up the Cowshed. Their Dad had gotten this new fancy round milking shed and he therefore didn't need the old cowshed anymore. He decided to blow it up with explosives - not an easy task with its concrete floor and foundations. He did get an expert in to help at least and they thought they had done everything possible to prepare, but they had forgotten one important thing - and no I won't tell you what it is, you will have to read the book to find out. It is not hard to understand, why this experience would have made a lasting impression on the children that were watching it. Great story! The second book is called The New Old Truck and again it is based on a true story about a real old truck that their grandfather owned and if you look at the last pages in the book you can see photos of him and his old truck. In the book there is an old truck on the farm and the kids really like it. It has sort of got its own personality but Dad doesn't find it very efficient - it breaks down and gets stuck in mud and he has to use the other newer truck to tow it and pull it out. One day he tells the children that he wants to buy a new truck instead of Old Truck. The kids get upset and they don't like any of the new trucks. Dad doesn't buy one but he still puts Old Truck away in a shed. There Old Truck stands all lonely - spiders make their webs around him and birds build nests - and he gets even more rusty and dusty. Will this be the end of Old Truck? You will have to read the book to find out. I think you will like this story as well. If you want to read more about the author and illustrator then click on either and it will take you to an interview with them. The last book is called The Dark and both author and illustrator will be known to you. The author is Lemony Snicket (A Series of Unfortunate Events) and the illustrator is Jon Klassen (I Want My Hat Back and This Is Not My Hat). If you have ever been afraid of the dark then this is the book for you. Laszlo, the boy in the book, is afraid of the dark. Mostly the dark doesn't bother him, during the day it hides in the basement and at night it comes out and spreads around the house. Laszlo sleeps with his torch and a little night light. One night the dark comes to visit him in his room and it even talks to him. You will have to read the book to find out, what the dark wants with Laszlo. The story is a great way to get us to talk about darkness and why we sometimes get a bit scared of it. I even found a book trailer for this book.

    • New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards 2014
      • (Image used via Booksellers NZ) Welcome back to school and term 2. Hope you had a great holiday. At the end of term 1 all the finalists for the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards were announced and this term we will have a closer look at the books and you will have the opportunity to vote for your favourite book for the Children's Choice Award. The finalists are divided into categories Picture Books, Junior Fiction and Non-Fiction. (And Young Adult Fiction)This year we will do it a little different than previous years - we will have a box with the books in the library and share some of them when you come for your class visit and we will also have the vote during a class visit. You won't be able to borrow the books until after the voting for the Children's Choice Award closes:Monday the 26th of May: Voting closes for the Children's Choice AwardMonday the 23rd of June: Awards Ceremony. Winners announced If you want to see a list of all the finalists and read about the authors and illustrators click here

    • New Books
      • The first one is Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures written by well-known author Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by K. G. Campbell. This book was awarded with the Newbery Medal for 2014. It is an American award for the best children's book - you might have read her other award winning book The Tale of Desperaux. The book has lots of illustrations and even some comic strips as well as normal chapter book pages - so quite a different book! Mrs Tickham gets a very fancy vacuum cleaner for her birthday - it is so powerful that it can't seem to be controlled and ends up sucking up a squirrel. Flora a girl, who lives next door comes to the rescue. They revive the squirrel but he has been turned into a superhero, who can fly, is really strong and writes poetry. Flora calls him Ulysses after the vacuum cleaner and takes him home. Flora's parents are divorced, her mother writes romance novels and wants Flora to read something else other than her comics. Her mother also likes her world to be normal and Ulysses is anything but normal and probably even has a disease. Flora will have to protect Ulysses from her mother and she gets help from Mrs Tickham and in particular Mrs Tickham's nephew William Spiver. William wears sunglasses and claims he is temporarily blind caused by trauma. Flora's Dad also plays a part in the story when Flora takes Ulysses with her to visit him. There are lots of interesting characters in the book and although it is very funny, it also has a serious side to it. I think anyone from year 3 to 6 will enjoy this book. There is a book trailer too: If you are like me and like reading a good horse story then you will definitely like the next book: A Horse Called Hero written by Sam Angus. And before you start reading it - make sure you have got the tissues ready! The story takes place in England during 2nd World War and you might remember that in England during the war, many children were sent out to the countryside to avoid the bombs that were thrown on the big cities. This also happens to the two children in this book Dodo and her little brother Woolfie, they live in London with the housekeeper Mrs Spence or Spud as they call her. Their father already a hero from 1st World War is missing in action and it is decided that to keep the children safe they must go and live with someone else in the countryside. Wolfie hopes there will be horses - his favourite animal. They end up living with Mrs Sprig on her farm, her son is a soldier in the war. They find a foal and look after it in secret - Wolfie calls him Hero. Things turn from bad to worse when their Dad comes home but then is put in jail and accused of cowardice, treason and desertion. (The story behind their Dad's treason is based on a true event that happened during the war and you can read about that in the back of the book.) Nobody likes the children after it becomes known what happened to their Dad. Wolfie's only friend is the horse Hero and they develop a very special bond.  Mrs Sprig doesn't want the children anymore. Will they find a new place to stay and will Wolfie be able to keep Hero? What will happen to their Dad? I enjoyed reading this book and I recommend it to year 5 and 6 - both boys and girls will enjoy this book. David Walliams has written his first picture book called The Slightly Annoying Elephant, it is illustrated by Tony Ross. Sam had filled out an Adopt an Elephant form at the zoo but of course he didn't quite expect an elephant to actually turn up at his house wanting to live there. An elephant is very big and heavy - it eats a lot, uses heaps of water and it breaks things very easily. Sam is curious and asks the elephant how it got there - all the way from Africa and the elephant replies that of course he flew on a plane.  He complains that the staff was very rude and made him pay for two seats! If you have ever wondered what it might be like to have an elephant as a pet then you will definitely find out if you read this book. The illustrations are funny and the words and pictures work well together - I am sure you will all enjoy it. Tell me what you think of the ending - I would really like to know. Click on comments down below, write your message, finish with your name and room number and click anonymous and then publish. It doesn't come up right away - I get to read it first. Come and ask if you want me to show you.

    • New Chapter Books
      • Anh Do has written a really funny book called WeirDo. Jules Faber illustrated it. The book is similar in genre to the Wimpy Kid and Tom Gates series. And yes it did make me laugh - Weir got his first name from his mum and his last name Do from his Vietnamese Dad and it is Do rhyming with go!! He is starting in a new school and gets introduced to the class and of course after about three seconds everybody laughs - even the teacher, who has to leave the classroom because she can't stop laughing. Now you might think it is going to be a story about teasing and bullying but it is more a fun story about trying to fit in and finding friends. Weir doesn't let his name or other people laughing get him down so you never feel sorry for him, but you laugh with him, maybe recognise yourself in some of the situations and you might even think that at least things were never quite that bad for you. Especially towards the end when Bella visits his family - Weir really likes Bella but his family can be a bit weird at times - like embarrassing weird! I also found a YouTube video with the author Anh Do talking about his book. Michael Morpurgo has rewritten the story about Pinocchio and made it into a very fascinating and exciting story. Emma Chichester Clark has illustrated it - she also wrote and illustrated the books about the blue kangaroo if you remember those. Pinocchio is the storyteller in the book and he describes his own story like this: "It will be a roller coaster of danger and disaster, mistakes and misery, hope and happiness. So here it is, the true story, the whole story with nothing left out, of all the pickles I got myself into and out of" (page 13-14). I couldn't help reading it from a parent's point of view and felt sorry for his parents having to put up with him not ever learning from his mistakes and getting into mischief time and time again. I wonder what you are going to think of the story? It is well written and even if you think you already know the story I'm sure you will find something new. It is fairly easy to read so probably great for year 2-4. Here is a short movie with Emma Chichester Clark, where she talks about illustrating Pinocchio and working with Michael Morpurgo. The new series of historical novels called New Zealand Girl seems to be quite popular, they are well written and provide historical knowledge along with also being a great story to read. There are three books in the series so far - called Rebecca and the Queen of Nations, Hene and the Burning Harbour and the new book called Charlotte and the Golden Promise written by Sandy McKay. Charlotte is an 11 year old girl living in Otago in 1865 during the time of the gold-rush. She still goes to school but most girls have already stopped school by the time they are 12 and as the oldest girl in the family she is expected to leave school and help with housework at home. The problem is, Charlotte loves school and especially reading, she has one book: Moby Dick that she got for being the best in her class and she reads the book over and over, wishing that she had another one! When the dreaded day comes and her parents wants her to leave school, Charlotte decides to run away with a boy from her class called Cyril, who is going to live with his Dad in the gold-rush town called Hogburn Gully, she wants to find gold enough to help her family so she can stay in school. Nothing quite turns out as she expects it too, she makes some new friends along the way including a Chinese boy, who tries to teach her how to find gold. Interesting to read about what life might have been like in a town full of gold-diggers but you will have to read the book to find out, if Charlotte finds gold and gets to stay at school. I think year 2 - 5 would enjoy reading this book. The last one is my favourite There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar. Katie McGrath recommended it last year and I am glad she did - I really enjoyed reading it and I hope that you will too. Bradley is a boy no one expects anything from and he behaves accordingly, he sits by himself in class, has no friends, doesn't learn anything, never does his homework and behaves awfully too. He lives in his own world and everybody just leaves him alone and seem to have given up on him. He tells his parents that he is doing well at school even makes up stories to support his lies. A new boy Jeff starts school and the only space left in the class room is next to Bradley, the teacher apologises - no one wants to sit there. Jeff doesn't mind and he even tries to be friendly to Bradley but change isn't easy and Bradley quickly makes sure that Jeff won't like him by threatening him - give me a dollar or I'll spit on you! Then a new councillor starts at the school, her name is Carla and Bradley has to go and see her. And this is where you can't put the book down - will she manage to gain his trust and will he have the courage to change? You will laugh and cry sometimes both at the same time so keep some tissues handy and make sure you have lots of time to read - perhaps start it in the weekend, because you won't want to stop once you have started! A book best suited to year 5 and 6. Here's a book trailer about the book made to encourage kids to read it!

    • New Picture Books
      • This year it is a 100 years ago that the 1st World War began or The Great War as it was called back then before they knew there would be a second one! Anyway because of this there are a lot of new books coming out about the war. This is a New Zealand picture book based on a true story - the book is called The Anzac Puppy written by Peter Millet and illustrated by Trish Bowles. It is a story about a puppy called Freda, whose owner Lucy isn't able to keep her and therefore places her in a box outside their house with a sign "Puppy free to a good home". A soldier on his way to war picks up the puppy and promises to bring her back safe and sound after the war. He keeps her in the trenches at the Western Front, Freda brings hope to everyone there and somehow both she and the soldier survives the war. And apparently there really was a dog called Freda, who was the official mascot of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade regiment. A photo even exists of her and her collar is now in the Army Museum at Waiouru. It is a beautifully illustrated book and it even has quite a romantic ending! Another New Zealand picture book is The Last of Maui's Dolphins written by Maria Gill and illustrated by Bruce Potter. This is a story about the world's rarest marine animal the Maui dolphin and if you after reading the book want to know more about this particular species of dolphin then there are a couple of fact pages at the back of the book. Hiriwa is a young dolphin, whose friends Spotty (a snapper), Puru (a blue penguin) and Squiggles (an octopus) get caught in a fishing net or one of the dark shapes as they call them. Hiriwa has been warned about the dark shapes his whole life but now his friends are in danger. Is there anything he can do to help them without putting himself in danger? Read the story and find out!   The next book is about a cat called Mr Wuffles! It is illustrated by David Wiesner. It is a picture book with almost no words but it is a great little story. Mr Wuffles has this small toy that looks like an alien spaceship and he hears sounds from it. In fact there are some aliens inside, who are the size of insects. While Mr Wuffles is taking a nap the aliens sneak out of their spaceship and run to a space behind the wall, where they meet up with some helpful insects and find some parts for their machine. Meanwhile Mr Wuffles is sitting outside the wall and he waits patiently. The aliens have to get back to their ship but how are they going to get past Mr Wuffles? A very unusual and surprising book that all ages will enjoy looking at. I also found a video, where David Wiesner explains about his book. The Boy on the Page is quite a philosophical picture book. It is written and illustrated by Peter Carnavas. The story begins with a small boy landing on the page in the book and at first there is nothing else but then a world begins to appear. The boy wanders through the world but keeps asking the question "Why was he here?" Throughout the book he does all sorts of things - plants a tree, paints a portrait, falls in love and has a child - he lives his life, but he still keeps wondering why he had landed on the page. He finds his answer in the end but you might have to think a little bit to understand it. Great picture book that seems simple on the surface but can also lead to some deeper thinking. If you want to when you are finished reading it - find a piece of paper to draw on and imagine, what would have happened if you had landed on that page? I also found a video of Peter Carnavas singing a song about the boy on the page. Enjoy!

    • Welcome back to school and term 1
      • I hope you are all excited to be back. I look forward to meeting you all in the library again this year. Here are a couple of new books to start the year with. The first one was recommended by Bernice. It is called The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate written by Jacqueline Kelly. It is a historical novel and takes place in 1899 in Texas USA. Calllie Vee is 11 years old and the only girl out of 7 children, she has 3 older brothers and 3 younger. Her favourite brother Henry, who is also the oldest gives her a notebook to write her observations in, because Callie is very interested in nature and writes about the insects, plants and animals she observes. When the whole family is asleep during the midday heat, she sneaks out and swims in the nearby river while studying her environment. Why are some grasshoppers green and others yellow? She decides the only person in the family she can ask is her grandfather. Everyone is afraid of him so it takes a lot of courage to approach him. It becomes the start of a very special relationship, he teaches her lots of things - she looks at the river water in a microscope for the first time and almost gives up swimming, because now she knows what is really in the water. Her mother thinks she spends too much time with her grandfather and wants her to do more important things like cooking, embroidery, practicing piano etc. but Callie is not really good at any of those things. I really enjoyed this book and it is really funny too - just wait till you read about the piano recital or when 3 of her brothers all fall in love with her best friend Lula or when she has to enter some of her handiwork to the fair and ends up winning the 3rd price - her mother is very happy - and Callie neglects to mention that there were only 3 entries in total!!! A very good story and this book also won the 2010 Newbery Honor Award (an American children's library award). There were several book trailers - here is one of them. Book Trailer: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate from Schofield Library on Vimeo. The next one is a book by Emma Barnes called Wolfie and is illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark (the one with the Blue Kangaroo!). Lucie's Uncle Joe always brings her a present when he visits and this time it is extra special - it is a dog - a very big dog! At least everybody says it is a dog, because it definitely can't be a wolf even though it looks a lot like a wolf! Lucie is convinced it is a wolf and calls her Fang, she gets up during the night and walks down to the kitchen to have another look at her new pet and discovers that Fang can talk. They become great friends and work together to keep everyone convinced that Fang is a dog and definitely not a wolf. Unfortunately Lucie has a very annoying neighbour Marcus, who bullies her at school and spies on her and Fang at home. Then Fang does a very heroic act and everyone's attention becomes focused on her and they start to wonder if in fact Fang is a wolf. What can Lucie do to help Fang and keep them together and prove to everyone that Fang is a dog! Great story for year 3 to 5. A book I really enjoyed last year was Northwood by New Zealand author Brian Falkner. He has now written another book called Maddy West and the Tongue Taker and that is a really good story too. It is illustrated by Donovan Bixley. Maddy can speak any language in the world, she just has to hear a sentence or two then she can understand it and reply in the same language. It helps her best friend Kazuki, who doesn't speak much English - she communicates fine with him in Japanese. Her mother is a bit annoyed and takes her to the doctor, there must be something wrong with her but when the doctor suggests it might be a valuable talent to have then perhaps it is not so bad after all. Maddy gets to go on TV to show off her talent and a professor after hearing about her talent gets in touch with her parents wanting Maddy to help translate some ancient scrolls. Of course her mum makes sure she gets paid for it especially when it turns out Maddy has to go to Bulgaria to look at the scrolls. Her parents aren't able to go so Maddy travels with the professor by herself. Not everything is as it seems - what are these scrolls really and is the professor really a professor? There is a very brave Ninja in the story - you might be able to guess who that is! Maddy also finds some new friends on her travels Dimitar the Giant and his monkey Mr Chester.Very exciting story that I am sure lots of you will enjoy. We also have a new series for you this year, it was recommended by another student as you know I always like getting suggestions for new books! Anyway the first one in this series is called The Mysterious Benedict Society written by Trenton Lee Stewart and illustrated by Carson Ellis. The story takes place in the future and starts with an add in the paper encouraging gifted children to participate in a series of tests. The tests are rather weird and it is not just about giving the right answer. Four children are selected in the end to help Mr Benedict (who invented the tests) save the world. Something weird is happening in the world, people in important positions seem to be disappearing and there is a thing called the Emergency that seems to be blamed for everything going wrong. Mr Benedict has discovered that children are being used to send out messages hidden in television programs meant to influence people's way of thinking. The messages are sent from an island, where there is a private school for gifted children but so far no one has been able to prevent the transmissions or even prove, who is really behind it all. The four children are therefore going on a secret dangerous mission to the school pretending to be students, while secretly spying on everything that goes on. Read the book to find out what they discover - will they get caught or help save the world!! I enjoyed reading it - it gets quite exciting especially towards the end. There is a website that tells you about the author, the books, the characters and of course there are some games.

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