Book Fair 2025 - Coming Soon

St Brendan's School Book Fair 2025 will be held in our newly refurbished block. The Book Fair will be open before and/or after school most weekdays between Thursday, 16 July and the evening of Tuesday, 22 July. More information about Book Fair opening hours will be on display next term. All purchases from the Book Fair help to earn free books for our school library.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2025 - Non-fiction

 

Black Magic written by David Riley and illustrated by Munro Te Whata (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou, Makefu)

Dear Moko: Māori Wisdom for our Young Ones written by Hinemoa Elder (Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kurī, Ngāi Takoto, Ngāpuhi nui tonu)

Ruru, Night Hunter written by Katie Furze and illustrated by Ned Barraud

The Treaty of Waitangi written by Ross Calman (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa, Kāi Tahu)

Tui Pea Luva written Written by Mele Tonga-Grant and illustrated by Luca Walton


See the list of Te Reo Maori, Young Adult and other award finalists here.

Image via New Zealand Book Awards Trust 

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture: 

• "My Family Tree - My Whānau and Me" by June PITMAN-HAYES; illustrated by Minky STAPLETON; Maori lyrics by Kawiti WAETFORD
• "Bubbles the Zooting, Tooting Manatee" by Minky STAPLETON

Fiction:

• "Diary of a Pug - Pug's New Puppy " by Kyla MAY (Diary of a Pug series)
• "Animorphs : The Predator - Graphic Novel" by K.A. APPLEGATE & Michael GRANT; illustrated by Chris GRINE (Animorphs - Graphic Novel series)
• "Flying Fergus - The Championship Cheats" by Chris HOY (Flying Fergus series)
• "Nina Peanut is Amazing" by Sarah BOWIE
• "Zombie Season : Dead in the Water" by Justin WEINBERGER (Zombie Season series)

Non-fiction:

• "Safety in the Mountains" by Robin McNEIL
• "Old Wellington in Colour" by Hugh Price & Susan PRICE
• "Machines in the Air" by Melissa REVE (A Big Machines Book series)

New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2025 - Junior Fiction

Brown Bird written by Jane Arthur

Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat written and illustrated by Li Chen

The Apprentice Witnesser written by Bren MacDibble

The Raven’s Eye Runaways written by Claire Mabey

Violet and the Velvets: The Case of the Missing Stuff written by Rachael King and illustrated by Phoebe Morris


Visit the blog again next week for the Non-fiction finalists or if you can't wait till then have a look here for a list of all the finalists.

Image via New Zealand Book Awards Trust 

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture: 

• "Kiana and Teiti" by Diane PERCY; illustrated by Claudia Pond EYLEY
• "Be You!" by Peter H REYNOLDS

Fiction:

• "Boy vs Beast : Water Beast" by Mac PARK (Boy vs Beast series)
• "LOL Collection 2" by Marcus EMERSON (LOL Collection series)
• "Karen's Grandmothers" by Ann M MARTIN; illustrated by D K YINGST (Baby-Sitters Little Sister - Graphic Novel series)
• "The Puppy Who Couldn't Sleep" by Holly WEBB
• "The Grimmelings" by Rachael KING

Non-fiction:

• "Pioneer Women" edited by Sarah ELL (The NZ Series series)
• "Look to the Stars" by Buzz ALDRIN; illustrated by Wendel MINOR
• "Paws, Claws and Jaws" by Terry DEARY; illustrated by Martin BROWN (Horrible Histories series)

New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2025 - Picture Books

 

Beddy-bye Time in the Kōwhai Tree written by Juliette MacIver and illustrated by Lily Uivel

Mataali‘i written by Dahlia Malaeulu (Vaivase Tai, Sinamoga) and illustrated by Darcy Solia

Ten Nosey Weka written by Kate Preece and illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Ngāti Kahungunu, Kāi Tahu)

Titiro Look written and illustrated by Gavin Bishop (Tainui, Ngāti Awa) and translated by Darryn Joseph (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Rereahu)

You Can’t Pat a Fish written and illustrated by Ruth Paul


Visit the blog again next week for the Junior Fiction finalists or if you can't wait till then have a look here for a list of all the finalists.

Image via New Zealand Book Awards Trust

Most Popular in 2024

The most popular books in St Brendan's School Library in 2024 were:

1st    Allergic  by Megan Wagner Lloyd; illustrated by Michelle Mee Nutter

2nd     Baby-Sitters Club - Graphic Novel series by Mary Ann Martin; illustrated by Reina Telgemeier, Chan Chau & others

3rd     Dog Man series  by Dav Pilkey 

4th=  Minecraft Guides series; Baby-Sitters Little Sister - Graphic Novel series by Mary Ann Martin, illustrated by Katy Farina & others; I Survived - Graphic Novel series; Squished by Megan Wagner Lloyd.

            

5th=  Paris Takes over the World series by Zanni Louise; Click series by Kayla Miller.

6th The Piggy and Gerald series (Elephant and Piggy) by Mo Willems; Cat Kid series by Dav Pilkey.

7th= Minecraft Handbook series; Minecraft Legends - A Hero's Guide to Saving the Overworld.

8th= Catwad series by Jim Benson; Twins by Varian Johnson; The Pigeon series by Mo Willems; Swim Team - Small Waves Big Changes by Johnnie Christmas. 

9th    The Football Encyclopedia series by Clive Gifford.

10th=  Minecraft Bite-Size Builds series; City of Dragons series by Jaimal Yogis; Four Eyes by Rex Ogle, illustrated by Dave Valeza; Ham Helsing series by Rich Moyer; Pig the Pug series by Aaron Blabey; Real Friends by Shannon Hale, illustrated by LeYuen Pham; 1001 Cool Best Ever Jokes; Minecraft Epic Inventions by Thomas McBrien.

Some of these books are previous favourites and are also on earlier Most Popular in ... lists, but a few are new to the list this year. 

Is your favourite book, series or author on our Most Popular list for 2024? 

2025 Term 1 'Mini' Library service

Due to renovations currently underway at St Brendan's our library is being used as a temporary classroom. During Term 1, and possibly into Term 2, much of our library collection is packed away and unavailable. However a selection of popular material, including Picture books and Fiction, is available for borrowing. 

Explorer classes are able to book one library session per week where I take a selection of our picture book collection to the classroom to issue and return books. Our first visits were carried out this week and students were able to choose a book/s to take home and also a book/s for the classroom library. 

Our Navigator and Adventurer classes are also able to book a session each week. These students will be able to visit our 'mini' library, in small groups, to issue and return books.

While our own school library is operating in a reduced way students are still able to use in class resources borrowed from the National Library Schools collection and the Upper Hutt Libraries, Purehurehu Mobile Library visits every third Tuesday during term time.

End of Year 2024 - Update

Congratulations to Room's 4 & 5 who were the first classes with all student library books returned, followed some days later by Room 8. Lets hope the last of the books come back over the next few days! 

The library stocktake is now completed. We still have a number of books that are missing - they are not in the library and they are not on issue. We'd love to have these books back again, so if you find any hiding behind shelves or under the furniture over the holidays, at school or at home, please put them in a safe place ready to drop back to the library next year.

(Updated every day or so until 17 December 2024)

The Little, Big and Even Bigger Read 2024

Upper Hutt Libraries are very excited to be joining once again with Hutt City Libraries to offer an amazing summer reading challenge to encourage tamariki to get excited about reading this summer, have fun playing, and be in to win cool prizes!

For more information about The Little, Big and Even Bigger Read 2024 click HERE

Getting Ready for End of Year 2024

The Christmas School Holidays are not far away now, but before they arrive there are some important tasks to get done. In the library we are preparing for our annual end of year stocktake!

All library books are due back on or before next Tuesday, 3 December. You can help by returning all your library books to the library "As Soon As Possible" and before next Tuesday please.

Will your class will be first to return all their library books this year? 

If you have any other school books, such as journals, junior reading books and class books lying around at home then now is a good time to return these to school too.

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture: 

• "Dear Santasaur" by Chae STRATHIE; illustrated by Nicola O'BYRNE

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture: 

• "I Love Lemonade" by Mark SOMMERSET; illustrated by Rowan SOMMERSET
• "Sleep is for Babies!" by Emily McDOWELL; illustrated by Julia HEGETUSCH

Fiction:

• "The Bad Guys : Episode 19 - The Serpent and the Beast" by Aaron BLABEY (The Bad Guys series)
• "Amorangi and Millie's Trip Through Time" by Lauren KEENAN
• "Things That Go Bump" by Kathryn FOXFIELD; illustrated by Robin BOYDEN
• "Diary of a Netball Star : Let's Party" by Liz WATSON & Fiona HARRIS (Diary of a Netball Star series)

Senior Fiction:

• "This Land : The Fall of Tāne" by Mark ABNETT; illustrated by P.R. DEDELIS (This Land series)