Upper Hutt City Library Summer Reading Challenge

Click on the image above or go HERE to find out more.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

Image from HERE

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

End of Year 2016 - Update

(Updated every day or so until 16 December 2016)

Your last remaining overdue books are coming back to the library a few per day. Congratulations to Room 5 who were the first class with all student library books returned, closely followed by Room 2.   Well done!

The library stocktake has now been completed. We again 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, at school or at home, please drop them back to the library before the holidays.

End of Year Reminder 2016

Getting Ready for End of Year 2016

Image from HERE

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 before Friday, 2nd December. You can help out by returning all your library books to the library "As Soon As Possible" and before the end of this week 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  now is a good time to return these to school too.

On the New Books Display this Week

Fiction Book:

• "Barking Mad" by Tom E. MOFFATT
• "Freak Street : Meet the Vampiresons" by R.L. STINE  (Freak Street series) 
• "Amber the Orange Fairy" by Daisy MEADOWS (Rainbow Magic series)
• "Ella and Olivia : Merry Christmas Stories" by Yvette POSHOGLIAN (Ella and Olivia series) 

Senior Fiction:

• "Drama" by Raina TELGEMEIER

Non- Fiction:

• "Hearing" by Sally HEWITT (Science in Action series) 
• "Sight" by Sally HEWITT (Science in Action series) 

A Busy Lunchtime

Quite an obstacle course to move around in here at lunchtime today. It must have been cold and wet outside! 

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture Book:

• "Ranger The Kaimanawa Stallion" by Kelly WILSON; illustrated by Jenny COOPER

Fiction Book:

• "Star Wars : Jedi Academy - A New Class" by Jarret J. KROSOCZKA (Star Wars: Jedi Academy series)
• "Ella Diaries : Operation Merry Christmas" by Meredith COSTAIN (Ella Diaries series)
• "Diary of A Wimpy Kid : Old School" by Jeff KINNEY  (Diary of a Wimpy Kid series) 
• "Welcome to Camp Nightmare" by R.L. STINE  (Goosebumps series) 
• "Edge of Extinction" by Laura MARTIN

Non- Fiction:

• "The Vicious Vikings" by Terry DEARY; illustrated by Martin BROWN
• "Christmas Jokes" by Toby REYNOLDS ; illustrated by Andrew PINDER

How to Make Harry Potter Wands!

Have you ever wanted your own Harry Potter Wand?

Well now you can make your own!

On the New Books Display this Week

Image via New Zealand Book Awards Trust

Picture Book:

• "Buzz Boy and Fly Guy" by Tedd ARNOLD

Fiction Book:

• "Wheelnuts! : Rainforest Rumble" by KNIFE &PACKER (Wheelnuts! series)
• "Jacky Ha-Ha" by James PATTERSON
• "Magic Molly : The Witch's Kitten & The Wish Puppy" by Holly WEBB  (Magic Molly series) 

Senior Fiction:

• "Battlesaurus : Rampage at Waterloo" by Brian FALKNER

Non- Fiction:

• "What's Up With Bridget's Mum? : Medi Kidz Explain Breast Cancer" by Kim CHILMAN-BLAIR & John TADDEO
• "What's Up With Paulina? : Medi Kidz Explain Food Allergy" by Kim CHILMAN-BLAIR & John TADDEO
• "First to the Top : Sir Edmund Hillary's Amazing Everest Adventure" by David HILL ; illustrated by Phoebe MORRIS

LEGO Librarian

Image is a screenshot from LEGO.com HERE

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture Book:

• "Warning!" by Tim WARNES

Fiction Book:

• "Ava Anne Appleton : Catching a Wave" by Wendy HARMER (Ava Anne Appleton series)
• "Ice Beast" by Mac PARK (Boy vs Beast series)
• "The Hour of Magic" by Geronim STILTON (The Kingdom of Fantasy series)
• "Troy Trailblazer and the Horde Queen" by Robert DEAS (The Phoenix Presents series)

Senior Fiction:

• "Smile" by Raima TELGEMEIER

Non- Fiction:

• "Fatal Forces" by Nick ARNOLD (Horrible Histories series)
• "Guinness World Records 2016 : Gamer's Edition" by Guinness World Records

Books to Movies - Mortal Engines

This from Stuff.co.nz on Tuesday.....

The above image is a screenshot from Stuff.co.nz HERE where you can also read the full article.

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture Book:

• "Fuzzy Doodle" by Melinda SZYMANIK;  illustrated by Donovan BIXLEY

Fiction Book:

• "Droid Tales - Episodes I-III" by Michael PRICE & adapted by Kate HOWARD (LEGO Star Wars series)
• "Alice-Miranda in the Alps" by Jacqueline HARVEY (Alice-Miranda series)
• "Confessions of an Imaginary Friend" by Michelle CUEVAS 
• "Scream : The Spider Army" by Jack HEATH (Scream series)

Senior Fiction:

• "All Fall Down" by Ally CARTER (Embassy Row series)

Non- Fiction:

• "What's Up With John? : Medi Kidz Explain Scoliosis" by Kim CHILMAN-BLAIR & John TADDEO
• "What's Up With Richard? : Medi Kidz Explain Leukaemia" by Kim CHILMAN-BLAIR & John TADDEO

A Discount Haircut for Reading Aloud

In the news in the US this week is a Barbershop giving their child customers a discount haircut if they read aloud while having their hair cut. The barbershop found out about it happening in other places in the US before they started the scheme themselves. This sounds like a great idea, I wonder if we can convince barbers and hairdressers in NZ to do this?

           Image & more information from HERE

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture Book:

• "Mine!" by Jerome KEANE;  illustrated by Susana DeDIOS

Fiction Book:

• "The Pirates of Pangaea : Book 1" by Daniel HARTWELL & Neill CAMERON (Pirates of Pangaea series)
• "Pearlie and the Imperial Princess" by Wendy HARMER (Pearlie series)
• "The 78-Storey Treehouse" by Andy GRIFFITHS (Treehouse series)
• "The Rescue Princesses : The Snow Jewel" by Paula HARRISON (Rescue Princesses series)
• "Space Jackers" by Huw POWELL

Non- Fiction:

• "Monster Dinosaurs" by David BURNIE
• "50 Things You Should Know About the Human Body" by Angela ROYSTON

Skulduggery Pleasant - New Series in 2017

Image from HERE

Well, it turns out that Derek Landy wasn't finished with Skulduggery Pleasant after all. He is currently writing a new series, as yet un-named, which features both Skulduggery and Valkyrie but also a new hero named Omen Darkly. 

Next year marks the 10th Anniversary of the release of the first Skulduggery Pleasant book and apparently the whole of the first series will be re-released with new covers in early 2017. The new series will be released later in the year. As Derek apptly put it on his blog....

"It's gonna be fun. Well, it's gonna be fun for US. 

For you it's going to be torture."

You can find out more and keep up-to-date with developments on Derek Landy's blog HERE or on the Skulduggery Pleasant website HERE

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture Book:

• "The Green Bath" by Margaret MAHY;  illustrated by Steven KELLOGG

Fiction Book:

• "Frankie Potts and the Bikini Burglar" by Juliet JACKA (Frankie Potts series)
• "Tom Gates : Super Good Skills (Almost...)" by Liz PICHON (Tom GATES series)
• "Ghost Works : The Grave of Gasper Weavell & The Haunted Hoader" by James LEE (Ghost Works series)

Senior Fiction:

• "Brave Company" by David HILL

Non- Fiction:

• "The Ultimate Book of Randomly Awesome Facts" by Karen HOOD & Penelope ARLON
• "50 Things You Should Know About the Human Body" by Angela ROYSTON

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture Book:

• "The Mystery Box & Finnigan Flynn" by Lucy DAVEY;  illustrated by Cat CHAPMAN

Fiction Book:

• "Bunny vs Monkey : Book 1 - Year One : January-June" by Jamie SMART (Bunny vs Monkey series)
• "Ella Diaries : Worst Camp Ever" by Meredith COSTAIN (Ella Diaries series)
• "Rock Beast" by Mac PARK (Boy vs Beast series)
• "Shockwave" by Jack HEATH (Countdown to Danger series)
• "Sisters" by Raina TELGEMEIER

Senior Fiction:

• "Cool Nukes" by Des HUNT

Non- Fiction:

• "The Beginners Guide to Adventure Sport in New Zealand" by Steve GURNEY

Happy 100th Birthday Roald Dahl

To help celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Roald Dahl's birth TIME is holding a vote for the most popular Roald Dahl book.  

To vote for your favourite click on the image below or click HERE.

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture Book:

• "The Cat Want's Custard" by P. CRUMBLE;  illustrated by Lucinda GIFFORD

Fiction Book:

• "The Bad Guys : Episode 2 - Mission Unpluckable" by Aaron BLABEY (The Bad Guys series)
• "Ella and Olivia : Zoo Rescue" by Yvette POSHOGLIAN (Ella and Olivia series)
• "Frankie Potts and the Sparkplug Mysteries" by Juliet JACKA (Frankie Potts series)
• "Tom Gates : Top of the Class (nearly)" by Liz PICHON (Tom Gates series)

Senior Fiction:

• "Pompeii" by Sue REID (My Story series)

Non- Fiction:

• "What's Up With Ella? MediKidz Explain Type 1 Diabetes" by Kim CHILMAN-BLAIR & John TADDEO (MediKidz series) 
• "What's Up With Max? MediKidz Explain Asthma" by Kim CHILMAN-BLAIR & John TADDEO (MediKidz series) 
• "What's Up With Wendy? MediKidz Explain Epilepsy" by Kim CHILMAN-BLAIR & John TADDEO (MediKidz series) 

International Literacy Day 2016

To help celebrate International Literacy Day today here's an Infographic from Scholastic which shows four ways we can help kids become Lifelong Reader's.

Infographic from Scholastic.com HERE

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture Book:

• "The Croco Dolly" by Martin McKENNA
• "The Other Brother" by Stephanie THATCHER

Fiction Book:

• "Tiny Timmy : Living the Dream" by Tim CAHILL (Tiny Timmy series)
• "Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-A-Lot" by Dav PILKEY (Captain Underpants series)
• "400 Minutes of Danger" by Jack HEATH
• "Ella Diaries : Pony School Showdown" by Meredith COSTAIN (Ella Diaries series)

Senior Fiction:

• "Sunken Forest" by Des HUNT

Non- Fiction:

• "Get Coding!" by David WHITNEY

Read Alikes

Do you have a favourite author or book? Do you want to read something else like it? Take a look at the "Book Sites Worth a Look" list of links down the right hand side of the blog for some sites you can look at for ideas on what to read next...

Here's a new addition I've added to the list today...

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture Book:

• "Pig the Fibber" by Aaron BLABEY

Fiction Book:

• "Zombified! : Infected" by C.M. GRAY (Zombified! series)
• "Zombified! : Outbreak" by C.M. GRAY (Zombified! series)
• "Ella and Olivia : Hair Disaster" by Yvette POSHOGLIAN (Ella and Olivia series)
• "Tiny Timmy : Makes the Grade" by Tim CAHILL (Tiny Timmy series)
• "The World's Worst Children" by David WALLIAMS

Non- Fiction:

• "The Football Encylopedia" by Cive GIFFORD 
• "Anzac Heroes" by Maria GILL; illustrated by Marco IVANCIC

New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2016 - Children's Choice - WINNERS

Thousands New Zealand children and young adults have had their say by voting for their favourite book or books in the Children's Choice Awards.

The Children's Choice Winners are: 

Picture Book

"The House on the Hill" by 
Kyle Mewburn & Sarah Davis

Junior Fiction

"The Girl Who Rode the Wind"
 by Stacy Gregg

Non-fiction

"First to the Top"  by
David Hill & Phoebe Morris

Young Adult    "Stray" by Rachel Craw

Te Reo Maori Award    "Te Hua Tutahi a Kuwi" by Kat Merewether; translated by Pania Papa

You can find the New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2016 - Judges Choice Finalsts list HERE and the winners chosen by the judges HERE.

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture Book:

• "The Cow Tripped Over the Moon" by Tony WILSON;  illustrated by Laura WOOD

Fiction Book:

• "Battle Files : Air" by Mac PARK (Boy vs Beast series)
• "Ella and Olivia : Spelling Superstar" by Yvette POSHOGLIAN (Ella and Olivia series)
• "EJ Shines" by Susannah McFARLANE (EJ 12 Girl Hero series)
• "Bullet Train" by Jack HEATH (Countdown to Danger series)

Senior Fiction:

• "War Horse" by Michael MORPURGO

Non- Fiction:

• "Wild About Animals" edited by Debz HOBB-WYATT 
• "How to Build a Human Body" by Tom JACKSON

Book Fair 2016 - Update

St Brendan's Book Fair is over again for another year. A BIG Thank You to everyone who came along and supported our major library fundraiser. Sales this year earned us an amazing 40 free new books for our library collection. A BIG Thank you also to the families who purchased a "Red Dot" book for donation to the library - keep a look out for them on the library “New Book Display” later this term, they'll all have special Book Fair 2016 Donation book plates inside!

Brick Flicks - for LEGO addicts in Upper Hutt

LEGO Minecraft Masterclass  25 Sept 2016 (bookings required) more info...

LEGO Built Environment Masterclass  25 Sept 2016 (bookings required) more info...

The LEGO Movie 2 Oct 2016 (bookings recommended) more info...

BRICKON 2016: 8 & 9 Oct 2016 more info...

Book Fair 2016

Coming Soon .... Book Fair 2016

 

Where: In the Library

When: Opens Week 3, Term 3

St Brendan's Book Fair 2016 will be open before and after school on weekdays between the afternoon of Monday, 8th August and the morning of Friday,12th August. Check back here soon for more information about Book Fair opening hours. All purchases from the Book Fair help to earn free books for our school library.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture Book:

• "The House on the Hill" by Kyle MEWBURN;  illustrated by Sarah DAVIS
• "The Day the Crayons Came Home" by Drew DAYWALT;  illustrated by  Oliver JEFFERS

Fiction Book:

• "The Bad Guys : Episode 3 - The Furball Strikes Back" by Aaron BLABEY  (Bad Guys series)
• "Doctor Who : Heroes and Monsters Collection" by various authors

Non- Fiction:

• "The Beginner's Guide to Netball " by Maria TUTAIA
• "50 Things You Should Know About the First World War" by Jim ELDRIDGE (50 Things You Should Know series)
• "50 Things You Should Know About the Second World War" by Simon ADAMS (50 Things You Should Know series)

New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2016 - Children's Choice - VOTING

Have you voted for your favourite yet?  

No?!  Do it now...

VOTE HERE

Voting closes at 5.30pm tomorrow Friday, 22nd July 2016 

The Evolution of the Book

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture Book:

• "My Grandpa is a Dinosaur" by Richard FAIRGRAY & Terry JONES; illustrated by  Richard FAIRGRAY

Fiction Book:

• "Freak Street : Meet the Spysons" by KNIFE & PACKER  (Freak Street series)
• "Fantastic Mr Fox" by Roald DAHL

Non- Fiction:

• "Kitchen Science Lab for Kids : 52 Family Friendly Experiments from Around the House" by Liz Lee HEINECKE
• "How to Code : The Grown-Ups Guide - Troubleshooting Handbook for Parents & Teachers" by Max WAINEWRIGHT (How to Code series)

Reference:

• "Tangata Whenua : An Illustrated History" by Atholl ANDERSON; Judith BINNEY & Aroha HARRIS

New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2016 - Children's Choice - Non-fiction

The HELL Children's Choice Non-fiction finalists are:

Anzac Heroes written by
 Maria Gill & illustrated
by Marco Ivancic

First to the Top written
by David Hill & illustrated
by Phoebe Morris

Wild Boy written by
Brando Yelavich

To find out more about the books and the authors take a look here.

See the list of Children's Choice Te Reo Maori and Young Adult finalists here.

Vote for your favourite book(s) HERE. Voting closes on 22nd July 2016.

Images via New Zealand Book Awards Trust

New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2016 - Children's Choice - Junior Fiction

The HELL Children's Choice Junior Fiction finalists are:

The Girl Who Rode the Wind
written by Stacy Gregg

Eneny Camp
written by David Hill

Cool Nukes
written by Des Hunt

To find out more about the books and the authors take a look here.

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

Vote for your favourite HERE. Voting closes on 22nd July 2016.

Images via New Zealand Book Awards Trust

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture Book:

• "Aliens Love Underpants/Aliens in Underpants Save the World" by Claire FREEDMAN; illustrated by Ben CORT (2 Books in 1)

Fiction Book:

• "Ella and Olivia : Flower Power" by Yvette POSHOLGLIAN  (Ella and Olivia series)
• "Ella and Olivia : Christmas Wonderland" by Yvette POSHOLGLIAN  (Ella and Olivia series)
• "Johnny Danger : D.I.Y. Spy" by Peter MILLER  (Johnny Danger series)

Non- Fiction:

• "Killer Creatures" by Claire FREEDMAN (Navigators series)
• "How to Code : Book 3 - a Step-by-Step Guide to Computor Coding" by Max WAINEWRIGHT (How to Code series)
• "How to Code : Book 4 - a Step-by-Step Guide to Computor Coding" by Max WAINEWRIGHT (How to Code series)

New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2016 - Children's Choice - Picture Books

The HELL Children's Choice Picture Book finalists are:

Kuwi's Huhu Hunt written &
illustrated by Kat Merriweather

Stripes! No, Spots! written &
 illustrated by Vasanti Unka

The House on the Hill written by Kyle Mewburn
& illustrated by Sarah Davis

To find out more about the books and the authors and illustrators take a look here.

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

Vote for your favourite HERE. Voting closes on 22nd July 2016.

Images via New Zealand Book Awards Trust