On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "Turkey Hurly-Burly" by Annelies JUDSON; illustrated by Nikki SLADE-ROBINSON
• "Welcome" by Alison GREEN; illustrated by Axel SCHEFFLER

Mature Picture:

• "Finding Alfie : A D-Day Story" by Michael MORPURGO; illustrated by Michael FOREMAN
  

Fiction:

• "My Friend is a Gris-Kwok" by Malorie BLACKMAN
• "Nine Girls" by Stacy GREGG
• "Dragon Girls : Rani the Enchanted Dragon" by Maddy MARA (Dragon Girls series)
• "Belle the Birthday Fairy" by Daisy MEADOWS (Rainbow Magic - Early Reader series)
• "Warriors : Winds of Change" by Erin HUNTER & Dan JOLLY; illustrated by James L BARRY (Warriors - Graphic Novel series)
• "The Cartoonists Club" by Raina TELEGEMEIR & Scott McCLOUD; illustrated by Raina TELEGEMEIR

Non-fiction:

• "The Bacteria Book" by Steve MOULD
• "Flags of the World" by Phil CLARKE (Usborne Spotters Guides series)
• "Algorithims" by John WOOD (Code Monkeys series)

Reference:

• "French Dictionary for Beginners" by Hellen DAVIES and Françoise HOLMES 

Senior Fiction:

• "The New Girl" by Cassandra CALIN

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "Coming Home" by Michael MORPURGO; illustrated by Kerry HYNDMAN
• "The Boys in the Waka Ama" by Angie BELCHER; illustrated by Debbie TUPUNA
• "Night Animals" by Gianna MARINO
  

Fiction:

• "Dead Girls Diary" by K.R. ALEXANDER
• "The Pocket Dog" by Holly WEBB
• "Karen's Prize" by Ann M. MARTIN & D.K. YINGST (Baby-Sitters Little Sister - Graphic Novel series)
• "Dimple and Boo" by Pip JONES (Little Gems series)
• "The Beach Puppy" by Holly WEBB (Little Gems series)
• "A Dangerous Game" by Malorie BLACKMAN

Non-fiction:

• "Climate Change and You : How Climate Change affects your Life" by Emily RAIJ
• "Passover" by Grace JONES (Festivals Around the World series)
• "LEGO, How to Build Everything" by Hannah DOLAN
• "Helen Keller" by Maria Isabel Sanchez VEGARA 

Senior Fiction:

• "Ground Zero : A Novel of 9/11" by Alan GRATZ

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "The Thank You Book" by Mo WILLEMS (Elephant and Piggie series)
• "Don't Trust Cats (Life Lessons from Chip the Dog)" by Dev PETTY; illustrated by Mike BOLDT
• "There's a Crab in My Castle/He pāpaka kei taku pā" by Dawn MacMILLAN, Stephanie Huriana FONG (māori text); illustrated by Nikki SLADE-ROBINSON
  

Fiction:

• "Katie the Catsitter" by Colleen A F VENABLE; illustrated by Stephanie YUE (Katie the Catsitter series)
• "Boffin Boy and the Invaders from Space" by David ORME; illustrated by Peter RICHARDSON (Boffin Boy series)
• "Boffin Boy and the Monsters from the Deep" by David ORME; illustrated by Peter RICHARDSON (Boffin Boy series)
• "The Story of the Dancing Frog" by Quentin BLAKE (Little Gems series)
• "Stellar" by Chris BRADFORD
• "Saphie the One-Eyed Cat" by Joanna HO

Non-fiction:

• "Elephants : Living Large" by Jason VIOLA; illustrated by Falynn KOCH (Science Comics series)
• "Debugging" by John WOOD (Code Monkeys series)
• "Using Technology" by John WOOD (Code Monkeys series)
• "What a Waste" by Jess FRENCH

Senior Fiction:

• "Pandemic" by Sally STONE (My New Zealand Story series)

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "Robbit the Job-Hopping Frog" by Michael Gerard BAUER; illustrated by Katrin DREILING
• "Excitable Edgar" by Lucy FEATHER; illustrated by Jo LINDLEY
• "Your Head's Not the Place to Store Problems" by Josh PIKE; illustrated by Stephen Michael KING

Fiction:

• "Lightfall : Shadow of the Bird" by Tim PROBERT (Lightfall series)
• "Diary of a Pug - Get Well, Pug" by Kyla MAY (Diary of a Pug series)
• "Miles and Jones : The Anaconda Attack" by Sam SMITH; illustrated by César LADOR (Miles and Jones series)
• "Dragon Girls : Eloise the Flame Dragon" by Maddy MARA (Dragon Girls series)
• "World Burn Down" by Steve COLE
• "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson BURNETT

Non-fiction:

• "Frogs : Awesome Amphibians" by Liz PRINCE (Science Comics series)
• "Basketball All-Stars" by David CLAYTON
• "The Worlds Most Ridiculous* Animals : *or are they?" by Philip BUNTING
• "My First Maths Book" by Amanda ENRIGHT

Senior Fiction:

• "Hover Car Racer - Graphic Novel" by Matthew REILLY; illustrated by John HANNA

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "Vinny the Not-So-Nice Guinea Pig" by Chrissie KREBS
• "At Home on the Farm" by Ned BARRAUD
• "God's Love in a Nutshell" by Hilary ROBINSON; illustrated by Mandy STANLEY

Fiction:

• "Star Wars : The Sequel Trilogy" by George LUCAS and others
• "Ozzie" by Ellen MILES (Puppy Place series)
• "The Missing Bunny" by Holly WEBB (Little Gems series)
• "Madam Squeaker" by Pip JONES (Little Gems series)
• "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter BROWN (The Wild Robot series)
• "Bad Kitty Gets a Phone" by Nick BRUEL (Bad KITTY series)

Non-fiction:

• "24 Hours on the Kiwi Seashore" by Gillian and Darryl TOCKLER
• "Skateboarding" by Paul STEVENSON (Buzz Books series)
• "Superflyer Paper Planes" by Dean MACKEY
• "Wellington at Work in the 1890's" by Beverly RANDELL and Hugh PRICE

Senior Fiction:

• "Ghost Stadium" by Tom PALMER

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "Tractor" by Sally SUTTON; illustrated by Brian LOVELOCK
• "Interrupting Chicken : Cookies for Breakfast" by David Ezra STEIN
• "Gotcha!" by Jack HENSELEIT; illustrated by James HART
• "It Started with a P" by Brittany POMALES; illustrated by Andrew JOYNER

Fiction:

• "I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919" by Lauren TARSHIS & Georgia BALL (I Survived - Graphic Novel series)
• "Diary of a Wimpy Kid : Hot Mess" by Jeff KINNEY (Diary of a Wimpy Kid series)
• "Unicorn Diaries : Bo the Brave" by Rebecca ELLIOTT (Unicorn Diaries series)
• "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis STEVENSON
• "The Squad" by Christina SOONTORNVAT

Non-fiction:

• "Flags of the World" 
• "A World Without the Sun" by William ANTHONY 
• "A World Without the Plants" by William ANTHONY 
• "Dear Moko : Māori Wisdom for our Young Ones" by Dr Hinemoa ELDER

Senior Fiction:

• "1916 : Dig for Victory" by David HAIR (Kiwis at War series)

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "Macca the Alpaca" by Matt COSGROVE
• "I'm Not Missing" by Kashelle GOURLEY; illustrated by Skylar HOGAN
• "When I Smile" by Jo WITEK; illustrated by Christine ROUSSEY
• "Hidden" by Larissa FERENCHUK; illustrated by Fiona WEST

Fiction:

• "The Apprentice Witnesser" by Bren MacDIBBLE
• "Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat" by Li CHEN (Detective Beans series)
• "Owl Diaries : Eva and the New Teacher" by Rebecca ELLIOTT (Owl Diaries series)
• "Ninja Girl 2 : Ninja Superstars" by Anh DO (Ninja Girl series)
• "Next Stop" by Debbie FONG

Non-fiction:

• "Our Earth"
• "Motocross" by Paul STEVENSON (Buzz Books series)
• "The Trolls in the Knolls" by Silja AÐALSTEINSDÓTTIR; translated by María Helga GUÐMUNDSDÓTTIR  
• "Guinness World Records 2025 : Gamer's Edition"

Senior Fiction:

• "Into the Wild" by Hayley LAWRENCE

New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults 2025 - Winners

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "Flit the Fantail and the Christmas Crash" by Kat QUIN
• "Te Kura Huna o Te Aranga : Easter Surprise" by Norah WILSON; Kimberly ANDREWS
• "The Witch in the Cherry Tree" by Margaret MAHY; illustrated by Jessica TWOHILL
• "Honesty is the Best Policy" by Heath McKENZIE

Fiction:

• "Dog Man - Big Jim Begins" by Dav PILKEY (Dog Man series)
• "Bad Guys : One Last Thing" by Aaron BLABEY (Bad Guys series)
• "Jimmy Boon : The Super Resilient Ranga" by S J CAMERON
• "Shannon the Ocean Fairy" by Daisy Meadows (Rainbow Fairies - Early Reader series)
• "I Survived The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912" by Lauren TARSHIS (I Survived series)

Non-fiction:

• "Wild Wellington - Ngā Taonga Taiao" by Michael SZABO
• "Diwali" by Grace JONES (Festivals Around the World series)
• "1001 Best Ever Cool Jokes"
• "World Tour : The Ultimate Journey Around the Globe" by Beth RALSTON (editor)

Senior Fiction:

• "Villain" by Adrian BURNS

Aotearoa New Zealand School Library Week

This week the library celebrated Aotearoa New Zealand School Library Week. On Monday students and classes had fun following the 2025 Story Walk book Turkey Hurly-Burly around the school grounds.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we held morning tea and lunchtime colouring-in activities in the library. Tuesday was book marks, Wednesday was reading themed chatterboxes/fortunetellers and on Thursday both were available.

Book Fair 2025 - Update

St Brendan's Book Fair has wrapped up for another year. A BIG Thank You to everyone who came along and helped to make it another successful Book Fair. This year, sales earned us around 30 free new books for our library collection.

An extra special thank you to the families and staff who purchased a "Red Dot" book for donation to the library - keep a look out for them on the library “New Books Display” during this term, they'll all have special Book Fair 2025 Donation book plates inside!

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "How to be a Cat" by Juliette McIVER; illustrated by Carla MARTELL
• "A Big Guy Took My Ball" by Mo WILLEMS
• "Where is Green Sheep" by Mem FOX; illustrated by Judy HORACEK
• "One Word and A Bird" by Stephen Michael KING

Fiction:

• "Star Wars : The Prequel Trilogy" by George LUCAS & Alessandro FERRARI; illustrated by Matteo PIANA & Ingo ROMLING (Star Wars - Graphic Novel series)
• "Diary of a Netball Star : Robin Camp" by Liz WATSON & Fiona HARRIS (Diary of a Netball Star series)
• "The Determined Kitten" by Holly WEBB
• "Unicorn Diaries : Bo and the Dragon Pup" by Rebecca ELLIOT  (Unicorn Diaries series)
• "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter BROWN (The Wild Robot series)

Non-fiction:

• "Level Up 2025" by Eddie ROBSON
• "It's Elementary! Putting the Crackle into Chemistry" by Robert WINSTON
• "Buzz!" by Donovan BIXLEY
• "History for Beginners" by Andy PRENTICE and Tom MUMBRAY

Senior Fiction:

• "Pearl" by Sherri L SMITH; illustrated by Christine NORRIE

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "I Am We : A Book of Community" by Susan VERDE; illustrated by Peter H. REYNOLDS
• "Do Not Open This Book Ever" by Andy LEE; illustrated by Heath McKENZIE
• "He Huarākau" by Sharon HOLT; illustrated by Stephanie THATCHER
• "Spotty the Zebra" by Peter MILLET; illustrated by Raymond McGRATH

Fiction:

• "Ella and Olivia : Perfect Harmony" by Yvette POSHOGLIAN; (Ella and Olivia series)
• "Ninja Girl" by Ahn DO; (Ninja Girl series)
• "The Night Librarian" by Christopher LINCOLN
• "The Haunted Mask - Graphic Novel" by R L STINE; illustrated by Maddi GONZALEZ (Goosebumps - Graphic Novel series)
• "Lightfall : The Girl and the Galdurian" by Tim PROBERT (Lightfall - Graphic Novel series)

Non-fiction:

• "Parkour" by Paul STEVENSON
• "Jokes For Everyday" by Toby REYNOLDS
• "A World Without : Animals" by William ANTHONY (A World Without series)
• "A World Without : Rain" by William ANTHONY (A World Without series)

Senior Fiction:

• "Wings of Fire : Escaping Peril" by Tui SUTHERLAND; illustrated by Mike HOLMES (Wings of Fire - Graphic Novel series)

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "Moto Mike and the Motorbike" by Deano YIPADEE; illustrated by Bruce POTTER
• "Mataali'i" by Dalia MALAEULU; illustrated by Darcy SOLIA

Fiction:

• "I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii, AD79" by Lauren TARSHIS; illustrated by David SHEPARD (I Survived - Graphic Novel series)
• "Hot Dog! - Scary Time!!" by Ahn DO (Hot Dog! series)
• "Meet Ella : Friend Next Door" by Rebecca McRITCHIE (Meet Ella series)

Non-fiction:

• "Chinese New Year" by Grace JONES (Festivals Around the World series)
• "Ramadan" by Grace JONES (Festivals Around the World series)
• "A Treasury of Christmas Stories - Festive Tales and Songs"

Senior Fiction:

• "Sunrise on the Reaping" by Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games series)

Browsing:

• "Minecraft : Where's the Zombie?"

Upper Hutt Libraries Poetry Competition 2025

Upper Hutt Libraries Poetry Competition 2025 is open for entries. Entries close 3 August 2025. For more information see their website HERE.

Book Fair 2025

Opening hours: 

Thursday, 17th July, 8.30-9.15am and 2.30-6.30pm 

Friday, 18th July, 2.30-3.30pm

Monday, 21st July, 8.30-9.15am and 2.30-3.30pm

Tuesday, 22nd July, 8.30-9.15am and 2.30-6.30pm 

Wednesday, 23rd July CLOSED

All purchases from the Book Fair help to 

earn new resources for our library.

On the New Books Display this Week

Picture:

• "Ten Nosey Weka" by Kate PREECE; illustrated by Isobel Joy TE AHO-WHITE
• "Tūpuna" by Te Whānau o Whakamana Māori

Fiction:

• "InvestiGators : All Tide Up" by John Patrick GREEN (InvestiGators series)
• "Anne of Green Gables" by L M MONTGOMERY
• "Boy vs Beast : Fire Beast" by Mac PARK (Boy vs Beast series)

Non-fiction:

• "Minecraft : Mega Bite-Size Builds"
• "Can You Feel the Force?" by Richard HAMMOND
• "The Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi" by Ross CALMAN

Senior Fiction:

• "Upstaged" by Robin EASTER

Reference:

• "Guinness World Records 2025" editor in chief Craig GLENDAY

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?