Snow, snow and more snow

Another day at home today thanks to the extreme cold weather we and the rest of the country have been experiencing over the last few days.  Yesterday we experienced the third afternoon in a row of snow here in Upper Hutt - a place where we usually only see snow dusting the higher surrounding hilltops. Here are a few snapshots of the snowfall yesterday afternoon at my home, not far from school.

The photographs really don't do it justice - so silent - it was like magic!   

A few more days like this and I can see how the novelty of snow would wear thin, it is just so cold!  Thank goodness for a good book (or two), a good fire and hot food to keep you warm.

Paddington Bear

One in a series of posts about children's classic books available for borrowing from our school library.

Paddington Bear is a polite immigrant bear from Darkest Peru, with his old hat, battered suitcase, duffle coat and love of marmalade sandwiches he has become a classic character from English children's literature.

The Paddington Bear stories were written by Michael Bond and based on a lone toy bear he saw sitting in a London store. This from an article in The Independent newspaper celebrating Paddington Bears 50th anniversary in 2008:  Mr Bond describes how a pang of sympathy for a neglected toy bear in a London shop inspired him to write the children's stories which have since been translated into 30 languages, and sold more than 30 million copies around the world: "I bought a small toy bear on Christmas Eve 1956. I saw it left on a shelf in a London store and felt sorry for it. I took it home as a present for my wife Brenda and named it Paddington as we were living near Paddington Station at the time. I wrote some stories about the bear, more for fun than with the idea of having them published. After ten days I found that I had a book on my hands. It wasn’t written specifically for children, but I think I put into it the kind of things I liked reading about when I was young." 

The first Paddington book A Bear Called Paddington was published in 1958 and is still in print today. Eleven other Paddington books have since been published, the most recent Paddington : Here and Now was published in 2008 exactly 50 years after the first book.  In 1972 the first picture book editions of  the Paddington books were published, the most recent picture book editions, illustrated by R.W. Alley, were published in the 1990's.  R.W. Alley's version of Paddington worked so well that he was then asked to re-illustrate many of the earlier picture books as well as covers for the novels including the latest novel Paddington Here and Now.

The Paddington Bear stories were adapted for television series in the 1970's and late 1980's and it has been suggested that there could soon be a movie adaption too. There are also numerous soft toy versions of Paddington Bear, however the first manufactured Paddington Bear was created in 1972 by Gabrielle Designs who dressed  Paddington in Wellington boots to help him stand upright.

We have Paddington Takes the Air in the fiction section of our library. We also have copies of the picture book versions of Paddington Bear; Paddington at the Carnival; Paddington at the Zoo and Paddington the Artist in the picture book boxes.

Upper Hutt Public Library has copies of 12 Paddington Bear books in the Childrens section as well as an audio book and a copy of the 50th Anniversary Paddington Bear DVD.

Most of the above information is from or adapted from: here, here and here.

Trivia:  Gabrielle Designs, was a small business run by Shirley and Eddie Clarkson and the prototype Paddington Bear was made as a Christmas present for their children Joanna and Jeremy Clarkson - yes that is Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear.

Book Fair 2011

St Brendan's Book Fair will be open before and after school, for viewing and sales, most days from Mon 8th - Fri 12th August 2011.  The Book Fair will also be open late during Student-Parent-Teacher Conferences on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon/evening.

Opening Hours:
Mon 8th August   2.40pm-3.15pm
Tues 9th August   8.40am-9.15am and
                                     2.40pm-8.00pm
Wed 10th August 8.40am-9.15am and
                                     2.40pm-5.30pm
Thur 11th August 8.40am-9.15am and
                                     2.40pm-3.15pm
Fri 12th August     8.40am-9.15am only

Hope to see you there.

Remember all purchases from the Book Fair help to earn free books for our school library.

Welcome Back for Term 3

In Week two (next week) our Book Fair will be running.  This means that the library will be closed for two weeks from this Wednesday, 3rd August, until Wednesday 17th August for the Book Fair, including set-up and pack-up. 

So if you would like to return books or borrow from the library this week please try and visit on Monday & Tuesday this week.

More information about the Book Fair will be on the blog later this week and soon also on posters on display around school.

More Holiday Boredom Busters

If you are feeling bored these holidays why not take a look at the book related websites linked below.

You might also like to visit the websites in the Holiday Boredom Busters post from last school holidays.

Dr.Seuss and Seussville: Here you can find out about Dr.Seuss, his books and his book characters.  You can play games and lots of other activities and you can also watch short videos for some of the Dr.Seuss books. 
 

EJ12 Girl Hero: Here you can read about the EJ12 books, find out about secret files, codes and gadget charms and vote in the EJ12 polls. If you'd like to play EJ12 online games, Win Stuff, email EJ12 Girl Hero, download or buy stuff please make sure it is O.K. with your parents or other caregiver first.

Zac Power: Here you can look at Zac's bookshelf and read the first chapter of his books.  You can find out about spy stuff and Zac's Gadgets and about his next mission.  If you'd like to try the Spy Log-in, the Restricted Area Log-in or to download something please make sure it is O.K. with your parents or other caregiver first.

Edgar & Ellen:  I'm not sure how up-to-date the Edgar & Ellen website is but you can find out about the books, play some fun games and find out about other free stuff. BUT remember before you download, register or sign up for anything please make sure it is O.K. with your parents or other caregiver first.

Septimus Heap: Here you can find out about the author, Angie Sage and take a trip to the Manuscriptorium to find out about the books, including the new book "Darke". You can explore the world of Septimus Heap through an interactive map, and play games BUT before you download, register or sign up for anything please remember to make sure it is O.K. with your parents or other caregiver first.

End of Term & Book Fair 2011

It's almost the holidays so don't forget to return your library books before the end of the week. Hope you have a great holiday & see you next term.

Coming soon....              St Brendan's Book Fair will be open before and after school most days during Week 2 next term (Mon 8th - Fri 12th Aug).  Remember to check the Library Blog again at the beginning of next term for more information about Book Fair opening hours. All purchases from the Book Fair help to earn free books for our school library.

Hope to see you there.

The Jungle Book

Another in a series of posts about children's classic books available for borrowing from our school library.

The Jungle Book is a collection of stories published in 1895 by British author Rudyard Kipling. The stories were first published in magazines in 1893–4. The original publications contain illustrations, some by the authors father. 

Set in the jungles of India The Jungle Book tells of a wolf-pack which lives and hunts in the forest. Led by the lone wolf Akela and the wisdom of the venerable bear Balloo, the pack stumbles across a baby human, a man-cub, they call him Mowgli. Raised by the pack and by the Law of the Jungle, Mowgli learns to live and fight using guile and determination instead of tooth and claw. With his friends Balloo and Bagheera, the black panther, Mowgli must confront the tiger Sher Khan, the tyrannical lord of the jungle, for the safety of the pack and to uphold the Law. Although the stories of Mowgli are what most people think of when they hear of the Jungle Book, Mowgli's story is interspersed with other tales of the jungle, such as Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, a mongoose against the deadly Cobra, a tale of Kotick the White Seal on a search for a safe haven for his kind and the overheard conversation of camp animals by a British soldier who understands 'beast-talk'. 

Rudyard Kipling was born in India and spent the first six years of his childhood there. After about ten years in England, he went back to India and worked there for about six-and-half years. The Jungle Book was based on the author's view of India as well as his interpretation of the various folk-tales told to him by the Indian nurses of his childhood. To the general public, India was a land of exotic mystery, full of spice, magic and adventure. Kipling’s stories gave a glimpse of the magic land and served as an entertaining read for adults as well as moral parables for children.

Because of it's moral tone The Jungle Book came to be used as a motivational book by the Cub Scouts, a junior element of the Scouting movement. This use of the book was approved by Kipling after a direct petition by Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Scouting movement. Akela, the head wolf in The Jungle Book, has become a senior figure in the movement, the name being traditionally adopted by the leader of each Cub Scout pack.

A number of movie adaptions of  The Jungle Book, or parts of it, have been produced including live-action and animated versions.

We have Tales of Mowgli from The Jungle Book and an abridged version of The Jungle Book in the fiction section of our library. We also have a large picture book of the Disney version in the Big Browsing Box.

Upper Hutt Public Library has 4 copies of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling in the Childrens section and 2 books of the Disney film adaption, as well as a copy of the DVD featuring the Disney movies The Jungle Book & The Jungle Book 2.

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling can be read online at Project Gutenburg and is available for download free at Project Gutenburg.

Most of the above information was adapted from: here, here and here.

On the New Books Display this week

Picture Book:

• "Meow said the Cow" by Emma DODD
• "The Runaway Hug" by Nick BLAND

 Fiction:

• "All Because of Jackson" by Dick KING-SMITH
• "The Adventures of Nanny Piggins" by R.A.SPRATT
•  "Sands of the Scorpion" by Bear GRYLLS (Mission Survival series)

Senior Fiction:

• "The Gypsy Crown" by Kate FORSYTH

Non-Fiction:

• "Speed Machines and other Record-Breaking Vehicles" by Miranda SMITH
  
• "The Life Cycle of the Tuatara" by Betty BROWNLIE

Kyle Mewburn

Picture Source - used with permission.

Kyle Mewburn was born in Brisbane, Australia in 1963. He studied at the Queensland Institute of Technology completing a Bachelor of Business Degree before traveling overseas. Kyle travelled in Europe and the Middle East and then settled in New Zealand in 1990. He has been writing for children full-time since 1997.  Before that he spent time as a journalist,     EFL teacher, Environment Centre manager, dishwasher, interviewer, traffic surveyor, apple-picker, machine operator and Kibbutznik (a member of a kibbutz). Kyle lives with his wife in Central Otago in a grass-roofed house he built by himself. (You can see his grass-roofed house in the background of the photo above and on his webpage).

Kyle has written many picture books which have been published in nine countries so far. He has also written numerous school readers and a junior chapter book series Pop Hooper's Perfect Pets. His first junior novel A Crack in the Sky was released in 2010 and his latest Do Not Push was released just last month. A new junior chapter book series Dinosaur Rescue is due for release next month.

Kyle Mewburn won the Joy Cowley Award in 2005 and his books have been finalists in the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards several times, with Kiss! Kiss! Yuck! Yuck! being the Picture Book & Children's Choice Winner in 2007 and Old Hu-Hu  the Picture Book & Book of the Year Winner in 2010.

Books by Kyle Mewburn we have in our library: The Hoppleplop;  Kiss! Kiss! Yuck! Yuck!;  No Room for a Mouse;  Duck's Stuck!;  Old Hu-Hu;  The Eleventh Sheep;  Hill & Hole; Daisy's Maze; Three Cheer's for No-Ears! and Hester and Lester in the Picture Books. Also copies of books in the Pop Hooper's Perfect Pets series and A Crack in the Sky in our Fiction section. Books in the Dinosaur Rescue series are coming soon.

Upper Hutt Library currently holds copies of 20 children's books by Kyle Mewburn.

Most of the above information about Kyle Mewburn was adapted from here and here.

For more information about Kyle Mewburn and his books visit Kyle Mewburn's Homepage.

On the New Books Display this week

Picture Book:

• "Three Cheers for No-Ears!" by Kyle MEWBURN
• "I'm Me!" by Sara SHERIDAN

Mature Picture Book:

• "The Blue Lotus" by HERGE (Tintin series)

Fiction:

• "The Quest for Paradise" by Geronimo STILTON (Geronimo Stilton series)
• "The Mind-Swap Manace" by Steve COLE (Astrosaurs series)

Senior Fiction:

• "Half-Minute Horrors" edited by Susan RICH

Non-Fiction:

• "How to Play Chess" by Daniel KING
  
• "Natural Disasters" by Andrew LANGLEY (Kingfisher Knowledge series)

Milly-Molly-Mandy

Another in a series of posts about children's classic books available for borrowing from our school library.

Milly-Molly-Mandy lives in a “nice white cottage with a thatched roof” along with her father, mother, aunt, uncle, and grandparents. They have a small farm and Milly-Molly-Mandy gets to ride to market with her grandfather in the pony and trap, paddle in the brook, keep a little yellow duckling, and grow a pumpkin in her own vegetable patch. She also has two friends, called Susan and Billy Blunt, and together they sleep outside in tents made from sheets and kitchen chairs, learn to cycle on two old bicycles, and make a little house together in a tree.

Picture Source

The Milly-Molly-Mandy stories were written and illustrated by Joyce Lankester Brisley who was born in Bexhill, England in 1896. Most of the Milly-Molly-Mandy stories were first published in the Christian Science Monitor, and then collected into three volumes: Milly-Molly-Mandy Stories (1928), More of Milly-Molly-Mandy (1929) and Further Doings of Milly-Molly-Mandy (1932). A fourth volume of stories, Milly-Molly-Mandy Again was published in 1948.  In 1992, Puffin published the four books together in a single volume titled The Adventures Of Milly-Molly-Mandy.

We have The Adventures Of Milly-Molly-Mandy in the fiction section of our library.

Upper Hutt Public Library has five Milly-Molly-Mandy titles and one audio book in the Children's section.

Most of the above information was obtained or adapted from: here, here and here.

On the New Books Display this week

Picture Book:

• "The Cat's Pyjamas" by Catherine FOREMAN
• "Alpha Monsters" by Chris KENNETT

 Fiction:

• "Ottoline and the Yellow Cat" by Chris RIDDELL (Ottoline series)
• "Amulet : The Cloud Searchers" by Kazu KIBUISHI (Amulet series)

Senior Fiction:

• "Secrets" by Jacqueline Wilson
• "Conspiracy 365 - December" by Gabrielle LORD (Conspiracy 365 series)

Non-Fiction:

• "The Story Of Science" by Anna CLAYBOURNE
  
• "Great Art Attack Stuff" by Neil BUCHANAN

Lauren Child

Image from Little London Magazine HERE

Another in a series of posts about popular children's authors and their books.

Lauren Child was born in 1967 and grew up in Wiltshire, the middle child of three sisters and the daughter of teachers. Her first creative act was to change her name from Helen to Lauren when she was a child - "I just didn't like my name very much, I didn't dislike the name itself, I just didn't like me being called it."

Lauren studied Art at Manchester Polytechnic and London Art School, after wards she worked in a variety of jobs. She also started her own company making exotic lampshades. The turning point came after talking to a business manager who suggested she should write a children's book and design a product range around it.  The result was Clarice Bean. 

Her first book Clarice Bean, That’s Me, was published in 1999, and was the first of many books about this character. It took her five years to get it published, after many rejections, but after publication it was highly praised and shortlisted for the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize. Although Clarice Bean started life as a picture-book character, Lauren has now written several novels about her adventures too.  Alongside the Clarice Bean series, Lauren Child also began another series of picture books in 2000, about a brother and sister called Charlie and Lola. This series, which began with the award-winning I Will Not Ever, NEVER Eat A Tomato, has proved even more popular than Clarice Bean.

Lauren Child is also an illustrator, her humorous illustrations contain several mediums including magazine cuttings, collage, material, photography and watercolour. As well as illustrating her own books Lauren has also illustrated books by other author's.

Lauren has won a number of prizes and awards for books in the Clarice Bean and the Charlie and Lola series as well as several of her stand alone titles.

Books by Lauren Child we have in our library: Goldilocks and the Three Bears - a Picture Book, and copies of Utterly Me, Clarice Bean; Clarice Bean Spells Trouble and Clarice Bean, Don't Look Now in the Fiction section. 

Upper Hutt Library currently holds copies of 40 children's books by Lauren Child and three Children's DVDs.

Most of the above information about Lauren Child was adapted from here, here, and here.

For more information about Lauren Child and her books visit the Official Lauren Child website.