Final Competition for the year...Xmas time..

Just tell me in less than 75 words, the book you'd most like to get for Xmas and why.

Post your entries here....just click on the comment line - remember to tell me your name...

Watch this space.

Operation Red Jericho & Operation Typhoon Shore - by Joshua Mowll

If you are into action, adventure and a little bit of history you will LOVE these books by Joshua Mowll. There are part of a series of three, the third one is not yet in our library. They follow on so you do need to read them in order.

The main action takes place in the 1920's in China and Asia. As well as text the pages are filled with diagrams, photocopies of authentic tickets and other bits of memorabilia.

They are not easy reading so you would need to be a fairly confident reader to tackle them.

The Key to Rondo - Emily Rodda

A music box, a mysterious family history, a set of precise instructions.....and a doorway to another world - created by Emily Rodda.

Rodda's detailed descriptions and wonderful characterisation will ensure that this will be a very popular new book in the library!

Check out Emily Rodda's website here - http://www.emilyrodda.com/index.html

Monsters of Blood and Honour - Ken Catran

After hearing Ken Catran in our own library last term, I was pretty keen to read his latest book. It's not a book I'd recommend to junior readers as it has some harrowing accounts of World War 2. The novel is in fact three short novels in one collection. The first tale deals with British fighter pilots who lead the bombing raids that wiped out German cities at the end of WW2. The second deals with the memories of a nurse who was held in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Singapore. The last tale is the story of a Nazi prison guard who managed to escape to NZ but who lives with the ghosts of his past.
Each story has a teenage character who acts as the starting point for the narrative.

Ken spoke to us about how he researches his work and the details in these stories are based on the factual accounts of survivors- the realism is startling at times.

National Library Week - October 15th

This week is National Library Week - we will be running a competition based on this blog. Read one of the books that I have reviewed either on this blog or the school newsletter, post your thoughts about the book here and be in to win a great prize.


PRIZEWINNER - Samuel Hansard - see Mrs Cleary for your prize!!

For more info check out this link - http://www.libraryweek.org.nz/index.php

Duet - David Hill

As an ex-teacher David Hill knows how to create believable teenage characters, Kallum and Paige, the main characters of Duet are certainly believable as a pair of teens who have a strong attraction to each other. Music is the link that brings them and it forms a strong rhythm in the novel. Hill has always tackled real issues sensitively and teenage pregnancy is certainly a real issue.

A book for more senior readers.

Snake and Lizard - Joy Cowley and Gavin Bishop

A great little book for Junior readers - fantastic illustrations and self-contained stories with two great characters.

Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy

I've just finished this new addition to the library - my 10 yr old son loved it! I thought it was a little bit too creepy - but that's what kids seem to want to read these days!
Awesome cover!!

New Zealand Book Month

Did you know that September is New Zealand Book Month?

Check out this link http://nzbookmonth.co.nz/

and remember that the library has many wonderful books written by NZ authors.

Competition - What's Your Favourite Book?

This year we have a new competition for 'Literature Week'. In a 'post' of less than 50 words tell us what your favourite book is and why?

Great prizes for the best post. Make sure you leave your name and form class with your posting!!!

Yr 7,8 and 13 - make sure you have your costume ready for 'dress up ' day!

Here's the winning entry -
Title:Starring Tracey Beaker
Author:Jacqueline Wilson
My favourite book is Starring Tracey Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson. It is my favourite because she always describes all her work in such detail. There are some awesome pictures by Nick Sharrat that really give you an idea of what everything looks like, when the author is trying to explain what someone or something looks like. Overall this is a fabulous read!
By Brooke Gregory-7CK

Ripples on the Lake - Dawn Rotarangi

This new, NZ fiction, I believe is a must for senior readers. The main character, Saffron Delaney is believable and very likeable. The cultural and spiritual aspects of the book are hugely engaging - What is tapu? How do non- Maori justify and qualify the notion of tapu? How does the past influence how we live now? 

All huge questions that need some thought if we are to really understand and accept the values of biculturalism.

Those of you that have the time check out the author's blog and website - http://www.dawnrotarangi.blogspot.com/

And isn't it a great cover.........

Mr Pip - Lloyd Jones

The library has been lucky enough to have had a copy of Lloyd Jones' award winning novel donated to its collection.

There has been a lot of 'hype' about the novel and I certainly did find it a very interesting read. The choice of the 11 year old Matilda as the narrator means that the tale is told with a certain naivete, which in turn heightens the impact of the book's climax. The historical background of inter-tribal conflict and the independence movement in Papua New Guinea sets a brutal back-drop for a story where one book provides an escape from the harsh realities of life.

Mr Pip is more suitable for senior readers and staff. I know that a number of schools are buying it as a new senior text.

Read more about the author at this link
http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/writers/joneslloyd.html

Here Lies Arthur - Phillip Reeve

I'm a great fan of the King Arthur legends. The stories always fascinated me when I was a kid - especially the descriptions of the knights and the fantastic adventures that they were always involved in.

This book looks at King Arthur in a whole new, less romantic light!! Merlin is more of a 'trickster' than a magician, and Arthur is a little less chivalrous than the legend would have us believe.

What do you think?

Salt - Maurice Gee

For more senior readers, Gee's latest is a look at a future which is grim indeed.

Society has fallen into chaos and the 'Company' controls all apects of life. Company families live in heavily protected compounds and inter-marry to maintain their superiority. The rest of the population tries to survive amidst the ruins and rubbish of the now destroyed cities, many living like animals and in fear of their lives. The 'Company' maintains its dominance by enforced slave labour in the mines - few ever return.

What happens when the system is challenged? A riveting tale.

If you want to find out more about Maurice Gee have a look at this link
http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/writers/geem.html

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling

Well I guess I really had to start the library blog with this one!! This book is in our collection, but you will have to wait for Mrs Kraushaar to return before it can be borrowed.

Was it the most 'waited for' book ever to be published?

For really really keen fans the wait will have been worth it. That's not to say that the book is perfect! There are lots of parts where phrases like 'two months later...' pop up. But there is lots of action, a few surprises and the ending .......I'll leave that for you to discover.

Make sure you add your thoughts after you have read the book.....