The New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children & Young Adults - Finalists

The finalists for this coveted New Zealand award have been announced!  Take a look at all the finalists here on this page.  We have three of these lovely books in our library already. 

You can vote for your favourite books in the Children's Choice Award.  So go ahead and have your say on which books you think should win each category and you could win $500 of Booksellers Tokens for yourself and $500 of Booksellers Tokens for our school library!

The Picture Book finalists are:

"Machines and Me - Boats" by Catherine Foreman

"The Boring Book" by Vasanti Unka

"Toucan Can!" by JulietteMacIvor & Sarah Davis

"The Three Bears ... Sort Of" 
by Yvonne Morrison & Donovan Bixley

"Watch Out, Snail!"
by Gay Hay & Margaret Tolland


Here's an interview on RNZ with author Yvonne Morrison that parents may enjoy.



               

The Non-fiction finalists are:

 

An Extraordinary Land

 



Anzac Day:  The New Zealand Story
This Book is in our Library!
 



 

The Beginner's Guide to Hunting and Fishing in New Zealand

 

 

Flight of the Honey Bee

 

 

Wearable Wonders
This Book is in our Library!

The Junior Fiction Finalists are:

 

 

Project Huia

Felix and the Red Rats

Dunger

A Winter's Day in 1939

 

The Princess and the Foal
This Book is in our Library!
 

The Winner of the Maori Language Award is:

Taka Ki Ro Wai by Keri Kaa & Martin D Page

Target age 8+ with Te Reo language support
Te Moana’s home is lashed by the winds and rain of a violent storm. The next morning, Te Moana notices something is wrong with the mare in the far paddock. Once closer, Te Moana recognises it is a foal, born into the water, and still inside it’s birth sac… it’s going to need help. This is a true story set on the East Coast of the North Island. Are the events that follow miracles, or is this just real life? Suited to 8+ years, the language is sophisticated and would suit second-language learners as a bridge beyond basic language skills.

 

 Images via Booksellers NZ

 

 

Crazy Book Fact!:  One out of every eight letters you read is the letter ‘e’!
 
 
 
 
 

 

New Books - just arrived for borrowing

We have more lovely new books in our library - check these out for some inspiration:

 

Ghost Hunters And The Incredibly Revolting Ghost -  by Cornelia Funke

 

Nine-year-old Tom can't catch a break: He's a klutz, his sister Lola pretty much hates his guts, and--and this is a BIG "and"--he just found a ghost camping out in his cellar. Lucky for Tom his grandma's best friend just happens to be the world's foremost ghosthunter. Under her expert tutelage, Tom learns the tools of the trade--which just happen to include buckets of graveyard dirt--and soon finds he has to face down not just the Averagely Spooky Ghost (ASG) in his basement but the Incredibly Revolting Ghost (IRG) in town. All while keeping the nettlesome Lola off his trail....

 

You can find out more about the Cornelia Funke's books at her amazing interactive website here:  http://www.corneliafunke.com/

 

Rainbow Magic - Series by Daisy Meadows

We have 13 new Rainbow Magic books in the library for you to borrow.   Rainbow Magic features differing groups of fairies as main characters, including the Jewel fairies, Weather fairies, Pet fairies, Petal fairies, and Sporty fairies.  Rainbow Magic books by Daisy Meadows were the most-borrowed children's books at libraries in the United Kingdom, and the second-most borrowed books overall at those libraries, for 2010 and 2011 - so they must be good!

There is also a website with lots of games and activities.  http://www.rainbowmagiconline.com/uk/

Snakehead - by Anthony Horowitz

 

When Alex Rider crash-lands off the coast of Australia, the Australian Secret Service recruits him to infiltrate one of the ruthless gangs operating across Southeast Asia. Known as snakeheads, the gangs smuggle drugs, weapons, and worst of all, people. Alex accepts the assignment, in part for the chance to work with his godfather and learn more about his parents. What he uncovers, however, is a secret that will make this his darkest and most dangerous mission yet . . . and the knowledge that his old nemesis, Scorpia, is anything but out of his life.
Here's the Alex Rider website - with all sorts of Mission Information, Book Trailers and more:  http://www.alexrider.com/

Crazy Book Fact!

Romans only read aloud, one of the first silent readers was bishop Ambrose, early in AD 400!

 

  

                     

Welcome to the new Belmont Library Blog!

Hi Everyone,

We hope you like our new Blog which is all about what is happening in the library.

Our aim is to help you to get the best out of our fabulous library by showcasing the books we have in our collection. 

We'll be presenting new titles about to hit the shelves of the library and also many favourites that we already have.

We also would love to hear from you - about what books you really enjoy reading, or what you would like us to have in the library.  You can leave a comment below a post, write on the suggestions page, or email us at belmontprimarylibrary@gmail.com

To celebrate our new Blog we've giving away Geronimo Stilton Collectibles - go to the BPS Book Reviews page for details

We are going to start small and see how our blog goes - so let us know how we are doing!

Firstly we'll start with some reviews of new books which have just arrived in the library.

Do You Really Want to Visit ....? series

 

Wouldn’t it be great to visit all the planets in our solar system? It might… but conditions in outer space are harsh. What would it take to survive? This humorous look at each planet and the moon illustrates the extremes necessary to visit other planets and shows the pros and cons of galactic real estate.

 

 

Dinosaur Knights - Michael Gerard Butler

 

 

“The opening in the forest before them was an eerie jumble of shapes and shadows … Roland and Oswald strained their eyes … finding imaginary monsters in the bulky bushes and arching tree limbs. Then they saw a real one.”

Somewhere in the future a scientist is conducting the experiment of his life – stretching time to bring a living dinosaur to the present. But the giant prehistoric beast is stranded in the Middle Ages. There, a boy desperate to be a knight and his unwilling brother must face their fear and do battle.     

 

You can read more about the author and some reviews of this book here:

 

http://michaelgerardbauer.wordpress.com/my-books/dinosaur-knights/

 

 

 

Anneli the Art Hater

 

Anneli hated painting. She hated anything to do with art. She loathed messing with clay and smudging with pastels.
But when she finds that her attic connects with the house next door she is in for a surprise. The old lady who lives there has paintings all over the place! And one of them is hiding a secret.
All of a sudden Anneli finds that some paintings can be very interesting indeed . . .

You can find out more about Anneli and other Anne Fine books here:
http://www.annefine.co.uk/books/anneli.php

When the skies of Africa darken with rain and the river swells, a good-natured crocodile named Snout lends his broad back to many stranded animal neighbors. After he ferries soggy fireflies, dripping hedgehogs, and other creatures over dangerous waters, his good deeds are repaid in full when a shift to hot, dry weather leaves him vulnerable instead. Written by Children's Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis and illustrated by acclaimed picture book artist Monique Felix, The Good Ship Crocodile is a charming story of friendship sure to inspire readers of all ages

You can find out more about author J. Patrick Lewis here:

http://www.jpatricklewis.com/