Dunedin Public Libraries News & Reviews Blog

The New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults reward and recognise authors and illustrators contributing to New Zealand literature for children and young adults.

Twenty great books were short listed in February this year, with the announcement of the overall winners for this annual event happening on Wednesday 21 May at 6pm.

Many celebrations are held throughout New Zealand to observe these awards and Dunedin Public Libraries are proud to be associated, partnering with the University Bookshop, to bring you a programme to be proud of - we hope to see you there!

Opening Event:

Come celebrate the opening of New Zealand Post Book Awards and meet our special guest award winning author Kyle Mewburn, Author of Kiss! Kiss! Yuck! Yuck!. Kyle will be launching his latest children’s picture book, Duck’s Stuck.

Suitable for children under 8 years. Limited numbers. Collect your tickets from the University Bookshop or the Dunedin City Library.

• Monday 12 May 6.00pm
• 4th Floor
• Dunedin City Library
• FREE EVENT

Happy Birthday Hairy Maclary:

Come along and celebrate Hairy Maclary’s 25th birthday! Lynley Dodd will be reading and signing books.

• Friday 16th May 1.30p.m.
• Storypit
• Dunedin City Library
• FREE EVENT

Limited numbers - telephone 474 3670 or collect tickets from Dunedin City Library.

Character Hunt:

Join us in having lots of fun finding some of your favourite book characters hiding around the Library.

• Sunday 18 May 2.00pm - 3.30pm
• Dunedin City Library

Bubbles Storytimes:

Join us for a special bubbly New Zealand Post Book Awards storytime reading of “The King’s Bubbles” by Ruth Paul.

• Friday 16 May 10.30am Port Chalmers Library and Blueskin Bay Library
• Tuesday 20 May 11.00am Waikouaiti Library and Mosgiel Library
• Wednesday 21 May 10.30am City Library

As part of Turn Off TV Week Blueskin Bay Library hosted a Pet Day on Thursday.

Many of our furry, feathery and fluffy friends attended, including cats and dogs, geese (one looked very much like Jemima Puddleduck!)and rabbits. Those without real live pets brought along the toy variety.

The sausage eating competition was a definite highlight.

Other prizes were also given out, including ones for the best trick and the naughtiest pet!

A great time was had by all.

The twenty finalists have been announced in this years NZ Post Book Awards.

The winners will be announced on Wednesday May 21st.

The categories and finalists are:

Picture Books

• The Kings Bubbles - Ruth Paul
• Out of the egg - Tina Matthews
• Rats! - Gavin Bishop
• Tahi: one lucky kiwi - Melanie Drewery
• To the harbour - Stanley Palmer

Junior Fiction

• Dead Dan’s Dee - Phyllis Johnston
• The dumpster saga - Craig Harrison
• The mad tapdpole adventure - Melanie Drewery
• Sitting on the fence: the diary of Martin Daly - Bill Nagelkerke
• Snake and Lizard - Joy Cowley

Non Fiction

• A mini guide to the identification of New Zealand’s land birds - Andrew Crowe
• Reaching the summit: Sir Edmund Hillary’s story - Alexa Johnston
• Weather watch New Zealand - Sandra Carrod
• What is a fish? - Fena Tu’akoi
• Which New Zealand spider? - Andrew Crowe

Young Adult Fiction

• Salt - Maurice Gee
• The sea-wreck stranger - Anna Mackenzie
• Tomorrow all will be beautiful - Brigid Lowry
• The transformation of Minna Hargreaves - Fleur Beale
• Zilla - Penelope Todd

Waitati’s own Mandy Mayhem read us all stories for Turn Off TV Week at the Blueskin Nursery Cafe. A great group of young and old turned up for hot chocolates, coffees and free fluffies for the kids.

Mandy read

‘The Princess and the White Bear King’ by Tanya Batts

and ‘Bad Jelly the Witch’ by Spike Milligan.

We then got to see and feel lots of different kinds of modern cloth nappies.

Michelle came along from the Nappy Network to show us these and answer any questions. She’ll be at the Mosgiel library on Thursday too!

Michelle highlighted the DCC $20 off nappy starter pack and all the reasons why these nappies are great to use!

Over 70 children and adults attended our recent Storytime session at City Library.

Our weekly sessions can include stories, rhyme, songs, scarf activities and musical instruments.

These activities are important in helping your child develop their language and memory skills, motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination as well as stimulating their senses

City Library sessions are held every Wednesday at 10.30a.m. during term time.

Our website has details of Storytime sessions at our other libraries.

Today the children colored in and decorated Teddy pictures.

The stories read were

Cartwheels in the kitchen

Hairy Maclary, Sit

Pingas Lost Rabbit

The latest issue of Childrens Choice has been published and contains a good list of books for kids spanning fiction, non-fiction, picture books as well as news updates from staff working in the childrens area.

Read the latest issue (.pdf) online today.

Blueskin Library hosted a storytime for Blueskin Playcentre.

We read the following books;

Shoe Baby by Joyce Dunbar

Little Apple byBrigette Weninger

Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert

The children also made either a butterfly mask or a small butterfly to be worn around the wrist. They also had fun in the playground and choosing a book for the playcentre to borrow.

Judged by Taieri Art Society.

There were 71 terrific entries. It was a really hard decision but the winners are:

3-5 age group: Isaac Paton (5 years)
Good colour and lovely handwork.

6-8 age group: Olivia Watt (8 years)
Lovely bright colours and lots of detail.

9-12 age group: Natasha Mitchell (10 years)
Good tones and shading.

Extra effort prize: Shanna Terpstra (7 years)
Glitter and glamour.

Stories read at stortime this week at Mosgiel Library were;

Spot’s Easter Surprise by Eric Hill

Swing by Mick Inkpen

Spot’s First Easter by Eric Hill

Five in the bed and the little one said…..

Also the children made Easter Baskets to take home with them. I hope Easter Bunny hops along this weekend to fill them….

We have a lot of fun at Storytime here’s some pictures taken from a recent visit by Green Street Preschool. Aren’t the butterflies beautiful!