Reading together, Books for children, and Books widely read

Posted on 15/05/2012 by admin

Three links for you this week: one to make you think twice, one to be useful, and one to argue over.

This story from the New York Times Sunday Review, may make you cry – it should at the very least make you think about books, and your relationships with others who read the same titles. Beautifully written too.

Are you looking for books for your child’s bookshelf? Here’s a list of 25 titles that Telegraph readers suggested to columnist Lorna Bradbury. You can check out her other lists at the bottom of the article, where there is a set of links to other lists Lorna has created in response to questions from readers – including books for fussy eaters and books for children with dyslexia – well worth checking out.

Finally, a graphic from Flavorwire showing the Top 10 Most Read Books in the World. Looking at this I wondered if it was the Top 10 Most Read books in English - but there at #2 is Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse Tung so I’m now not so sure. What do you think? Shouldn’t the Koran and the scriptures of the Hindu religion feature?

- Margot

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Friday funny

Posted on 11/05/2012 by admin

I was reminiscing with my colleagues yesterday and thought I would share one of our fond memories of a previous library pet.

Carterton Library had a fishtank with two goldfish who naturally made their tank quite green. To fix this we purchased a large snail to help eat the slime. The snail spent the first week happily munching on the green walls until one morning we came in to find it had crawled out of the tank and was sitting on the counter. We thought “stupid snail” and put him back in the tank. This happened for a few mornings and he earned the name “Kamikaze”. Eventually we decided, in our infinite wisdom, that for his own sake we had  better cover the tank to prevent his escape. Two days later we found Kamikaze had been eaten by his tank mates. So I guess he wasn’t a “stupid snail” but was simply escaping his murderous tank mates! You decide the deeper lesson.

If you have a fond or funny memory of your time in the library, why not share it!

- Rachel

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Where the Wild Things Are

Posted on 09/05/2012 by admin

This classic children’s book was written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak in 1963. and many a child since then has become familiar with the story of Max, who becomes King of all the Wild Things. Since then it has been adapted into other media, including animated short films in 1973 and 1988; a one-act fantasy Opera composed by Oliver Knussen on commission from the Opera National, Brussels; and more recently a live action feature-length film in 2009.

In 1964 Maurice Sendak won the Caldecott Medal for his illustrations in Where the Wild Things Are for “the most distinguished picture book for children”.

In the 1970′s Sendak chose the Rosenbach Museum and Library as a repository for his work. This includes original colour artworks, newspaper clippings that inspired Sendak, family portraits, sketches and much more.

His most recent work , called Bumble-Ardy, was published in September 2011 and is available through the Wairarapa Library Service. It spent 5 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and is a less than cheerful story of an orphaned pig (his parents were eaten) who decides to throw himself a riotous birthday party.

Maruice Sendak was born 10 June 1928 in New York and died yesterday (8 May 2012) in Connecticut.

- Rachel

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Lively Links for Friday

Posted on 04/05/2012 by admin

I love surfing the web to find interesting book/reading/writing sites to share with you.  There’s a good mixture this week of the serious and the not-so-serious. Follow along and have some fun!

First to the New York Times for an article announcing that a descendant of Charles Dickens will narrate the audio-book releases of stories written by JRR Tolkein’s grandson, Michael Tolkien. Definitely worth reading just for the opening paragraph, but please make sure you scroll down to read the comments, for really funny song lyrics from one contributor.

Next a handy flowchart originally from SF Signal, reposted by Richard Darrell of bitrebels.com. If you are looking for just the right Science Fiction or Fantasy novel, this chart will help you. Very clever!

If historical novels are more your thing, did you know there was a Historical Novel Society? They have an excellent website, free membership, and well-researched reviews of historical fiction titles (older titles as well as new ones). I’m so glad I’ve found this site and joined up – maybe one day I will be able to afford to attend one of their Conferences – London in September, anyone?

And finally, two sites where interesting things have been done with books. Go here to see some amazing buildings made with books, and here to see equally amazing – but quite different – book sculptures made by Alexander Korzer-Robi. I’m not sure if I like them all, but they are certainly interesting!

Let us know what you think of these sites when you have visited them – and if you join the Historical Novel Society, perhaps I’ll “see” you on a message board there!

- Margot

 

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Are you feeling starved of The Hunger Games?

Posted on 02/05/2012 by admin

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins has been a huge hit and just seems to be gaining in popularity! Having read the article “Library readers hungry for hit book” on the NZ Herald website I realised just how lucky our borrowers are! There are 226 Wellington library customers waiting for their 51 copies of the book, while in Auckland there are 2610 in the queue. The Wairarapa Library Service holds 8 copies of the book with a total of just 11 people waiting. We hold eight copies of each of the three books in the trilogy with all having a reserve list varying from just 5-11, so if you want to read the trilogy before your mates in the bigger cities put a reserve on today!

To put a reserve on an item held by the Wairarapa Library Service you must be a registered borrower. To put on a reserve from the comfort of home you will need a PIN number (obtained by coming into the library), then from our website search the catalogue and click reserve this item. Another way to reserve an item is to come into the library and ask a member of the helpful library staff.

- Rachel

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Pantology: A Brief History Of Pants by Kjartan Poskitt

Posted on 27/04/2012 by admin

This is a ‘must read’ for all young scientists who wish to develop their knowledge of underpants.

Learn of the exciting discoveries by palaeo-pantologists (scientists who study ancient history of pants) of the underpant wearing T-Rex. Uncover the real history of Adam and Eve, Cleopantra or the Battle of Troy. Fear the cursed pants of Queen Parpunsniffet. Recoil in horror as you learn about the 1200 year old royal pants that have been passed down through the British monarchy.

By the end of this wonderful book of study you will be well on your way to being a fully qualified pantologist.

Another wonderfully funny book by the author of the Urgum the Axeman series.  If you like Andy Griffiths (Just Kidding) , or Dave Pilkey (Captain Underpants), this book is worth reading.

- Christina

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JK Rowling’s first novel for adults…

Posted on 19/04/2012 by admin

… is due to be published on 27 September 2012. I expect it will be enormously successful because of her name alone, regardless of whether it is actually any good. Do you think that worries JK at all? As the author of the Harry Potter phenomenon  JK would have a place in publishing history even if she never wrote another word. Perhaps her place would have been more secure if she did not. What do you think?

If you want to find out more about the novel, you can read a plot summary here, on the Little, Brown Book Group website.

And, for a little light relief (and because I love poetry), here is a link to a Flavorwire list: 10 Great Poems You Can Memorise Today (or if your memory is like mine, over the next week or two)!

- Margot

 

 

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This week’s links

Posted on 11/04/2012 by admin

Three interesting sites for you this week.

Pen-names – have you ever wondered about the stories behind them (and how many of the author names you see on book spines are their real names)? This post at Flavorwire tells the stories behind 10 pen-names.

Wanting to write romantic fiction?Nicholas Sparks is inviting people to contribute to a collaborative story. Follow the link from this site to the story (but read the two or three stories in the comments first, and maybe add to them with a New Zealand twist!).

Here is something useful for parents, teachers (and librarians) helping children find appropriate websites for school projects. Did you know you can tweak a Google search by reading age? Neither did I! Find instructions on how right here.

- Margot

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Junk & Disorderly

Posted on 07/04/2012 by admin

Junk & Disorderly - specialists in turning waste into art – are coming to Carterton.

On Wednesday 11th April from 2pm we’ll be turning bamboo and tissue paper into birds.  Come along and join us at the Carterton Events Centre.  This is a free activity.

Parents are encouraged to stay and join in.  There is no need to register,  just turn up on the day.

- Christina

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Poetry, Anniversary & Mystery

Posted on 02/04/2012 by admin

Three very varied links for you this week:

In honour of America’s National Poetry Month, and as a memorial to poet Adrienne Rich who has just died, you will find one of her lovely poems here.

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the publication of Madeline L’Engle’s book A Wrinkle in Time – I remember being entranced by this book, possibly one of the best science fiction stories for children ever written. You can find more information on the history of the book, and of its impact on readers here.

And last – but by no means least – a list of mysteries for you to read. Make sure you also read the comments below the post as these suggest many more titles. The list is directed particularly at women, as all the protagonists are female (not a shrinking violet among them), however I believe that most men would enjoy these books too.

- Margot

 

 

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