We enjoyed wine and Christmas cake at Christchurch South Library on Wednesday night while we listened to the opinions of Helen O'Carroll, Jilaine Johnson and Gavin Bishop about this year's crop of books for children (young and old).

I will not share the "worst" - what was said in the library, stays in the library!

However it was agreed that some of the best were:

Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears by Emily Gravett
Tahi: one lucky kiwi by Melanie Drewery, John O'Reilly and Ali Teo
Crusade by Elizabeth Laird
Castle Corona by Sharon Creech
Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve (see new review below)
I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry
Dreamquake by Elizabeth Knox
The Killing Sea by Richard Lewis (Jilaine thought this would be great to use for as a book for a disaster theme study about year 8)
Shadows in the Ice by Des Hunt
Where Cuckoos Call by Des Hunt
Sleeper Code by Tom Sniegoski
Sleeper Agenda by Tom Sniegoski
The Transformation of Minna Hargeaves by Fleur Beale

And, although Gavin did not express an opinion, everyone agreed that Snake and Lizard by Joy Cowley with illustrations by Gavin Bishop was definitely one of the best books of the year.

This is only a fraction of the number of books that were referred to. If anyone who was there (or indeed anyone who was not there!) feels I have left out a book that definitely should be included, please feel free to add it in the comments. See How to comment on the readers blog if you are unsure how to do this.

We here at National Library are pretty excited by the idea of using picture books to promote learning in areas other than literacy and enjoyment

Some of you who attended the New Zealand Reading Association Conference in New Plymouth in late September may have had the opportunity to catch the presentation by our very own National Library's Cecily Fisher entititled "Not Just a Pretty Face: how picture books can add real value to unexpected areas of the school curriculum". Cecily has the grand title of Learning Area Selector, Visual and Early Literacy - which means "She Who Buys the Picture Books for National Library". Some teachers and school librarians around the Canterbury area have also been fortunate enough to catch the talk at network meetings.

The whole idea of the talk was to outline the use that teachers can make of picture books to support all sorts of different topics in the curriculum from Health, to Technology to Change Loss and Grief.

And now there is a great resource online where you can get free resources using picture books in science. You have to register to be able to download the resources but it is all free. And it is all done by New Zealand teachers and using some New Zealand picture books. The science areas include volcanoes, bubbles and forces.

Science Postcards includes activities to discover science through literature. At the moment they have resources using only a few books, but I believe more are on their way.

What Happened That Day by Marie Langley

The author Marie Langley has been a teacher for nineteen years and a deputy principal for seven years. I found her delicate handling of Vinni, the main character truly remarkable.

Vinni finds his life is falling to pieces when his mother decides to leave home and do the things she’s always wanted to do. Vinni runs off to the beach for a bit of solitude and discovers a BMX bike hidden in a bush which he decides to keep a secret. His dad does his best to comfort Vinni about the family situation, but things come to a head when he is teased at school by two very unsympathetic girls.

Then Vinni encounters the notorious PD. This leads to a lot of drama and a rescue.

The book however ends on a hopeful note along with some recompense for Vinni.

The story is told in the first person and that makes it a great little narrative. The theme of the book is family problems and father and son relationships. The book has a good senior primary and intermediate level.

Shadow of the Whale by Celia Davies

Nothing is ever right anymore for thirteen-year-old David!!! He does not like his parents telling him what to do and would rather have a brother instead of his sister Emma.

When David and his sister meet with an accident they awake to find that they have gone back in time. It’s 1838 and they are on a whaling station. Emma, the more resilient of the two adapts well to the situation while David struggles to accept his new surroundings and the demands that he encounters.

A very useful book on early New Zealand, whaling in New Zealand and even immigration to early New Zealand. The book is fast paced and informative. I had to chuckle at times at David. Very senior primary!!!

Both books are published by Reed

reviewed by Janice Rodrigues