We want to help create motivated and engaged young readers. This blog is about children's and YA literature (especially New Zealand), literacy research, and ways to get, and keep, kids reading.
Lasenby, Jack. Billy and Old Smoko. Longacre, 2007.
A rollicking tale in Lasenby’s tall tale tradition – and a sure-fire winner as a class read-aloud for the middle primary school.
Whether or not the kids are familiar with Harry Wakatipu, here’s a talking horse with attitude. Old Smoko helps Billy find his missing real mother, ridding not only Billy’s home of an evil stepmother, but the homes of all the other kids in the area, whose real mothers have been replaced by clones of the same evil stepmother. Old Smoko has some stern warnings about what can happen to children (or impertinent wild pigs) who give cheek. He also makes the best roast pork and applesauce sandwiches, and takes 27 children to school on his back.
All the action takes place out the back of Waharoa, somewhere not far from the Kaimais, where people farming the steep hill country grow their downhill leg longer than the other… Be prepared to laugh out loud with your listeners as you share this one.
Harris, Jill. Missing Toby. Longacre, 2007.
Be prepared to finish this at one sitting. Jill Harris has written a heartwarming story that totally captured me from the start.
Harriet misses her brother Toby, who died of meningitis at the age of 12. As she struggles with her loneliness and grief, it’s her friendship with two and then three neighbourhood dogs and their owners that help her through some tough crises. But this is no heavy story. Told with an understated touch, and with some humour, Jill Harris manages to create believable animal characters who talk to each other as well. This anthropomorphism is far from cloying – and adds a different dimension to the narrative.
There’s a mix of danger, adventure, a mystery to solve, and a tragic accident – and Harriet growing through it all. Keep the tissue box handy – some readers may need it! Warmly recommended for middle to upper primary school readers.
Reviewed by Janet
A post apocalyptic novel set on an island on which a close knit but conservative community ruled by fear and superstition, has survived, living a harsh farming life.
A post apocalyptic novel set on an island on which a close knit but conservative community ruled by fear and superstition, has survived, living a harsh farming life.
Cousins Ness, Ty and Sophie work hard in a joyless home environment and are forbidden to go to the shoreline as many have died from poison and pollution that came from the sea. On a visit to the sea the threesome discover a stranger close to death and Ness takes responsibility of nursing him back to life without revealing her discovery to the adults on the island. Through her relationship with the stranger Ness sees a chance to escape her cheerless life and understands that there are other communities beyond the one she lives in.
The task of hiding the stranger brings drama to the story but I fear Anna Mackenzie has missed a chance to debate the attitudes of the closed community on the island with the interests of the whole of mankind that has survived the holocaust. Nonetheless this is an outstanding story and will be popular with the intermediate and secondary audience it is aimed at. This book will provoke much discussion.
Published by Longacre
Reviewed by Bob
Anyone who has read more than one Higgins will instantly recognize his style, which doesn't change regardless of his audience. As usual the situation is grim, the characters unlikely and the action unrelenting. That said, Higgins, in teenage mode, has, as he usually does in his adult work, produced a readable piece. Jack Higgins has never claimed to be trying to change lives through his writing. (Good thing that!)
Best used with early-to-mid teenage readers, predominately for boys. As with all Higgins, engaging, undemanding and light but for the right audience tis the right book.
Published by HarperCollins Children’s Books
Reviewed by David
Following on from Monday's ideas, and last week's book review, here are some more ways to celebrate Library Week next week. Thanks to the local network meeting who have tried all these out!
Write a story together
Get a great starter sentence from a celebrity. Write it at the top of a BIG piece of paper on the library wall. Now add to this, with everyone in the school adding one sentence. Offer prizes for - the longest sentence, the shortest sentence, the most suspenseful sentence etc
Have a Library Quiz
Using a popular book or series, write a series of questions that takes you right round the library. For example, "Harry Potter loves Quiddich. Where in the library are the sports books? Which sport would you put the Quiddich books next to?"
Hold a Readathon
Roster senior students to read aloud in the library. You could have a whole school afternoon readathon, or maybe a whole day. How many books could you read?
Or, have a lunchtime programme of "guest readers" reading aloud at lunchtime in the library during library week.
Banned Books
Have teachers reading aloud the books they weren't allowed to read when they were young. One secondary school had their guidance counceller reading from "Go ask Alice". A very useful discussion followed.
And Finally, a Photo Competition
One school has organised a competition to have a photo of yourself taken reading a book in an appropriate place. For example, they have a photo of a student reading "To the Ends of The Earth" in the snow at Mt Ruapehu's Crater Lake.
And don't forget to join NZs Biggest Storytime, with a reading of The Grumble Rumble Mumbler, by Melanie Drewery. This book will be read on Wednesday 17 October at libraries all over New Zealand. Library Staff, if you would like to access material to promote this event, including images from the Grumble Rumble Mumbler, email megan@lianza.org.nz for a password to the librarian's section of the Library Week site. You'll also find lots of other ideas for celebrating Library Week here.
Curled up with a good book, while it only deals with American books, can be a useful place to look for book reviews. It has links for children’s books from board books to young adults reads.
There is a separate site for adult good reads too.
These sites are independently run by a group of American librarians.
Welcome back to school everybody! As we know that you'll be thinking hard about how to celebrate Library Week next week, here are a few ideas for you, from a recent network meeting.
"Wild Books" Promotion
Choose some popular library books. Put them in different locations around the school (preferably safe from the weather). Put a note like this in the book: "Congratulations, you have found this wild book. Read it and bring it back to the library to claim your prize." Prizes are given after the student can show that they have actually read the book. Budget for some book loss, however, the medium-decile school which tried out this idea had lots of success, and surprisingly little book loss from this promotion.
Library Debate
Have a teachers v students debate, on the topic "A library is not a luxury, but one of the necessities of life." At the school which tried this idea, the teachers (negative team) were given the topic the morning of the debate. They had some hilarious discussion, and lots of fun.
Teachers' Childhood Favourites
Get going now, and you'll have this one all ready for next week. Ask teachers to bring in a baby photo of themselves, together with their favourite childhood book. This school found that most of the teachers had kept their treasured childhood books. Either display the actual book, or a colour photocopy of the cover with the baby photo, and get students to guess which teacher the photo depicts.
"Which Book is This?" Quiz
List 10 first lines in the left hand column, and 10 books in the right. Get students to match these up during library week. Winners and prizes announced on Friday.
Join NZs Biggest Storytime, with a reading of The Grumble Rumble Mumbler, by Melanie Drewery. This book will be read on Wednesday 17 October at libraries all over New Zealand. Library Staff, if you would like to access material to promote this event, including images from the Grumble Rumble Mumbler, email megan@lianza.org.nz for a password to the librarian's section of the Library Week site. You'll also find lots of other ideas for celebrating Library Week here.
Log in to Create Readers later this week for more exciting ideas to celebrate Library Week.
0800 LIB LINE
0800 542 5463
Get help from our advisers using this free phone line
National Library of New Zealand
