Spooky stories and freaky facts

October 31 is Halloween or All Hallows Eve.  It's an American tradition that isn't celebrated much here in New Zealand but it's a great time of the year to read some spooky books.  We've got some great spooky books that you can borrow from the library and these are just a few:

• The Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine - we've just got a whole new set of these in the library.
• The Scream series by Jack Heath - a new spooky series that is perfect for anyone who loves Goosebumps
• The Giant's Necklace - a ghost story by Michael Morpurgo.
• The Prankster and the Ghost by R.L. Stedman - a funny ghost story.
• Shadow House: The Gathering by Dan Poblocki - a creepy new ghost story series that has a bonus app with extra ghost stories.
• The Ghosts of Tarawera by Sue Copsey - a spooky adventure story set in New Zealand.
• Monkey Boy by Donovan Bixley - a pirate ghost story.

Here are 5 interesting facts about Halloween:

1. The first Jack O'Lanterns were actually made from turnips.
2. Original trick-or-treaters received mostly fruits and nuts not candy. 
3. It is believed that if you see a spider on Halloween it is the spirit of a loved one watching over you.
4. In Mexico they celebrate Dias de los muertos or Day of the Dead on November 1st. It is a big celebration that honors family and friends who have passed away.
5. In Hong Kong Halloween celebrations are known as Yue Lan meaning Festival of the Hungry Ghosts. During Yue Lan celebrations fires are lit and food and gifts are offered to angry ghosts looking for revenge. 

For more information about Halloween, including games to play, costume ideas, party food to make, more books to read and tips for safe trick-or-treating go to the Christchurch City Libraries Halloween page.

Halloween Competitions

It's Halloween on Monday so we have two competitions in the library:

Find the bats - the library is infested with bats!  If you help us track down the bats and bring one to Mr McCallum he'll give you a Halloween candy treat.  Juniors can come bat hunting at 1:00 and seniors can come bat hunting at 1:30.

Create a new Goosebumps title - R.L. Stine has written HEAPS of Goosebumps books, with names like Say Cheese and Die, The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, Night of the Living Dummy and Tick, Tock, You're Dead! All you have to do is create your own title for a new Goosebumps book.  Just make it as spooky as you can.  Write your title, your name and your room number on a piece of paper and put it in the entry box in the library.

Soraya Nicholas and Stacy Gregg visiting Halswell School

In Week 4 we are going to have two very special authors visiting Halswell School.  The first author is Soraya Nicholas, the author of the new Starlight Stables series.  If you love horse and pony stories this is a great new series to try.  We will have them in the library very soon.

Soraya is visiting us on Tuesday 1 November from 9:30am-12:00pm

The second author who is visiting us is Stacy Gregg, the author of Princess and the Foal, The Girl Who Rode the Wind, and her latest book, The Diamond Horse.  Stacy is visiting us on her tour of New Zealand to celebrate her 21st book.  You can borrow Stacy's books from the library, including her new book.

Stacy is visiting us on Thursday 3 November at 10:00am

Save your money for our Book Fair

In week 7 this term, from Monday 21 November to Friday 25 November, we are going to hold our Book Fair.  This is a great opportunity to get some really great books for yourself and raise some money for the library.  Every book, poster, or pencil that you buy at our Book Fair means new exciting new books for our library.

These are just a handful of the books that you could buy:

I'll be asking for volunteers to help with the Book Fair very soon.  We will need people to help decorate the library, put up posters, help at the fair and lots more.

Story Time with Darth Vader - Friday

I bet you didn't know that Darth Vader loves reading! Here he is sharing the first line from one of his favourite books.  Can you guess which book he is reading?

If you think you know the book write the title on a piece of paper, along with your name and room number and put it in the entry box in the library.

Every correct answer goes into the draw for a Star Wars prize pack.  There are also prizes for the runners-up.  The winners will be announced today at 2pm.

Story Time with Darth Vader - Thursday

I bet you didn't know that Darth Vader loves reading! Here he is sharing the first line from one of his favourite books.  Can you guess which book he is reading?

If you think you know the book write the title on a piece of paper, along with your name and room number and put it in the entry box in the library.

Every correct answer goes into the draw for a Star Wars prize pack.  There are also prizes for the runners-up.  The winners will be announced on Friday at 2pm.

Story Time with Darth Vader - Wednesday

I bet you didn't know that Darth Vader loves reading! Here he is sharing the first line from one of his favourite books.  Can you guess which book he is reading?

If you think you know the book write the title on a piece of paper, along with your name and room number and put it in the entry box in the library.

Every correct answer goes into the draw for a Star Wars prize pack.  There are also prizes for the runners-up.  The winners will be announced on Friday at 2pm.

Which Star Wars Characters Are You?

There are heaps of Star Wars quizzes around that you can do to find out which Star Wars character you are.  Some of these quizzes help you to figure out which Star Wars character is most like your dad or which Star Wars creature you are.  Try out these quizzes and leave a comment telling us who you are.

Which Star Wars Character Are You?

Which Star Wars Character is Most Like Your Dad?


Which Star Wars Creature Are You?

Story Time with Darth Vader - Tuesday

I bet you didn't know that Darth Vader loves reading! Here he is sharing the first line from one of his favourite books.  Can you guess which book he is reading?

If you think you know the book write the title on a piece of paper, along with your name and room number and put it in the entry box in the library.

Every correct answer goes into the draw for a Star Wars prize pack.  There are also prizes for the runners-up.  The winners will be announced on Friday at 2pm.

Story Time with Darth Vader - Monday

I bet you didn't know that Darth Vader loves reading! Here he is sharing the first line from one of his favourite books.  Can you guess which book he is reading?

If you think you know the book write the title on a piece of paper, along with your name and room number and put it in the entry box in the library.

Every correct answer goes into the draw for a Star Wars prize pack.  There are also prizes for the runners-up.  The winners will be announced on Friday at 2pm.

Star Wars Week in the library

Starting on Monday we have Star Wars Week in the library.  It is part of a celebration of Star Wars books called Star Wars Reads Day (which happens on Saturday 15 October).

We have some great new Star Wars books in the library that you can reserve, from quick chapter books and picture books about Star Wars through to character encyclopedias with information about the whole Star Wars galaxy.

There are different Star Wars themed activities happening in the library each lunch time, from colouring and wordfinds to design your own X-Wing.  Come in the library library to check out what is happening.  We've also got a couple of competitions running so keep your eyes peeled.

And now to officially launch Star Wars Reads Week check out this awesome video: