Win a copy of Wonder by R.J. Palacio

The movie adaptation of R.J. Palacio's amazing book, Wonder, comes to cinemas this week.  I'm really excited to see the movie because it's one of my favourite books.

Check out the movie trailer 

This week I have 3 copies of Wonder for you to win.  All you have to do to get in the draw is leave a comment telling me:

What is your favourite movie based on a book?

The Book of Dance

I would recommend this book to all the keen dancers out there.  This book certainly taught me about dance. Every page is full of facts about different dances, from Irish to Hip Hop and Ballet.  I seriously LOVE this book!

Reviewed by Lena Abdinor.

Summer's Dream by Cathy Cassidy

I would really recommend this book to people who love ballet. In this book Summer tries to get a scholarship to a new dance school but insists on taking on a new diet as well.  Summer ends up taking the wrong pathway to ballet life.  This is from the Chocolate Box Girls series.

Reviewed by Lena Abdinor.

Teddy Sleep Over in the Library

Last night in the library we had our Spooktacular Night at the Library.  We shared some spooky picture books, made some creepy masks and eyeball bookmarks and we also had a teddy sleepover.  The kids who came along brought a special friend who then stayed over night in the library.

Here are just some of the things they got up to last night:

Give yourself a scare with these spooky reads

Do you like spooky stories?  We have heaps of spooky books in the library for you to borrow, from spooky-but-funny right through to super scary.

Here are some of Mr McCallum's favourite spooky stories.  Come and ask him about them and you could win a spooky story of your own.

Showtym Adventures: Dandy the Mountain Pony by Kelly Wilson

Showtym Adventures:

Dandy, the Mountain

Pony

By Kelly G. Wilson

This is a must-have book for horse lovers.Kelly Wilson’s first novel is an amazing story about a wild mountain stallion that her sister Vicky tries to tame but Dandy just won't cooperate.Join Kelly and her sisters in this awesome story about friendship and wild horses. I just can’t wait for her second book.The Wilson sisters have become famous because of a tv show called ‘Keeping up with the Kaimanawas’. Kelly has written many more books for adults.   

I give this book a 10/10

By Alice

Birthday Boy by David Baddiel

Birthday boy is a book about an 11 year old Boy named Sam. After his proper birthday Sam wished on a falling star.

And guess what... his birthday happened again the next day and the next and it continued for a year.

After Sam’s favorite Grandpa, Grandpa Sam goes missing, Sam wants to go to the place where he thought the falling star fell, a little island in the middle of river, so he could unwish his birthday every day. So then he can help look for Grandpa Sam. What he discovers on the small island is Amazing, strange and different...

Review by Annabel Diprose.

Welcome to the Halswell School Library Blog

Welcome to our library blog.  We'll be posting lots of exciting stuff here including photos of new books, events that are happening in the library, book reviews and much more.

Rugby League World Cup Trophy Visit

Today we hosted Rugby League World Cup ambassadors Harley, Nick and Clinton in the library.  They came to talk to us about the Rugby League World Cup, which is being held in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea in November this year.  They even brought the actual Rugby League World Cup trophy with them to show us.  We took lots of photos with the cup and some lucky kids won wrist bands.

We were also able to announce that we have won a special competition.  At one of the two world cup matches in Christchurch 17 of our students will get to run out on to the pitch with the teams. Stay tuned for your chance to be one of the lucky ones.

Spectacular Spring Poems

As part of our Poetry Week celebrations this week we had a poetry competition in the library.  The challenge was to write a poem about spring.  Do you like spring with all the flowers and baby animals or does the pollen that is floating around just make your eyes and nose itchy?

We had some really amazing spring poems submitted for the competition!  I loved reading them all and it was really hard to choose just two winners.  The winners were...

Jaxson Moynihan from T35

Mila Burke-Denholm from T34

Oh Dear by Michael Rosen

Here is a great poem called Oh Dear by Michael Rosen, read by the poet.

My Puppy Punched Me in the Eye by Kenn Nesbitt

Here's a funny poem by Kenn Nesbitt called My Puppy Punched Me in the Eye to celebrate Poetry Week.

Poetry Week

It is National Poetry Day on Friday so we are celebrating Poetry Week in the library this week.  There are poems all around the library for you to read, heaps of poetry books to borrow and a poetry competition to enter.  I'll also be sharing some great poetry videos too.

I Am Hungry by Michael Rosen

Here is a great poem called I Am Hungry by Michael Rosen, read by the poet himself.

Guess the theme competition

We're running a new weekly competition in the library.  It's called 'Guess the theme.' Each week there will be a selection of books on the display table in the library and you have to guess what they all have in common.  It could be a colour, something to do with the title or the subjects of the books.  Here are this week's books.  If you think you know the answer you can comment on this blog post or enter in the library.

Introducing our Term 3/4 Student Librarians

These are your Student Librarians for Term 3 and 4.  If you see them in the library before school or at second lunch say hi.  They are happy to help you find anything in the library and issue or return your books.

Create a poster for our school production

 Our school production is coming up later this term and you have the chance to create a poster to promote it.  You can use whatever you like (felts, crayons, paint, glitter) to create your poster.  It needs to relate to the production in some way, which has a multicultural theme.  It is inspired by a great picture book called Grandad's Guitar by Janine McVeagh and illustrated by Fifi Colston.

You have until Friday to create a poster.  We'll choose a few different winners who will receive a prize from the library treasure chest.  All of the details of the production are below so just make sure you include these in your poster in some way.

Synopsis

A boy (Kahu) inherits a guitar for his 9th birthday but is disappointed to find that it is not anything like a new one, it is an old, scratched and worn one. His mother and grandmother explain that it was his Grandfather’s and he took it with him on all his adventures around the world.

As Kahu learns to play chords and songs on his guitar he listens to stories about how his Grandfather started out playing in a Matariki festival at Halswell school in NZ then saved up to buy his own one and eventually as an adult, he decided to travel the world. He worked as a busker, met and made many friends and connections around the world in different countries such as India, Italy and China. A beautiful lady he meets along the way as it turns out, was the one who misplaced her guitar case for his and with the mystery solved they both return back to NZ where the Grandfather shares his experiences with his family.

Countries: include colours of these flags or pictures of them? Cultural images of countries?

• China 
• Italy 
• UK (England, Ireland, Scotland) 
• Brazil 
• India 
• NZ (Matariki celebration and Kiwi culture e.g. food & welcome home party)

Details to include:

Show : Halswell School Hall

Time: to be confirmed

4 performances

Thurs 31st August

Friday 1st Sept

Monday 4th Sept

Tuesday 5th Sept

Ticket prices to be confirmed

Nancy Drew: Model Mystery

I really love this book because it is a big mystery!! Firstly someone's hair goes on fire and they almost drink jet fuel!!!  This wedding is going out of hand but luckily Nancy Drew is here to save the day.

Review by Lena Abdinar

Win Timmy Failure: The Cat Stole My Pants

The Timmy Failure series is a hilarious series about a boy called Timmy who wants to be the world's greatest detective.  If you like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Tom Gates or the Middle School series you should definitely try these books.

Here is a book trailer to give you a taste of Timmy Failure:

The latest book in the Timmy Failure series is The Cat Stole My Pants.  To win a copy just leave a comment telling me: What is the funniest book you've ever read? A winner is drawn on Friday.

Watch Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul these school holidays

The latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie, The Long Haul, is in cinemas from 6 July.  If you are a fan of Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid books you have to see this movie!

Win a copy of The World's Worst Children 2

Are you one of the World's Worst Children? Do you know someone who is? Would you like to win a copy of The World's Worst Children 2 by David Walliams?

Thanks to everyone who entered.  The winner is Jesse Dodgshun.

Vet Volunteers by Laurie Halse Anderson

I really like this series because Zoe, Maggie, Breanna, Sunita and David save animals!  Once they saved puppies from a horrible breeder who had illegal methods.  They all volunteer and help at Dr Mac's place which is a vet clinic.

Review by Lena A.

Miniwings:Glitterwing's Book Week Blunder by Sally Sutton

I really like the Miniwings because the flying ponies get their owners in trouble, like once they put on Sophia and Clara's mum's make-up!  She got really cross.

If you like ponies this is a good book for you!

Review by Lena A.

Billy B. Brown Soccer Star by Sally Rippin

I liked that it said Billy B. Brown didn't want to play soccer.  Everyone called her a soccer star!  It was about how she learnt to play soccer.

Review by Addison Hoglund

Whatever After series by Sarah Mlynowski

I really Whatever After because the books are really exciting.  Like in one book after Abby and Johnah step through their magic mirror they stop Snow White from eating the poison apple and totally mess up the real Snow White's tale!

Review by Lena Abdinor

House of Robots by James Patterson

This book is full of robots, fun to read and is a great reading experience for kids. This book is about the Hayes family, who are too busy to do house work so they built robots.The robots were built to help the family but instead they are freaking out causing all sorts of chaos.  This is not good, as Dr. Hayes is on the brink of something fantastic.

Reviewed by Annabel Diprose.

The World's Worst Children 2 is here!

David Walliams' new book, The World's Worst Children 2 is finally here and we have it in the library now.  Come and grab a copy or reserve one now.

Where's Wally in Christchurch - Friday

Name where in Christchurch Wally is standing in the photo. Write your answer, your T group and your name on a piece of paper and put it in the entry box in the library.

There are 2 new photos each day.  Every correct entry will go in the draw to win some Where's Wally prizes at the end of the week.

Here are today's photos:

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Where's Wally in Christchurch - Thursday

Name where in Christchurch Wally is standing in the photo. Write your answer, your T group and your name on a piece of paper and put it in the entry box in the library.

There are 2 new photos each day.  Every correct entry will go in the draw to win some Where's Wally prizes at the end of the week.

Here are today's photos:

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Where's Wally in Christchurch - Wednesday

Name where in Christchurch Wally is standing in the photo. Write your answer, your T group and your name on a piece of paper and put it in the entry box in the library.

There are 2 new photos each day.  Every correct entry will go in the draw to win some Where's Wally prizes at the end of the week.

Here are today's photos:

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Orongomai's Wally Day

Orongomai celebrated Where's Wally on Friday last week with a Wally Day.  They used lots of words starting with 'W' and made some super cool Wally glasses.  Check them out!

Where's Wally in Christchurch - Tuesday

Name where in Christchurch Wally is standing in the photo. Write your answer, your T group and your name on a piece of paper and put it in the entry box in the library.

There are 2 new photos each day.  Every correct entry will go in the draw to win some Where's Wally prizes at the end of the week.

Here are today's photos:

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Where's Wally in Christchurch - Monday

Today is the first day in our Where's Wally in Christchurch competition.  All you have to do is name where in Christchurch Wally is standing in the photo.  Write your answer, your T group and your name on a piece of paper and put it in the entry box in the library.

There are 2 new photos each day.  Every correct entry will go in the draw to win some Where's Wally prizes at the end of the week.

Here are today's photos:

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Where's Wally Week starts Monday

This year it is the 30th birthday of Where's Wally and to celebrate we are having a Where's Wally Week next week.  There will be activities in the library all week, including colouring, a word find and crossword, and a scavenger hunt to find Wally and his friends. You might even see Wally walking around the school.

There will be Where's Wally books available to buy for $10 each (cash only).  If you would like to buy one please bring your money to the library.  There are 6 different books to choose from.

We are also running a 'Find Wally in Christchurch' competition.  There will be a different photo posted on the blog each day next week of Wally in a different place in Christchurch.  All you have to do is name where in Christchurch you think Wally is and you're in the draw.  You can enter each day and every correct guess gets you a chance to win some Where's Wally prizes.

Here come the Miniwings!

Miniwings is a fantastic new series by Sally Sutton and Kirsten Richards. The series is about two sisters, Clara and Sophia, and the mischievous little Miniwings (think My Little Pony toys that come alive whenever it’s just them and the girls).  There is Moonlight (a unicorn who loves his food), Glitterwing (who rains glitter when she flaps her huge, sparkly wings), Whizz (a fast little pony who loves playing tricks), Comet (a show-jumping and dressage star who hates losing), Firestorm (who is brave and a little bossy) and Oceana (who is loves the water and is very messy).  They love to have fun and play tricks so they are always getting Clara and Sophia in to trouble.

Glitterwing’s Book Week Blunder is about Clara and Sophia getting ready for Book Week at their school.  They meet their favourite author and try to make their book character costumes, with a little help from the Miniwings.

 In Whizz’s Internet Oopsie, the Miniwings discover the internet and the marvels of shopping online.  When they are left at home while the girls go to school the Miniwings find Mum’s credit card and go shopping.  When deliveries start turning up on their doorstep Clara and Sophia have to figure out how to sort out the mess, especially when one of their surprise packages is a goat.

We have Glitterwing's Book Week Blunder in the library now and there will be more books to follow.