Room 13 Reviews

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Jack

By Mike and Esther Fitzpatrick

Reviewed by Molly Turpin, Room 13

This story is about a young bird who was born small and weak. He was adopted by a loving, caring family who soon figured out that he could not fly. They helped him day and night and soon enough he could fly!

It is first set in a nice lady’s house and then it is set in Jessica’s house.

The main characters in the story are Jack (bird), Jessica and Jessica’s family .

I enjoyed this story because I thought it was really sweet and quite cute.

I would recommend it to ages six and up because it is a story about hope and not giving up.

Flat Stanley

By Jeff Brown

Reviewed by Georgia Knowles, Room 13

Setting – California, home, museum, doctors and the park.

Main Characters – Stanley, Arthur (Stanley’s brother).

Plot – Stanley Lambchop was an ordinary boy until something extraordinary happened… Stanley had a very unusual problem and the doctors couldn’t seem to find a cure for it. But having this problem wasn’t as bad as you might think. Stanley even dresses up as Little Bo-Peep and catches thieves! Some of the other amazing things he can do are; slide under doors, fit into big envelopes, become a surfboard and become a kite! What ever will happen to Stanley? Will he ever turn back into an ordinary boy?

Recommendation – I recommend this book for children aged 5 – 7 because the illustrations and the text are suitable for that age. Preschoolers will also enjoy having the book read to them.

Marcial's mad book review.

A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons, written by Cressida Cowell.

This is a new book in the "How to train your dragon" series of fiction for 8 to 13 year old readers.
This book is about Hiccup and his friends. They are lost in the library and Driller Dragons and Madguts are chasing after them. It's Hiccup's 3rd birthday (but he was born in a leap year).
I started reading this series when a book of the series "How To Cheat A Dragon's Curse" came to our school library.
A Hero's Guide To Deadly Dragons is a funny and exciting story.

For the Seniors - the latest Measle story

A few years ago Mrs Blair introduced her class to the character, Measle. Any book in this series has become very popular with the seniors. These books are written by Ian Ogilvy, and kept in the senior fiction area, OGI.
Annabelle has read and reviewed our latest book in the series, Measle and the Slitherghoul.
Measle is an imaginative boy who is great at problem solving. The Slitherghoul breaks into Measle's home and slurps Measle's friends and Nanny into his body. The story tells how Measle tries to release his friends while not being captured himself.
I rate this book very highly because of its great descriptive language. Once started, it is hard to put down. Children from 10 years old could read this independently, while younger children would enjoy it being read to them.

New Book Review by Ariana Room 3

Marmaduke Duck and the Marmalade Jam
written by Juliette MacIver (a New Zealand author), illustrated by Sarah Davis.
Marmaduke Duck's favourite thing is to make Marmalade Jam, and then eat it.
She is followed into the river by ducks, a dog, a frog, a hog, a rat, a cat, a gnat, a bat, a lamb, a ram, all wanting to taste the jam.
The Llama get to the pot of jam and eats it. Marmaduke gets very upset, but the farmer makes the animals happy again.

I like this book. It has rhymes and great pictures. Boys and girls who are 5 to 10 years old will like it.

Room 3 Reviews.

Hanna enjoyed the book Daisy's Maze by Kyle Mewburn.
Daisy was a pretty mouse who lived in a tall tower. Her friends stopped visiting her because they got too tired climbing the stairs to see her. This made Daisy unhappy and lonely.
Hanna thought that this was a good story, especially for juniors. She liked the maze at the end of the book.
Find this book in M picture book area.

Room 3 Reviews.

Daniel is 6 years old.
He has been the first to borrow the book Willbee the Bumblebee by Craig Smith.
Willbee is a little bumblebee who lives in a hive in a back yard. He is very sad when his new suit starts to unravel. Willbee is helped by Monica the butterfly.
All juniors will love this funny book. It has a CD with the Willbee song on it. The song is sung by the author, Craig Smith, who also wrote and sung "The Wonky Donkey".
Find this book in S picture book area.

Two New Book Characters

We have two new book characters to our library.

Emma has reviewed the first of the books, Tumtum and Nutmeg by Emily Bearn.

Tumtum and Nutmeg are married mice who live in a cottage behind a set of drawers in a country house. Aunt Ivy outstays her welcome and the mice want her to leave.

Emma enjoyed this story and is keen to read another.

The second book is called The Great Escape. In this story the troublemaker is General Marchmouse. Tumtum and Nutmeg try to stop him causing havoc.

These books are suitable for children between 7 to 9 years old who enjoy animal fantasy stories.

Rummikub in the Library

Kasey, Connor and Brieanna compete in the finals. Brieanna is the winner on the Senior Rummikub competition. All games were hotly contested and played in very good spirit.

Cheralyn recommends books by Mo Willems

Piggie is a small pig who is full of enthusiasm. She is kind and sharing.
Gerald is an Elephant who is a bit of a show-off and a "Mr Know-It-All", and always needs things his way.
He is the opposite of Piggie because he is quite selfish, but I would say he is a funny character.

I Love My New Toy
Piggie has a new toy. She shares playing with it with Gerald, but the toy breaks.
I Am Invited to a Party
Piggie is invited to her first party. Gerald, the party expert organises them to be ready for the party. What sort of party is it?
There is a Bird on Your Head
Gerald is upset because a bird is sitting on his head. Clever Piggie uses good manners to help Gerald. Find out how she helps him.
My Friend is Sad
Gerald is sad and Piggie tries to cheer him up. But something is keeping Gerald sad. Can you see what it is?
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
Ha Won and I really enjoyed this book. We think that it would be great for children who have just started to read as well.
Can you imagine what exciting things happen in this book?
Well then... come on and read it!!

You can look for these books in our library - W picture book area.

Chloe Reviews

Tiger Moth Kung Pow Chicken by Aaron Reynolds
This is our third book story about an insect superhero, Tiger Moth.
Kung Pow is half boy / half Pillbug. His friend, Tiger Moth has been captured by Evil Weevil.
Kung Pow is trying to save his friend.
This graphic novel illustrations are colourful comic style. The story is funny and it has a bit of a mystery.
I think that Years 3 - 6, especially boys, who enjoy reading comics would enjoy this.

The World of Food Chains with MaxAxiom
by Liam O'Donnell
This story explains how the cycle of food chains work.
The explanation is given by MaxAxiom, who is a
fictional scientist.
The information in this story is very interesting
and you can learn many things about the topic.
Readers from Year 3 and above should find this book helpful because the facts are given clearly and the illustrations back them up.
I recommend this to any readers interested in the natural world.

Annabelle Reviews

Fang Fairy
Written and illustrated by Andy J. Smith
Marty Kreep lost his first baby tooth and put it under his pillow. Instead of finding money, the next morning he finds a ring of yucky, green slime.
During the night he heard curious noises and a very loud HOOOOWL!
Marty asks his older brother, James to help.
He talks to his family but no-one believes him
other than his best friend, Nessy.
That set off a mystery, - who is behind all this trouble?
I recommend this book to year 3 – 5 children
because it has a basic story line and is a good book
for children starting to read chapter books.
Fang Fairy is also good for those who like reading
mysteries (that are a little bit scary).

Building the Great Wall of China
Written by Terry Collins
This storyteller, Dr Isabel Soto, travels through
the time of building the Great Wall of China.
She uses a W.I.S.P.
Unfortunalely a tourist walks through the W.I.S.P and Dr. Isabel has to save them.
But what are the workers doing to the Wall? And who are those people trying to attack the Wall?
Read this book to go through the rebuilding of the Great Wall of China.
I recommend the book to year 3 – 5 children. It is a historical story, but easier to follow than straight non-fiction books, because it is written as a graphic novel and has a basic story line. It is good for children wishing to read a graphic novel which has factual information.

Graphic Novels

Chloe and Annabelle are introducing you to some of our new graphic novels. We are adding to our collection with new stories, some scientific, some historic and also some myths and legends.

Callum's Review

Callum is in his first year of school.
He has reviewed The Fidgety Itch by Lucy Davey, which he shared with his Dad. They both loved the very funny story of animals that began to itch and needed someone to scratch them.
The story is written in rhyme, and the illustrations are very eye-catching.
Callum says this is one of the best books he has read, and thinks that boys and girls, 5 to 8 years old would enjoy it.

New Picture Book - Week 6

Austin loves trains. He had actually been on 5 train trips already.
Austin shared the book The Rain Train by Elena de Roo with his Dad.
The story is of a train travelling through a rainy night past houses, lights, smoke, people and trees. It is written in rhyme with a strong locomotive rhythm running all the way through it.
Austin enjoyed this book and thinks that other 5 year olds, boys and girls would like it too.

Stephanie reviews Hunting For Dragons

Stephanie is 5 years old.
She has been the first to borrow the book Hunting for Dragons by Bruce Whatley.
The blurb on the back of the book says “Dragons are everywhere – if you know where to look”.
The story follows a young girl in her search for dragons in her house and in her garden. Finally she finds one “And he wasn’t scary at all”.
Stephanie’s Dad read this book to her, and she really liked it. She thinks other 5 year olds would like it too.

Running Wild

by Michael Morpurgo

Will and his Mum take a trip to Indonesia. It is a time for them to swim, relax and enjoy themselves. Will is riding Oona the elephant when a tsunami comes washing ashore. Oona doesn’t understand what is happening and starts to run inland through the jungle.

This is a great adventure book for 9 year olds and older who enjoy stories about the natural world, especially elephants.

An Undone Fairy Tale

by Ian Lendler

This book shows what goes wrong when an illustrator cannot keep up with illustrating the fairy tale told in the book.

My favourite parts were when I saw the fat, fat, FAT king and when Sir Wilbur’s men had to ride fish, and when Sir Wilbur had to fight a pretzel because the dragon was still in the shower.

I found this book really funny, and I recommend it for everybody at any age.

New Books term 3 Week 3

Here are the new books on display.
Picture Books - The Biggest Kiss by Joanna Walsh
Where is my light? by Deborah Day (donated to our library my Mrs McIsaac).
An Undone Fairy Tale by Ian Lendler - a very funny sophisticated picture book. (see Cheralyn's review)
Fiction - Scorpia by Anthony Horowitz
Running Wild by Michael Morpurgo (see Annabelle's review)
Rascal in Trouble by Paul Jennings (NIR)
Non-fiction - Basketball, Rugby and Cricket.

2010 Best Borrowers

The best borrowers for the year so far have been found.
These children are the most consistent at returning their library books and bringing their bookbag and taking home another book.
Middle school - Herbert, Jamie and Ahsan - all from Room 9
Junior school - Thomas W, Willem, Watalu, Kevin, Zane and Nilpa
Senior school - Annabelle, Georgia and Emma
Well done. The students are pictured with their book prize.

What is Kirigami?

Paul is the first to see our new book Origami and Kirigami; 75 Fun-To-Do Projects. He has made 2 Origami animals and 3 Kirigami items. Look in the book to find out what Kirigami is. Reply to Mrs Sutherland on the blog and collect a sticker from the library (first 6 replies).
Look for Origami projects in Dewey Decimal # 745.54.

Wet Weather? Spend some time being ARTY.

This week's new books on display all have an art theme. You can't get out and play as much as usual, so take time to increase your knowledge and ability of art skills.

Non-fiction: Calligraphy DD# 745.61 The Good Green Footprint DD# 745.5
You Can Draw Cartoons DD# 745.2 How to Draw fantasy Art DD# 743
A Sense of Place DD# 704 Samoa (Patterns of Polynesia) DD3 709.9
Monet DD# 759.4

Fiction:
The Black Book of Colours - a Sophisticated Picture Book which has raised line drawings and Braille letters. This book describes colours but is on a black page with white writing. Kept in the Senior Fiction area, COT.

The Foggy Foggy Forest by Nick Sharratt. Guess which fairytale characters are in the foggy forest. Kept in the Picture Book section S.

"The Mine's Afire"
The Journal of Tommy Carter, Brunnerton 1896
by Susan Battye & Thelma Eakin
"The Mine's Afire" is an historical journal about an 11 year old boy living in Brunnerton, a South Island mining town.
It is one of the "My Story" books which tell of the lives of New Zealanders living in past generations.
Disaster strikes when there is a mine explosion.
This story starts quite slowly and I found it hard to get into. Although I have not finished the book yet, I am interested enough to get to the end to see what happens.
I recommend this book for very confident Year 6 readers and older.
I think it has a good chance of winning the Junior Fiction category.

Cry of the Taniwha by Des Hunt
Junior Fiction
Cry of the Taniwha is a really exciting mystery featuring Matt and Eve, both 13 years old, and Jackson, who wants to be a gang member.
The adventure is set is Whakarewarewa, the thermal area in Rotorua. The book also refers to the Tarawera Eruption in 1886 because something that happened then effects the story.

I thought that this book is a great story which kept me so interested that I wanted to read the whole book in one night.
I recommend this book for very mature Year 6 readers and those at Intermediate School.
I predict and hope that Cry of the Taniwha will win the Junior Fiction category because it is so good!

The Word Witch by Margaret Mahy

Picture Book

This book is a poetry book. All the poems are written by Margaret Mahy, the famous New Zealand Childrens' author.

The illustrator is David Elliot (writer of Sydney stories).

There are poems about witches, trees, magic, stars, dreams, animals, camping...

Some of them we already have in our library in other books.

My Favourite poem is Harry the Hawk because it is all about flying and it makes me dream of flying.

This would be a great for class poem sharing, especially for years 3 and 4.

It is entered in the picture book category but it is kept in the Poetry section DD #821.

I think it will do well.

Loblolly Boy by James Norcliffe
Junior Fiction

A boy named Michael was tricked into exchanging his life for that of a Loblolly Boy.

Wings outstretched, ready to fly, the new Loblolly Boy eased through the air, meeting people, watching conversations and moving things while invisible.

How great is that but ... when you find out the consequences of being a Loblolly Boy, your mindset changes and what would you do?

Read on to find out!

I recommend this to capable Year 6 readers with good vocabulary knowledge. It is a rich fantasy novel which would be great for Year 6 teachers to read to their class and discuss the vocabulary.

I highly recommend this book because it is really interesting with its different twists and surprises. A boy named Michael was tricked into exchanging his life for that of a Loblolly Boy.

Rangitoto - NZ Post Non-fiction 2010

The book Rangitoto tells the history of our volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf, how the volcano was created, and the Maori lore of the island. It also explains the flora and fauna on the island.

I liked Rangitoto because it uses descriptive language, and is also easy to understand for 9 year olds and over. If a parent read the book to a 7 year old, they would understand it too.
The facts just blow my mind and I have learnt heaps of new things by reading all of them.
The book also has great illustrations, very realistic.
It is like you are on Rangitoto.

Good luck with the competition. I think this is a great non-fiction book.

E3 Call Home by Janet Hunt - Non-fiction

E3 Call Home has become a favourite non-fiction book for Cheralyn and her Oupa.
The book tells the true story of two godwits, E3 and E7 and their migration and how the birds were tracked.
The book is full of detailed information, including weblinks, flightplans and bird identification. There a separate areas in the book to tell of E3 and E7, and another area which explains in more detail all about bird tracking, predators and bird habits.

This is such an interesting book, and the story of E3 has a sad part to it.
I think that this book should win the non-fiction award.

New Zealand Post Picture Books 2010

Piggity-Wiggity Jiggity Jig goes to Dad's Cafe by Diana Neild
reviewed by Yewon Jung
Piggity-Wiggity Jiggity Jig goes with his mum for lunch at his Dad's cafe, "The Ravenous Snout".
This story is told in perfect rhyme and illustrated with wonderful and colourful pictures of the different characters that come into the cafe.
I think that this book is fabulous and that everyone over 4 years old will love it.
Piggity-Wiggity Jiggity Jig Goes to Dad's cafe is good enough to win the picture book and childrens' choice awards.

The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith.
Reviewed by Selwyn Mitchell
The Wonky Donkey is a picture book which is also a rhyming song book.
I believe it should be in a joke book.
Here is why...
What do you call a donkey that has only one eye, 3 legs,likes to listen to country music, is quite tall and slim, and smells really, really bad?
A stinky-dinky-lanky-honky- tonky -winky -wonky donkey.
The song is meant to be funny. My brother Zac loves it, but I didn't think it was funny.
The book comes with a CD of the very catchy song.
I think this book will win the picture book award because the catchy song, the colourful illustrations and rhyme all go together well.

New Zealand Post Book Awards 2010 Picture Books

Old Hu-hu by Kyle Mewburn
Reviewed by Dimitrios Ramaiyah

Old Huhu dies and Huhu Tu misses him a lot. He looks everywhere in the forest for Old Huhu, and finally realises that he hasn't completely gone, because Huhu Tu finds him in his heart.
5 to 7 year olds would love this book because it is sad but interesting all the way through.
Dimitrios gives this book a 70% chance of winning the picture book category.




Cowshed Christmas
by Joy Cowley
reviewed by Mariah Rennie-Younger

This story is about farm animals which come mooing, clucking (or whatever their sound is) into the farmyard shed.
Who have they come to see ?
- you guess because it is Christmastime.
This picture book has a very simple storyline .I think the pictures are cool and this would be good to read and show younger children.

New Book Display Week 7 term 1

"Pushing the limits" could be the theme for this week's non-fiction.
Look to the Stars by Buzz Aldrin is about space exploration. DD# 629
Supercross and Arenacross is about the sport of BMX riding and racing. DD# 796.7
The Great Race Maze takes you all over the world. DD# 793.7
This month's New Zealand Geographic features our latest sports hero, Shaun Quincey.
Our 2 picture books are:
Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes (H), showing the kitten's nighttime adventures in effective black and white drawings.
You Can't Eat a Princess by Gillian Rogerson (R). This story has the characters Princess Spaghetti, King Cupcake and aliens and is quite silly.
There are 3 fiction books, 2 of them by Paul Jennings (JEN)- Uncanny and The Gizmo. Both are popular books that needed replacement.
The last new book introduces a new character to our library. Magyk is book 1 of the Septimus Heap series and is a magical adventure / fantasy written by Angie Sage (SAG). This book is for capable readers.

Win a bookmark or sticker for answering these questions (reply as a comment on the blog and leave your name).
What is Buzz Aldrin famous for?
What did Shaun Quincey do to become a sports hero?

New Book Display Week 5

As our new picture books this week, we have 5 Maori readers. Each reader has a translation on the back, but try to read the story without looking at the translation first. These readers will brighten up our browsing books.

Ivy and Bean (2 mischievous girls) are new characters to our library. We have 2 books, Ivy and Bean Take Care of the Babysitter and Ivy and Bean Break the Fossil Record, by Annie Barrows. These are fast, fun stories, especially for girls who are independent readers.
Following on from Andy Griffith's The Cat on the Mat is Flat, is our new book The Big Fat Cow that Goes Kapow. The same treatment of silly things.

The non-fiction books are a mixture of topics.
Mummy and Me Cookbook DD# 641
Survival Skills (Using Maths) DD# 510
White Island, New Zealand's Most Active Volcano DD# 551.21
Be a Demolition Expert (Using Science) DD# 690.26

Reminder for those of you who reserved a displayed book from last week to collect it from the box.

Term 1 Week 4 New Book Display

This week our non-fiction books are featuring Earth Science.
*Rocks is a well illustrated and set out book for geology enthusiasts. Dewey # 552
*Rangitoto by Maria Gill gives historical facts, Maori lore and flora and fauna information about our volcano.
*Be a Volcanologist and Be an Earthquake Scientist are from the Using Science series.
The NIRs this week are:
*Make Me the Flowergirl by Pamela Freeman
*Wild Things by Cynthia Maxwell
For senior readers we have a Chinese Cinderella Story by Adeline Yen Mah - *The Mystery of the Song Dynasty Painting.
Our Picture books are:
*WALL.E the intergalactic guide - SAU (SOP)
*Hey Presto by Rachel Hayward - H (PIC)
*Old Huhu by Kyle Mewburn - M (PIC)
Old Huhu is a beautiful story about losing someone who is loved. The story is sad but it leaves you with a smile. The illustrations by Rachel Driscoll are a great compliment to the book.

Last year Georgia and Herbert in R14 reviewed our 2 NIRs which introduce Keeker and her adventures with her horse, Plum. These books are written by Hadley Higginson.
They think that 7 and 8 year old girls would enjoy reading these books.

New Book Display Week 3 Term 1

On display this week we have 3 non-fiction books:
Dinosaurs (Usborne Discovery)
Dinomummy, The Life, Death and Discovery of Dakota, a Dinosaur from Hell Creek
Weird Animals Dictionary (look for the 2 NZ animals - what do you think they are?).
There are 2 picture books:
Haumia and his Kumara, telling how Haumia tricked a taniwha.
Smile starring Sunny McCloud by Leigh Hodgkinson. Sunny has lost her smile and tries to find it.
Our 3 senior fiction books are;
Open for business by Moya Simons, a story about the Walk Right In Detective Agency.
Ferno the Fire Dragon, from the Beast Quest series by Adam Blade.
The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo (the author of the beautifully written and popular Tale of Despereaux). This book has a very unusual storyline with a mystery of an elephant appearing out of the blue, aimed at our senior readers.

Welcome to the Sunnybrae School Library Blog 2010.

We are the librarians for the Sunnybrae Normal School this year. Please keep an eye on our videos, photos and information which we will post, to share the events happening in our library, with you.