Wellesley Library

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We have just added nice new copies of Moya Simons’ collections of short stories, about Danny Thompson, called Dead meat, Dead average and Dead Worried.

‘Danny Thompson is always getting into trouble and in Dead meat he manages to lose his baby sister, give his mother exactly the wrong present for her fortieth birthday and  something awful happens to his parents’ only wedding photograph. As if that’s not enough, he’s starting to get zits. And for some reason, whenever Mandy Miller looks at him he goes hot and cold . . .

In Dead average,  When he gets the starring role in a TV commercial, because of his "average looks", Danny is all set to make his fortune. But, of course, something goes embarrassingly, horribly wrong . . .

In Dead worried Danny loses his memory, helps his friend Taffy arrange a haunting and, worst of all, his new dandruff shampoo makes his hair smell like a hospital toilet . . .’

Other books, by this author, that you may enjoy are Camel face, Spacenapped and Sit down Mum, I have something to tell you!

All of the mentioned titles are located at on the [Fiction SIM].

Another new copy of a popular title by one of Australia’s favourite authors, Tim Winton, is called Blueback [Fiction WIN]. ‘Abel Jackson has lived by the sea at Longboat Bay ever since he could remember. He helps his mother each day and loves to dive. One day he meets Blueback, the biggest and most beautiful fish he’s ever seen. When Abel’s mother is approached by developers she decides she must do something to protect their fragile piece of coastline. But can Abel and his mother save Blueback and Longboat Bay in time?

We have also just received two new titles by, popular New Zealand action/adventure writer, Des Hunt.

  In Cry of the Taniwha [Fiction HUN] ‘Matt Logan isn’t looking forward to spending the school holidays with his grandmother and her new husband. He has to fly to Rotorua, where he doesn’t know anybody, and he’s a bit wary of his new step-grandfather. All Matt knows is that he’s Maori and a bus driver. Along with his worries, Matt packs his pride and joy – a homemade metal detector, because, you never know, he might find something interesting. What he finds is Juzza, who lives over the back fence and wants to join a local gang. When the boys unearth a handcuffed skeleton, a chain of events begins to coil around them. Together they are thrown into a deadly search for treasure when the local gang boss decides to exploit their find for himself.’ 

Jelly Mountain [Fiction HUN] is a mysterious place. Its straight sides mean the top has never been explored. Jason and his twin sister are drawn into a ‘mystery that is set to rock the whole world’ when Shawn Morris crash-lands on the top.

And now from the latest edition of Wacky but true magazine here a some ‘cool websites’ you might like to visit:

Comic maker          Seussville           Switcheroo zoo

Welcome to winter . . . here are some ‘hot’ reads for those cold rainy days . . .

Good for a laugh are two books about Blacky the farting dog by Australian author Barry Jonsberg. The dog that dumped on my doona [Fiction JON]tells of Marcus who is ‘woken by a dog doing a poo on his bed, he is understandably upset. And Blacky (the dog) has other surprises in store. Soon Marcus and his disruptive friend Dylan are on a mission to rescue God – a sick pygmy bearded dragon – from the local pet shop. But time is running out…
And then there is Rose who thrives on terrorising her little brother. She is the sister from hell, but revenge will be sweet. Or so Marcus thinks.’ In A croc called Capone [Fiction JON] ‘’Blacky the farting dog has a mission that Marcus and Dylan can’t refuse. Trouble is, this mission involves a monstrous saltwater crocodile who would much rather chomp on a human for dinner than have a civilised conversation. Of course, there’s also the small matter of a giant big-game hunter on a collision course with our heroes. And will Marcus be any match for his mean older sister Rose and her light-sabre-wielding best friend Cy Ob Han? ‘

Edward’s eyes by Patricia MacLachlan [Fiction MAC] tells the touching story of Jake who ‘is part of an extraordinary family. He leads a life filled with art, music and hours and days and months of baseball. But the most important person in his life is his brother, Edward. From the moment he was born, Edward had the ability to make anyone laugh and everyone think. During one special year he was the only kid in the neighbourhood who could throw a perfect knuckleball – a pitch you just could not hit. But that same year, Jake learns that there are some things you just can’t hold on to.’ [Ms. K.  had her tissue box handy for this one.]                                                                          A new New Zealand title is Tough enough by Tania Hutley, a story about the perils of peer pressure. ‘How did Matt ever get into this? He never wanted to holiday here and now he’s being dared to confront Guts McGrady and his vicious guard dog, Razor.  All he wanted was to fit in and prove that he’s no wimp. But is he tough enough to face a killer?’

Also arrived are a some next parts of popular series .  In the second book in the Nathan Fox adventures by L. Brittney and called Traitor’s gold [Fiction BRI], ‘the fourteen-year-old actor-turned-spy . . . skilled with the sword and fearless on horseback . . . is first choice to intercept a secret shipment of Spanish gold. His team must work with dangerous pirates and ruthless mercenaries to secure the gold – but Nathan soon learns that traitors nearly always come in disguise . . .’                                                                                                       In book three of Mark Walden’s  H.I.V.E. [Higher Institute of Villainous Education] series, called Escape velocity [Fiction WAL], Dr Nero ‘has been captured by the world’s most ruthless security force. It’s up to Otto to save him, but first he must escape Nero’s sinister replacement and H.I.V.E. itself. The Otto faces the ultimate challenge – to break into MI6. Something no villain has ever succeeded in doing.’ A review from the Sunday Express says ‘full of baddies, action and lashings of humour’.                                                                                                              A long awaited sequel to the much-loved Love that dog by Sharon Creech is Hate that cat [Non fiction 821 CRE]. ‘Jack is back at school and thankfully Miss Stretchberry is his teacher again. Jack likes her! But he disagrees with her about one thing . . . cats. Jack hates cats. Or at least he does until he gets to know some kittens and reads some poetry about cats.’

And now, just for fun, some ‘silly’ book titles –                                               At the North Pole by I. C. Blast                                                                       At the South Pole by Ann Tarctic                                                                  The farmer’s wife by Mike Howe                                                                   The tiger’s revenge by Claude Body                                                              The cannibal’s son by Henrietta Mann                                                             On the beach by C. Shaw                                                                                The broken window by Eva Brick                                                                   The insomniac by Eliza Wake                                                                           My life of crime by Robin Banks.

This is the new topic display in the library and to go with it here are some of the books we have about dragons :-

Non-fiction Books

• The discovery of dragons by Graeme Base [398.2 BAS]
• Dragon poems by John Foster [821]
• Mythical beasts by Deidre Headon [398.2 HEA]
• DragonArt by Jessica Peffer [741 PEF]
• Dr. Ernest Drake’s dragonology [398.2 STE]

Picture Books

• Jayne and the dragon by Martin Baynton
• The dragon who couldn’t help breathing fire by Denis Bond     
• Where’s the dragon by Jason Hook                  
• Rascal the dragon series by Paul Jennings
• The dragon’s birthday by Margaret Mahy    
• George and the dragon by Chris Wormell

Yellow Dot Books

• The monster crisp-guzzler by Malorie Blackman
• Tashi by Anna and Barbara Fienberg           
• Dragon boy by Pippa Goodheart

Black Dot Books

• Ferno the fire dragon by Adam Blade              
• Silent knight by Margaret Clark                        
• Star dragon by Douglas Hill                       
• Dragon trouble by Penelope Lively

Fiction Books

• How to train your dragon. . . by Cressida Cowell
• The fire within, Icefire and Fire Star by Chris D’Lacey
• Dragon rider by Cornelia Funke
• The saint of dragons and Samurai by Jason  Hightman                          
• The hunting of the last dragon by Sherryl Jordan
• With my knife, Dragonfox and The red dragon by Andrew Lansdown
• Eragon, Eldest and Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
• Dragonkeeper, Garden of the Purple Dragon and Dragon Moon by Carole Wilkinson

Congratulations to the Wellesley Kids’ Literature Quiz Teams, who performed magnificently at the recent Regional Heats, with Team A off to Auckland on the 14th June to compete in the National Final. 

We have added some great new non-fiction titles to the Library and here are just a few I thought you might enjoy . . .

Glenn Colquhoun’s Amazing Tales of Aotearoa [Non-fiction 398.2 COL] is  a retelling of Maori myths in a modern way. One of the stories is told in rap while another is in comic-strip format. The stories are narrated by characters who live in a village called ‘That-place’. The book is illustrated by Ali Teo, who is known for her illustration of picture books Oh hogwash, Sweet Pea! and Kiss! Kiss! Yuck! Yuck!

 Gallipoli: reckless valour by Nicholas Brasch [Non-fiction 940.4 BRA] is a well illustrated and easy to read account of the events of The Gallipoli landings. on the back of the book it says “They were young men full of practical jokes and hell-bent on having a good time . . . They were bold and brave, loyal to their mates and daring in their fighting. Find out how these young men displayed such reckless valour that they wrote themselves into the pages of history and made 25 April forever remembered as Anzac day.”

“Are you sick of being told when to go to bed? It’s impossible when there are conspiracies to expose, records to break, unread bedtime stories . . . and you can’t ignore biohazard warnings, pesky pyjama allergies and that some nights the future of the world depends on you! let’s face it – you snooze, you lose!” If this sounds like you then Sam Franzway’s book 1010 excuses for not going to bed! [Non-fiction 793.7 FRA] may be just what you need.

A new picture book by the author of The Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson is   called Room on the Broom [Picture book shelves D]. A lot of trouble for a witch and a little help from her friends . . .

And now for some new older fiction . . .Cool by Michael Morpurgo [Black dot MOR] is the story of Robbie, a  football fan and animal lover who chases after his dog one day and is hit by a car. He lies in hospital, unable to speak, move or eat. He get lots of visits from people trying to reach him, including the famous Chelsea footballer Zola . . . will anything be able to bring Robbie back from the brink of death? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

For fantasy fans we have Dirty Magic by Carol Hughes. “ When Joe follows the mysterious Katherine he is sucked into a grubby, gritty underworld of Fetchers, Skulkers, feuding warlords and double agents. With only blind Spider and some ancient maps to guide them, Joe and Katherine must navigate their way through a land where murderous machines roam the plains, sewer tunnels hide escape routes, and sinister contraptions listen for your innermost secrets. As Joe faces each danger in turn, one thing becomes terrifyingly clear: this is a matter of life and death, both here and in the world he’s left behind. Dirty Magic pulls you into a crazy, fast-paced world that is frightening, confronting and addictively good.”

And finally we have a series review from one of the Student Librarians, Kieran Carter, Year 6S.

Deltora Quest is a great collection of books. It is full of action, adventure, romance and lots of fantasy. There are lots of mysteries to solve while reading the books. The books are about a boy named Leif and his companions, Barda and Jasmine, trying to save all of Deltora, an imaginary world full of bad people, and creatures you cannot even imagine. There is also an evil person who calls himself the shadow lord and he is trying to take over all of Deltora. As you can see this is a great collection of books to read. I would rate it 5 stars.

See you next BLOG . . . in the mean time KEEP READING . . .

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 Welcome to the March Blog . . . doesn’t time fly?????? 

We have some new books from the Barrington Stoke FYI series. These are fiction titles ‘stacked with lots of facts’. New titles by Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore star 14 year old Tim Corder, also known as Hack Jack, a genius computer hacker.  In the first book, ‘The Doomsday Virus’, he takes on the most destructive computer virus ever known and in the sequel ‘The Doomsday Watchers’ he has to stay one step ahead of the Central Security Agency operatives, who want him dead . . .  Also in FYI is ‘Assassin” by Tony Bradman - set in Roman Britain where Owen plans to save his tribe by murdering the Roman Emperor Hadrian. In ‘Deadline’ by John Townsend, Barney overhears a plot to Blow up a plane full of people and in on a race against time to save them. All of these titles are short, fast-moving and have easy to read  print.

From first-time author Kris Stanhope we have ’ “Why I Hate School” by Michael Fatarsky’. Michael hates everything about school even break and lunchtime . . . Find out why and who changes his mind in this winner of The Tom Fitzgibbon Award.

Another title in the My Story series is ‘Sabotage! The Diary of Rowan Webb, Auckland, 1985’. Written in diary form, through the eyes of third-former Rowan, we experience the events surrounding the bombing of The Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior in Auckland Harbour.

An intriguing new title with a very long title is ‘I, Nigel Dorking : an autobiography about a boy with an unusual vocabulary, a suit of armour and an unshakeable dream, written by that very boy (Nigel Dorking), grade six – proofread by Mary-Anne Fahey (though few mistakes were found). Australian, Fahey, tells us of the trials and tribulations of Nigel as he tries to rescue his Father from the clutches of his ‘evil’ stepmother and reunite his family. This quest is not helped by having a disabled brother and having to follow the rules of chivalry.

A classic that should not be missed is ‘The Little Prince’ by Antoine de Saint Exupery.An allegorical tale published in 1943 a year before the author’s death in action. It is a  story, written in the first person, of an airman who after experiencing engine trouble and landing in the Sahara Desert, discovers a small boy from another planet who tells him stories of his life. A thought-provoking read.

For all Dr. Seuss fans we have just bought lovely new copies of a lot of his titles. So for a lot of rhyming fun see the Picture Book Shelves under S. Don’t forget Dr. Seuss also writes under Theo Le Sieg. Le Sieg is Dr. Seuss real surname Geisel spelt backwards [boy does your librarian know a lot of trivia!]. Your librarian has also had the great privilege, a long time ago, to meet and shake hands with the wonderful man himself . . . Well I have to have something to boast about – don’t I?

In finishing, just a couple of websites I think you might like. The Children’s Digital Library  http://en.childrenslibrary.org/ is a site where you can read books from all around the world and Cool Reads http://www.cool-reads.co.uk/default.asp is a site of book reviews written for ten to fifteen year olds by ten to ficteen year old reviewers. Have fun browsing . . .

Welcome back to school for the boys from last year and a very special welcome to those new to Wellesley this year.  

Here is a quick guide to the things that you might need to know about Wellesley Library.

· Opening hours – you may use the Library at any time – before School, morning tea time, lunch time, after school and at any time during the school day in class time [with your teacher’s permission].

· Class visits – most classes have a set Library visit each week – you will have a timetable in your classroom or there are copies in the Library.

· Library arrangement – the library is divided into Fiction [arranged in alphabetical order by the author’s last name] and Non-fiction [arranged in number order using the Dewey Decimal Classification System].

   The fiction is then divided into several smaller sections to make     choosing easier.

 - Picture books

 - Yellow dot books [beginner chapter books]

 - Black dot books [harder chapter books]

 - Fiction [novels]

 - Senior picture books [illustrated books more suitable for senior students]

· Borrowing – you may issue your own books.

 - books are issued for 2 weeks with another 2 weeks renewal [if needed].

 - Year 1 has a borrowing limit of 2 books at one time.

 - Years 2-6 have a borrowing limit of 3 books at one time.

 - Years 7-8 have a borrowing limit of 4 books at one time.

· Reserving – Years 3-8 may reserve books – a limit of 2 at one time – when these books arrive they are held for 5 days only and if not collected are returned to the shelves.

 Students in Years 6-8 might also like to consider being Lunchtime Librarians. This year there will be three Lunchtime Librarians per day, a total of 15. You need to be on duty in the Library one lunchtime [12.40 pm.-1.20 pm.] per week for at least two terms. You must be punctual, careful and most of all enthusiastic about books and helping people. Application forms for those interested will be available in the Library at the end of week 1. Librarians will be appointed and duties will start at the beginning of week 3.

 Don’t forget to keep reading later [and previous] blogs for reading recommendations and news of new purchases.

 I look forward to seeing you all in the Library very soon, and after that very often through the year.

Christmas is coming fast . . . so here is a selection of some of my favourite Christmas books available from Wellesley Library.

The Usborne book of Christmas art ideas by Fiona Watt contains over 100 ideas for decorations, cards, wrapping paper and gift boxes. I am looking forward to having a go at making fingerprint snowmen! [Non-fiction shelves 745.59 WAT]

Another new addition to the collection is Roland Harvey’s big book of Christmas with information on Christmas celebrations around the world, as well as crafts cooking and carols.   [Non-fiction shelves 394.2 HAR]

Two of my personal favourite retellings of the story of Jesus’ birth are The Nativity illustrated by Julie Vivas and Christmas illustrated by Jan Pienkowski. Both use text from The King James Version of the Bible with very different, but equally wonderful styles of illustration.    [Non-fiction shelves 232 VIV and 232 PIE]

From the Picture book section Crispin the pig who had it all by Ted Dewan is the story of a rich little piggy who has everything, well almost everything . . . One Christmas Crispin Pig gets the one thing he doesn’t have; the very best thing in the whole world. Which isn’t quite what he was expecting . . .   [Picture book shelves D]  An Australian title  by the ever popular Mem Fox is called Wombat Devine. Wombat really wants to take part in the Nativity play, but will any of the parts be suitable for a wombat? . . . of course! . . . but you’ll have to read it to find out which one.     [Picture book shelves F]

From the Black Dot section comes Stanley’s Christmas, another title about Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown in which Santa Claus is in a terrible mood. He doesn’t believe that children appreciate Christmas anymore. This year, he has decided that he is not going to deliver any Christmas presents! Luckily, his daughter, Sarah Claus, knows who to call for help. The Lambchop family! But can they convince Santa that there are still good children in the world?  Just leave it up to Stanley.        [Black dot shelves BRO] 

             One of the most read series in this section is about and written by Geronimo Stilton. A Christmas title in this series is Merry Christmas, Geronimo! Here is a quote from the book – “I was so excited about Christmas, I could squeak! My favourite nephew Benjamin was going to come over, and we were planning to trim the tree and eat lots of delicious holiday Cheesy Chews. But before you could say “cat alert,” disaster struck! I slipped over my tail and ended up in the hospital. And then my mouse hole caught on fire! Holey cheese, this was turning out to be the worst Christmas ever….”           [Black dot shelves STI]

In When Santa fell to earth by Cornelia Funke, Twinklestar, the mischievous reindeer, bolts leaving his Christmas caravan to fall from the sky. Luckily, the extraordinary passengers – Niklas, a real-life Santa Claus, two angels and assorted elves – crash-land in a friendly neighbourhood where two local children called Ben and Charlotte come to their rescue. But they’re still in terrible danger. On their trail, iare greedy Gerold Goblynch and his motor-sledge-riding bad Santas, a treacherous bunch from Yule Land, who will stop at nothing to steal Christmas.     [Fiction book shelves FUN]

To finish – here are a few of my favourite, ‘groan-making’  Christmas funnies:                                          Q. What is the difference between the Christmas alphabet and the ordinary alphabet ?                             A. The Christmas alphanbet has no L (NOEL). 

Q. What Christmas Carol is a favorite of parents?                                                                                       A. Silent Night.

Q. Why was Santa’s Little Helper depressed?                                                                                                A. He had low elf-esteem.       

Have a great Christmas and enjoy your holidays

                         . . . DON’T FORGET TO KEEP READING.

Here are some new titles coming to the fiction section . . .

Specky Magee by Felice Arena and Garry Lyon - a new Australian sports series. In the first book twelve-year-old Simon Magee is the biggest Aussie Rules fan ever. Some might say he’s footy mad. He’s a champion full-forward on the footy team, but his friends call him ‘Specky’ because of his awesome talent at taking ‘spectacular’ marks. Life couldn’t be better – except his all whole family hates footy. Which is why Specky is so confused when he discovers a photo of himself as a baby dressed up in footy clothes. Who dressed him in those clothes? And why won’t his parents give him a straight answer when he asks them about it? We also have books 2 to 6 titled: Specky Magee & the great footy contest, Specky Magee & the season of champions, Specky Magee & the boots of glory, Specky Magee & a legend in the making and Specky Magee & the spirit of the game. For more information about this series visit the official website at  www.speckymagee.com/authors.htm

 The 10 pm question by Kate De Goldi - Twelve-year-old Frankie Parsons has rather large, quirky family. They’ve been the centre of his universe, but  Frankie’s view of his world begins to change. There’s a new arrival at school- a dreadlocked girl called Sydney who becomes perplexingly fascinating to him. She even starts to draw him away from his best friend, Gigs.

I, Nigel Dorking by Mary-Anne Fahey – “Nigel Dorking is desperate to win his father back. And given he’s so smart, far smarter than his horrible stepmother, the evil Babette, surely he won’t end up losing Dad to his new family? If only Dad hadn’t fallen for her and totally ruins their lives. Obviously having a really disabled brother like Ivan hasn’t helped. Knowledge, however, Nigel is certain, will impress Dad. If he can amaze and dazzle Dad with his interesting facts, maye then Nigel’s dad will come home, and then, Nigel, will have achieved his holy grail.”

The kings of Clonmel by John Flanagan - The eighth book in The ranger’s apprentice series in which “Will is at the annual Ranger Gathering but Halt is investigating mysterious happenings in the west. When he does finally return, it’s with bad news. Hibernia is in turmoil. A religious cult calling themselves the Outsiders are sowing confusion and sedition, and five of the six Hibernian kingdoms have been undermined. Now the sixth, Clonmel, is in danger. Halt, Will and Horace set out to restore order. Can the secrets of Halt’s past help them in their mission?”

Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke – this title completes the trilogy beginning with Inkheart and Inkspell.  As Bluejay – Mo’s fictitious double – tries to keep the Book of Immortality from unravelling, Adderhead kidnaps all the children in the kingdom, asking for Bluejay’s surrender or the children will be doomed to slavery in the silver mines.

Toad surprise by Morris Gleitzman - The fourth book in the fantastically funny and touching series – “It’s the wart-tingling escapade of one slightly squashed cane toad’s hunt for friendship and the surprising place he finds it. Limpy has a dream. A dream where cane toads and humans live happily together. Surely, this time Limpy will be able to show humans how nice cane toads can be? After all, it is Christmas. And isn’t Christmas a time of peace and goodwill to all men? And cane toads.”

Shadow forest by Matt Haig – A slightly scarier title. “Samuel Blink is the hero of this story, but he doesn’t know it yet. Right now, he and his sister Martha are in the back of his parents car. He has no idea a giant log is about to fall from the sky and change his life forever. He doesn’t know that he and Martha will be forced to move to Norway and eat their Aunt Edna’s smelly brown cheese. He hasn’t the slightest clue Martha will disappear into Shadow Forest. A forest full of one-eyed trolls, the sinister huldre-folf, deadly truth pixies and a witch who steals shadows. A forest ruled by the evil Changemaker. A forest so dangerous that  people who enter never return.”

My story : Sabotage! The diary of Rowan Webb, Auckland, 1985 by Sharon Holt – another title in the popular reality based fictional diary series. “The Rainbow Warrior was the flag ship of the Greenpeace movement, when it was sunk by agents of the French Foreign Intelligence, while anchored in Auckland Harbour, on the 10th of July 1985. In this story thirteen-year-old Rowan Webb gets herself a French penpal and unwittingly becomes involved in an event that not only shocks a nation, but the whole world.”

Old Drumble by Jack Lasenby – renowned for quirky stories, this title is no exception.  “Set in the small Waikato town of Waharoa in the 1930′s. Jack Jackman is a young boy who wants to be a stock drover and has a special relationship with an old family friend, Andy the Drover. Andy shares yarns and adventures with Jack each week when he drives a mob of sheep or cattle through the main street with the help of his dog, Old Drumble and his horse, Nosy.”

Charlie’s monsters by Dean Lorey – the first title in the Nightmare Academy series. “Charlie Benjamin is not like other children. When he sleeps he has terrible nightmares, and when he wakes it is to find his room has been wrecked. Eventually Charlie is saved by the wise Headmaster of the Nightmare Academy where he is taken to explore his talent of being able to open portals where monsters lurk.”

Tales from outer suburbia by Shaun Tan – a quote from the author’s website  www.shauntan.net says it “ is an anthology of fifteen very short illustrated stories. Each one is about a strange situation or event that occurs in an otherwise familiar suburban world; a visit from a nut-sized foreign exchange student, a sea creature on someone’s front lawn, a new room discovered in a family home, a sinister machine installed in a park, a wise buffalo that lives in a vacant lot. The real subject of each story is how ordinary people react to these incidents, and how their significance is discovered, ignored or simply misunderstood.”

At the end of October Wellesley Library was not a ‘Halloween-free zone’. The resident witch donned her costume. After reading the story Aaaarrgghh spider! by Lydia Monks, with the help of some great Year 8 volunteers, Years 0 and 1, made spider hats. It was hard to tell who had the most fun, the Juniors or the Seniors.

We announce the eagerly awaited arrival of the 5th title in the Young Bond series by Charlie Higson – By royal command. Following a treacherous rescue mission high in the freezing Alps, James Bond is preparing for life back at Eton. But James is under surveillance his every move is being watched. He alone holds the clue to a sinister plot that will bring bloodshed and carnage to his school – and his country. Forced to flee from Eton to Austria, James must leave behind everything he knows, with only a beautiful – and dangerous – girl by his side. Soon he is trapped in a deadly war of secrets and lies, as a nightmare reunion with a bitter enemy plunges him once more into the face of death. Life for James Bond will never be the same again.
[Fiction shelves HIG]

Book four of the Septimus Heap series, by Angie Sage, called Queste is now available. Nicki and Snorri are trapped in Time, and Septimus Heap goes on a quest to find the House of Foryx, a place where all Time meets.
[Fiction shelves SAG]

The start of a new fantasy time-travel series by French author Guillaume Prévost is called The book of time. The blurb of the book reads . . .’Ten days ago Sam Faulkner’s Dad disappeared. Ten minutes ago Sam discovered a hidden room. Five minutes ago he picked up a book about Dracula’s castle. Two minutes ago he found a way to travel through time. Now . . . the adventure begins’.
.[Fiction shelves PRE]

An adventure in the style of Indiana Jones is Blood of the Incas by David Harris. Fearless historian and adventurer, Hiram Bingham risks all and battles storms, fire, condors, cannibals and treacherous cliffs on his quest to find the lost city of Machu Picchu. This is the first book of Time raiders a gripping new series.
[Fiction shelves HAR]

A Newbery Honor Book and recommended read is The Ear, the Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer. Set in the year 2194 in Zimbabwe, General Matsika’s three children are kidnapped and put to work in a plastic mine, while three mutant detectives use their special powers to search for them.
[Fiction shelves FAR]

In Ways to live by Sally Nicholls, Sam has leukemia, and he is determined to make every minute count. What he wants are answers to the questions nobody will answer – and his research into the mystery of dying proves both humorous, moving and uplifting. [Fiction shelves NIC]

A new title in the non-fiction section is Juicy writing by Brigid Lowry, who tells us why being a writer is good – ‘you get paid to make stuff up, you get to travel because it is research and you can stay home and work in your pyjuamas’. She also says that being a writer is bad because of ‘sitting all by yourself in your study for hours is lonely’. She will ‘inspire you to doodle, daydream and discover your creativity –then write hard and fast into the wild land of your imagination’.
[Non-fiction shelves 808 LOW]

It’s time to start thinking about those library books that might have slipped your mind during the year. Have a good search and return them to the Library – no questions asked.

The heroes display has come down from the display corner but the Super Wellesley Bears are still in the Library outside my office with my favourite hero quotes still remaining too.

The new Delightful Dahl display is in honour of the purchase of bright and shiny new copies of most [but not all] of Roald Dahl’s books for the library.

Other new titles include . . .

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. It is the lengthy [460 plus pages], rollicking adventure story of how Peter Pan first met a certain one-handed pirate. Plenty of skulduggery, treachery, storms, mermaids, talking porpoises and, of course, battles. [Fiction shelves BAR] 

Redwall – the graphic novel adapted from the Brian Jacques original by Stuart Moore and illustrated by Richard Starkings. “All the heros and villains, all the battles – as never before seen.”  [Fiction shelves JAC]

Stefania’s dancing slippers by the team of Jennifer Beck and Lindy Fisher who brought us the wonderful A present from the past. As a five-year-old in Poland, Stefania loved to dance, but war came and her father went away to fight. Then she and her mother were sent to work camps in Siberia. The two struggled through until they were released and allowed to travel south again. But now her mother is sick and Stefania must leave her. At the parting Stefania drops one of her precious dancing slippers. She holds on to her one remaining slipper as a link to home and her parents as she is finally sent to the other side of the world to New Zealand.                 [Senior picture books B]

For those with strong stomachs we have Pee-Yew! : the stinkiest, smelliest animals, insects and plants on earth! by Mike Artell. How far can a skunk squirt it’s spray? – which beetle does a walking headstand while releasing a foul smell? – how turkey vultures chase away predators (disgusting!) and many more revolting facts you may never have wanted to know. [Non-fiction shelves 570 ART]

A book with illustrations to pore over for ages is Alphabeasts by Wallace Edwards. A collection of alphabetical animal portraits to ignite the imagination. [Picture book shelves E]

Another picturebook, a sequel to the very popular Pants, is More pants by Giles Andreae, with illustrations by Nick Sharratt. This time we have “Never getting wetty pants, supersonic jetty pants” and the well-known “covered in spaghetti pants”. Delightful. [picturebook shelves A]