National Storytime

As part of LIBRARY WEEK it was National Storytime Day today. At 10.30am throughout New Zealand, children (and children at heart) were listening to Itiiti's Gift, a charming story by Melanie Drewery and illustrated by the bubbly Fifi Colston (I can say that as I met her in person last week and she is extremely bubbly and fun). I had a group from Warkworth Primary School down for their regular visit this morning (they come in at least once a term) and National Storytime was part of it.

This New Zealand picture book was first published in 2006 by Reed Publishing. "Itiiti feels small and clumsy and shy next to her big, jumbly family... When her mum tells Itiiti that she has her own gift, Itiiti sets out to find it. To her surprise, her gift finds her."

Melanie Drewery and Fifi Colston have items on both our picture book and children's fiction shelves so check them out on our catalogue. One of my personal favourites by Melanie (so much so that an autographed copy of the book was one of the first gifts I bought for my niece last year) is The Treasure (which is also available in Te Reo) as she is a very special taonga for our family. This is the second time Melanie Drewery has been the author of the National Storytime Book. The Grumble Rumble Mumbler was a previous read aloud success. To find out more about Melanie, check out the NZ Book Council biography.

Meanwhile Fifi Colston has a new children's fiction book about to hit the shelves. Glory will be launched during the Storylines Festival in August/September. Glory is for all those kids who "thought they were going to win a prize, but didn't". Fifi told us last week she is now looking for someone to publish a book "1001 things to do with an empty egg carton", presumably so they don't threaten to overtake her workroom (which does make an interesting mental picture). You can read more about what Fifi is up to on her Blog "Fifi verses the world"

Goodie in a hoodie

It's International Youth day and Hoodie Day all rolled into one today.

Hoodie Day organisers NZ Aotearoa Adolescent Health and Development (NZAAHD) work to support, inform and connect organisations that work with youth across New Zealand . NZAAHD will pass on 10% of funds raised in schools and workplaces today, to their partner organisation Age Concern - to help show that young people care about their older people. Age Concern work to serve the needs of older people in NZ.

For more information check out the Hoodie Day page on Bebo or Facebook or TakingITGlobal

2009 LIANZA Children's Book Awards Announced

New Zealand's oldest book prize, the Esther Glen Award, was presented at the LIANZA Children's Book Awards ceremony in Wellington on Monday 10 August.

The Esther Glen Award was established in 1944 and is presented to the author whose work is considered a distinguished contribution to fiction for children. The prize was presented to Wellington writer Fleur Beale for her young adult novel Juno of Taris (Random House). The judges said Beale "excels in descriptions of life as a feisty teenage girl. Juno is a remarkable character, the reader delights in her triumphs and commiserates in her disappointments."

Dunedin based author and illustrator Robyn Belton received the Russell Clark Award for Herbert: The Brave Sea Dog (Craig Potton Publishing). The Russell Clark Award was established in 1975 and celebrates a distinguished contribution to illustrated children's books. The judges could imagine "librarians uming and ahing about whether to place this book in the true story, non-fiction, or picture-book sections of the library. We thought the connectivity of text and illustration resonates with readers of all ages and the superb endpapers intrigue the reader. An entirely satisfactory and uplifting ending that touches all reader's hearts."

For the first time the Te Kura Pounamu Award has been won by a novel. Mihiroa by Peti Nohotima with illustrations by Misty (He Kupenga Hao I te Reo) caught the judge's attention for its skill in capturing a teenage perspective. "From texting to teenage jealousy, from budding relationships to the intensity of sporting competition, one of the most captivating features is how the language is used to develop the characters and their interactions. The delightful line drawings add to the story's attraction too." This award was established in 1995 and celebrates works written in te reo Māori for children and young people.

Radio New Zealand host Veronika Meduna and science historian Rebecca Priestly were the recipients of the Elsie Locke Award for Atoms, Dinosaurs and DNA (Random House). The judges noted that the book had developed out of a 2006 National Library science exhibition, and delighted in the insights it gives to the lives of the sixty eight New Zealand scientists profiled. "Did you know that entomologist George Hudson did his field work in a three piece suit? Beneath his suit he wore head to toe pink woolen underwear. As librarians we knew that this book filled a gap in our collections."

Together the LIANZA Children's Book Awards celebrate the unique contribution New Zealand authors and illustrators make to our cultural heritage and national identity. Award recipients are selected from a shortlist of five titles and receive a medal or taonga and $1,000 prize money.

I escaped. I explored. I discovered.

It wasn't exactly in celebration of Library Week but that's what I did last weekend. Here is my story.

As my days are spent in the wonderful world of the Library and books here at Warkworth, ESCAPE is hardly the word I would use for leaving the library and heading off down to the Hawkes Bay, especially as the prime focus of the trip was a Children's and Teenagers Librarians seminar. But as it was a change of scenery for me, that constitutes the Escape part of Library Week.

I certainly EXPLORED. Not only by exchanging ideas with other librarians, but also wandering around the wonderful Hawkes Bay, including visits to the Hawkes Bay Museum in Napier and the Hastings Library, one of our fellow War Memorial Libraries. They have a wonderful mural and acknowledgement in their entry hall which I took some time to read and admire, bearing in mind our recent rededication up here in Warkworth. I also wound my way up to the top of Te Mata Peak above Havelock North, passing dedicated cyclists and trampers who made it to the top under their own power. The view was stunning, if the wind a little chilly, and I was very impressed by one young girl who did a tandem para-pont (hopefully the right terminology) off the peak.

And I DISCOVERED. That it is time to read and re-read the New Zealand classic Under the Mountain (Maurice Gee) and the internationally renowned Where the Wild Things Are (Maurice Sendak) before the movies premiere later this year. I saw trailers of both and they look absolutely stunning. If you want a sneak preview of Under the Mountain go to the official website. I met and shared ideas with colleagues, heard from Kiwi authors Vince Ford (The Chronicles of Stone) and Ted Dawe (Thunder Road) and also discovered how to do craft things from the bubbly Fifi Colston (who also happens to be the illustrator of the children's picture book we are using on Wednesday for National Storytime, Ititi's Gift).

I also realised on the flight home last night (unfortunately not a window seat) from what little I could see, that the myths and legends we read about how New Zealand were created come alive from that height. It looks just like the Gods or giants, used large sticks and dragged them through the ground to create the craggy ridges and landscape. Or that mountains moved far away to create the rivers and gullies. The romantic in me veers towards the Maori myths and legends of creation, while the realist is fascinated by the geology.

I'm back on the ground, behind my desk here at Warkworth. But that doesn't mean the adventure stops. I discover a whole different world every time I turn a corner or get asked a new question here in the library. There's always something new out there, so why not find out today by escaping, exploring, discovering, or even all three at once, at your local library.

Happy Library Week!

Escape, explore and discover the world in your library!

This week is library week across New Zealand. It began over 35 years ago to "honour the role that libraries play in our communities." From the North to the South libraries have been a part of their communities for much, much longer than that.

The national Library Week website has competitions (create a video; graphic novel or short story) and a space for you to share why you love your library. Or you can do that here - why do you love your library?