If you need a JP, you can find one at Central Library every Friday from 11am to 1pm on the Mezzanine Floor.
They are in the Wharite Room, which is near the stairs heading up to the first floor. If you’re unsure, ask a staff member and we’ll point you in the right direction.
No appointments are necessary. If you need their services sooner, you can visit Palmerston North District Court on Main Street from 11:30am to 1:30pm, Monday to Wednesday, and from 11am to 3pm Thursday – Friday.
Great children’s books, be they novels, picture books or graphic novels, are some of the most complex works to write and I am in awe of anyone who attempts such a mighty task. As a Content Development Librarian selecting books for our tamariki is both a huge responsibility and a great honour and one I love. So it is with much excitement that I share with you some of the new and not so new books that have crossed my desk lately.
These two beautiful picture books simply wrap themselves around you. They are full of warmth, friendship, adventure, playfulness and belonging. The author’s play with language – the rhyming, alliteration, humour and word creation – gives a musicality to the text as it skips and dances along. The illustrations and text work in perfect harmony. Cecil’s images enhance the mood and tone of the story, further illuminating the “evermore” nature of the friendship between a young girl and a dragon. These are exceptional books in the picture book genre.
Mine!written by Alison Green and illustrated by Sharon Rentta
Mine! Is a hilarious and slightly wicked story of a wolf who settles a dispute between a pesky little bird and itself in a rather wolfish way. Rentta’s mostly black and white illustrations bring a rich texture to this very spirited story, enhancing both expression and action. The bright orange colouring of the pinecone – the object of the dispute – highlights both the focus and determination of the two characters to claim “Mine!” A wonderfully subversive tale.
There have been several exceptional picture books published over the past couple of years exploring feelings and this one sits right up there with the best. This stunning picture book joyously celebrates positive feelings but equally acknowledges that we can all feel down, afraid, and sad at times. In just a few words it helps us to see that such feelings can make us “stronger,” are passing and/or remind us of humbleness. Maycock’s ink illustrations extend the text and enrich the reading experience and are so expressive it is as if they have voice. A beautifully rendered picture book to read aloud and share or to read quietly to yourself, either way you will smile with quiet contemplation with each page turn.
Children’s Fiction – Horror stories
The children’s horror genre has continued to mature and expand over the past 10 years or so. Humour still features strongly in many such tales to mitigate the scary stuff, giving the young reader a bit of comic relief. However, these two stories I have chosen to write about today give no such respite, they are so good but are not for the faint hearted.
Gena Blaxill employs the fairy tale ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ to frame her story with its dark, threatening forest, an old relative that lives apart from the village, a young girl in a red cloak and a wolf. But Blaxill diverts from the traditional pathway here creating a highly compelling, wonderfully scary tale steeped in tension, impending danger and subterfuge. It is one of the best children’s horror stories I have read in a long time. Read it if you dare…Highly recommended – great read-aloud, love the cover!
Irrėelle lives with the constant threat of being turned to dust by her “creator”, Miss Vesper who seeks eternal life. Irrėelle, and her unlikely ally, Guy, must find a way to rid themselves of the tenacious grip of Miss Vesper if they are ever going to be free and even more critical, if they are ever going to be truly alive. Kassner has penned a highly inventive, creative read that will have young readers riveted to every page. Again, a brilliant book and read-aloud.
I’m currently reading Skandar and the Unicorn Thief, a new book by A. F. Steadman that is attracting much attention. It’s a captivating tale with rich world building and an unconventional portrayal of unicorns. It promises to be a great read for young fantasy readers.
Don’t forget to check out the finalists in this year’s New Zealand Book Awards for Children & Young Adults – you can find all the information about the awards, finalists, and past winners here.
Also, congratulations to Katya Balen, the 2022 Yoto Carnegie Medal Winner for her book October, October. Click here to read Katya’s speech and for more information on the award.
I was so excited to see last week that Ruth Ozeki won The Women’s Prize for Fiction 2022 for her novel The book of form and emptiness. If you are passionate about books and libraries and what really matters, this is for you.
I fell in love with Ruth’s writing when I read A tale for the time being, one of her previous novels and now one of my favourites. Her writing is thoughtful, quirky and compassionate – highly recommended. And Ruth is a fascinating person, not only a writer but a film maker and Zen Buddhist priest.
Ozeki is the 27th winner of this prize which was established in 1996 to offset the tendency of major literary prizes to ‘overlook accomplished, challenging, important fiction by female authors’. Check out these previous winners below (clicking on the cover takes you to our catalogue entry for that title).
Palmerston North City Library has several locations around town (and in Ashhurst too!) Do you know where they all are? Grab a copy of the Read Your Way Around Town brochure, or print it out from the file below, and get a stamp for each location you visit!
Colour in a feather to reflect your experience of Our Library or your reflections on the past year or hopes for the upcoming year! We have a feather template below you can download and print.
Drop them in to any Palmerston North City Library, send via email, Facebook Messenger, post, or just come and colour them in here at Te Pātikitiki.
Whaea Ruth will whatu (weave) your creations into our Kakahu that has our Pātikitiki as the Taaniko pattern.
This is an ongoing project and we hope to reach everyone who has grown up here, had their heart touched or their needs met. Please spread the word and the template.
There will be spot prizes for the feather that has come from the furthest distance, the one with the most moving message and the one with the most spectacular colours.
Palmerston North City Library has several ebook apps (see the list here). BorrowBox sent us these lists of top titles across Aotearoa in May. Let us know if there’s a title you’d like to see in ebook or e-audio format and we’ll do our best to get it!
If your New Years resolution was to learn a new language this year but you haven’t started yet don’t worry, we can help you! Not only do we have books in our libraries to help you learn a language but we also have access to some great digital resources such as Mango Languages to help you. You can get free access to Mango Languages with your library card.
There are many languages to choose from on Mango Languages, from Arabic to Yiddish, with a few fun ones in between like Pirate and Shakespearean English.
You can also find Mango Languages on the app store, or google play store.
LinkedIn Learning for Library is a great digital resource you can use for free with your library card, so you do not need a LinkedIn profile. There are heaps of learning opportunities from learning how to use and understand Microsoft Office products, customer service techniques or even creative things like how to do animations.
There is a link on our website or you can download the LinkedIn Learning app. After you download it from your app store, click on Sign in, then click on Sign in with your library card to log in through our Library.
You’ll be prompted to enter our Library’s ID, and then your library card number and pin. Note: the Library ID is at the end of the LinkedIn Learning invitation link, and is palmerstonnorthcitylibrary (lower case and one word).
We’re testing out a new app that creates promotional images – here’s a list of LGBT-themed Young Adult books, and if you click on a cover in the image below it will take you straight to that title on our library catalogue!
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