31 August 2012
The Burnham school team. This team did not compete in any of the events, but gave a fine exhibition with the manual engine. The Canterbury times, 6 Mar. 1901, p. 34
24 August 2012
Children taking donkey rides on Sumner beach, Christchurch [ca. 1905]
17 August 2012
Storytime at the Library
Storytime at the children’s section of the Canterbury Public Library still has lots of appeal with city youngsters during the school holidays. Here Margaret McPherson (Children’s Librarian) reads to a group. Appeared in the Christchurch Star Home edition 13 May 1968 page 3.
12 August 2012
Christchurch City Libraries celebrates International Youth Day this year by looking at cool stuff for kids and teens.
Stuff for kids:
Stuff for teens:
Explore some library stuff for kids activities
10 August 2012
Before dancers were stars [1980]
3 August 2012
Being a reluctant learner at school, I never had a lot of time for reading. I definitely wasn’t a fan of books with chapters. My parents were probably disgusted, especially as Dad was a librarian and Mum a primary school teacher. I hated reading with a passion, and once even tried sending my brother up to the teacher to do mine for me.
However, a fond memory I do have is one day I was sitting in my primary school classroom when a sparkly, spirited Margaret Mahy arrived wearing a rainbow coloured wig. This wonderful appearance naturally made me interested. Mahy’s fantastic, bubbly, character and amazing narrative won me over. Unlike most adults, she knew how to enter the world of children which made her truly unique.
A great picture book is multifaceted, complemented by illustrations and appeals to adults as much as they do children. Mahy’s books such as A Lion in the Meadow, The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate and The Spider in the Shower illustrate her wonderful imagination. Children can put themselves in the shoes of the characters in these stories.
Sitting at Margaret’s farewell, in Hagley Park Geo Dome, it did occur to me how important it is that teachers, parents and caregivers try to understand what is going on in the world of children. Sometimes, the story itself isn’t enough, it is how it is told. As the service went on with renowned New Zealand literary greats, such as Tessa Duder, Rosie Belton, Gavin Bishop and Kate De Goldi paying homage to this wonderful New Zealander, I loved the fact a little girl came back and forth to pat the guide dog of an attendee, you could hear children playing and birds chirping in Hagley Park and oddly enough I had a ladybird fly into the Dome and settle on me. I think Margaret would love knowing this occurred.
Mahy’s books will continue to be cherished by future generations of children nationally and internationally and no doubt reprinted. Check out her wonderful collection at Christchurch City Libraries. Interestingly, this reluctant reader is now a trained librarian.
Rest in peace Margaret, you will never be forgotten.
Brendon
3 August 2012
Are we downhearted? : girls merrily on their way to Phillipstown School on the day Christchurch schools reopened after five months due to the removal of restrictions on the assembly of children after the end of the infantile paralysis epidemic.
[1925]
2 August 2012
I have written before about the newish trend of blogs becoming books. This trend is not ending, in fact if anything it is growing. Crafters seem to be particularly good at using this technique. The beauty of the blog/book scenario is that you get double the bang for your buck, in that you can read the book and then log onto the blog and get more recent updates and ideas.
To go with this publishing trend we also now have a rather nausea inducing term “Mommy bloggers” as this quote from Hand in Hand states:
Mommy bloggers are a hugely popular source of advice for parents on everything from discipline to which stores have the best deals. And one of the top trending topics is crafting with your kids. In this title, 20 superstar mommy bloggers share exclusive, photo-rich insights into their creative lives.
However, publishing blurbs aside these new books do look rather enticing.
If you are interested in starting your own blog, perhaps with money-making in mind these books should be able to help you on your way.
24 August 2011
I’m sneakily inserting a kind of advertorial into the blog here, and purely for personal reasons, too.
See, it’s like this: I’m currently working at the new Central South City, and while there’s a few gaps in the shelves, there’s ONE area that is a smidgeon overstocked. Oddly, it’s an area that at old Central was full-on and flat-out all the time, and we couldn’t keep stuff ON the shelf, and all I can think is that you guys don’t realise it’s HERE now …
It’s the graphic novel section (see what I did with the title?).
To be frank, I need some space. Also, my poor old knees aren’t what they used to be, and all that kneeling down to shelve things is making me creaky.
And the payoff for you guys is that you get to come to a cool new library, see all the shiny shiny new titles we’ve got, and all of this before anyone else realises that there’s a bunch of graphic novels sitting here that no-one else knows about …
24 August 2011
Learning Spanish doesn’t have to be difficult - these resources will help you speak and understand the language like you were born in Spain … or Mexico … or any other Spanish-speaking country!
Want some more really useful resources for another NCEA subject? Go to The Pulse, the library’s website for teens.
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