Every Story Tells a Picture competition

If you’re a high school student in Christchurch who wouldn’t mind winning some Westfield vouchers, check out the Every Story Tells a Picture competition.

Hold up, didn’t the library do that last year? That was Every Picture Tells a Story – this is the same idea with a twist! What you need to do this time is create a piece of visual art inspired by something within the library’s collection. You can enter your art under three categories – 2D, 3D or Photograph. There are separate age groups so we will have a Junior (years 9 – 10) and a Senior (years 11 – 13) winner in each category. That’s a lot of chances to win!

So, what to do? My artistic skills don’t really extend too far past stick figures and zen doodles but that doesn’t mean I can’t still create something cool. Plus I could get out my shiny new colouring pencils – colouring in is a highly underrated stress relieving activity.

I’ve been really impressed by book-inspired nail art (seriously, Google it!) and this could fit into the competition perfectly. I wouldn’t recommend chopping off your entire hand and entering it into the 3D category, but ten perfectly painted acrylic nails could look pretty cool against a book cover.

I wonder if I could bear letting my Lego Harry Potter minifigure out of my possession long enough to be in the competition. Probably not.

Rachael Chamberlain
Upper Riccarton Library

We’ll remember you when we’re famous

We’re going to be on TV!

Or at least, some of the kids who took part in a stop motion animation session (part of our holiday programme) at South Learning Centre will be. This Sunday. On What Now.

So keep your eyes peeled. Here’s a sneak preview from our Flickr – photos of the What Now crew filming the other week.

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori – Māori Language Week 2015

The dates for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) this year are 27 Hōngongoi – 2 Here-turi-kōkā (27 July – 2 August) and this year the theme is –

“Whāngaihia ngā mātua, helping parents to pass te reo on to their tamariki”.

Christchurch City Libraries – Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi will be celebrating Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori with a number of events throughout the week.

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori at The Library

During Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori regular storytimes sessions will include additional te reo Māori content. See our events calendar for a storytime session near you.

The Christchurch City Council Waiata Group, Ngā Manu Tioriori will perform at several libraries on Wednesday 29 July.

Try out the reo Māori option on our self checkout machines.

And don’t forget to pop into your local library and pick yourself up a Kia ora sticker or handy wallet-sized guide to te reo basics.

Resources for parents

The following resources offer suggestions for parents who want to introduce their children to Te Reo Māori.

• Video clips and language learning resources from Ngai Tahu’s Generation Reo.
• Māori words and phrases to use with babies from Māori Language.Net
• SuperValue and Fresh Choice supermarkets have te reo posters, colouring in and flash cards which you can download and print at home, or pick up from their branches next week. Submit a photo of your whānau using any of these resources and you could be in to win a $250 book prize!
• Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori have a collection of te reo resources to help kids learn including colourful posters, as well as a word list and a booklet, both featuring common phrases and words you’d use with children, for example “Kaua e tangi, e te tau – Don’t cry, darling”

Download A2 Te rerenga kōrero o te wiki poster (PDF 2.3 MB)

Resources for kids

• Te Reo Māori resources for kids
• Our bilingual Ready for Reading book “Te Wā Kōrero – Storytime” [22MB PDF]

Download one of our colouring in pages [39KB PNG, 354KB PDF]

Search our catalogue

• Māori songs for children
• Non-fiction in Te Reo Māori
• Children’s books in Te Reo Māori
• Books on vocabulary for children

We’ve also made lists of modern classic picture books in Te Reo Māori and Māori stories for older children.

More Te Reo Māori learning resources

Links to a range of resources available to help with general te reo learning and pronunciation.

Te Reo Māori resources

A list of resources in our libraries and online for learning Te Reo Māori.

Te Reo Māori courses

Search CINCH for community courses in the greater Christchurch area.

Māori Language Week – Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori

Information from Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori, The Māori Language Commission.

Māori Language Week – Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori

A history of Māori Language Week – Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori from nzhistory.net.nz.

100 Māori words every New Zealander should know

This useful resource includes sound files of the words being read out from nzhistory.net.nz.

2015’s Community Read with local author Rachael King

2015: One book, one community

Magpie Hall by Rachael King

This August, Christchurch City Libraries invites you to read, share and discuss Magpie Hall by Rachael King.

Unlimited copies of the Magpie Hall eBook will be available to borrow for the whole of August from our Wheelers eBook platform! Thanks Wheelers and publishers Penguin Random House.
Reserve now.

Take a walk with us on the dark side, as we explore family secrets, taxidermy, Victorian tattooing, and Gothic novels.

I absolutely loved this book. It had a wonderfully familiar setting in the Canterbury foothills somewhere, mixing family history mysteries with the pressures of modern life. I was spellbound.

Find out more

• Rachael’s website and her page about Magpie Hall
• NZ Book Council’s page about Rachael King
• An interview with Rachael King in 2010 by BookieMonster which talks about Rachael’s influences for Magpie Hall
• Book group compass: Magpie Hall Booknotes 167, p 19 [2.8MB PDF]
• Rachael’s writing space Booknotes 176, p 6 [2MB PDF]
• Our blog post about Magpie Hall

Community Read 2015 author talk

Book Chat, Tea and Tales with award-winning author Rachael King
Friday 7 August At South Library
11am to 12pm

Community Read 2015 Performance

Join the Court Jesters as they improvise themes from Magpie Hall
Friday 7 August at South Library
7.30pm to 9pm

For more information phone (03) 941 5140

Remembering a wonderfully wacky Word Witch

Margaret Mahy 1936-2012

Three years ago today Margaret Mahy our favourite award winning author, writer, librarian, mother and grandmother died.

Take time to remember.

Read MM picture books – here’s a few to get started with …

Young Adult reads

Get to know MM …

Do what Margaret enjoyed – read, walk around the garden and have a sleep (apparently she could do this quite easily). Don’t walk down Cambridge Terrace though, or at least make sure your trousers stay up when you do.

Have a MM lunch – a salad sandwich made with wholemeal bread and cheese and tomato and lettuce and spring onions, and avocado and hard-boiled egg and anything else handy.

I’m going to remember Margaret by driving over the winding hill to Governors Bay and then wandering along the wiggly track at the bottom of the road. I won’t be alone. I’m taking a dashing dog, a bubble trouble baby, a gaggle of geese, a couple of mixed-up pirates, a librarian, a three legged cat, a boy with two shadows, a tin can band, a dragon, a lion and of course a witch.

Our procession will be one of nonstop nonsense, full of mischief and mayhem. A magical way to remember Margaret Mahy.

• Check out our pages on Margaret Mahy
• Watch some MM from NZ On Screen
• Margaret Mahy images on DigitalNZ – my favourite is the stamp.
• Rachael King recalls her memories of Margaret Mahy
• View our Margaret Mahy Flickr set of photos