Roald Dahl Day is coming up again on 13th September it is extra special this year. If Roald Dahl were still alive he would be celebrating his 100th birthday!
There are heaps of special events taking place all over the world, and of course we are celebrating at Christchurch City Libraries.
Come and join us for some “After Dark” zany delights as we celebrate Roald Dahl’s Birthday. Don’t forget to wear your PJs!! Fendalton Library, Tuesday 13 September 6.30pm
He wrote so many wonderful books that children and adults alike love. Quite a few of his books were made into movies, including Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Witches, Matilda, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG have had two different movie versions. We were lucky to have a special preview of The BFG movie and it was absolutely fantastic!
There are lots of different ways that you can enjoy Roald Dahl’s stories in the library. We have paper books, eBooks, audiobooks, and DVDs, so you can get Roald Dahl stories any time of the day or night.
Check out all the Roald Dahl stories that we have in the library and make sure you also check out the Roald Dahl website. There is heaps of information about Roald Dahl as well as activities, games and quizzes that you can do.
Giraffe at Orana Park. Kete Christchurch, Orana_Park.JPG. Entry in the 2012 Christchurch City Libraries Photo Hunt, CC-BY-NA-SA-3.0 NZ.
This lovely close-up of a giraffe being fed at Orana Park reminds us of the pleasure that the park has given Canterbury since its opening in September 1976.
Kete Christchurch is a collection of photographs and stories about Christchurch & Canterbury, past and present. Anyone can join and contribute.
The Chinese language has a reputation for being one of the most difficult languages in the world to master. If you have learned Chinese, you can literally talk to nearly 1.2 billion people, which is around 16% of the world’s population.
To prepare you for New Zealand Chinese Language Week 2016 next week (12-18 September), I thought these words and phrases might guide you into the wonderful and rather complex world of Mandarin Chinese.
Four tones of Mandarin Chinese – each Pinyin has four tones and each tone often represents one or more characters, this is probably one of the hardest parts of learning Mandarin Chinese.
3rd + no tone – falling then rising + no tone (short sound)
Christchurch
基督城
jī dū chéng
1st+1st+2nd – high & level + high & level + rising
Library/Libraries
图书馆
tú shū guǎn
2nd +1st+3rd – rising + high & level + falling then rising
Useful phrases
Hen gao xing ren shi ni! 很高兴认识你! Nice to meet/know you!
Xin nian kuai le! 新年快乐！ Happy New Year!
Wo hen xi huan! 我很喜欢！ I really like it!
Yi lu ping an! 一路平安！ Have a safe journey!
Shen ti jian kang! 身体健康! Wish you good health!
Wan shi ru yi! 万事如意! Everything goes well as your wish!
Traditional and Simplified Chinese
Traditional and Simplified Chinese refer to the written text of Chinese characters. Traditional characters, as the name suggests, had traditionally been used for many years since ancient China. Nowadays they are most commonly used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.
Simplified characters evolved and were adopted after the establishment of today’s P. R. China in 1949, so you could call it a relatively “modern form”. They are mainly used in mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia. Here is a quick comparisons of both forms:
Traditional
Simplified
樂
乐（happy）
馬
马（horse）
爺
爷（grandpa）
The debate on the use of traditional and simplified Chinese characters is ongoing. Supporters from both sides would argue over the political and cultural implications, as well as practicality and personal preferences.
Chinese language resources at Christchurch City Libraries:
There are a number of Chinese-themed events taking place at our libraries during New Zealand Chinese Language Week, including bilingual storytimes, a tai chi demonstration and fun craft activities.
Leading English oboist
David Hallett, 1955-2016
Finnish composer, protégé of Sibelius
Christchurch City Libraries Blog 