We started off with a very vocal National Library discussion. We all agreed and acknowledged that schools and public libraries are already catering to our students & communities needs with regards to 'high interest' and 'reading engagement' material. We know our communities best and are already meeting their needs. Yay for school & public libraries!!! :-)
Favourite Reads
Picture Books:
The Cow Tripped Over the Moon by Tony WIlson & Laura Wood
- Hilarious
- A play on the well-known nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle, The Cat and the Fiddle..."
- - Gives readers an insight into what 'really' happened in the lead-up to the cow jumping over the moon.
- Great read-aloud
- Rhyming
Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road? by Jim Dewar & Simon Williams
- A play on the age old joke "Why did the chicken cross the road?"
- Introduces a number of well known animal characters.
- A great Aussie yarn
- Great read-aloud
- Rhyming
Scribble by Ruth Ohi
- A book about imagination
- Circle, Square & Triangle are friends and very sure of themselves. Until one day scribble roars through their midst.
- Lovely and bright with great language
Fuzzy Doodle by Melinda Szymanik & Donovan Bixley
- Yay! Another Donovan Bixley book!!!!!
- A gorgeous story about how a book is born
Marshmallows for Martians by Adam & Charlotte Guillain
- A mission to Mars involving lots and lots of lollies
- Rhyming... but a bit of a tongue twister at times
- For those kids who like Aliens, Space Travel & lollies
The Hueys in It Wasn't Me by Oliver Jeffers
- The Hueys are all fighting, but no one can remember what it is about
- A humorous way of showing how an argument can come from nothing, and just how easy it is to distract youngsters (of course by offering something gross!!!)
- Disagreements
- Distraction
The Lion Inside by Rachel Bright
- Story about a timid mouse who wants to learn how to roar
- Cute
- Friendship / Sharing themes
Quick, Quack, Quentin by Kes Gray
- Similar illustrations to The Lion Inside
- Duck who lost the 'A' from his Quack
-- Tries to get an 'A' from the other animals
- Reads quite well to a group of kids
Children's Fiction:
Nothing this time - Doh!!!
YA Fiction:
Forgive Me Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick
- Suicide
-- Wasn't 'that kind of' scary suicide
- About relationships and living
-- Connecting with people
- Really good read
- Engage with the main character
-- Feel empathy / worry for him
-- Teacher was lovely
-- Mother was horrible
- Doesn't do an 'All the Bright Places' on you!!!
- Ends with hope!!!
Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King (female for those of you who don't know!)
- Quite a complicated read
- Bullying
- Boy goes with another to stay with Aunt & Uncle
- Ants are kind of like 'the Greek Chorus' commenting on everything he does
- Relationships are really screwed up!
- It is funny
- I loved it!!!
- Bit reluctant to recommend it to the boys
-- Not intense
-- But it is complicated
- Definitely recommend to a girl
-- Main character is a boy but relates really well to the girls
Catahoula Bayou trilogy Bk1 Meely LaBauve by Ken Wells
- 3 books in all
-- Meely LaBauve (Emile the 15 year old son)
-- Junior' Leg (the bully)
-- Logan's Storm (the father)
- Cajun dialect quite hard to read
- Father is an Alligator hunter, and a drunk
-- Living with him in quite dire circumstances
- Racist
- Bullying
- Police are corupt
- There is a bit of sex in here
-- The sex scenes have complete integrity
-- So perfect for that age group
- Fantastic little read!!
- Delightful!
- Hugely funny!
- Never on the shelf!!!
Twenty Questions for Gloria by Martyn Bedford
- The story is told by Gloria as she is being questioned by the police
- Gloria is 15 years old / year 10 ... but comes out older in the reading
- Not really a psychological thriller
- Very suspenseful ... because of the structure
- A really good book
- A new boy at school is a bit different - gets away with asking questions
- Gloria finds something about him that interests her
- He turns out to live in a tent in his grandmothers garden in the 'wrong side of town'
- Parents think he has kidnapped Gloria when she actually decided they needed to do something and go somewhere
- Decide on destinations with a 'turn of the cards'
Front Lines by Michael Grant
- Totally, Totally, Totally different to his Gone series!!!
- Set during WWII
- Focuses on 3 women characters
-- All enlisted
-- African American
-- Jewish family in New York
-- Mid West
- Felt like quite a slow read as a lot of character development
-- Peripheral characters as well as main ones
- Racism / Sexism
- Didn't love, love, love it!
- But really looking forward to next two!!!
- "Not feminist at all" *wink, wink*
- Great in a co-ed school, but FANTASTIC in a girls school!
Coming Home to Roost by Mary-anne scott
- Local Hawkes Bay author - *woot woot*
- Fairly predictable story
- Mary-anne knows males really well
-- Dialogue is completely believable
-- Characters are completely believable
- Relationship between teen & 70 year old man
- Enjoyed that!
The Haters by Jesse Andrews
- Sex, Drugs & Rock 'n' Roll
-- Definitely bad language!!!
- Best mates
- Too cool for school and 'hate' on everything (hence the title!!!)
- Road trip / Seedy bars / Hiding from the police
- I loved it!!!
- Funny!!!
What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler
- A 'Big Issues' book
-- Dealt with really well
- Based on an event that actually happened in the USA
-- Sports team
-- Party
-- Girl gets sexually assaulted
- Really awful story but good or having discussions with your own child (boy or girl)
- This is better than Asking for it
-- More well developed, bot not a happy ending!
- POV of the girlfriends of each of the players
-- Maybe easier for teens to relate to as not directly told by the actual rape victim
Maximum Rider series Angel by James Patterson
- Liked how short the chapters were
- Complex characters
- Easily accessible to Intermediate school age group
Young Bond series Silverfin by Charlie Higson
- James Bond before he became the James Bond we know in the movies / books
- Can see how boys will really enjoy it
- Appropriate for Intermediate students
The Lost and the Found by Cat Clark
- Lost child returned to her family 13 years after she was taken at age 7
- Narrator is older sister
- Narrator felt 'unloved' as all the attention was on the lost child
- Liked the perspective given by one-step-removed character
- Predictable
- Good hook into fiction for those girls that like the 'misery memoirs' & non-fiction style
- Higher reading level than The Girl in the Milk Carton
- Obligatory gay character
-- Actually one of the most interesting characters is the dad boyfriend!
- Nice little read
- NCEA Level 1 text - Not Level 2
Ruined by Amy Tintera
- Wrote Reboot and Rebel
- Fantasy / Magic / Romance
- Kick-arse heroine!!!
- Main characters mother was ruler of a continent
-- Mother killed and Sister kidnapped
- All 'ruined' get hunted down and exterminated
- If the Prince (of conquering continent) becomes King there is hope for the kingdom
- Complexity to characters
- Things are not just 'black and white' - they are definitely grey
- Makes you think 'Where is the line in war?'
- 9781760290641
Matawehi fables - Arohanui : Revenge of the Fey by Helen Pearse-Otene
- Graphic Novel
- New Zealand author
- Very popular with reluctant boy readers
- English & Te Reo versions
- A little bit dark!
- Graphic Novel - YA / Tween
The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks
- Fantastic!
- Love the artwork!
-- Clear / clean lines
-- Almost Tintin'ish
- The city is conquered so often that it gets renamed
- Parkour
- Boy meets girl called 'Rat'
- Underplot
-- General in charge of the city thinks they need to 'move on' the natives first
- Recommended for boys and girls
- Really enjoyed it!
- Nice easy read!
- Surface level - easy
-- Deeper underlying meaning that older kids will 'get'
- Graphic Novel - 13+
Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom
- Parker Grant is blind after a car accident
-- Father recently dead
-- Aunt and Uncle move in as they don't want to disrupt her routines
- Very abrasive character
-- Says it as it is!
-- She needs to learn how to 'get over herself'!
- Don't really like the very ending!
- Like the bit before the ending
-- Satisfying
-- Then they tack on the extra bit :-(
- Strong female friendship
The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David Hutchinson
- Good LGBT author
- Andrew was supposed to die
-- The rest of his family all died
-- He somehow slipped through the cracks
-- Lives in the hospital
-- Works in the kitchen
- New boy (Rusty) arrives at hospital
- Love story is not main angle
-- Stronger 'love story' around the background characters
- Odd character
-- Whiney / self-pitying
-- Heaping more guild on himself than really needed to be had
- Not a happy ending
-- Realistic
The Raven Cycle series Bk1 The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
- OMG!!!!
- I really enjoyed it!!!
- Had to force myself to read it until I got to 'The Hook' though
- 4 boys, 1 girl
- Our reality but a step to the left
- Slight undercurrent of paranormal
- 4 books in the series
- It's cool!!
- If you like Arthurian myths you will love this!!
- Set in America
- The covers are so pretty
Summoner series by Taran Matharu
- Bk1 The Novice
- Bk2 The Inquisition
- 16 & 17 year old boys are hooked on them!
Half Bad by Sally Green
- Making a movie adaptation!!!!
Adult Fiction:
Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz
- James Bond / Jack Reacher / Jason Bourne type read
- Grows up in an orphanage
-- Trained to be an assassin
-- At 18 his handler is killed & X escapes and becomes an independent agent
--- Good not evil
--- Helps others
- Very Jack Reacher'ish
- A lot of techno - gadgets & computerized items
- Really enjoyed it!!
- Can't wait for the next one!!
- Not as well written as Lee Childs
- More simple
- Not a hard read
- A little bit of 'perfunctory' male sex (not the girly type sex scenes)
- Suitable of older YA readers
Joe Pickett series by C.J. Box
- Set in the wilds of Wyoming, USA
- Like a DOC (Department of Conservation) worker basically
- A lot of people get killed in his area
- Farming boys promote them to each other!
- Suitable for YA readers
The Passage trilogy by Justin Cronin
- Dystopia / Sci-fi
- Virals = Zombies
- Enjoyed it!
- Third book is different from first two
-- Took a biblical turn????
-- Not as big either!
The Course of Love by Alain de Botton
- You Tube clips on him talking about romance
-- Ruination of marriage
- A lot of philosophy in it even though it is a Fiction book
Non Fiction:
Discover More Dinosaurs by Scholastic
- Introduces readers to the dinosaurs of the Triassic, Jurassic & Cretaceous periods
- Fantastic illustrations
- Easy to read facts displayed in an interesting layout
- Junior - Middle primary school
Top 10 for Kids : Deadly Animals by Paul Terry
- Each two-page spread has a different category
-- Displays the Top 10 animals and relevant information
-- Bright, colourful easy to read layout
- Questions at the end relating to each 'zone' of the book
- Middle - Upper primary school ... or actually just anyone interested in fun facts
-- Could see secondary boys pouring over it!
Drones by Scholastic
- This discusses the actual use of drones, including military usage
- Wide range
- Size comparisons
- 9780545664769
- Middle - Upper primary school
Hello World by Manja Stojic
- Hello in 43 languages
- Gorgeous simple book
- Lower - Middle primary school
Emotions in Motion by Ross Stanley
- Simple explanation for children to understand emotions
- Each emotion is explained in: Colour, facial expression and what it feels like
- Lower primary school
My Fight / Your Fight by Maria Burns-Ortiz and Ronda Rousey
- Ronda Rousey's autobiography
- UFC (Ultimate Fight Championship)
- At the time of writing Ronda was the undefeated woman's champion
- Book came out as same time she got beaten
- Really interesting to see the other side of her life
-- Born with umbilical cord wrapped around her neck!
-- At 7 years old she couldn't speak a sentence!
-- Father committed suicide
-- First Olympics at 17 years old!!
- How the league came about
- Really enjoyed it!!!
- Big Big book but not a hard read
- Boys & Girls are reading it
-- Very popular!
- Adult / but OK for YA
Other Tips and Hints
Ngaio Blackwood - Book Lover AND Artist!!!
- Has just moved down from Auckland and is the new librarian at Tamatea Intermediate
- Moonlights as an Artist!!!!
- Check out her exhibition in Auckland, July 9th-22nd at the Franklin Arts Centre : Community Gallery
- Visit Ngaio's website if you don't get a chance to travel to Auckland - Soooo cool!!!
- Welcome Ngaio. It is so awesome to have another enthusiastic librarian in our midst to spread that love of reading and art to our students :-)
Use of 'AND' (for teachers!!!)
- Give students a choice with their reading
- Don't make it about 'You have to ...'
- Use "AND" ... "Yes you can take a Ninjago book (because I know it has caught your interest) AND a non-fiction / chapter book (because those are my rules & I don't like your choice of reading material)."
The Shelving Shop
- Around the corner from the hospital in Hastings
- Recycled shelving
- Brilliant place to go for library shelving!!!
Good strategy for getting to know bookstock and students (especially if new to a library)
- Ask your students to recommend books to you
- YOU read what the students have suggested!
Please bear in mind that these reviews are our own personal thoughts on the books we have read. They are not necessarily what others may perceive them to be. Goodreads and Amazon are both good places to check out other reviews on these books.
