Library Notes - 7 November 2018

Published on November 07, 2018

Top 10 books

New Non-Fiction

The Good Gut Cookbook by The Gut Foundation and Dr Rosemary Stanton

Secrets of Yoga by Jennie Bittleston

Needle Felting from Basics to Bears, step-by-step photos and instructions by Liza Adams

Thailand a Country of Smiles by Andrey Vlasov

Mountain Biking, skills, techniques and training by James McKnight

100 Books that changed the world by Scott Christianson and Colin Salter

Small Summer Gardens, 35 bright and beautiful gardening project by Emma Hardy

Beginner’s Guide to Silk Painting by Mandy Southan

The Illustrated History of Scotland by Chris Tabraham

The Guitar Collection Rock and Pop Hits

Growing Readers

Pam Coleman Community Engagement Librarian

Saturday November the 3^rd saw ’The Wonkey Donkey' author Craig Smith visit Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-po to read to a huge crowd of children and their families. Generations laughed, danced, sang and embraced the joy of words. Seeing the excitement in a child’s eyes when they know what is going to be on the next page, or having them guess what is going to happen is one of the most amazing things to experience. Events like this only highlight the importance of reading for pleasure.

Thanks to libraries, reading is one of the most accessible and affordable arts activities. Reading for pleasure is strongly influenced by relationships between children and their carers, teachers and of course, librarians. Reading aloud to children also helps them to understand different topics about the world and everyday life.

It’s never too early to start loving libraries and reading. Reading, as well as talking and singing, is viewed as important in increasing the number of words that children learn in the earliest years of their lives. A great example of this is the Horowhenua libraries’ Books for Babies initiative. In partnership with the local maternity unit the library provides new-born babies and their families with a brand new baby book.

Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift. —Kate DiCamillo.

Librarians collaborate with teachers, parents and whānau to help stimulate and reinforce a reading culture within the community. It is well recognised that children’s reading levels can often slip over the summer when they are on holiday. Halting the summer slide can be as simple as encouraging kids to read five books over the summer break.

The library does its part by providing a free reading focused programme during the summer holidays. All that is required is to be a member of the library. The Summer Reading Programme, The Amazing Read, aims to encourage and promote books, libraries, and the fun of reading to children through incentive awards, activities and storytellers.

All of this is offered free of charge from libraries in the Eastern and Central Region thanks to the funding of the Eastern and Central Community Trust. Registrations for the programme take place from 26 November 2018. The actual programme runs from 10 December. Pop into your local library or go the Power to Read event for details.