Writing Competitions

There are many opportunities for budding writers. Here are two...

Margaret Mahy Starlight Essay and Poetry Competition

• Light
• Stargazing
• Darkness

Students in Years 5-8 and 9-13 are invited to submit an essay of not more than 600 words or a poem of no more than 40 lines by Monday 10th August 2015 at 5pm.

Students are invited to choose one of three themes as follows:

Your prose or poetry can be imaginary, historical or scientifically based. Judges will be looking for knowledge of the southern stars and either good research or imaginative use of astronomy. Clearly expressed, grammatically correct English is expected.

For more info go to http://www.phys.canterbury.ac.nz/starlightfestival/poetry.shtml

The Elsie Locke Writing Prize 

The theme for the Elsie Locke Writing Prize competition for 2015 is:A story set in New Zealand around the time of the First World War.Events can be real or imagined, but the story should capture what it was like for people in New Zealand while others were serving overseas as soldiers, nurses, ambulance staff, or volunteers.

The story could be about what happened in schools or your local area at the time. It could be about a conscientious objector, attending a peace rally, farewelling troops, or creating a war memorial. Or it could be about anything else that happened in New Zealand because of the war.Entries close on Monday July 6th.

For more info go to: http://www.elsielocketrust.org.nz/

2015 Book Publishing Project

Do you write poems or stories? 

Are you an artist? 

Then here is your chance to be a part of a publishing project.

The Kapiti Children's Writers' Charitable Trust Inc., established to promote children's literature in Kapiti through community projects, is planning to publish a book of poems, stories and artwork by Kapiti children and we are presently seeking submissions.

• This project is open to Kapiti children, 8 to 13 years of age
• Poems and stories must be original and no more than 500 words
• Poems and stories must be set in the Kapiti area
• Artwork must be original, large and on A4 white paper
• Artwork must be made using black only, no colour
• Submissions close 20 March 2015
• There is a $5 fee for each submission
• Each successful submission will receive a copy of the published book in lieu of all other payments or royalties

For a Submission Form and the full list of Terms and Conditions

please contact

Pam Kessler, (04) 902 1806

pbkessler@paradise.net.nz

Secretary, Kapiti Children's Writers' Charitable Trust Inc.

This community project is supported by the Kapiti Coast District Libraries and the Friends of the Libraries

New on the shelves today!

Stella Saxby is the sole heir to Saxby Hall. But awful Aunt Alberta and her giant owl will stop at nothing to get it from her. Luckily Stella has a secret - and slightly spooky -weapon up her sleeve...

Features games for all major platforms, organized by game type with handy info on cost, download size and age suitability.

A girl wakes in a field of dead grass. A swirling yellow mist presses close around her, so close that it is more like a blanket than a fog. She has no memory of this place. No memories at all. Except her name - Mara.
If you have been bad and yet escaped punishment, the Messenger of Fear may come to you. He will offer you a game. Should you win the game, you will walk away, free. Should you lose the game, you may well break...
WARNING! Contains scenes of cruelty and some violence.
Here is the trailer....

Hello 2015!

It feels a little late to say Happy New Year but I'm saying it anyway. Welcome back to the OC Library blog - yes I did disappear for a while there - too many books to read over the holidays!
Here are 2 I really enjoyed....

If I Stay by Gayle Forman



Unwind by Neil Schusterman




Yes, we have both of these in the library - ask Sue!

Year 7/8 Book Reviews - Awesome!

Skulduggery Pleasant- Dark Days by Derek Landy

I found it interesting because Stephanie found a Pathway behind a bookshelf because she went to grab a book and the door opened and she saw a pathway.

I think people should read it it’s my second favourite book it’s really cool and it has a lot of detail.Derek Landy has very great books I’m going to try and read all of them.
DENISE.

Chickenhare by Chris Grine

Chickenhare is about a hare that is half chicken and his friend the turtle that has a beard. Along the story they find a monkey and a girl.

In my opinion this would be a good book for people that like graphic novels. I liked the story because it was awesome in some parts and  there was a war.
by Caleb

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I would rate this book a 7 out of 10.

Sometimes I get nervous or scared reading this book and I would normally read at night so it would make me even more nervous than before.

When I read this book I feel happy but then I feel sad that Prim dies.

Sometimes in the middle it’s gets yuck because they kiss a lot.

By Jessica Mcarley  

To hound a hog by Brett Huddleston

To hound a hog is about hunting , it is pretty cool because it tells you lots of stories about hunting trips and they have lots of cool pictures , I recommend this book to people who like hunting.

Oterangi

New Books! Shiny Covers! Read Me!

Skye and Summer Tanberry are identical twins, and Skye loves her sister Summer more than anyone else in the world. Skye wants to be her own person, but with an effortlessly cool twin, will she ever step out of Summer's shadow and find her own chance to shine?

Imagine an ancient manuscript no one can read.
Imagine a secret code for someone just like you.
Imagine the chance to uncover a Truth hidden for centuries - but the Rules say it's forbidden to even try. Brodie Bray likes a challenge. But when she and her friends try to crack the code, she finds someone will kill to stop them.

How far would you go for freedom?
Would you lie to your family? Break up with your best friend?
Would you risk your life?
It's 1940. Europe is at war, and fifteen-year-old Nicole's city has been invaded by the Nazis. Desperate but determined, she joins a secret group of freedom fighters - and learns that she is not too young to fire a gun, plant a bomb....

For Fin, it's just like any other day - racing for the school bus, bluffing his way through class and trying to remain cool in front of the most sophisticated girl in his universe. Only it's not like any other day because, on the other side of the world, nuclear missiles are being detonated.

When a boat carrying a group of asylum seekers is sunk by a freak wave, Faris wakes from the shipwreck in an Australia he's always dreamed of.

Every teenager must take the test.
If you pass, you live.
If you fail, you're forsaken.

Eleanor is the new girl in town.
Park is the boy at the back of the bus.
Slowly, steadily, through late-night conversations and an ever-growing stack of mix tapes, Eleanor and Park fall for each other.
Note: Not suitable for younger readers!

There is no escape from the Rig. A maximum security juvenile prison stranded in the middle of the Arctic Ocean - every moment is tracked, every door is locked.
But Will Drake likes a challenge, and this will be the biggest one yet. Imprisoned in an impossibly secure institution for the very worst of the world's kids, Drake knows two things - he will have to be tough to survive, and there is always a way out.

Can twins Jack and Jaide find the mysterious Golden Card of Translocation and make it out of Rourke Castle alive?

Meet Bugs: smart, sarcastic, sixteen and stuck in a small town without a driver's licence.
Bugs has been best mates with Jez forever; they've always been Jez and Bugs, Bugs and Jez.
That is until Stone Cold, the new girl, arrives in town. The year was already going to be a challenge without adding spoilt, bitchy Stone Cold to the mix. Why would anyone want to be mates with her?

'They're trying to change me, but I won't let them. I won't be Esther. I'm always going to keep on being me, Kirby.'

One night in Chicago, two guys - both named Will Grayson - cross paths.
What follows is...

Hayley Kincain is hoping for a normal life now that she and her father have left their life on the road. But it seems things will never be normal when you dad is running from a past that tortures him and you're trying to block out your own painful memories.

Read a series of books...

The Bride Quartet
Love, friendship, and family - and the unpredictable moments that turn a pretty picture into a true work of art

Brotherband series
A new series from the author of Ranger's Apprentice
'Swashbuckling and adventurous'

Warriors series
'A suspenseful animal adventure that will leave readers eyeing Puss a bit nervously.'