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About Our About Our About Our About Our

D

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D MARCH

2006

Our sun measures nearly

1,400,000 km across.

But this is not the

biggest star. Some stars

called Supergiants can

be as big as 400 million

km across.

That’s GIGANTIC!

Who first

realized that

Earth travels

around the Sun?

The dark areas we

see on the

Moon are

vast dusty

plains which we

call seas.

Io is one of Jupiter’s moons – it has at least 16. Io is unusual because it has active volcanoes on it.

How many

moons does

Saturn have?

What is the

study of

stars

called?

Did you know that

Astronomers believe the

Universe is constantly

expanding—growing

bigger and bigger and

bigger all the time

Universe

WOW!!!WOW!!!WOW!!!WOW!!!

Have you checked out our new look Have you checked out our new look Have you checked out our new look Have you checked out our new look websitewebsitewebsitewebsite————it’s FAB!it’s FAB!it’s FAB!it’s FAB!

Click on the Click on the Click on the Click on the Game Arcade Game Arcade Game Arcade Game Arcade

for some serious fun.for some serious fun.for some serious fun.for some serious fun.

www.rotorualibrary.govt.nzwww.rotorualibrary.govt.nzwww.rotorualibrary.govt.nzwww.rotorualibrary.govt.nz

What’s Around The Corner

April School Holiday Programme April School Holiday Programme April School Holiday Programme April School Holiday Programme

@ the Library@ the Library@ the Library@ the Library

ART CREATIONSART CREATIONSART CREATIONSART CREATIONS

Wearable and Recycled ArtWearable and Recycled ArtWearable and Recycled ArtWearable and Recycled Art

Join us at the library to create your very own wearable art. Choose a design that is uniquely Aotearoa and start thinking about how you can bring it together.

Or, if fashion isn’t your thing join us to make a model out of all your rubbish – create aircrafts, ships,

monsters, buildings—almost anything. Which ever project you choose start collecting materials now – keep those

weetbix packets, marmite labels, magazine cut outs, egg cartons, plastic bags – anything that you might need to create the best ever outfit or model.

PLUS STORY QUIZ STORY QUIZ STORY QUIZ STORY QUIZ returns for 2006. Suitable for children aged 9 to 12 years this quiz

will challenge your knowledge on that fabulous book

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Plus, be warned,

we will throw in some wacky questions about other children’s books.

Meet the challenge—register you team now!

Visit the library or our new look website for programme and registration details

for both ‘Art Creations’ and the Story Quiz.

NEW ZEALAND POST BOOK AWARDS: CHILDREN & YOUNG ADULTS

2006 For more information check out the article in this issue of DownLoad

Interview with Brian Falkner

Check out DownLoad next month for an interview with

Brain Falkner, our visiting author for the

2006 New Zealand Post Book Awards.

An Interview with JANEEN BRIAN

What’s the best thing about being a writer? Creating with words and, thereby, creating images in peoples’ minds. “I love the malleability of words” and to be able to create endlessly with them. I en-joy working with and re-working words that were created thousands of years ago to create different stories. “The joy of words is more than what they cre-ate…I love the taste, smell, sound, and sight of words”.

When did you decide that you wanted to be a writer? What happened really, was that I bgan writing and kept writing – and being published. Now I consider myself a ‘wr-author’ – both a writer who works with words and an author who works with stories. I don’t recall making a con-scious decision to become a ‘wr-author’. I never dreamed I would be. I start-ed writing at 30 and was very interested in looking at the other side of words i.e. writing as opposed to reading. I was fortunate to be invited by an educa-tional publishing house to write a series of ‘Early Readers’ and my writing career has grown from there. Writing is very rewarding but you need determi-nation and ‘stickability’.

Do you write everyday and is there a pattern to your writing day? I write everyday except weekends, though I often write one afternoon a weekend depending on the weather, my mood, deadlines and flow of work. Though time-out from writing allows for a fuller more balanced life I often feel the computer drawing me back to it. A typical ‘work’ day for me involves an early morning walk then, to warm up, I conduct a brief writing workshop to help prompt the flow of ideas. I usually work from around 8.30 am to about 4 or 5 pm with several breaks in between and tend to do the creative side of writing in the morning and then research in the afternoons.

Do you write notes through out the day of things/ideas that you think you might one day write about? I have notebooks in which I record thoughts, snippets of conversations and observations. These entries give me ideas and inspiration for stories, charac-ters, events etc. Even the smallest thing observed can lead to a new story. I keep all my notebooks so I can revisit them at any time.

When writing do you use a computer or long hand? Does this help you in the writing process? I use both - moving from one to another – but this can change from day to day. I tend to find that typed work appears more finished even though it may not be. Writing directly onto the computer somehow reduces the story/detail/exploration of the story line, of characters. Long-hand produces more gems, more ideas – they seem to flow easier. I transfer written drafts on to the com-puter to sharpen them up. I use single line spacing at this stage as double line spacing gives more of a sense of completion.

Do you listen to music while you write? If so what? No. I work in complete silence though I do have a phone in my work room. I like a solitary quiet environment to work in.

You have accomplished a lot in your career and have been involved in thea-tre, you’ve travelled extensively and you were a primary school teacher for 20 years. Did any one of these influence your writing more than the others or do you find you draw on your experiences from all three sources? Sadly I have used less of my overseas experiences than I perhaps may have. Except, that is, for my year here in New Zealand. I found that my time here has been very inspirational for my work and have used, and will use, many of my experiences in stories. I like to draw on local events and charac-ters and work with situations that may help to clarify life for my readers. The theatre group gave me the opportunity to write, particularly plays, and my teaching career has provided a myriad of observations of life being played out. The school playground and the classroom gave me the opportunity to witness the dynamics of groups, of how people/children interact. This is inval-uable to an author when developing characters and consequences of actions for a story. I developed empathy for children and an understanding of how important it is for children to believe in themselves. Again, this helps when writing for children as it assists in making characters more real, more believa-ble.

One of your books, ‘Dog Star’ was based on the antics of your own dog Nell. Does a little bit of your own life and experiences settle in most of your work or do you usually write about things that you observe about other people? This is where my notebooks are invaluable. I use ideas from observing my own family, people in general, witnessing events, seeing things on my walks and even from reading about something – my new book for young readers aged 11-14 titled Cross Currents was inspired by a newspaper article. I note down anything that has a potential for a story.

Do you re-write as you go or do you revisit your work at a certain point? I find that reworking my writing too much to begin with can stall the writing process. However, I do need to get a sense of voice and tone of the book before I can move on. At the beginning of my working day I revisit what I have written the previous day often rewriting parts of it before I begin writing any new work. You write both fiction and non-fiction. Do you find one easier to write than the other? I do tend to write more fiction but enjoy writing non-fiction about subjects that interest me. I was originally asked by an educational publisher to write non-fiction books and he wondered if I would be interested in writing about ‘natural disasters’. I jokingly replied – “Why? Is that how you see me – a nat-ural disaster?” I found writing Hoosh! Camels in Australia, the hardest,

Challenge those brain cells and

CHECK OUT YOUR LIT SKILLS

1. How many gems does the Belt of Deltora have? 2. Who wrote the classic Black Beauty? 3. What comic book character features in the books by the author Hergé? 4. Treasure Island is a fabulours adventure story. Who wrote it? 5. Name one other title by this author? 6. Can you name three New Zealand children’s authors and for each one can you name a book they have written? 7. What wonderful non-fiction series looking at history did Terry Deary write? 8. A super hero is created in a series of books by Dav Pilkey. What’s his name? 9. Which author was the overall winner in last year’s New Zealand Post Book Awards and what was the title of the book? 10. Can you name four books written by the Australian children’s author Janeen Brian? Answers to January’s Quiz: 1. The Lillies of Life; 2. A wolf; 3. Frances Hodgson Burnett; 4.. The Trolls; 5.It protects from the terrors of the night; 6.A wolf; 7. Jenny Nimmo; 8. Her Wand; 9. They had three legs; 10. New Zealand Post Book Awards: Children & Teens; 11. David Hill; 12. The Belt of Deltora

The Rotorua Public Library would like to

thank The Friends of the Library for their

commitment and generous sponsorship of

the Fletcher Tuatara Club. Their support has

made this very exciting and dynamic pro-

gramme possible.

most challenging yet most rewarding book I have ever worked on. I was in-volved in collecting and collating all the maps, photos, and information – this material alone filled 30 folders. Total accuracy is required. The research for non-fiction books is immense yet fascinating.

How do you relax? “Having my feet up above my head!” Besides that I love to read, walk, listen to music, work with mosaics, word puzzles, knitting and needle craft, garden-ing and yoga. I visit museums, art galleries and the theatre.

Were there any teachers you particularly remember? My Year 7 teacher, Miss Wiese taught us songs and poems and, thereby, opened up previously starved areas of language for me – see the attached poem by Walter de la Mare as an example of the poems that touched me during that time. In High School, there was an Irish teacher, Mr Luke, who, though gave no overt praise, had a teaching style that stimulated/motivated the whole class. Mrs Holden obviously loved English and I enjoyed writing in her class. Is there any one book – either children’s or adult – that has had the greatest influence on you? Yes ‘The Story About Ping’ by Marjorie Flack had a profound effect on me. I remember my mother reading it to me when I was about 4 or 5. I cried after-wards and looking back now realise the tears were for a number of reasons. I cried not only because of the story, but also for myself. I felt this overwhelm-ing grief because I was afraid that my mother may never read me another story – I feared that I would never again be privy to such a joyous, rapturous experience. In addition, it was the first story I recall gaining a sense of story from. Which of your books do you personally like the most? If I had to choose one it would be Where Does Thursday Go? This story res-onates with the mystery of life. And has a satisfying resolution for the charac-ter as the latter develops its own perception, its own answer about things we don’t understand. It conveys the joyous inevitability of the rising sun – the inevitability of a new day. I’m delighted with the illustrator, Stephen Michael King. His illustrations perfectly capture the active optimism of Splodge and the reassuring, loyal presence of the ever silent Humbug. I feel privileged to have received a lot of positive feedback about the book and that it has been translated into ten languages.

New Books to Check Out @ Your Library

FICTION

Willow Run by Patricia Reilly Giff (also available in CD)

The Magician’s Boy by Susan Cooper

The Black Canary by Jane Louise Curry

Raven’s Gate by Anthony Horowitz

Pure Dead Trouble by Debi Gliori

Griffin’s Castle by Jenny Nimmo

Ingo by Helen Dunmore

NON-FICTION

Arthur Spiderwicks Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You

Mummies: The Newest, Coolest & Creepiest From Around the World

How Dinosaurs Took Flight National Geographic

What’s the Big Idea? An at-a-glance guide to the key discoveries,

inventions, and ideas that have shaped our world.

Prehistoric Actual Size—an “actual size” look at the prehistoric world

A Brief History of Pants by Kjartan Poskitt By taking a close look at the

subject of pants - peculiar, mythical, pioneering or otherwise- Poskitt

introduces us to history in an hilarious and unique way. You’ll have a heap

of fun deciphering fact from fiction.

Highly Recommended Talking BooksHighly Recommended Talking BooksHighly Recommended Talking BooksHighly Recommended Talking Books

Worm Songs by Ann Coburn

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

Worm Story by Morris Gleitzman

The Ghost of Raven Hill by Emily Rodda

And finally – and I just have to ask this – What is you most favourite food, movie, author and time of day? Favourite food: Anything! But in particular, on a cold night I love a roast pork din-ner with apple sauce. Favourite movie: An Angel At My Table the story of the New Zealand author Janet Frame and Whale Rider – a film based on the book by Witi Ihimaera. I find myself drawn to movies with a strong New Zealand theme. Favourite author: Oh, but there are so many – Joy Cowley, Margaret Mahy, Gary Paulsen and Jacqueline Wilson come to mind Favourite time of day: The beginning, as it brings with it all the possibilities of a new day.

Silver

Slowly, silently, now the moon Walks the night in her silver shoon;

This way, and that, she peers, and sees Silver fruit upon silver trees;

One by one the casements catch Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;

Couched in his kennel, like a log, With paws of silver sleeps the dog;

From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep;

A harvest mouse goes scampering by, With silver claws and a silver eye;

And moveless fish in the water gleam, By silver reeds in a silver stream.

Walter de la Mare

Janeen Brian has had 62 children’s

books published to date and has

just finished writing another one for

young readers aged 13-14 years.

She lives in Australia and is cur-

rently visiting New Zealand, resid-

ing in Ngongotaha. Janeen is our

guest speaker at this month’s Book

Club meeting on the 15th March.

New Zealand Post

Book Awards Children &

Young Adults 2006

This year’s finalists have been announced. Check them out—and remember you can vote for the Children’s Choice Award. Pick up a voting card at the library but don’t forget, New Zealand Post must receive your entry by 2nd May 2006. Your vote will count!

2006 Finalists:

Junior Fiction: Hunter, Joy Cowley Maddigan’s Fantasia, Margaret Mahy My Story: Chinatown Girl, Eva Wong Ng Sil, Jill Harris Super Freak, Brian Falkner Non-Fiction: Blue New Zealand, Glenys Stace Cameras in Narnia, Ian Brodie Peter Blake Sailor, Adventurer, Alan Sefton Scarecrow Army, Leon Davidson Frontier of Dreams: The Weight of World Wars 1897-1949, John Parker Picture Book: A Booming in the Night, Ben Brown & Helen Taylor Haere-Farewell, Jack, Farewell, Tim Tipene & Huhana Smith Nobody’s Dog, Jennifer Beck & Lindy Fisher Where’s the Gold?, Pamela Allen The Waka/Te Waka, Jean Prior, Kāterina Mataira & Gavin Bishop Young Adult Fiction: Deep Fry, Bernard Beckett & Clare Knighton Kaitangata Twitch, Margaret Mahy Running Hot, David Hill The Unknown Zone, Phil Smith With Lots of Love from Georgia, Brigid Lowry

REVIEWS

REVIEWS

The Tree House by Gillian Cross A gentle, funny story about two young brothers and their tree house adventures. You will laugh at the antics of these two as you wish you could join in their fun, sympathize with William, the oldest, as he struggles with his father’s departure, and be warmed by the wisdom of the youngest, Sprog. Reading level 5 to 8, interest level: for anyone who has ever dreamed of having a tree house.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume It’s trickier than some might think, being an eleven going on twelve year old girl…..what with puberty, boys, new friends, grown-ups and school to contend with. Margaret talks to God…but who is God and how on earth will she ever be able to choose what religion she wants to be?? An honest, enjoyable and very realistic read for readers aged 10+

Elidor by Alan Garner Four brothers and sisters are caught up in a battle to save Elidor – a place that exists not in this realm but which touches it. Rowland, the youngest, discovers that he alone can bring about the end of the spreading darkness that threatens Elidor. A richly atmospheric novel. 10+

Ariel, Zed and the Secret of Life by Anna Fienberg Anna Fienberg is well known for her wonderful imagination, within her famous ‘Tashi’ novels; but here is something altogether different. Ariel’s mother is a writer who conjures up all sorts of colourful characters who make a habit of hanging around the house. It seems some of them, however, are not happy about the personalities that have been chosen for them so she sends Ariel and Zed away to a most fantastic island inside the book she is writing, to sort things out. And what strange and fabulous adventures they will have there. For readers aged 8+

The Flowing Queen by Kai Meyer (also titled The Water Mirror)

This extraordinary book is the first in the new Dark Reflections series. A great fantasy filled with “magic and menace”. It conjures up a land of mermaids, magic mirrors, mummy warriors, winged stone lions and danger. Only the Flowing Queen, a mysterious presence, can protect this world from its enemies. But what would lie in fate for this realm if the Flowing Queen, herself, was in danger? Read the first page and you will be captivated right to the end. Great for fantasy readers aged 11+

Tackling Dad by Elizabeth Levy Young Cassie is football crazy – it runs in her blood and when she’s asked to play in the middle school team by her old coach she can’t believe it. Trouble is neither can the other contenders for the team - all boys. Plus things aren’t great at home as she confronts even more resistance from both her parents. This humorous story of a young girl determined to follow her dream is a winner for readers aged 8 to 12.