Reviews
of literature and information resources for children and young people
New Zealand
New
Zealand Book Council. (n.d.). The School
Library. Retrieved February 08, 2014, from http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/Education/Whats%20New/School%20Library
An online quarterly that contains reviews of New
Zealand children’s books. At its helm is Chrissi Blair, a leading children’s
book reviewer. Picture books to teen fiction, non-fiction and poetry are
covered here as well as interviews with Kiwi authors, news and interesting
commentaries. Back issues can be easily searched and reviews can also be
searched by title, author, category or age group.
International
“The world’s largest reviewer of books,
multimedia and technology for children and teens”, a subscription to this U.S. publication
can be most useful to school and CYA librarians internationally. Each issue is
packed with informative articles, learning and research and literature reviews.
The website features reading blogs, book reviews, webcasts and articles on
contemporary library issues.
Awards
Book
sellers New Zealand. (n.d.). New Zealand
Post Children’s Book Awards.
Retrieved February 06, 2014, from http://www.booksellers.co.nz/awards/new-zealand-post-childrens-book-awards
The New Zealand Post Awards function to recognise
excellence in children’s literature and are awarded annually to children’s and
young adult books written by New Zealanders and published in New Zealand.
Prizes are awarded in four categories. The supreme Margaret Mahy book of the
year is given to the one book that is of outstanding quality in all criteria.
The CILIP Carnegie and Kate
Greenway Children’s Book Awards
(n.d.). Retrieved February 06, 2014, from http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/home/index.php
Described as the most prestigious of literature
awards for children and young people, the Carnegie medal for outstanding
writing and Kate Greenway medal for distinguished illustration are awarded annually by the UK based
Chartered Institute of librarians and information professionals. A unique
feature is its Shadowing
Site where people get involved and engaged in
reading books shortlisted for the current year.
Organisations
that promote reading and literature
New
Zealand Book Council. (n.d.). Education. Retrieved February 06, 2014,
from http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/Education/Introduction/Information.htm
This not for profit organisation is all about
bringing books and people together – readers, writers, schools and kids.
Children’s services include, books, creative writing by kids, competitions,
word and reading games and one of the programmes it runs is Writers in schools which takes New
Zealand writers and illustrators into schools all over the country.
Storylines
Children’s Literature Charitable Trust of New Zealand. (n.d.). Retrieved
February 06, 2014, from http://www.storylines.org.nz/
Storylines supports and promotes children’s
literature in New Zealand. A voluntary organisation run by professionals
through the Storylines Trust and Foundation, its vast range of activities
include awards, literature festivals, author /illustrator profiles, literature
reviews, book lists, links to resources and a free monthly newsletter with the
latest in children’s literature in New Zealand and abroad.
Publishers/booksellers
Booksellers
New Zealand. (2011). Retrieved February 07, 2014,
from http://www.booksellers.co.nz/
The website of
independent book sellers and stores in New Zealand, its partners are New
Zealand Book Council, New Zealand Society of Authors, Creative NZ, Publishers
Association of New Zealand and NZ Book Month. It offers the latest book news,
bestseller lists and a directory of all independent book shops in the country. It also manages the NZ Post Book Awards.
Dorling
Kindersly Ltd. (2014). DK books.
Retrieved February 07, 2014, from http://www.dk.co.uk/static/html/childrens/
UK turned multinational publisher, well-known
for children’s visual reference guides, encyclopaedias and pre-school books published
in over 50 languages. The website hosts a clipart library in which thousands of
images from its various publications are available to download. A very interesting,
useful tool for school work or creative projects.
Fiction
reading and reviews for primary school children
Auckland
Council. (2014). Libraries. Retrieved
February 07, 2014, from http://www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/EN/kids/Pages/default.aspx
The kids’ pages on the Auckland Libraries are
a treasure trove of interesting, fun information and activities. In addition to
searching the library’s catalogue, new and recommended titles from the
collection are high-lighted here, there are picture book and fiction book lists
by genre, monthly newsletters, book reviews by librarians and recommendations
from a mix of the kids and teens collection for tweens in the 9 to 12 age
group.
Website devoted to children’s literature and
book reviews, which supports Australian and international authors,
illustrators, etc. and is run by volunteer professionals. Reviews, interviews,
events, blog posts and useful links on books and literature related topics
abound on this attractive and interactive site.
Fiction
reading and reviews for teenagers
Lots of appealing visuals and colour on this
site, which was created by blogger Jesse Owen. A noteworthy feature is a
reading challenge to promote British authors - this involves reading (and
reviewing) one book written by a Brit, in a month, for the duration of the
challenge. Another interesting item is the collection of videos or “vlogs”
posted by readers inspired by anything bookish.
State
library of Victoria. (2014).
Inside a dog. Retrieved February 07, 2014, from http://www.insideadog.com.au/
A highly interactive website for teens. Easy
to find a good read as it is chock full of young adult book reviews, presented
in a dynamic way. You can post and share your own reviews, discuss books and
much else besides, on the various forums, read authors’ thoughts on reading and
writing and start or join a book club.
Information
resources for primary school children
Many
Answers. (n.d.). Any questions? Many
answers. Retrieved February 07, 2014, from http://manyanswers.co.nz/
Many Answers complements the online,
real-time homework help service, AnyQuestions, which is provided to New Zealand
school children by the National Library of New Zealand and partnering public
libraries. Popular homework questions that are asked on AnyQuestions are
compiled, arranged by subject and level, and posted on the site, along with the
online resources which students can research, for answers. The site is
continually updated.
Britannica
Online Encyclopaedia. (n.d.). Britannica
Library Edition - Junior . Retrieved
February 07, 2014, from http://0-library.ebonline.co.nz.www.elgar.govt.nz/elementary
The encyclopaedia Britannica needs no
introduction and the online library edition of this great resource can be accessed
subscription free through school and public libraries’ websites. The junior
section is appropriate for primary school children in terms of content, depth
and language and its reliability is guaranteed. The guided tour offered makes
searching the site easy and effective.
Information
resources for teenagers
Manatu
Taonga Ministry of culture and heritage. (n.d.). Te ara – the encyclopaedia of
New Zealand. Retrieved February 08, 2014, from http://www.teara.govt.nz/en
A subscription free government website, Te
Ara is an indispensible resource for students studying the New Zealand
curriculum. Comprehensive in its content, it provides reliable information. Its
contemporary design uses multi-media effectively and is a very user-friendly
site to navigate. It is continually updated to stay current. A unique
collaborative section titled “your
Story” invites personal stories from the public pertaining to any Te Ara
subject.
British
Broadcasting Corporation. (2014). BBC
Schools. Retrieved February 08, 2014, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/0/
The BBC remains unchallenged as one of the
most authoritative providers of current affairs and world news and the section
of their website especially targeted at schools provides education-related
information from online resources that support the secondary curriculum
(although U.K. related, there are several resources of value), to study plans,
classroom videos on a variety of topics, a topical news magazine – great to
browse or search.
Other
interesting/useful websites
International
Children’s Digital Library. (n.d.). Retrieved February
08, 2014, from http://en.childrenslibrary.org/
This is a remarkable mission to digitise children’s
books from around the world and make them freely available on the internet. The
purpose of this non-profit organisation is to celebrate diversity and promote tolerance
through literature. Currently, you can browse 4,642 titles in 61 languages.
A comprehensive book site. It features books
of the year, top10s, like-for-like authors, categories by age and genre,
special features like books for boys, debuts of the month and more. it also
offers opening extracts of featured books and online reviews. A most useful
resource for parents with toddlers through to teens.
