Christchurch City Libraries Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi
Staff-created list
Holiday Reading is a small selection of recommended new titles added to Christchurch City Libraries in 2015. Here you will find picture books to excite, enthuse, enthral and inform. A Christchurch City Libraries list.
Thelma is an ordinary pony who longs to be more. One day, she spots a carrot on the ground and comes up with a brilliant idea! She ties it to her head, ju...Show more
Thelma is an ordinary pony who longs to be more. One day, she spots a carrot on the ground and comes up with a brilliant idea! She ties it to her head, just before a skidding truck spills pink paint and glitter all over her!
Presto! Thelma is a unicorn!
Thelma quickly rises to fame, but does she really want all the attention? Or would she be happier as her old self again?
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Thelma is an ordinary pony who longs to be more. One day, she spots a carrot on the ground and comes up with a brilliant idea! She ties it to her head, ju...Show more
Thelma is an ordinary pony who longs to be more. One day, she spots a carrot on the ground and comes up with a brilliant idea! She ties it to her head, just before a skidding truck spills pink paint and glitter all over her!
Presto! Thelma is a unicorn!
Thelma quickly rises to fame, but does she really want all the attention? Or would she be happier as her old self again?
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Polar Bear is sad. He’s lost his underwear and doesn’t know what pair he was wearing today. Luckily Mouse comes along to help him find them. They set off to find Polar Bear’s underwear and see all sorts of underwear along the way.
Polar Bear is sad. He’s lost his underwear and doesn’t know what pair he was wearing today. Luckily Mouse comes along to help him find them. They set off to find Polar Bear’s underwear and see all sorts of underwear along the way.
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Polar Bear is sad. He’s lost his underwear and doesn’t know what pair he was wearing today. Luckily Mouse comes along to help him find them. They set off to find Polar Bear’s underwear and see all sorts of underwear along the way.
Polar Bear is sad. He’s lost his underwear and doesn’t know what pair he was wearing today. Luckily Mouse comes along to help him find them. They set off to find Polar Bear’s underwear and see all sorts of underwear along the way.
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‘Hey diddle diddle, You all know the riddle, A cow jumps over the moon…’ But the moon is very high in the sky. How many attempts will it take before Cow makes her famous high-flying leap?
‘Hey diddle diddle, You all know the riddle, A cow jumps over the moon…’ But the moon is very high in the sky. How many attempts will it take before Cow makes her famous high-flying leap?
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‘Hey diddle diddle, You all know the riddle, A cow jumps over the moon…’ But the moon is very high in the sky. How many attempts will it take before Cow makes her famous high-flying leap?
‘Hey diddle diddle, You all know the riddle, A cow jumps over the moon…’ But the moon is very high in the sky. How many attempts will it take before Cow makes her famous high-flying leap?
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Strange and spooky things are happening down on the farm, and Farmer Greg knows exactly who to call -Ghost-hunters! The three little pigs are the best guy...Show more
Strange and spooky things are happening down on the farm, and Farmer Greg knows exactly who to call -Ghost-hunters! The three little pigs are the best guys for the job, a specialist team of Ghosthunters equipped with the latest in ghost-hunting gadgets.
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Strange and spooky things are happening down on the farm, and Farmer Greg knows exactly who to call -Ghost-hunters! The three little pigs are the best guy...Show more
Strange and spooky things are happening down on the farm, and Farmer Greg knows exactly who to call -Ghost-hunters! The three little pigs are the best guys for the job, a specialist team of Ghosthunters equipped with the latest in ghost-hunting gadgets.
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This deep dark wood is full of twists and turns, and all is not quite what it seems. The Big Bad Wolf is about to get a big, bad surprise...A fearsomely funny mixed-up fairytale with an unexpected twist!
This deep dark wood is full of twists and turns, and all is not quite what it seems. The Big Bad Wolf is about to get a big, bad surprise...A fearsomely funny mixed-up fairytale with an unexpected twist!
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This deep dark wood is full of twists and turns, and all is not quite what it seems. The Big Bad Wolf is about to get a big, bad surprise...A fearsomely funny mixed-up fairytale with an unexpected twist!
This deep dark wood is full of twists and turns, and all is not quite what it seems. The Big Bad Wolf is about to get a big, bad surprise...A fearsomely funny mixed-up fairytale with an unexpected twist!
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Take one traditional fairy tale and one infuriatingly cheeky (albeit knowledgeable) child, and mix with the talented writing of Yvonne Morrison and the fu...Show more
Take one traditional fairy tale and one infuriatingly cheeky (albeit knowledgeable) child, and mix with the talented writing of Yvonne Morrison and the funny and creative illustrations of Donovan Bixley...and you have a recipe for fall-off-your-chair hilarity!
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Take one traditional fairy tale and one infuriatingly cheeky (albeit knowledgeable) child, and mix with the talented writing of Yvonne Morrison and the fu...Show more
Take one traditional fairy tale and one infuriatingly cheeky (albeit knowledgeable) child, and mix with the talented writing of Yvonne Morrison and the funny and creative illustrations of Donovan Bixley...and you have a recipe for fall-off-your-chair hilarity!
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Brian loves bananas. Trouble is, Brian is a piranha. And his friends aren't happy about his fondness for fruit. No, they're not happy at all.
Brian loves bananas. Trouble is, Brian is a piranha. And his friends aren't happy about his fondness for fruit. No, they're not happy at all.
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Brian loves bananas. Trouble is, Brian is a piranha. And his friends aren't happy about his fondness for fruit. No, they're not happy at all.
Brian loves bananas. Trouble is, Brian is a piranha. And his friends aren't happy about his fondness for fruit. No, they're not happy at all.
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Princess Pinecone knows exactly what she wants for her birthday this year: a horse! A big horse, a strong horse, a horse fit for a warrior princess! But when the day arrives, she doesn’t quite get the horse of her dreams.
Princess Pinecone knows exactly what she wants for her birthday this year: a horse! A big horse, a strong horse, a horse fit for a warrior princess! But when the day arrives, she doesn’t quite get the horse of her dreams.
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Princess Pinecone knows exactly what she wants for her birthday this year: a horse! A big horse, a strong horse, a horse fit for a warrior princess! But when the day arrives, she doesn’t quite get the horse of her dreams.
Princess Pinecone knows exactly what she wants for her birthday this year: a horse! A big horse, a strong horse, a horse fit for a warrior princess! But when the day arrives, she doesn’t quite get the horse of her dreams.
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A boy wants all of the pets in a pet store but he and his sister can choose only one. End notes discuss Dr. Seuss's pets, his creative process, and the discovery of the manuscript and illustrations for "What Pet Should I Get?"
A boy wants all of the pets in a pet store but he and his sister can choose only one. End notes discuss Dr. Seuss's pets, his creative process, and the discovery of the manuscript and illustrations for "What Pet Should I Get?"
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A boy wants all of the pets in a pet store but he and his sister can choose only one. End notes discuss Dr. Seuss's pets, his creative process, and the discovery of the manuscript and illustrations for "What Pet Should I Get?"
A boy wants all of the pets in a pet store but he and his sister can choose only one. End notes discuss Dr. Seuss's pets, his creative process, and the discovery of the manuscript and illustrations for "What Pet Should I Get?"
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Mr Barleycorn picks a green baby growing in his garden, letting loose the incredible power of nature. When courgettes flower in the kitchen and carrots sp...Show more
Mr Barleycorn picks a green baby growing in his garden, letting loose the incredible power of nature. When courgettes flower in the kitchen and carrots sprout out of their television, his wife tells Mr Barleycorn that the greenling has to go. But the bounty and beauty of nature has a strange power the power to bring a whole community together.
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Mr Barleycorn picks a green baby growing in his garden, letting loose the incredible power of nature. When courgettes flower in the kitchen and carrots sp...Show more
Mr Barleycorn picks a green baby growing in his garden, letting loose the incredible power of nature. When courgettes flower in the kitchen and carrots sprout out of their television, his wife tells Mr Barleycorn that the greenling has to go. But the bounty and beauty of nature has a strange power the power to bring a whole community together.
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An artist celebrates the many things he can do with a simple pen, and encourages the reader to do the same.
An artist celebrates the many things he can do with a simple pen, and encourages the reader to do the same.
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An artist celebrates the many things he can do with a simple pen, and encourages the reader to do the same.
An artist celebrates the many things he can do with a simple pen, and encourages the reader to do the same.
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Up in the garden, the world is full of green leaves and sprouts, growing vegetables, ripening fruit. But down in the dirt there is a busy world of earthwo...Show more
Up in the garden, the world is full of green leaves and sprouts, growing vegetables, ripening fruit. But down in the dirt there is a busy world of earthworms digging, snakes hunting, skunks burrowing, and all the other animals that make a garden their home. In this exuberant book, discover the wonder and activity that lie hidden between the stalks, under the shade of leaves and down in the dirt.
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Up in the garden, the world is full of green leaves and sprouts, growing vegetables, ripening fruit. But down in the dirt there is a busy world of earthwo...Show more
Up in the garden, the world is full of green leaves and sprouts, growing vegetables, ripening fruit. But down in the dirt there is a busy world of earthworms digging, snakes hunting, skunks burrowing, and all the other animals that make a garden their home. In this exuberant book, discover the wonder and activity that lie hidden between the stalks, under the shade of leaves and down in the dirt.
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A rhyming children's meditation on the four seasons of summer, autumn, winter and spring, in which the grasshoppers dance to the rhythms and sounds of lif...Show more
A rhyming children's meditation on the four seasons of summer, autumn, winter and spring, in which the grasshoppers dance to the rhythms and sounds of life around them as the world goes round. The animals in the story thrive on music: a bunny plays the drums, a hawk plays the organ, a husky plays a whistle, a kingfisher plays on conch shells, and the grasshoppers dance.
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A rhyming children's meditation on the four seasons of summer, autumn, winter and spring, in which the grasshoppers dance to the rhythms and sounds of lif...Show more
A rhyming children's meditation on the four seasons of summer, autumn, winter and spring, in which the grasshoppers dance to the rhythms and sounds of life around them as the world goes round. The animals in the story thrive on music: a bunny plays the drums, a hawk plays the organ, a husky plays a whistle, a kingfisher plays on conch shells, and the grasshoppers dance.
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When Pedro comes from far away to visit his cousins, who are eager to introduce him to snow, all Pedro can think about at first is how much he dislikes cold.
When Pedro comes from far away to visit his cousins, who are eager to introduce him to snow, all Pedro can think about at first is how much he dislikes cold.
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When Pedro comes from far away to visit his cousins, who are eager to introduce him to snow, all Pedro can think about at first is how much he dislikes cold.
When Pedro comes from far away to visit his cousins, who are eager to introduce him to snow, all Pedro can think about at first is how much he dislikes cold.
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One day, a young bear stumbles upon something he has never seen before in the forest. As time passes, he teaches himself how to play the strange instrumen...Show more
One day, a young bear stumbles upon something he has never seen before in the forest. As time passes, he teaches himself how to play the strange instrument, and eventually the beautiful sounds are heard by a father and son who are picnicking in the woods. The bear goes with them on an incredible journey to New York, where his piano playing makes him a huge star. He has fame, fortune and all the music in the world, but he misses the friends and family he has left behind.
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One day, a young bear stumbles upon something he has never seen before in the forest. As time passes, he teaches himself how to play the strange instrumen...Show more
One day, a young bear stumbles upon something he has never seen before in the forest. As time passes, he teaches himself how to play the strange instrument, and eventually the beautiful sounds are heard by a father and son who are picnicking in the woods. The bear goes with them on an incredible journey to New York, where his piano playing makes him a huge star. He has fame, fortune and all the music in the world, but he misses the friends and family he has left behind.
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In the follow-up to Steve Light's Have You Seen My Dragon?, a little girl wanders through a country fair, searching for her monster friend. Can you spot t...Show more
In the follow-up to Steve Light's Have You Seen My Dragon?, a little girl wanders through a country fair, searching for her monster friend. Can you spot the friendly monster as well as twenty shapes squares, triangles, trapezoids, ellipses, kites and more hidden among iconic fair attractions from the fun house to the Ferris wheel. Maybe the monster is judging the pies? Or perhaps he's at the monster truck rally? You'll be so mesmerized by Steve Light's masterful pen-and-ink illustrations, decorated with vivid splashes of colour, you won't even realize you've learned how to spot a nonagon while looking for a monster! A gorgeously illustrated shape book, with fun search-and-find opportunities throughout.
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In the follow-up to Steve Light's Have You Seen My Dragon?, a little girl wanders through a country fair, searching for her monster friend. Can you spot t...Show more
In the follow-up to Steve Light's Have You Seen My Dragon?, a little girl wanders through a country fair, searching for her monster friend. Can you spot the friendly monster as well as twenty shapes squares, triangles, trapezoids, ellipses, kites and more hidden among iconic fair attractions from the fun house to the Ferris wheel. Maybe the monster is judging the pies? Or perhaps he's at the monster truck rally? You'll be so mesmerized by Steve Light's masterful pen-and-ink illustrations, decorated with vivid splashes of colour, you won't even realize you've learned how to spot a nonagon while looking for a monster! A gorgeously illustrated shape book, with fun search-and-find opportunities throughout.
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A little girl collects wildflowers while on a walk with her distracted father. Each flower becomes a gift, and whether the gift is noticed or ignored, bot...Show more
A little girl collects wildflowers while on a walk with her distracted father. Each flower becomes a gift, and whether the gift is noticed or ignored, both giver and recipient are transformed by their encounter. This wordless picture book, conceived by award-winning poet JonArno Lawson and beautifully brought to life by illustrator Sydney Smith, is an ode to the importance of small things, small people and small gestures.
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A little girl collects wildflowers while on a walk with her distracted father. Each flower becomes a gift, and whether the gift is noticed or ignored, bot...Show more
A little girl collects wildflowers while on a walk with her distracted father. Each flower becomes a gift, and whether the gift is noticed or ignored, both giver and recipient are transformed by their encounter. This wordless picture book, conceived by award-winning poet JonArno Lawson and beautifully brought to life by illustrator Sydney Smith, is an ode to the importance of small things, small people and small gestures.
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Beast has been robbed! And so has the whole village. Without tools the villagers can't put on their legendary Winter Party, so Beast sets off to solve the...Show more
Beast has been robbed! And so has the whole village. Without tools the villagers can't put on their legendary Winter Party, so Beast sets off to solve the mystery. Discovering that a stranded Snow Beast is behind the robbery, Beast has to decide whether to help this odd-looking stranger.
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Beast has been robbed! And so has the whole village. Without tools the villagers can't put on their legendary Winter Party, so Beast sets off to solve the...Show more
Beast has been robbed! And so has the whole village. Without tools the villagers can't put on their legendary Winter Party, so Beast sets off to solve the mystery. Discovering that a stranded Snow Beast is behind the robbery, Beast has to decide whether to help this odd-looking stranger.
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A monster tries to chomp any reader who wants to go past the first page of the book in order to keep his cakes safe.
A monster tries to chomp any reader who wants to go past the first page of the book in order to keep his cakes safe.
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A monster tries to chomp any reader who wants to go past the first page of the book in order to keep his cakes safe.
A monster tries to chomp any reader who wants to go past the first page of the book in order to keep his cakes safe.
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Five friends sit happily on a windowsill, waiting for something amazing to happen. The owl is waiting for the moon. The pig is waiting for the rain. The b...Show more
Five friends sit happily on a windowsill, waiting for something amazing to happen. The owl is waiting for the moon. The pig is waiting for the rain. The bear is waiting for the wind. The puppy is waiting for the snow. And the rabbit is just looking out the window because he likes to wait! What will happen? Will patience win in the end? Or someday will the friends stop waiting and do something unexpected?
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Five friends sit happily on a windowsill, waiting for something amazing to happen. The owl is waiting for the moon. The pig is waiting for the rain. The b...Show more
Five friends sit happily on a windowsill, waiting for something amazing to happen. The owl is waiting for the moon. The pig is waiting for the rain. The bear is waiting for the wind. The puppy is waiting for the snow. And the rabbit is just looking out the window because he likes to wait! What will happen? Will patience win in the end? Or someday will the friends stop waiting and do something unexpected?
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Red's factory-applied label clearly says that he is red, but despite the best efforts of his teacher, fellow crayons and art supplies, and family members, he cannot seem to do anything right until a new friend offers a fresh perspective.
Red's factory-applied label clearly says that he is red, but despite the best efforts of his teacher, fellow crayons and art supplies, and family members, he cannot seem to do anything right until a new friend offers a fresh perspective.
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Red's factory-applied label clearly says that he is red, but despite the best efforts of his teacher, fellow crayons and art supplies, and family members, he cannot seem to do anything right until a new friend offers a fresh perspective.
Red's factory-applied label clearly says that he is red, but despite the best efforts of his teacher, fellow crayons and art supplies, and family members, he cannot seem to do anything right until a new friend offers a fresh perspective.
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Stick and Stone are both lonely until Pinecone's teasing causes one to stick up for the other, and a solid friendship is formed.
Stick and Stone are both lonely until Pinecone's teasing causes one to stick up for the other, and a solid friendship is formed.
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Stick and Stone are both lonely until Pinecone's teasing causes one to stick up for the other, and a solid friendship is formed.
Stick and Stone are both lonely until Pinecone's teasing causes one to stick up for the other, and a solid friendship is formed.
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A whimsical tribute to the myriad possibilities of home depicts homes in different real-world environments as well as fantastical settings.
A whimsical tribute to the myriad possibilities of home depicts homes in different real-world environments as well as fantastical settings.
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A whimsical tribute to the myriad possibilities of home depicts homes in different real-world environments as well as fantastical settings.
A whimsical tribute to the myriad possibilities of home depicts homes in different real-world environments as well as fantastical settings.
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Henry the pig is excited to spot the Great Pig in the sky one starry night, but when he shows the other farm animals, he gets frustrated because they each see something different.
Henry the pig is excited to spot the Great Pig in the sky one starry night, but when he shows the other farm animals, he gets frustrated because they each see something different.
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Henry the pig is excited to spot the Great Pig in the sky one starry night, but when he shows the other farm animals, he gets frustrated because they each see something different.
Henry the pig is excited to spot the Great Pig in the sky one starry night, but when he shows the other farm animals, he gets frustrated because they each see something different.
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One day Duncan is happily colouring with his crayons when a stack of postcards arrives in the mail from his former crayons, each of which has run away or been left behind, and all of which want to come home.
One day Duncan is happily colouring with his crayons when a stack of postcards arrives in the mail from his former crayons, each of which has run away or been left behind, and all of which want to come home.
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One day Duncan is happily colouring with his crayons when a stack of postcards arrives in the mail from his former crayons, each of which has run away or been left behind, and all of which want to come home.
One day Duncan is happily colouring with his crayons when a stack of postcards arrives in the mail from his former crayons, each of which has run away or been left behind, and all of which want to come home.
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