An eclectic collection of letters

Hi everyone, welcome to the first week of a new year!! Since January 2024 is a month celebrating letters of all kinds, it is only fitting to start off with a book I never thought I would find. This gorgeous tween read is a collection of letters received by a pair of children who wanted to understand other people’s experiences over the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown. So friends, with that quick intro, why don’t you press the button and delve into my review below…

Continue reading →

Let’s begin the New Year with letters…

image over most of banner of coloured envelopes laying on top of open book with red pencil right of them. book is on wooden table. orange background.

Welcome everyone to 2024!! I hope you all had a peaceful and stress-free New Year’s Eve!! My family and I had a somewhat quiet few days together. As my title suggests, I’m beginning this New Year, 2024, with letters. With this I mean, written letters, missives or short notes…

Continue reading →

Music explained for tweens

Hi everyone, as this week’s title suggests, you will get some technical and historical background to music in the post below. I’ve hand-picked for you a selection of books that can give you a guide to introduction to music and its main players…

Continue reading →

Let’s jam to some musical reads this May!

image of half of brown acoustic guitar on right end and portion of digital piano and black headphones on top left corner. background behind them is of wooden floorboards and musical stave and notes in black. along edges orange borders.

Hi everyone, it’s May and winter has officially arrived in Auckland!! It’s not as cold as I expected in this new house but I need several layers for work. May is Music Month for us at the Auckland Libraries and I thought I should extend the celebrations to my blog with some musical themed tween reads for you. What’s that, you’re not a fan of music…no worries, you can stop scrolling and let the actual fans press the button below…

Continue reading →

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

Hi friends, here is my last post for April. Winter is not too far along now here in Auckland. I hope you enjoyed last week’s personal post about my life in Zambia during my childhood. This last post is a review about a book I had heard about but didn’t read until recently. This biographical junior read is about an actual young African teenager who was inspired to do more for his family and community.

Continue reading →

Let’s travel to Africa this April

banner with light brown background. two images in top left and bottom right ends. top left image of two brown and gold dappled giraffes standing looking towards right in long dry grass and taller tree with bright blue sky behind them. bottom right image of lone dark-skinned elephant with tusks looking ahead with water and sunset sky behind it. cartoon image of green grass along bottom edge and yellow swirl of sun on top right corner.

Hi everyone, as the title of this post suggests, let’s travel to Africa with the reads I’ve selected for you!! Yes, I’m finally going to showcase what this magnificent continent has and what makes it all that special to me. So, friends, why not grab something to drink and settle in for a month of exciting books!!

Continue reading →

Just a few more short stories for you…

Hi everyone, I hope you are all doing well. I’m happy to say that I have now completed most of the huge deadlines I had over the summer!! To end this month off, this next post has a trio of reads that have a collection of short stories for those readers who enjoy quick reads. Why not press the button below to find out more…

Continue reading →

Celebrating Muslim stories this March

image of flowers yellow and white with orange globe of sun in top middle. small dark buds in between.

Hi everyone, this month of March I’m celebrating the many wonderful Muslim stories that are gaining popularity. Growing up I have had a few Muslim Sri Lankan friends and now living in New Zealand we meet so many who have migrated here just like we did. This month’s posts are celebrating their culture through stories by some exceptional writers. If you found this interesting, why not press the button to find out a bit more information…

Continue reading →

Adult reads vs Adapted Younger Reads

Hi everyone, I hope this month of February is treating you better than me. Having to endure some health issues over the last month or so has left me a bit behind in preparing my posts. So, please forgive me if the next few posts seem to have less body to them. In saying that, this week I’ll be discussing the advantages of reading adaptations of adult books more suitable for younger readers.

Continue reading →

True stories of strong young women

Hi everyone, this last week of November heralds the beginning of summer for us here in Auckland. To end this month featuring mighty girls and strong women I bring you a post on a selection of true stories of inspirational and strong young women. You better get some tissues handy with a comfortable seating position as these might render some strong emotions…

Continue reading →