New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards Event 2013

  Because two of the finalists for the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards featured the relationship between children and their grandparents it was decided to run an event for grandparents and grandchildren.  To ensure that children without grandparents or grandparent-substitutes were not excluded from the event, the Friends of the Library were enlisted to act as proxy grandparents for those children who needed this. After reading a couple of the finalist picture books and telling the children about the others, the children were given a selection of boxes and other craft materials to build a wind train (as featured in The Queen and the Nobody Boy, a finalist) with the assistance of their grandparents.

A number of shoe boxes and other small boxes and cardboard tubes were collected by appealing to council staff. The plan was to also contact shoe shops but one of the council teams provided enough suitable boxes for at least one per child. The other resources available included iceblock sticks, straws, pipe cleaners, sheets of coloured card, squares of cellophane and stickers. A variety of methods of attachment were provided: staples, Sellotape, parcel tape, masking tape, PVA glue, UHU glue, cold-melt glue guns and split pins. The children were able to use their imaginations to create their own idea of what a wind train might be like. After 45 minutes most children's creations were finished. The children were given a goody bag containing a chocolate fish, a couple of lollies and some New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards giveaways - a bag tag and a bookmark. They then listened to a re-telling of Sparky and the Trains while the grandparents had some well-earned afternoon tea. Judging by the grandparents' comments this was a very successful afternoon.

"Loved it!"

"Enjoyable afternoon loved by grannies and kids alike"

"Brilliant afternoon for all the children"