cool holiday reads!!

relax and de-stress with the heaps of cool new fiction, magz and dvds in our TeenZones @ Timaru, Temuka and Geraldine...

Ursula Moray Williams Centenary Creative Writing Competition 

Congratulations to the winners!!!!

Judge Colin Davison, UK author of the Ursula Moray Williams biography Through the Magic Door, said “What a wonderful collection of short stories the competition has produced.  I was immensely impressed, and found some wonderful element in every single one of them.”

The Ursula Moray Williams Cup for Children’s Writing goes to Mafoa Siale of Bluestone School, Timaru, for her story “Winter”.  Mafoa was also winner of the Year 7-8 category.  Congratulations Mafoa!!!

The prizewinners are:

Year 1-3

• 1^st   Holly Bamber, Timaru (Bluestone School) for “Intruders on Zing Zang Island”
• 2^nd  Hope Lovely, (Waimataitai School) for ‘The magic tree”

Year 4-6

• 1^st   Aimee King (Waimataitai School) for  “Steve the explorer and the underwater monkeys”
• 2^nd  Esther Shaw, Geraldine (Home educated) for “Happiness is more important than what you look like”

Year 7-8

• 1^st   Mafoa Siale, Timaru (Bluestone School) for ‘Winter’
• 2^nd  James MacKenzie, Timaru (Bluestone School) for ‘The storm’

Year 9-10

• 1^st  Aaron Braczek, Geraldine (Geraldine High School) for “Never trust a gypsy”

Year11-13

• 1^st   Susanna Blogg, Geraldine (Home educated) for “Close encounter with the third kind”
• 2^nd  Rebekah Blogg, Geraldine (Home educated) for ‘Dancing Breeze”

The competition was run this year to celebrate the centenary of the birth of noted UKchildren’s author Ursula Moray Williams, who visited Timaru in the 1980s and donated a cup for a children’s writing competition. Read more about Ursula Moray Williams in her biography "Through the magic door: Ursula Moray Williams, Gobbolino and the Little Wooden Horse" by Colin Davison.

Many thanks to Colin Davison, The Friends of the Library and Aoraki Reading Association South Canterbury for their support for this competition. 

Ultimate teen reads!!! 

If you’re into what’s hot, check out the New York-based teen reads website www.teenreads.com  Here you’ll find contests, reviews, info about cool new books and the ultimate teen reading list. Join the Teen read blog, vote in TeenReads’ polls, get their newsletter. All for free!!!

TeenZ Blog

Click here for the latest library news, events, reviews and more…We want your comments and feedback ­– post a comment on the blog or email short reviews to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   Prizes will be awarded for reviews or comments published under our Guest Blogger slot!

Movies http://teenink.com/reviews/movie_reviews/

Find out what teens think about today's movies, classic films, yesterday's videos, everyone's favorite celebrities and stars, as well as the whole movie industry.

Books to movies

Try these sites for lists of movies based on teen books and find them in our Teen DVD collection ...

infosoup http://info.infosoup.org/lists/TeenBooksToMovies.asp

http://www.wakegov.com/NR/rdonlyres/D0D36F93-0E20-44A7-8EC6-93F878890C73/0/MoviesForTeens2009.pdf

Sites we like …

Gameplanet http://www.gameplanet.co.nz/

Voted People’s Choice Net

Skylight  http://www.skylight.org.nz/Young+people because grief happens and support matters...

This is a place to go for help when tough stuff happens ... or try Headspace (below) for more options.

Headspace http://www.headspace.org.nz/young-people/cool-links.htm

Check out these cool links for NZ teens.  Find out about stuff you can do to help handle your head. If things are tough, check out some of these cool websites. There's info about all kinds of topics like girl stuff, sexuality issues, mental health sites, games, alcohol, and being a teenager.

24/7 Girl http://www.247girl.co.nz/

NZ fashion, beauty, health, life advice and celebs… plus quizzes, freebies, blogs and “chick-chat” …

Guide Web Awards 2009 for best game-related site: Gameplanet is New Zealand's #1 destination for gamers. Look here for quality reviews and previews of the latest games, unique and entertaining videos, coverage of all the top gaming news and events, or help build a vibrant gaming community in their forums—everything they do, they do for the love of games!

Sparknotes  http://www.sparknotes.com/

 Today’s most popular study guides plus cool interactive stuff ­–  the death test,  the love test, the date test, the gender test.  Find out “Where to hide your most embarrassing secrets” and check the blogs on books, digital stuff and more.

TeensHealth http://kidshealth.org/teen/  

 Teen-friendly, accurate, searchable, easy to navigate pages on everything you always wanted to know about health-related matters but were afraid to ask …

Earthquake support info

Welcome to all those who have come to Timaru from Christchurch.

Click here for information about library and council services, and links to other support agencies.

 HOT reads...

 If you like to get your teeth into the latest paranormal teen reads, click here for Books with Bite...

 Vampires not your thing?  Then check out the display of  Books that DON'T SUCK ...

Homework Help!

AnyQuestions.co.nz helps you find useful, accurate, online information for your homework.

It’s not a ‘quick answers service’ - instead our online librarians are trained to help you work out the sort of information you need, then begin searching with you. Librarians from all over New Zealand are available each week day between 1:00 pm and 6:00 pm to help you search online.
To use AnyQuestions.co.nz you have to be attending a New Zealand primary, intermediate, secondary school or be home schooled.

Exam help http://www.studyit.org.nz/

Pass your exams with help form Studyit - your one stop site for achieving in NCEA maths, science, and English. Find what you need to know, contact subject teachers, and get encouragement from other students. Also see our Study Guide collection.

Teen Ink http://teenink.com/fiction/

Try this online teen magazine/book series/website devoted entirely to teenage writing, art, photos and forums.  Students must be aged 13-19 to participate, register and/or submit work. Teen Ink  offers  thoughtful and creative work generated by teens and has the largest distribution of any publication of its kind. 

We want to hear your voice too

Write for us!!!  Your short reviews and comments submitted and published on our teen blog will win you stuff ... click here to email us now This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it