Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō Levin Library has launched its summer reading challenge.
Samantha Tibbs is the Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō Levin Library children’s learning librarian.
OPINION
Have you heard about Read for Trees?
It’s our community summer reading challenge designed to promote reading for pleasure and foster a district-wide sense of community with the environmentally minded incentive of planting trees.
As if I need another reason to love the humble tree.
A cornerstone of festive cheer, not only are they busy offsetting the effects of a warming climate, supporting a biodiverse ecology, and providing shade for our tamariki, but they’re also moonlighting in some of our most beloved books, abundantly populating many of our pages.
Across cultures and throughout time, whether it’s oral tradition or the written word, performed in a play or described through song, the forest has always been a catalyst for stories.
Sometimes characters enjoy the familiar comfort of their forest homes, such as the Hundred Acre Wood or the restful refuge of Lothlórien.
The forest is an instrument of comedy during the magical mix-up of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a place for adventure and even for romance to blossom in the Outlander series.
It can be a place full of unexpected characters and creatures, where magic and danger await and protagonists face and overcome their darkest fears.
In the darkness of Rowling’s Forbidden Forest, is a place to venture into and discover and vanquish villainous enemies.
As a reader, we know something unexpected is about to happen when Lucy Pevensie enters the wardrobe and hears the crunch of snow.
We begin to feel the prickle of adventure as Lucy feels the prickle of branches instead of fur coats. Whether you love to read fantasy, adventure, romance, comedy or horror you’ll not go far before you encounter the refuge or the peril of the forest, enchanted or otherwise.
This summer we are lucky to be partnering with Green by Nature to bring you Read for Trees, a reading challenge for the whole family.
At the time of writing, we had already collectively read over 14,000 pages and unlocked three beautiful established native trees to be planted.
The more you read, the more trees we plant (plus a weekly spot prize draw). Read for Trees runs until March 1.
Adults and teens can track their reading using cards available at the library. Children can collect and keep a summer reading booklet. For individuals and families on the go, download the Beanstack app to quickly check in wherever you wander this summer.
Top 10 books
What’s new in Large Print
On the line by Fern Michaels
You like it darker by Stephen King
Confessions of the Dead by James Patterson
Resurrection by Danielle Steel
Black Silk and Sympathy by Deborah Challinor
Don’t let the devil ride by Ace Atkins
Will the circle be unbroken? By Sean Dietrich
Hard to kill by James Patterson
Fire and bones by Kathy Reichs
The girl from London by Olivia Spooner
Exhibitions
Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō Gallery: Christmas Workshop – December 1 to 21.
This holiday season, escape to a magical Christmas forest right here in the library. Enjoy a cosy space filled with festive cheer, where you can create simple, fun crafts and capture picture-perfect moments with our enchanting photo backdrops. Stop by and make some holiday memories.
Te Awahou Nuiewe Stroom Kabinet Art Gallery: Korori, Korora – November 24 to February 28, 2025.
A dynamic exhibition on Aotearoa’s native birds, featuring diverse artistic mediums, focusing particularly on the birds of the Manawatū Estuary; celebrating both their ecological importance and cultural significance to Māori.
Korori, Korora also incorporates the Te Papa Buller’s Birds: The Art of Keulemans and Buchanan exhibition, showcasing prints of illustrations from New Zealand’s most famous books on native birds. A highlight of Buller’s Birds is the work of Dutch artist Johannes Gerardus Keulemans, which is very relevant for the Dutch community and supporters at Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom. These artworks connect historical representations with modern perspectives, making it a vibrant experience for all ages.
What’s On
Heritage room:
Volunteers staff the Heritage rooms at Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō Tuesday to Friday at the following times:
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 10am-12.30pm
Thursday, 10am-3pm
Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom Heritage Room has the Research librarian available all day every Friday.
Friday, December 13:
Friday Live Concert, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, 12pm-1pm
Jim Redmond Crib Club, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, 1pm-3pm
SeniorNet, Get help with your tablets, phones and laptops
Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom, 10am-12pm
Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, 2pm-3pm
Code Club, Shannon Library, 3.30pm-4.30pm
Monday, December 16:
Storytime, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, 10am-10.30am
Meet Street, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, 10am-11am Volunteer Central, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, 10am-12pm
H.U.G Horowhenua Ukulele Group, Main Space, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, 11am-12pm
Simply Meditation, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, 12pm-1pm, koha
Digital Learning: Staying Safe Online, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, 1pm-3pm
Tuesday, December 17:
Digital Drop-in Session, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, 10am-11am
Storytime, Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom, 10.30am-11am
Justice of the Peace, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, 11.30am-1.30pm
500 Card Group, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, 1pm-3pm, $2
Lego Hour, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, 3.30pm -4.30pm
Wednesday, December 18:
Volunteer Central, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, 10am-12pm
Crochet & Coffee Club, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, 10.30am
Better Digital Futures: Online Safety, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, 1pm-3pm
Code Club, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, 4pm-5pm
Pop Up Eats Horowhenua, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō Carpark, 5pm-8pm
Quiz Night, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, 7pm-9pm, $5
Thursday, December 19:
Sewing Workshop, Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, 10am-12pm
There have now been three men charged with murder.