March 2025 Library Newsletter

Get ready for a day of smiles and literary adventures at the upcoming Children’s Day celebration on Sunday 16 March at Paeroa Domain from 1pm. We will be hosting a vibrant stall packed with exciting activities and goodies for kids of all ages! You can expect to find some fantastic giveaways at our stall. We will also be holding a Pokémon Card Swap, so if you have duplicates, bring them along to trade with other trainers. You can find out about all the amazing resources your local library has to offer, from our wonderful collection of children’s books to our fun programmes and events. We hope to see you there!

Team Leader, Marion, shares some of her eAudiobook experiences and says: “I cannot do without a downloaded eAudiobook. I listen to them on my mobile phone while driving, gardening, painting or doing household chores. It is a useful way to get through big, thick, challenging reads as well! l also love the way you can search by Narrator on our eAudio Apps.” Some of her favourites include:

'What have you done?’ by Shari Lapena – eAudiobook from ePlatform; Book and Large Print. 

Gripping whodunnit narrated by an American male reader with a great voice. The plot is around a group of teenagers who are involved in a brutal murder in a usually quiet town, and the twists kept me riveted.

‘Hum if you don’t know the words’ by Bianca Marais – eAudiobook from ePlatform.

Excellent story with a glimpse into South Africa’s checkered past. As a South African, I struggled with the British and American narrators attempting our unique South African accents but soon got used to them as the story unfolded. They were great storytellers.  

‘The Covenant of Water’ by Abraham Verghese – eAudiobook from ePlatform; eBook and Book. 

This was a wonderful reading by the author himself. As a listener, learning the correct pronunciation of the characters’ names and certain words of the beautiful Malayalam language added another layer of meaning to the story for me. 

‘The Golden Child’ by Wendy James – eAudiobook from Borrowbox; eBook and Book. 

The Australian narrator, Caroline Lee, is an excellent dramatist. This story is full of twists and keeps the listener wondering right until the end. I have chosen other books because Caroline narrates them.

‘Someone else’s shoes’ by Jojo Moyes – eAudiobook from Borrowbox; eBook and Book. 

Sad in places but overall a humorous tale of how a small incident can lead to life-changing events for strong, independent women! Ultimately uplifting in the signature Jojo Moyes’ style.

Remember that Borrowbox and ePlatform are free with your Library membership and offer a wonderful selection, from the latest bestsellers to the classics, in eAudio or eBook formats.

We had such a lovely get-together last week for our bi-annual Community Library Interest Group Meeting. A massive thank you to the Whiritoa Librarians who hosted us this time! It really is a great meeting for all involved as it gives the Community Libraries a chance to collaborate and share resources, discuss the positives and also any challenges their libraries are experiencing. 

Whiritoa, Kaiaua and Turua Community Libraries are run entirely by volunteers and we are so happy to be able to support them as they continue their passionate and dedicated work for the wellbeing of these communities in our District. We look forward to hosting you all next time at our Waihī Library.

Congrats to Ella and Naomi, our winners of the Beanstack Bingo Summer Reading Challenge! 

Ka pai to all the tamariki who completed this challenge over the Summer; we hope you love Beanstack as much as we do. Don’t forget that our Term 1 Tamariki Reading Challenge has started. You can jump onto this Challenge on our Beanstack App or pick up a copy at one of our libraries. You have until Saturday 12 April to complete the challenge to be in to win!

A huge thank you to everyone that joined us for the successful launch of Robyn Tucker’s new picture book, “Who Saved the Hens?”. Kids and adults alike were treated to a wonderful reading of the book by Robyn herself, ending with a fabulous song and dance. If you missed the launch, don’t panic! Robyn’s book will soon be available to borrow from our libraries.

Our Senior Film Sessions continue to be a huge hit at our libraries! Our March film is ‘A Royal Night Out’. A British romantic comedy-drama starring Sarah Gadon and Jack Reynor. These sessions do not need booking and are completely free. So grab a friend and come along! Our next film session is Friday 28 March.

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Website - https://library.hauraki-dc.govt.nz

Phone - 07 862 8609 

Email - hdc-library@hauraki-dc.govt.nz