Movie night at Parnell Library spotlights exciting local talent

Parnell manager Laura awards first prize for the
library's movie trailer competition.

Parnell Community Library manager Laura Caygill writes about the successful school holiday movie-making programme her staff ran and the smash-hit movie night they hosted as a result.

It’s 6pm on a Friday night in July. Normally the team at Parnell Library are tidying the shelves and making sure everything’s ready for tomorrow’s patrons. But tonight they’re setting up armchairs, checking equipment and preparing the library for a night of movies, pizza and celebrating the creativity of local kids.

Parnell Library’s Mini Prasad came up with the idea when thinking of ways to promote the LIANZA Children’s Book Awards. Her idea was this: kids could use iPads to make trailers for their favourite finalists in the awards and we, the library, could screen them before playing a movie.

With Hell Pizza generously sponsoring the awards, it seemed a no-brainer.

Mega Matariki storytime offers collective storytelling experience for kids and whanau

Matariki is celebrated every year at Auckland Libraries with a month-long festival of events that also incorporates Te Wiki o Te Reo.

Kids and parents enjoy a mega Matariki storytime
at Otara Library in South Auckland.

This year’s Matariki celebration was something a little bit extra special due to the addition of a new event: a regionwide storytime, where libraries all across the Auckland region read the same story aloud simultaneously.

The story chosen for the mega Matariki storytime was Tāne and the Stars / Tāne me ngā whetū by Ron Bacon, illustrated by Manu Smith, which retells the traditional Maori tale of how Tāne, seeing the night sky so dark, made the stars and scattered them across the sky.

Pou Whakahaere (Māori Advisor) at Auckland Libraries, Anahera Sadler, coordinated the event and says this story was chosen because it includes Māori traditions and the seven stars of Matariki feature in the narrative.

But there’s also a more solemn reason why this particular book was an appropriate choice, she says.