The Wrappers Recommend

The following books were recommended by Wrappers at our May meeting. Try one - you might find your new favourite story! Just click on the title to go to the library catalogue and place your reservation.

Wonder by R J Palacio

Karneval by Touya Mikanagi

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

The Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park

The Fish of Maui

To our friends in Russia:

We have prepared an audio recording for you.  It is our retelling of a Maori legend called The Fish of Maui.  The Maori people came to New Zealand hundreds of years before the Europeans arrived and they have many legends about the history of the land, culture and the natural world.  One of them tells the story of how the land of New Zealand (Aotearoa in Maori) was created. Maui is a hero who appears in several legends and in this legend he catches a VERY big fish. We hope you enjoy it and can understand us!  

Best wishes,
The Wrappers



The You Tube version below is in Maori with English subtitles and pictures from a well known book version of the legend. 

Answer a question and win

Imagine you could meet any author you choose (alive or dead - it might involve some time travel). You can spend an hour or two with them, perhaps enjoying a meal in a good restaurant in their company.  Who would you most like to meet? We'll talk about why you might like to meet them or what you would ask at our next meeting.

Fill in your answer on the Google Form and be in to win a brand new book. Open to Kāpiti District residents only. The winner will be drawn at the next Wrappers meeting on Friday 6 May. 

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

One frosty evening, a girl who knows no home, no parents, and no name but Brat finds shelter and warmth in a farmer’s dung heap.  There Jane the village midwife finds her.  So it is that Brat, now called Beetle by her new mistress – begins her career as a midwife’s apprentice.

It’s not a soft life.  Jane is a hard woman with a sharp glance and a sharper temper.  Still, Beetle makes a place for herself, adopting a cat and befriending one of the village boys.  By secretly watching Jane work, she learns some of the skills the midwife greedily tries to hid.  Beetle even gives herself a real name at last: Alyce.

Then one day she fails at an important assignment. Alyce runs away, believing she is too stupid to be of use to anyone. Is she truly Brat, a know-nothing who belongs nowhere? Or is she Alyce, the midwife’s apprentice, a person with a name and a place in the world.

The Midwife’s Apprentice is an award winning book and a rather odd but enjoyable read. It’s a glimpse into Medieval life and some of the fascinating beliefs around childbirth but it’s also much more than that for such a short read.  There are plenty of quirky characters and interesting events but it’s also a universal story of overcoming adversity and developing self-belief and confidence.  

Character Development and Hollandaise

Award winning author Mandy Hager led a writing session with the Wrappers at the last meeting. Her expertise in both writing and the teaching of writing was invaluable as she took the Wrappers through the steps to develop a character with depth and realism.  By the end of the session 'Hollandaise' from the sauce making family seemed to come alive and a plot outline was beginning to develop.

Does anyone want to develop that story?  It would be great to read the story of Hollandaise now she has been created.The character description is below. 

Teen Book Sale

Grab a bargain! We are weeding the teen book collection at Paraparaumu Library at the moment and selling the cancelled books. If you'd like to grab yourself a bargain keep an eye on the sales table beside the stairs. You can fill a bag for $1! 

Answer a question and win

'Never judge a book by it's cover'. It's a saying that has been around for years and it has some merit when choosing a book you've never read.  Imagine the wonderful story you could miss out on if you only judged a book by it's cover.

Now think of it differently. What if you know the story and had to choose the cover?  Take Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for example. It has been published with several different covers over the past 20 years. Take a look at five of the covers below and make your choice. Which cover do you like best?

Fill in your answer on the Google Form and be in to win a brand new book. Open to Kāpiti District residents only. The winner will be drawn at the next Wrappers meeting on Friday 1 April.