Happy Holidays

After the previous post about how Christmas lights work, we thought you might like to look at some of the more spectacular light displays around the world.

Of course, in Hong Kong, there is plenty to see! Just take a walk along the harbour. This site explains a bit about Christmas in Hong Kong, and this one has a new photo every day, including Christmas photos.

And for weird and wonderul Christmas light displays from around the world, go to this Flickr collection. Enjoy!

From all of us in the library, have a very happy Christmas and we'll see you again on 8th January (when you return all your holiday reading books!) .

How Christmas Lights Work

Christmas lights are not only a fun decoration, they are another great exapmle of how technological improvements impact our lives in all sorts of ways. (Brain, Marshall. 2001, How stuff works, Hungry Minds, New York, p. 227)

If you have ever wondered how Christmas lights work, why the whole strand of lights goes out if you pull out or break one of the bulbs, or how they create the lights that blink in different color patterns, this book has the answer.

In the past, Christmas lights consumed a lot of power, until mini-lights were introduced in the 1970s with low wattage and much lower cost. To find out more, borrow the book! Find it on the non-fiction shelves at 600BRA (Technology). Or you can read the article on the web at howstuffworks.com.

Top 10 books for 2006

The top ten books borrowed from KGV Library in 2006 are:

1. Point blanc; HOROWITZ, Anthony

2. Cirque du freak - Saga of Darren Shan vol.1; SHAN, Darren

3. Mediator 2: Ninth key; CABOT, Meg

4. Tunnels of blood - Saga of Darren Shan vol.3; SHAN, Darren

5. Scorpia; HOROWITZ, Anthony

6. Killers of the dawn - Saga of Darren Shan vol.9; SHAN, Darren

7. Vampire mountain - Saga of Darren Shan vol.4; SHAN, Darren

8. All American girl ready or not; CABOT, Meg

9. Avalon high; CABOT, Meg

10. Mediator 1: Shadowland; CABOT, Meg

How many have you read?

Other Top 10 booklists on the web include:

• Teens’ Top Ten (TTT) - voted by US teens during Teen Read Week in October
• YALSA Best Books Award - titles that exemplify the quality and range of literature being published for teens; from the American Library Association
• Top 10 Books of 2006 - the top 10 books of 2006 that made it to the bestsellers lists (adult readership)

New Books for Girls

The popular Gossip Girl series is now available in the library. The series is the ultimate in glamour and cool - set in New York's glamorous Upper East Side, the narrative follows the thrills and spills (with Jimmy Choo shoes and shopping at Barneys mixed in along the way) of its richest and most beautiful teenage residents. 'Gossip Girl' is the ultimate in sophistication, scandal and luxury.
Titles on offer include Gossip Girl and Only in Your Dreams. The official Gossip Girl web site is http://www.gossipgirl.net/.


Also available: the Clique novels by Lisi Harrison. The social minefields of Westchester County's most privileged middle school girls drive this page-turning action addictive series, set in New York City's most elite suburban county.
Titles in the library: Clique, The Pretty Committee Strikes Back, Invasion of the Boy Snatchers and Revenge of the Wannabes. Lisi Harrison's Clique website is http://www.lisiharrison.net/.

UNICEF Anniversary

On this day in 1946 The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was established. In 1953 the name was shortened to United Nations Children's Fund, because unfortunately children around the world always need help, not just in emergencies. Find out more about UNICEF at Wikipedia.

The official UNICEF site highlights the many ways that the 60th Anniversary is being marked. This year, why not use UNICEF Christmas cards? The Hong Kong UNICEF site shows some of the cards available; scroll to the bottom of the page for a link to a list of stores in Hong Kong which sell the cards.

New Books

There are many new new books available in the library, just in time for Christmas borrowing. Some of these include:

• Saving Fish From Drowning by Amy Tan - On an ill-fated art expedition of the Southern Shan State in Burma, eleven Americans leave their Floating Island Resort for a Christmas morning tour -- and disappear. Through the twists of fate, curses, and just plain human error, they find themselves deep in the Burma jungle...(Senior Fiction)
• A Wayne in a Manger by Gervaise Phinn - touching nativity play anecdotes, including children forgetting their lines, ad-libbing, falling of the stage, picking their noses and showing their knickers.
• Boyfriend Trap by Mary Hooper - Terri arrives at her older sister's flat with a bag full of teen mags and a head full of True Love, but is dismayed to discover that Sarah doesn't appear to have a single boyfriend! Something must be done...
• Everything Bad is Good for you by Steven Johnson - We're constantly being told that popular culture is just mindless entertainment. Steven Johnson says it's actually making us more intelligent.

Check the displays in the library and the Library News Page for more suggestions

Advent 2006

December 1 is the day we start opening our Advent Calendars! The Advent calendar has its origins in the 19th Century in Germany. Protestant Christian families made a chalk line for every day in December until Christmas Eve. Before long, commercial entrepreneurs started replacing the ephemeral chalk lines with printed calendars. The first known Advent calendar is for the advent of 1851. (Infomation and calendar picture from Christmas Magazine).

Some of my favourite online Advent Calendars:

• Tate the Cat - a new animated story every year
• Christmas Magazine - an old-fashioned picture with links and ideas for Christmas every day.